Why is Sailor Moon merchandise rare?

Answer 1

Sailor Moon is the most populair anime in Japan. It is a magical girl show with a moon princess and her soldiers that fight against evil. for the fans they made toys ages ago so they can play the adventures of Sailor Moon. all the old items are rare now. a star locket, a holy grail ... if you see one in good condition the price will be high. When I look on ebay I see the most rare items not get sold because the price is so expensive and people do not want to spend that much for Sailor Moon I guess lol. there are good japanese dolls of each character but the only things that get sold is irwin dolls lol .... and there are sailor moon manga books and others.

the items from the Sailor Moon 20th anniversary are not rare at all and not expensive, but for people outside Japan it is harder to get and they are scared to buy a preorder LOL.

------ Sailor Mercury

Answer 2

Sailor Moon no longer being licensed depends on what form of the series you're talking about and what country you're referring to.

At present, Sailor Moon is licensed by Kodansha USA for its English manga re-release and manga-related material, including a forthcoming compilation artbook. The English-language manga rights were formerly held by Tokyopop/Mixx Publications.

The original anime is not presently licensed, but rights were formerly held by Cloverway (the North American arm of Toei, the studio that produced Sailor Moon in Japan) and DiC. The anime was distributed by ADV Films and Pioneer/Geneon, both now out of business.

There is a new anime that is slated for release sometime in late 2013/early 2014, but it is not known at this time what companies might license it for English-language release. At the time of this writing, the anime is planned to be broadcast worldwide on the website Nico Nico Douga, though it is not known if the episodes will be in Japanese only or will have localized subtitles.

As for why the anime is not presently licensed, a great deal of work goes into licensing a series for release in Another Country. Toei, for example, holds the original license for the original Sailor Moon anime, and anyone wishing to translate and distribute it elsewhere must get Toei's permission. This is why the fifth and final season of Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, was never licensed for English release; Toei refused license requests for it to be translated in English.