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The Bootleg Basics
All the usual
questions are answered here.
Q: Where do these pictures come from? One of
those looks like an image I saw on a forum...
A: The pictures come from all
over the internet. Many people will try to take credit for some of the
images, but they come from all over the world and most are as old as 1995.
A bulk of them are screenshots I took from eBay, Amazon, Etsy and
Wish.
Some photos have the credits stamped onto them.
You can send an email if you do find
your picture on here, and if you want, I can credit you. I have credited a
few people on this project.
Otherwise, by leaving the names off, I can protect the identity
of those who bought this illegal merchandise.
It's up to you if you want your name out there, associated with
the crime of purchasing a bootleg.
Just be advised, if you are credited, you could be in trouble.
It's up to you.
Q: Why are there multiple pictures for the same
item?
A: So you can see extra details, and also how
the same item might pop up on different websites.
Q: Do you own any of the bootlegs shown?
A: I have been gifted a few
bootlegs, and you will see the name "Codename Sailor Earth" next to
what I have. The handful of bootlegs I own exist in a tiny Kousagi bag beside
my computer, as a reminder to be careful. I keep them in case I have a friend
about to buy one, so I can quickly grab it and show them what not to
purchase. It is known on YouTube and on Facebook as The Bootleg Bag.
Q: What should I do if I see a bootleg
product?
A: Walk away. Do not purchase. Save
your cash.
Q: Why did you list (name of item) as being
related to:
*Parallel Sailor Moon (Kousagi, Parallel Chibiusa, Ami (Jr) Rei (Jr) Mako,
Mina, Kousagi's Cat)
*Sailor Cosmos
*Sailor Mnemosyne
* Sailor Lethe
*Sailor Phi
*Sailor Chi
*Sailor Heavy Metal Papillion
if I can't see (name or photo of character) on it?
A: Because quite often, bootleg sellers will try to entice buyers with a
"rare purchase" so they create these "what if" items for
manga characters.
For example, there is a Time Key pendant on Wish with pink gems
for Chibiusa, and then one with light blue gems in Mercury's colors, so that
second pendant may pop up on (let's say) eBay as being for either Sailor
Mercury or for her daughter, Ami (Jr).
Another example? There is a "Sailor Moon" pink wig
where the hair is styled like Mnemosyne. The wig listing may not directly say
"Mnemosyne" or "Sailor Animamate" or even "Star
Sailor" anywhere on it, but you know.
Another one? There is a plush cat floating around. On Wish, the
pink plush is simply "Luna and friends" on Etsy, it'll be
"Diana's sister" but on eBay, it will pop up once in a while as
"Kousagi's Cat".
Label or not, I will make a note of it if I feel it's close
enough to a manga character.
Q: What if I've already purchased something
bootleg?
A: Either keep it, give it away
or try to find a Sailor Moon group on Facebook to help you.
Q: If I have a bootleg toy, can I give it
to my child/grandchild/niece/nephew/baby sibling?
A: DEAR GOD NO!!
Although many sellers will try to tell you that the toy is safe for kids 3
and older, most bootlegs are made from low-quality materials in cheap
factories. You don't know if this toy has been painted with lead paint, has
needles stuck in the stuffing (It's happened with a few Luna bootlegs) or if
the toy has anything else wrong with it. Most of them fall apart once removed
from packaging, making them a choking hazard. Bottom line, if it's a bootleg,
it's unsafe.
Q: Why shouldn't I buy a bootleg DVD? Isn't
it the same as copying a store-bought DVD?
A: It has NEVER been the same.
Who even told you that??
DVD copying software often times auto-deletes content from the disc (such as
extras, a menu, etc.) and usually the bootleggers try to cram more than two
discs worth of content onto fewer discs.
This cramming process can damage the data, resulting in a dim,
dingy look to the film, glitches and after a few years, the disc is rendered
unusable.
Most modern DVD players (PlayStation 4 comes to mind) won't even play a
bootleg DVD in certain situations. Ever try to play a bootleg DVD from the
Viz era? You get muted audio and a weird message saying Cinavia has blocked
parts of the disc. Try and use a homebrew hack to get around it and you violate
the warranty of the DVD player and if it's a game console, don't act
surprised if it also locks you out of your console's account, such as PSN. It
may even glitch and break down the system completely.
