Castle in the Sky Presents... The (English Version) Sailor Moon Inside Joke List!

"Inside Jokes":  These are various little things hidden in the background by the animators.  For example, signs that say funny things, characters from other shows, or even little things that refer to the Sailor Moon show itself.

"Inside Info":  These "inside" tips highlight things that you might not know unless you had seen the original Japanese show, as well as various interesting things to watch for.  Related information is available in the  Missing and Changed Episodes List.  

Note:  This list is for the American version of Sailor Moon.

In Multiple Episodes...

Some scene changes are done with the image of Sailor Moon's tiara appearing and zooming out at the viewer. The twinkle in the tiara's jewel is actually composed of hazy white images.  In slow-motion playback you can see various figures including Serena, Sailor Venus, and the Moon Princess battling Beryl.  This graphic was not used in the original Japanese series.

Notice that there are bunny rabbits everywhere: on Serena's coat, her bedsheets, etc.  This is because Serena's Japanese name Tuskino Usagi is a Japanese pun which literally means "rabbit of the moon".  This refers to a Japanese custom which says that you can see the shape of a rabbit in the face of the full moon.

Sailor Moon Series...

The villains in this series are all named after green-coloured gemstones or minerals.

Episode 1 ("A Moon Star is Born"):

  During the introductory narration about the fate of the Moon Kingdom, look at the "bubbles" the girls are floating in. In the top left you can see Sailor Neptune (a girl with green hair).  Other Sailors from later in the series are there too, but they're harder to see. 

Just after Sailor Moon realizes that she has to go help Molly, a cityscape is shown and there is a red sign that says "Moon".

The name of the jewelry store, OSA-P, is a play on the name of the editor who worked with Ms. Takeuchi on the original Sailor Moon manga (his nickname was "Osapi").

Episode 4 ("So You Want to be a Superstar?"):

  Near the beginning of the episode, when Molly hits Serena with her bookbag, there is a moon shaped sign in the background.

"Sailor Moon Says" was made for the American version using existing scenes. Since each American episode is edited to be shorter than the original Japanese episode, "Sailor Moon Says" sometimes contains scenes that were cut from their original spot in the episode.  Information about what was cut from each episode can be found in the document, Missing and Changed Episodes.  In this episode, Serena throws a roll of decorative streamer at Melvin.  You don't see it in the show, but in the "Sailor Moon Says" you can see Melvin getting clobbered by it. 

Episode 6 ("Time Bomb"):

Watch the screen of Amy's computer. In one scene the bottom-left of the screen says (in English) "Prime Directives".  In a later scene, Amy presses some buttons and the screen of the computer reads: "1 - Serve the public trust 2- Protect the innocent 3- Uphold the law".  These are the directives programmed into Officer Murphy in the movie "ROBOCOP"!  Other Robocop messages which appear on the screen include "targeting suspect" and "arrest mode".

Just after the car crash at the intersection, there is a sign on one of the buildings that says "COSMIC".

In Japan, they drive on the left side of the road. In the English version of Sailor Moon, they flipped some of the bus scenes to make it look like a North American bus, but not in all of the scenes!  The scene on the left was flipped (notice the backwards letters on the sign), but when the bus crashes and Serena gets off, the scene isn't flipped and the door is now on the other side of the bus!

Episode 7 ("An Uncharmed Life"):

Have you seen Ami's school bag? She put it down to pick up Luna and in the next shot it's gone. Maybe one of those cops swiped it!

A girl waiting for the bus has a little pink goldfish figurine tied to her schoolbag (see episode 16).

The ravens are named Phobos and Deimos, which just happen to be the names of the two moons of the planet Mars. [Their names aren't mentioned in the English version.]  More bus scenes get flipped.

Did you notice that Raye's grandfather looks up Serena's skirt when Raye knocks her over?

Episode 9 ("Cruise Blues"):

In the crowd, just before their energy is zapped, there is a girl that looks almost exactly like Raye, wearing the same outfit. It isn't Raye though, she comes into view after, as the camera pans across the crowd.

