manga style! pretty soldiers in sailor suits
Japanese Manga
The English language manga published by Tokyopop (formerly Mixx) are out of print and very difficult to find second-hand (Amazon.com sometimes has a few in stock as "NEW"). It's both cheaper and easier to buy the Japanese editions (which have been reprinted in oversized editions) and get fan script translations to read along. Sailor Moon was one of the first four manga Tokyopop translated, and there are numerous mistakes and inconsistencies in the adaptation. Unfortunately Tokyopop did not have an opportunity to republish a corrected, right-to-left version before the international rights to the manga were suspended by Kodansha in 2004. (This was beyond Tokyopop's control.) Tokyopop "officially" announced Sailor Moon as being out of print in June 2005, but the books had been unavailable for at least a year before that. The English covers were the same as the Japanese first editions except for volume one. If you can read French, Glenat produces very nice versions that are far more accurately translated than Tokyopop's.
Artbooks
There are five Sailor Moon picture collections ("Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Genga-shuu") that feature beautiful full color artwork drawn to supplement the manga. There is also a Sailor Moon Materials Collection and a very limited edition Sailor Moon Infinity Illustration Collection that was self-published by Takeuchi Naoko and sold in comic markets in Japan. It's impossible to find the Infinity artbook now because only a small number of copies were produced.
When they were in print, the Sailor Moon artbooks ranged in price online (from US stores) anywhere from $35 to $55 USD. Why the wide range? At 2200 Yen each, the equivalent USD price at the time was at the low end of that range (yen to US dollar rates varied), but US stores factor in the cost of importing from Japan. As you will find if you order artbooks directly from Japan, the item cost is much lower but shipping can easily add on $15 USD due to weight. I am not familiar with the going prices for Sailor Moon artbooks now that they are out of print.
The Japanese editions of the artbooks have been out of print since the late 90's/early 2000's, however there are licensed softcover Chinese editions (none of the Materials Collection) than may still be available. They are softcover as opposed to the hardcover Japanese editions. The Chinese books can be identified by the use of the simplified Chinese characters for Bishoujo Senshi (美少女战士) on the cover, while the Japanese editions use the characters for Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon (美少女戦士セーラームーン). Note the differences between the fourth characters below: Japanese kanji (left) differs from the Chinese hanzi (right). The character by itself means war, but here it forms part of the compound word "soldier" (tip provided by David Jao).
 Artbook IV: Japanese Edition |
 Artbook IV: Chinese Edition |
There are also bootleg artbooks from Taiwan and Korea which you should avoid as the quality is very poor. Here is an example of a bootleg artbook. Once again, note the rendering of the fourth character in traditional Chinese (戰) - it differs from both the Japanese (戦) and simplified Chinese (战). Taiwan (and Hong Kong) use traditional Chinese, and this is another effective way to spot a Taiwanese bootleg. Here is an e-mail sent in by a fan on more ways to spot a bootleg.
See also The Pirate Anime FAQ, a guide to unlicensed anime and manga related goods.
Second-hand
You can sometimes find the Japanese artbooks second-hand on Ebay or second-hand Japanese bookstores. At these stores, shipping is calculated by weight, with one artbook being $16 shipping by Airmail, $25 for two artbooks, and so on. Adding on some light-weight CDs or manga makes shipping more economical.
Japanese Second-hand Stores
- JPQueen - Japanese store selling used manga, doujinshi, CDs, novels, artbooks, magazines. Sometimes more expensive than other secondhand stores.
- Japan Book Mart - Japanese used bookstore. Also carries CDs, DVDs, anime goods, artbooks, novels.
New (U.S. Anime Stores)
I have not purchased from any of these sites so I really do not know what they are like. Some sell the Chinese editions, others display the Japanese editions. I'm not sure how any store could still have copies of the Japanese editions after all this time, but they are pretty cheap - around $20 USD - so you won't be out much money if they turn out to be Chinese or (hopefully not) bootlegs. I'd advise checking reviews on Reseller Ratings before purchasing from any of them. Toys 'n' Joys in particular has received very bad reviews so buyer beware!