Lower quality bootleggers will even try to tape the shows from TV
(read: placing a camera in front of a TV) or they try to source film from VHS
tapes and old Laserdiscs.
The quality is anything but HD. I've seen a few that legit had
VHS static on them.
Subtitles might be incorrect, glitches occur, and did I mention
how stupid it is to buy one of these when you can LEGALLY watch the show for
FREE via certain platforms?
Go back to the first box underneath Black Lady and teen Kousagi's
picture on www.moonsisters.org all those logos are
for places you can watch Sailor Moon legally and again, for FREE. I'm
constantly updating it. (I use Yahoo View, Crunchyroll and Hulu, currently.)
Q: But what if I want the old DiC or Cloverway
dubs, and the bootleg is cheap?
A: If you want an SD, dingy product with half
assed editing, missing and spliced episodes and you don't want to see Sailor Moon Sailor StarS, I guess you could risk buying an
illegal bootleg. Just be aware that you'll probably have better luck playing
it on a PC than you would on a current era console. Or you could just take
off the nostalgia shades and watch the uncensored version in HD on Hulu or
one of the other legal links I mentioned. Whatever.
Q: Where are these bootlegs sold?
A: Sadly everywhere. Wish,
Amazon, eBay and Etsy are the worst offenders here. There are new bootlegs
every month. Dollar Stores, Thrift/re-sale shops, Pawn Stores, Comic Shops,
Garage Sales, Swap Meets and outdoor sale places are also guilty of selling
them. A big custom dealer is Setsuna
Kou. That dealer takes apart official merchandise to create
their own.
Q: If I find a Sailor Moon related bootleg
and I want to share it, can I send it to you?
A: You can email all photos and
links here:  You can also share them to
the Moon Sisters Facebook page.
Q: Soooo does this page exist to support
the purchase of these things?
A: Absolutely NOT!! Actually this page
serves two purposes. One is to educate new or returning Sailor Moon buyers so
they DON'T fall for bootlegs, and second... to make people laugh. Let's face
facts here, some of these bootlegs are just hysterically BAD.
Q: I just saw a Palla Palla toy. Is it
real? Which characters do not have dolls or figures?
A: In 1996, The Amazoness
Quartet each had one plush doll and one fashion doll. They were Japan only.
There are four prototype figures from Irwin toys of each of the four girls,
but those are insanely hard to find and expensive beyond belief.
As of January, 2019, the Quartet may
have Megahouse figures on the way, (we've been waiting since 2017) and we are
all hoping for more S.H. Figurearts releases, but nothing yet. You can always
check the Moon Sisters Facebook Page as whenever these things do come out,
you will see me drooling over them.
If you are unsure of a figure's accuracy, look for the Bandai,
Banpresto, Megahouse or GE Animation logos on the tag or box. And remember,
you can always email me, I'll research
it for you.
The following characters do NOT have their own figures, plush or dolls as of
January 2019:
Queen Metalia
The Doom/Hell Tree
Ali/Alan (An/En/Ann actually has a mini figure.)
All friend, family, school and victim of the day characters except for Naru
Wiseman
Master Pharaoh 90
Zirconia
Zircon
Queen Nepherenia/Nehellenia
Sailor Galaxia and her team
Princess Kakyuu
Kousagi, her cat, Ami, Rei, Mako and Mina
Fan Made characters
Any "bad guy of the day" villain
With that said, many of these
characters do have shirts, drinking glasses and other goods legally.
Always look for the logos, brand names and tags, and again, you can always
email me.
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How
to spot a REAL Sailor Moon item:
1. If it's a toy from
Japan, look for the Toei Animation sticker, then look for the red Bandai
label. It's a good sign if you see P.N.P. somewhere. That stands for "Princess
Naoko Productions" FYI. You'll see it especially on goods for the manga
or Sailor Moon Crystal. If it's for a set
of chibi figures, look for the Bandai or Megahouse
logo. Bootleg boxes can mimic the same box art, but omit these logos. The Toei
sticker image comes from the One Piece Wikia.
  
2. If it's a Kodansha product, (they gave away bags and such) look for signs
of age and a copyright date for Naoko Takeuchi.