Episode 10 ("Fight to the Finish"):

The Robocop jokes continue. The view through Amy's "VR Visor" shows "Arrest Mode" in the lower corner.

Episode 13 ("Wedding Day Blues"):

At the temple, Raye knocks Amy over and Grandpa's eyes bug out as Amy's skirt flaps up.

Episode 14 ("Shutter Bugged"):

The magazine that Serena is reading has a picture of Peter on one cover and a picture of Sailor V on the other.

Raye says that Peter is a student at her school, but Raye goes to an all-girls school.  [The fact that Raye goes to an all-girls school is never actually mentioned in the English version, however it could be inferred from English episode 48.]

Episode 15 ("Dangerous Dollies"):

Sammy's hat says "Singo", an English transliteration of his Japanese name.  Mika says "Sailor Venus is cool but I like Sailor Moon" but, the background image shows Sailor V.  Sailor V doesn't become referred to as Sailor Venus until later!

Episode 16 ("Who is that Masked Man?"):

At the arcade, Darien tries to win the doll that looks like Tuxedo Mask from the "Crane Game".  [These are called UFO Catcher Dolls, and Sailormoon UFO catcher dolls were actually available in Japan.] Amongst the other dolls in the game you can see a Sailor V doll, a Sailor Mars doll and a Queen Beryl doll.  The green frog-like doll in the bottom left corner is a kappa which a little goblin sort of creature from Japanese fairy tales [Ai-chan wins one of these dolls in Video Girl Ai and Yuu wins one for Miki in Marmalade Boy].  There's also a chicken that looks like Serena's alarm clock.

Also in the Crane Game, the pink haired girl, the pink fish, the cow next to the pink haired girl and the girl with yellow hair behind them are from the anime Kingyo Chuihou ("Gold Fish Alert") by Neko Nekobe.  The pink fish appears a lot in Sailor Moon; in this episode it's also on one of the socks in Serena's dresser.  The reason for all these Kingyo Chuihou references in Sailor Moon is that the same animation director, Junichi Sato, worked on both shows.

Epsisode 17 ("An Animated Mess"):

Raye carries a bag that has a picture of the pink fish on it (see episode 16).  There is a pink moon sketch on a window sill.  When the girls run out of the animation studio there is a poster on the wall of Sailor V, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mercury.

The animation studio is called "Studio Dive".  "Studio Live" is the real animation studio in Japan where Sailor Moon animation was done.

Nephrite's licence plate has his youma (demon) symbol on it.

Director "Asatoh" (Mr. Masterson in English) is almost certainly a caricature of real-life Sailor Moon animation director Junichi Satoh, who also directed Kingyoichuchu and Mahou Tsukai Tai!  

There are many bunnies in this episode include bunny dolls on animator's desks and bunny ears on the director's baby.

Episode 19 ("Molly's Folly"):

At the start of the episode, when Molly is telling Serena that she is in love with Maxfield Stanton, Serena says "This is like your crush on [real life teen heartthrob] Joey Lawrence, Molly".

Molly refers to Maxfield as Nephlyte, but it's not clear when she heard his real name since she was unconcious during his fight with Sailor Moon.

Episode 20 ("A Friend In Wolf's Clothing"):

Zoisite is spying on Nephrite.  He boasts to himself that he is going to find out who Sailor Moon is through Molly.  Zoisite says "So, Nephrite thinks he's close to finding the Imperium Silver Crystal," but Nephrite never said anything about the Silver Crystal.

Episode 21 ("Jupiter Comes Thundering In"):

The first doll that Joe wins from the "Crane Game" at the arcade is a Sailor V doll.  Then, he picks up a Sailor Mercury doll along with a sort of Godzilla-like one.  Amongst the other dolls in the background is a bunny rabbit doll ("usagi").  Joe drops a red-headed doll on the street (the girl from Kingyoichuchu).  When Zoicite confronts Joe, he drops two dolls, the red-headed one and one of Sailor Moon (you'll need to be quick with the pause button or use slow-motion replay to catch this).

