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Sailor Moon and J-pop mega-star Ayumi Hamasaki team up for collaboration, pre-defeat scalpers

Casey Baseel Dec 23, 2024
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Sailor Moon creator draws band-new illustration of the manga heroine and best-selling vocalist.

In the 1990s, Sailor Moon burst onto the Japanese pop culture scene, soaring to success with a mix of unmistakable strength and unabashed femininity. You could also say the same about Ayumi Hamasaki, the best-selling solo vocalist in the history of the Japanese recording industry, and now the J-pop songstress and the lunar princess are teaming up!

On Friday, Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi revealed a brand-new piece of artwork she’s drawn showing Sailor Moon herself, or her ordinary-schoolgirl alter ego Usagi Tsukino, standing side by side with a manga version of Hamasaki. The pair are dressed in the costume from the music video for Hamasaki’s “Bye-Bye,” released earlier this year.

And if you’re thinking, “That’s an awesome-looking illustration! I’d like that on a T-shirt/clear file/etc.,” Takuchi and Hamasaki are way ahead of you, as there’s a whole collection of Sailor Moon/Ayu crossover merch. The T-shirt (6,800 yen [US$44]) features the Takeuchi illustration on the front…

…and the crossover logo, which combines elements of the Sailor Moon logo and Hamasaki’s personal emblem.

The clear file set (1,600 yen) gets you two document holders, one A4-size with the crossover illustration and logo and another smaller A5 file with Ayupan, Hamasaki’s mascot character avatar, dressed as Sailor Moon on each side.

Sailor Ayupan also shows up in a pair of key holders (1,600 yen each), both times striking one of Sailor Moon’s iconic poses.

If you’re looking for a three-dimensional effect, there’s an acrylic character stand (2,600 yen), with Ayu and Usagi standing approximately 10.3 centimeters (4.1 inches) tall…

…and a unique “clear poster” (1,900 yen), basically a 59.4-centimeter (23.4-inch) long poster made of the same plastic material as clear files, which should make it sturdier than paper.

Rounding out the lineup are a face towel (2,600 yen)…

…a zippered vinyl pouch (2,300 yen)…

…and random-buy gacha capsule toys (800 yen), which could contain drawstring pouches, mini acrylic standees, pins, or masking tape.

▼ Both the front and back of the two possible drawstring pouch designs are shown here.

Now, as awesome as this is for fans of Sailor Moon or Ayu, it’s a sad truth of current-era fandom that as soon as cool merch shows up, there’s an uneasy feeling of “Will I be able to get anything before it all gets bought up, possibly by scalpers?” But in a move that’s sure to put a smile on the faces of true fans, e-commerce site Mu-Mo, which is already taking orders for the items, says that with the exception of the drawstring pouches, absolutely none of the items will be classified as “sold out” through January 5. In other words, as long as you get your order in by that date thought the website here, Mu-Mo will make sure enough of the merch gets produced so that you get yours. After January 6, though, there won’t be any more restocks, so you’ll want to place your order by then.

The lineup is also already available through the Team Ayu Ayumi Hamasaki online shop, and it’ll be offered for sale at two of her upcoming concerts, to be held December 30 and 31 at the Yoyogi National Stadium in downtown Tokyo. Finally, shoppers on the website of the Pretty Guardians Sailor Moon official fan club and at the Sailor Moon Store in Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood will be able to purchase the items starting January 10.

Related: Mu-Mo, Team Ayu, Pretty Guardians, Sailor Moon Store
Source, images: Avex
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