3. Know your seasons. Sailor Moon came out in 1992, meaning that merchandise
were in pre-production in late 1991. R came out between 92 and 93, S in 94,
SuperS in 95 and StarS in 96. The series ended in 1997. Sailor Moon debuted
in America in 1995. So if you see an item with a date stamp of 1990 or
earlier, it's a fake. Be aware of items that have the wrong logos on the merchandise.
For example, Sailor Moon did not become Eternal Sailor Moon until StarS. So
if you see a Sailor Moon S mark on a picture of Eternal Sailor Moon, it is a
BIG fake. Also, there are only 3 movies and 200 episodes of the original
anime. There is no episode 201. DiC never dubbed Sailor StarS. Nor did
Cloverway. But Viz Media will. There are 39 episodes of Sailor
Moon Crystal as of January 2019 with two movies in production.
4. Beware of art from the actual Sailor Moon manga on non-book items. If it's
on Kodansha merchandise or on a book, it could be real. If it's on a bookmark
or DVD, it's fake. Only a handful of trading cards, CD's and other boxes ever
had the manga artwork on them, be cautious.
5. Check the price. Original Sailor Moon dolls and figures start at $20. If
it's expensive, it's probably real. If it's cheap, be careful.
6. Look at the store you are buying this from. If you are in America, and
it's at Hot Topic, F.Y.E., Wal*Mart, Meijer, or another nationally known
retail store, it's real. If it's at a mall kiosk, Chinatown, a hair/beauty
store, outside, or at any shop where English is not spoken well, it could
very well be a fake.
7. If you are shopping overseas, make sure you are at a regular chain store
or book store. Be aware of bootlegs to other series being coupled with a
Sailor Moon character. (Spider-Man, Hello Kitty, Power Rangers/Super Sentai,
Pokemon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Naruto, Yu-Ghi-Oh, Kamen Rider, One Piece,
DragonBall Z and Fantastic Four are the most common franchises to be merged
with Sailor Moon on bootlegs.)
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The Troll Box
Oh yes, this
needed to be addressed. I've gotten more than a few nasty messages about this
page, and about 80% of the nasty emails came from (shock of all shocks)
bootleg sellers, who get unusually defensive when you correctly call them out
for ripping off other Sailor Moon fans. Isn't that just amazeballs? Oh don't
worry, I haven't forgotten them. Here's my responses to the most copy and
pasted, repeat emails from "allegedly" different people who totally
wouldn't dare to email me as different personas. Totally! <_<
1. This is my interpretation of Sailor Moon!! ~
I've used this one a few times too. Doesn't change what you're doing when you
are actively taking cash for copying and pasting an old image of Sailor
Mercury onto a bottle cap pendant, now does it? NEXT!
2.
This is art based on the popular series ~
Just like #1. This lame excuse usually is attached to a Shrinky-Dink keychain,
made from a photo from the actual series or from a REAL trading card.
3.
I gave credit to the series creators!! ~
Oh that's precious. That doesn't seem to stop Toei from sending out cease and
desist letters, like they did when that one Moonie tried to kickstart a
Sailor Moon fanzine. Yeah, Google it, that actually happened.
4.
Well.. I spent TIME on this. I WORK HARD to make this you know. ~
Amazeballs how that doesn't actually change anything, isn't it?
5.
You are STUPID okay?? I did my research, unlike YOOOUUU. My teacher/high
school club/DA group/the cop I called and totally spoke to says you're an
idiot. You know what? I might even sue YOU for slander. I'M the one in the
right because this is my business and I gave my credit. Everyone KNOWS who I
am. ~ I've seen this rant copy and pasted from
every stupid, mouth breathing, waste-of-life troll you can imagine. And many of them are legit
bootleggers. And oh yes, people DO know who you are if
you're dumb enough to post this. They know you are a FAKE. This ladies and
gentlemen, is the last-ditch-effort rant that trolls and the like post,
because they're delusional enough to think it makes them look
"smart". They have no clue how many of you are laughing at them
right now.
6.
SEE??? The copyright laws say that I can do anything. It's not a direct copy
of that thing, it's my ART! ~
"Fair use" doesn't actually work that way. Google it.
7.
Well they do it on Etsy!! ~ And many of the ones doing it on
Etsy keep having their accounts banned. Isn't that funny?
8.