Episode 22 ("The Power of Friendship"):

The tombstone that Tuxedo Mask stands on says "[Sound Theatre Library] Produced By".  The fact that the minister turns into a monster resembling a boxer is a pun on the Japanese word for minister, bokushi, hence Zoisite calls the youma "Boxy" (in Japanese and in English). [This explanation comes from Hitoshi Doi's Web Page]

Episode 23 ("Mercury's Mental Match"):

When the students are looking at the marks that have been posted, a close-up is shown, but it's in Japanese.  It shows that Serena ranked 203rd on the exam. Lita was 201st.

Zoisite says to Bunbou (the Shadow Warrior that Greg turns into) "Get the Black Crystal from her", but Sailor Mercury has a yellow-coloured crystal.  Zoisite has the Black Crystal.  There are a bunch of script errors in this episode. You can read about them in the document Missing and Changed Episodes Part I.

Episode 24 ("An Artful Attack"):

At the beginning Molly, Melvin, and Serena are at the art gallery looking at the painting they think looks like Serena.  In the background are two paintings from an older Naoko Takeuchi comic called The Cherry Project. The guy holding the flowers is Tsuzuki Masonori and the girl hugging a pair of skates is Asuka Chieri (a.k.a. Cherry). [info and picture from Sarah Hauge]

When Peggy is talking about her paintings, some are shown in the background.  The first one looks a lot like Nephrite and Molly and the second one looks kind of like the woman from "Last Resort".  Pictures: Molly & Nephrite, Last Resort?. There's also a painting on the wall that looks like the Nabisco Company logo.

Episode 25 ("Too Many Girlfriends"):

There are a lot of hidden and semi-hidden frames in this episode.  At the start of the episode, Lita crashes into Andrew.  Semi-hidden in the ensuing "explosion", caricatures ("super-deformed characters") of the first four Sailor Scouts appear in the corners of the picture.  There is also a frame with a frog holding an umbrella, and a frame with the word "Shock" (in English).

Lita did her shopping at the local "7-12" (look at the bag she's carrying).  Yes, they do have 7-11 stores in Japan.

When Serena and Lita are cooking at Andrew's, Serena whines that she doesn't want to peel potatoes or onions.  When Lita snaps at her, there is a quick shot that flashes up of Serena's face being squashed.  Also, you can see that Lita squeezes a carrot in her hand until it disintegrates.  Later, when Luna sees the Crescent Moon Wand reacting, she leaps but hits a glass pane.  A quick shot flashes up on the screen showing a caricature Luna being squished into the glass.

Episode 26 ("Grandpa's Follies"):

Chad is quite resilient; Raye says he's "out cold" but seconds later he gets up and fights some more!

Grandpa looks up skirts again.

Episode 27 ("Kitty Chaos"):

At the beginning, when the blue cat first appears, he is above what appears to be a store sign.  The sign actually says (in Japanese) "Tenchi Muyo" which is the name of another popular (but rather more adult) Japanese animated series.

Jupiter looking at Mercury's butt?  Sailors Moon, Mercury and Jupiter all cram into an alleyway at the same time trying to attack Zoisite.  Sailor Mercury tries to go into her attack pose but trips [very funny in slow-mo] and gets stuck upside down with her behind sticking up at Sailor Jupiter.  Sailor Jupiter gets the full view and blushes with embarrassment.

When Chad tries asking Raye out on a date, there is a poster of a man behind him and a poster of a woman behind Raye.  The expressions on the faces in the posters change during the conversation as if they are reacting to what Chad and Raye say.  The text on the posters also changes.  The Japanese text on the blue poster behind Raye says "My perfume... I am beautiful".  The text on the red poster behind Chad says "Now is the chance.  Go for it you Japanese boy!"  Then, after Chad says it's no big deal, the red poster changes to say "Is it really all right?!".