But I bought the original photo.. ~
Which is NOT the same as buying the rights to it. Super easy mistake to make.
9.
I can mod this if I want to!! ~ And nobody is stopping you, but if you
sell it, guess what?
10.
So what? I can't enjoy my art EVER?? ~
Nobody said that. You can enjoy all the Photoshopping you like. But
if you make money from it, there's trouble.
11.
You're just keeping yourself ignorant, I'm in college, I know better, YOU
need to educate yourself. ~
If I had a dime for every self-righteous college twat has come after me with
this, I could probably buy every Sailor Moon doll under the sun. Even had a
few try to convince me to hand over Moon Sisters to them. LOL NOPE! Maybe
stay in school a bit, princess? Ya might learn how not to harass strangers
online.
12.
Well... it's not like Kodansha/Toei/Bandai/Naoko really NEEDS the money. ~
And that is that ignorant and stupid attitude that keeps us from having nice
things. Sure it might seem like fun to cheat a company out of money, but when
you cheat the company, you also cheat it's workers. Your favorite voice actor
in Sailor Moon or Sailor
Moon Crystal? The people who actually spent REAL time drawing and
painting every scene? You just cheated them out of their hard earned cash.
And FYI, most animators in Japan make less than a damned McDonald's burger
flipper in America. Yeah. You feel good about yourself? These people work 12
to 18 hour shifts for little pay, and you are stealing
from them. How do they feed their families? You don't care. You can give all
the credit you and, and you are still a thief and a scam artist. It's like this.
How would YOU feel, if I took something that you actually for real drew, and
made money off of it, and you never saw a dime from it? Not much fun now, is
it? Don't lie and claim "well that's different" it's the same.
13.
You just don't understand anything! ~
I understand how to Google before I type.
14.
This is how I make my LIVING okay??? ~
So you can't resume then?
15.
It's NOT wrong! See what I heard was... ~
And this turns into a long post that I always end up deleting. Although if
you print them out, it makes great toilet paper.
16.
Well GAWD why is it wrong? ~
Once again, it's illegal, and furthermore the materials used to make bootlegs
are generally of a lower grade than what REAL merchandisers use. Oh sure, I
bet you dropped a fortune at the local craft store. Wanna bet how much lead,
cadmium and other toxic materials you exposed yourself to? If you think they
safety test those things, you're mistaken.
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HEY!! Excuse me Codename Sailor Earth, but
what about YOU??
Q: Aren't YOU selling your OWN fan art on
DeviantArt and a few other places??
A: Yes, I am. You can find the latest on my only DA page.
Q: Oh, so let me guess, you're gonna say
"it's different" right?
A: Nope, not at all.
Q: Well WHY are you doing it then?
A: People actually wanted me to draw certain characters for prints and
posters. Myself and thousands of other fan artists have been approached for
years. As long as DA refuses to do anything about it, the art stays up. It's
one of those "If you can't beat 'em" kind of things.
Q: Well, um, I'm gonna expose you then! I'll
totally steal your work and slander you! DIE BITCH DIE!!
A: Go right ahead. But be warned, I'm not afraid.
Do you honestly think I would be?
News flash, I am the 102,224th person to claim
the name of "Sailor Earth".
I'm mixed race, and although no longer religious, I was raised
a Jew.
Since 1996, I have had complete and total strangers gunning
for my head.
I was born in 1986.
Do the math. I've had grown adults come after me online since
I was turning 10 years old.
I wasn't even anywhere near puberty the first several times I had adult
racists come after me.
Earned four different concussions in school from kid delinquents.
I've been hacked multiple times.
I've had wastes of life tell me the same thing as you, that I
was going to be "exposed" and that nobody would love me, hire me,
my name was mud, etc. etc.
I had a hate shrine devoted to me, had my inbox
flooded with rape and death threats.
I've had family members ditch me because of strangers online,
after they were harassed by the very grown assed men stalking me.
Had people Photoshop fake porn and fake Facebook
posts with my face and name on them.
I've had three different men pose as me online.
Had a cop and an FBI agent tell me I "deserve it"
the last time someone told me to hang myself on camera, nude. Yes, their
offices did apologize and fire those involved, but nothing was ever done.
Hell, I even pissed off a music teacher so bad because of
Vocaloid that he stalked me and tried to claim copyright on pictures of my
own face, until my husband threatened to shoot him.