When Raye is leaning on a concrete wall looking down into the channel where Luna and Zoisite are, there is a sign on the building behind her which says (in English) "Rei".

The Japanese version is full of "Gone with the Wind" jokes.  The cat's name is "Red Battler" ("Rhett Butler"). The little girl's family name is Ohara, and she has a Scarlett O'Hara hairstyle.  After Yuuichirou (Chad) says that a wonderful girl like Rei (Raye) probably has better things to do, and rushes off, Rei says "Uh... you left so quickly... 'Gone with the Wind' I guess".

Episode 28 ("Tuxedo Melvin"):

When Melvin is at the arcade, you can see the english word "Fighter" of the distinctive "Street Fighter" logo at the top of the machine he is playing with.

Episode 29 ("Sailor Venus Makes The Scene"):

While Serena is pigging out on crepes she walks by a sign that says "AMI".

They covered up something important with one of those flying tiara scene transitions.  When Serena is wailing that being Sailor Moon is her job (Zoicite is impersonating her), Mina and Artemis are watching Serena from the crowd.  You can just see them before the tiara graphic hides them.  I guess this explains why Mina is not fooled by Malachite's trap later.  The original Japanese show does not use any special graphics for scene transitions.

When the girls are walking by the stacks of pipes, there is a scene where Lita's arm seems to be missing but it's arguable depending on how you think she is standing.

Episode 30 ("A Crystal Clear Destiny"):

When the girls approach the Starlight Tower, Amy uses her VR Visor to try to locate Sailor Moon. On the readout you can see the words "Usagi" and "Chiba", the original Japanese names of Serena (Tuskino Usagi) and Darien (Chiba Mamoru).

Episode 31 ("A Reluctant Princess"):

Although the English editors cut the scene of Raye slapping Serena from the show, it still appears in the pre-show episode preview.

Episode 34 ("Ski Bunny Blues"):

When Serena and Raye are trapped, Raye tries to climb out of the crevice but tumbles down as a big snowball. This is quite funny to watch in slow motion. Surprised, angry eyes show through the snowball!

Episode 35 ("Ice Princess"):

One of the women at the ice rink looks a lot like Mihoshi from the Tenchi Muyo.  Reportedly, the male figure skater looks like Sage from "Ronin Warriors" (Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers) and there may be other Ronin Warrior characters in the background in this episode.

Episode 36 ("Last Resort"):

The car scenes are actually not flipped in this episode.  The steering wheel is on the left in the Japanese episode too.

The family car appears to be a Volkswagen Rabbit.

This episode contains at least one of the frames that are usually dropped from Raye's anti-evil sign animation. The image is of a dark armoured figure surrounded by flames. [See episode 42.]

Episode 37 ("Tuxedo Unmasked"):

There is an obvious billboard that says "Sailor Moon" in English. When Darien confronts Greg, you can see part of a "Sony" sign in the background.

In this episode there are many background references to the missing "crystal carriers", e.g. the news report about the missing painter, a woman carrying a "lost" sign with a picture of the cat, etc.

Episode 39 ("The Past Returns"):

Sailor Neptune's bubble is visible in this episode too.

Episode 40 ("Day of Destiny"):

To make this episode less violent, they cut out the scene of Darien actually getting hit by Beryl's crystal spear, but they didn't cut it off early enough; if you play back a tape in slow-motion you can see it hit him.  You can also see part of the spear protruding from his chest later.

In the "Sailor Says" for episode 40 they show the Sailor Scouts' spirits cheering up sailor moon (a scene cut from the English show).  It shows Sailor Mercury talking, but it's Sailor Venus' voice, then it shows Sailor Venus talking and Sailor Mercury's voice is heard.  Then it shows Sailor Jupiter talking, but you hear Mars' voice, and finally when Mars talks it's Jupiters voice that is heard.

Sailor Moon R Series Part 1.  (Alan and Anne Episodes)...

The names Alan and Ann (or Ail and Ann in Japanese) put together are supposed to sound like the English word "Alien".