Oh, even better. I had an ex friend:
1. Stalk me and slander me because I didn't want to stay
friends with her after I traded her my Sailor Moon wigs, she destroyed them
on camera, harassed me about them at two in the morning, and then sold the
doll she was supposed to send me for said wigs, only to never actually send
the doll to her customer(s, she did this multiple times) and then take
selfies with said doll.
2. Sexually harass my husband, and when he told her to leave him alone for
the umpteenth time, she starts slandering him, and leaving laughing face
emoji on his posts about losing his mom, then tries to "expose" his
magic tricks ~ by posting the wrong videos
that had dick to do with his tricks.
3. Lie, claiming that my telling her to "leave me alone" is me
"beating her up" – when we never met face to face, and she lives
several states away.
4. Lie and says my husband beat up her kid, when again, she and her kid live
several states away, never met either of them, and never could since she gave
the baby up for adoption so she could go party. Oh, and then she posts a
"joke" where she legit threatened to
shoot her kid because the kid doesn't like Sailor Moon. Is it
any wonder most people do not like Moonies?
5. Swear she is going to kill me off in her next "book" which has a
title stolen from a 2004 Scholastic book.
6. Edit and share the above mentioned hate shrine against me.
7. Steal images with my name on them from my pages, then get all bent out of
shape when she got called out, saying that her stealing the pictures
automatically made them "hers" – despite – once again – my name
being crystal clear on all of them.
8. Accused me of stealing my own graphics with my own name on them.
9. Sent other people to harass me on her behalf on Facebook, only to block them
after they harassed me for her.
10. Post threatening images with guns all over Facebook to intimidate me.
11. Try to extort money from me, claiming I owe her thousands for the
"abuse and violence" of my telling her to leave me alone.
12. Do all of the above and then tries to befriend me on four different
Facebook accounts using fake names, but the same, stupid, fat finger photos
of herself.
13. Try to convince people that I am a "fat and ugly pig" when I
reiterate I want her to leave me alone and stop stalking me, seemingly
forgetting that she is four times my weight. I mean for crying out loud, I am
not a model here, but name calling? Body shaming? REALLY? Amazing how people
resort to name calling when they can't have their way, am I right? She ought
to be adult enough in her thirties to
know how pathetic and middle school fat shaming is in the new millennium,
especially after Luna spread that picture of her around.
Shameful, imitative behavior. It's like she didn't even care young girls were
watching her.
14. Harasses my brother, and then tries to claim he sexually harassed her,
when he was off of Facebook, has his phone turned off and is sound asleep,
all because he wouldn't accept her friend request on her new account.
15. Shuts down her pages and then tells everyone I hacked her, knowing full
well I don't have that knowledge or the tools, or the care to waste my time
breaking the law that badly.
16. Tries to befriend everyone I know or work with just to keep tabs on me,
like I'm not a real person, but instead some freak science experiment.
17. Claim I was being "racist" because I told someone to stop being
racist.
18. Claim I was "controlling her life" because I said I hate Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey,
because they are hot garbage and romanticize emotionally abusive man children
and doormat women.
19. Scream that I was "bullying" her because I told her to leave me
alone.
And yes, that ex friend is a very famous, crazy cat lady,
Sailor Moon fangirl, with a piss poor reputation dating back to at least
2006. Who knew that the internet was forever?
Oh, and major fun fact, I've actually been face to face with Neo Nazis. More
fun? I was nine when they threatened me, so these weren't even the Trump
pussy "MAGA" hat terrorists.
Do you honestly think I'm doing anything other than laughing at you, waste of
space?
You can't "expose" someone who is on here, right
now, exposing herself on purpose, especially when they make backups of their
own self-exposure.
There is not one word on this planet I haven't been called yet. Cunt? Whore?
Bitch? Name it, princess, I hashtagged that shit.
Go right ahead, screen cap this. Lie. Make up stories about
me. Pretend you have the right.
You never will, but it's not like you can scare me at this
point.
Q: Well… um… do you do requests?
A: Sometimes. Usually, I'm too busy working on my own stories and characters, but if the
right idea floats by, then sometimes.
Q: Why is this
page soooooo loooong?
A: Because I felt like addressing every, single, over copied bootleg
question.
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