Episode 41 ("The Return of Sailor Moon"):

Near the start of this episode, when everyone is standing around the crater, it seems as if Darien knows Serena, but he doesn't as is made clear in episode 2/2 [he's supposed to recognize her but not know her name]. Note also that this conflicts with the ending narration about Serena and Darien meeting at the end of the first series [English episode 40]. [See missing and changed list].

Episode 42 ("So You Want To Be In Pictures"):

The girl that Anne gets energy from appears to be Saffron, the child movie-star from Episode 4.

When Raye uses her ofuda (the anti-evil seal), the picture flashes between scenes of Raye, flames, and a very brief shot of a menacing armoured figure standing amidst flames.  This is how Rei's ofuda attack normally appears in the Japanese version.  Usually, the menacing figure is removed from the English version (I guess people might think it was a satanic subliminal message).  Rei calls upon the spirits of ancient warriors to help her vanquish evil and the armoured figure apparently represents one of these ancient warriors.  [See Common Questions about the Show to read more about the anti-evil seals.]

Episode 43 ("A Knight to Remember"):

"A Night to Remember" is the name of Walter Lord's book (and the movie based upon it), about the sinking of the Titanic.

Episode 44 ("VR Madness"):

When the girls are waiting in line outside the Virtual Reality Game complex, there is a person in the line-up who has a Sailor-V badge on their jacket.  In the VR game, one of the monsters is the boxer youma from episode 22.

Listen to the crowd noise in the scene just after Serena gets thrown out of the game car and lands in Alan's arms.  You can hear Melvin complaining.

Episode 45 ("Cherry Blossom Time"):

A couple with a child, seen in the foreground when the girls first walk into the park, look quite a lot like older versions of Raye and Chad.

Episode 47 ("Much Ado About Babysitting"):

When Ann sees Serena and Darien shopping, she hides by a store corner.  The store display has a familiar red and white pop can labelled "Toke".

Jordan's stroller says "Manami", which is his name in Japanese.

Serena and Amy are wearing casual clothes when they leave Darien's apartment but are wearing school uniforms when they reach the nursery school.

In the original show, Ann storms out of Darien's apartment after the baby urinates on her.  Although this scene is cut from the English show, it does appear in the "Sailor Moon Says".  [See Missing and Changed Episodes List for more about this episode!]

Episode 49 ("Food Fetish"):

At the start, Lita and Amy are talking about the Moonlight Knight. Two kids run across in front of them.  The girl has a little Sailor Moon doll tied to her backpack. [You'll probably need slow-motion replay to see this.]  At the end, on the platter Alan offers to Anne, is a package that appears to say "SOAP" although the 4th letter is not clear.

Episode 50 ("Mirror, Mirror on the Wall"):
In the original episode, when the girls are arguing about who should play snow white, Makoto (Lita) says she should play the part since she has the uh... fullest figure.  Although the English version changes the dialogue, when Lita bounces her chest at Raye, there is a "boing" sound effect!

When Sailor Mercury introduces herself, the backdrop is an adaptation of a famous painting by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.  The background for Sailor Venus is a stylized version of Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus".

Episode 52 ("Secret Garden"):

In the bookstore, the article Darien is looking at has the headline "Luna" (The title "Earth" also appears in the book).  When he puts the book down, "Luna" is also printed on the cover.  Several people have remarked that Alan makes cocoa using a coffee maker.

Notice all the characters in the stage show: Luna, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Jadeite and one of his yoma (seems to be the one from the very first episode).

Sailor Moon R Series Part 2.  (Dark Moon Family Episodes)...

In a number of episodes, the number of flashing points in the map of Crystal Tokyo don't match up with what Rubeus says.

The idea that certain geographical locations are associated with special energy is found in other Japanese stories too, (such as the temples in Tenchi Muyo: In Love).

Episode 55 ("The Cosmetic Caper"):

When Birdie (the light-blue-haired sister), is standing on top of the building, a gust of wind blows away the flyers for the cosmetic store and also blows her skirt upwards.  If you watch in slow-motion playback you can see completely up her skirt as it gets caught by the wind (she's wearing lacy blue underwear).

Episode 57 ("Gramps in a Pickle"):

The picture in the magazine ad for Gramp's martial arts classes shows Grandpa chasing some schoolgirls.  In fact, in the original Japanese, it is not an ad.  Rei is yelling at her grandfather because she found this article in her girl's magazine warning women that there is a perverted old man at the shrine [see Missing and Changed Episodes.]

Episode 58 ("Trouble Comes Thundering Down"):

The magazine Serena is carrying is Nakayoshi, a real magazine in Japan that published Sailor Moon stories.

The video game that Sammy is playing has Mount Rushmore in the background.

When Rini first activates the Time Key, she is in a clothing shop, but after she activates it, she is in a grocery store.  Normally, when Serena transforms into Sailor Moon, a moon crescent appears on her forehead, and then her tiara appears over top and covers it.  When Sailor Moon first enters the room in this episode, the moon crescent is drawn overtop of her tiara.

Near the end of the episode there is a sign in the background which reads "SMR".

Episode 59 ("A Charmed Life"):

Rubeus says "back to the future". 

In this episode Jupiter's transformation music has additional sound effects (the "thunder-crash" keyboard runs), just like her original Japanese transformation music.

Episode 60 ("A Curried Favour"):

At the start of the episode, Avery is wearing three lemon slices on her face as a beauty mask.  When Rubeus appears, the two sisters snap to attention.  Avery hides the lemon slices by eating them.  The expression on her face is quite funny.

When the people in the supermarket recover, one of them (in the bottom-left corner) looks exactly like Raye.

[Several people have written to say that Rini asks Raye if she can make chicken curry and Raye says yes, although her thought bubble shows beef curry.  However, Raye actually says "sure, I can make ALL KINDS of curry..."]

Episode 61 ("Naughty 'n' Nice"):

No wonder Serena is mad; Rini isn't just in her bed, Rini wet the bed.  That's why Serena is airing out her bedsheets later and why Sammy is teasing her (he says that Serena wet her own bed).

Episode 62 ("Prediction of Doom"):

Near the end of the episode, Darien is standing on a pier overlooking the harbour.  There is a building on the city skyline with a sign saying "SR-MOON".

Again in this episode, there's a slap that gets cut from the episode, but not from the preview.

Episode 63 ("Enemies no more"):

When Chad is carrying Raye's shopping, a Ferarri TR512 Testarossa drives by.  This is the same model that Nephlyte (Nephrite) drove in the first series.

When Catsy slaps Chad, (after he tries to apologize for bumping into her), there are two pictures hidden in the "slap explosion". The first is a caricature of Zoisite winking at the audience, and the second is a drawing of a strange little guy (also Zoisite?) who has "Zoisite" written in Japanese on his shirt [thanks Chad Kunsman for translation].

Notice that Artemis is holding his nose after laughing at Mina and Lita?  That's because Mina hit him (but they edited it out).  In slo-mo you can just see the tip of Mina's hand coming in for the kill.

Right after the scene of Artemis laughing at Mina and Lita, the comic book that Serena is reading is "Run-Run" (sometimes written in English as "Lun-Lun"), which is a real magazine in Japan that published Sailor Moon comics (note the picture of Sailor Venus on the front cover).  Serena is reading or carrying this magazine in other episodes too.

When Catsy blasts Raye and Chad, there are several blue-shaded scenes of them getting thrown around by the blast.  In one quick scene, Chad is blushing as he finds himself staring right at Raye's backside.

Episode 71 ("No Thanks Nurse Venus"):

Mina's Japanese name Minako, is written on her apron.

Sailor Moon S Series...

Episode 83 ("Star Struck, Bad Luck"):

This one's great!  Look at Serena's test.  One of the questions says "One day Mr. Ikuhara went to Roppongi to do nanpa.  He was very tired after a big work.  So he applied for comfort to any tender girl."  Kuniko Ikuhara was the series director of Sailor Moon (and Revolutionary Girl Utena).  Roppongi is a district of Tokyo with many bars and clubs.  nanpa means to pick up girls.  The "big work" is of course, the previous 89 episodes of Sailor Moon! (This episode was Episode 90 in Japanese).

Episode 84 ("Crystal Clear Again"):

Darien's shirt says "Earth" (in English) on it.  Tuxedo Mask is the soldier that represents planet Earth.  Darien's Japanese name, Chiba Mamoru, also refers to the Earth. 

Episode 87 ("Swept Off Her Feet"):

At the start, Elizabeth (who is named Unazuki in Japanese), says that Darien is giving her a lift because her brother "Paul" forgot something.  Guess they forgot that Elizabeth's brother is Andrew!  (Maybe she has another brother...?)

Episode 90 ("Damp Spirits"):

When the girls are asking Amy all their study questions, Lita's pencil has a Luna P decoration on the end.

Episode 95 ("Birthday Blues Part 2"):

The Japanese signs that pop up around the fake Sailor Moon (Venus in disguise) say "the original sailor soldier".  The sign that Luna and Artemis hold up says "real one".  The piece of paper that the daimon pulls out says that there is a one year warranty against breakage, and the Japanese words that pop up behind Sailor Moon after she transforms say "the original".

At the end of the episode, Sailor Uranus says that she must have been affected by what Sailor Moon said in the car, but it was Serena who talked to her in the car and at this point in the story, she doesn't believe that Serena is Sailor Moon.

Episode 96 ("Hello, Sailor Mini Moon"):

The sign that Raye crashes into says (in Japanese) "Slow Down"!

Episode 97 ("Tainted Tea Party"):

The keychain doll that the boy drops is a Crayon Shin-chan doll.  Crayon Shin-chan is a Japanese comic and cartoon series about a mischievous boy who performs various obscene pranks.

  The Japanese text that pops up when Rini spots Tamasaburo says kawaii ("cute").  The Japanese signs that pop up pointing at Serena, Rini and Darien's feet indicate that Serena and Rini's feet have gone numb from kneeling but Darien's are totally fine.

Episode 100 ("Art Appreciation"):

The boy in Rini's art class is named Masanori Tsuzuki.  Tsuzuki Masanori (family name goes first in Japanese) was a character in The Cherry Project (see episode 24).

Episode 109 ("Thorny Weather"):

Playing "leapfrog", Rini jumps on Serena.  The resulting cartoon explosion contains this hidden frame.

Sailor Moon SuperS...

Episode 121 ("Dreams Take Flight"):

Tiger's Eye uses his whip to trap Tuxedo Mask.  He then walks away with no whip in his hand.  However, the whip later reappears in his hand before Tuxedo Mask is released.

Episode 124 ("Baiting the Trap"):

When Melvin first appears, a person beside him is carrying a satchel with a little Melvin face on it.

When Molly is talking to Melvin on the pedestrian bridge, there is an ad for the Sailor Moon TV show on the billboard behind her.  It says "SMSS Saturdays 7:00 PM" ("Saturday" is written in Japanese).

In the bookstore, there is a poster with a crescent moon on it.  The book that Tiger's Eye is reading is entitled "Cherry Boys" by S. Hasegawa, but I don't know if this is a reference to anything specific.

The Japanese sign that appears for a few seconds near the end of the episode says "Umino" (Melvin's family name in Japanese) and is meant to indicate that the location of the scene is Melvin's house.

Episode 125 ("The Perfect Couple"):

In the toy store at the beginning, there is a crescent moon ornament on the wall and a doll with a blonde meatball hairstyle on a shelf.

Episode 126 ("Much Ado About Kitten"):

In Rini's mental image of herself as an old maid, she is sitting alone watching TV.  What's on TV?  Sailor Moon, of course!

Sometimes the character's Japanese names are written in non-obvious places (see episode 15), but others are obvious, like the "Minako" sign on Mina's bedroom door.

Episode 145 ("Dreams of Her Own"):

The first magazine that Serena picks up is called Ran-Ran.  Run-Run is a real magazine in Japan that publishes comics for girls.

Episode 139 ("Duchess's Day Off"):

The pictures beside the cotton candy vendor's stall include (L-to-R) Doremon, Crayon Shin-Chan, Sailor V, a Power Ranger, and Anpan Man.

Sailor Moon Jokes in Other Shows

There are many jokes about, or references to, Sailor Moon in other cartoons and comics.  Here are some examples (this is not meant to be an exhaustive list):

"James" in Pokemon (aka Pocket Monsters) brandishes a Tuxedo Mask style rose in several scenes (including the opening credits) and even throws a suction cup dart rose in one episode.

In Reboot (which has a bazillion inside-jokes in every episode), Sailor Scout binomes appear in episode 38 "System Crash".  Five binomes in Sailor Scout costumes are huddled together as the city crumbles around them. The Sailor Moon binome lights up her wand and raises it hopefully, but then a huge boulder falls on her.

The Barenaked Ladies song "One Week" contains the line, "Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon 'cause that cartoon has got the boom, anime babes that make me think the wrong thing."

In the anime Fushigi Yuugi, there's a scene in which Miaka skips around in excitement at the sight of a delicious feast.  As she jumps around yelling out the names of her favourite foods, she goes through Sailor Moon's "In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you" poses.  Miaka also does a Sailor Moon parody in episode 1, when she says "In the name of the (sky?), I will punish you!" to the gang of kidnappers.

In one of the video extras for the anime Blueseed Momiji is shown dressed up as Sailor Moon.  In volume 6 of Slayers, Lina and Amelia disguise Gourry as a girl with a blonde Sailor Moon "odango" hairstyle.  Amelia herself is somewhat a parody of Sailor Moon.  Magical Girl Sasami (Tenchi Muyo) is obviously a parody of Sailor Moon.

In an episode of the Canadian sketch comedy show Air Farce, there is a fake ad for the Sailor Moon TV show.  It has the Sailor Moon logo and two men in sailor's uniforms pulling their pants down to "moon" the audience.

The SOS Web Page collects this type of "in-joke".  Their first report; in the movie "Ransom" starring Mel Gibson, there is a scene where one of the kidnappers is picking up some videos, one of which is clearly labeled "Sailor Moon".  Here is a link to their SOS Sailor Moon Sightings Page.

Inside Joke List Contributors:  Jason Huhn, Nina Matsumoto, Bobby Tribble, D. Ricci, Taylor, Danielle Turmel, Michal Bobran, Alexis Green, Scott Smith, Jean-Michel Brunet, Valerie Yoza, Robert Uebele, Gerard Deveaux, James Brian Hunt, Joseph Chan, Cera Crowley, Jordan Bouray, Liz Mayer and Marie Speten, Esther Edell, Gina Maglio, Cindy Wong, John Wilkinson, Irina Svidovsky, Gabriel Jeun, Valerie Yoza, Gordon Yee-Toi, Sara Frese, Kathleen Geraghty, Cristian Alvernaz, Robert Walton, Kia Purity, John Wilkinson, Melissa, Janet Arndt,  Hannah, Elysia Schwartz, Helen Chipman, B.A. Tilgner, Katie Lumsden, Trunks, Amy Franz, Liz Shaiken, Catherine Weber, Lynsey, Robert Vinson, Ashley Gismondi, Lanny, Susan Tanabe, Taylor, Kam Fu Yee, Samantha Warriner, Karen Lee, Lael Latta, Amanda, K.C. Fahel, Glen Pearce, Michelle Gazer, RPGShorty900, Miki Liu, Gabriel Pinzón, Salvatore.

This list was compiled by Lawrence Puente of Castle in the Sky Web Pages.
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This list is for general information only.  Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/Toei Animation/DIC.