is a song that served as an opening theme for the anime series, ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

''. The song's original version was released in Japan on March 21, 1992, on a split

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by Dali and Misae Takamatsu titled . The Dali recording of "Moonlight Densetsu" served as the opening theme for the first two seasons of ''Sailor Moon'''s anime adaptation. Another version of "Moonlight Densetsu" by Moon Lips was the opening theme of the next two ''Sailor Moon'' anime seasons. The English dubbed ''Sailor Moon'' broadcast in North America adopted an English cover version with the rewritten lyrics. A French language cover version, translated and performed by the Japan-based French singer

Clémentine ''Clémentine'' (pronounced ) was a 1985 French animated television series (in co-production with Japan). The series consisted of 39 episodes which featured the fantastic adventures of a 10-year-old girl (Clémentine Dumat) who uses a wheelchai ...

, was included in ''Sailor Moons 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute album as a bonus track in 2014.

Reception

The song "Moonlight Densetsu" was a big hit in Japan. In 1995, the original 1992 single by Dali et al. was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

. An online survey conducted in 2008 by Goo recognized it as the most popular song from an anime series for

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

from 1991 to 2000. "Moonlight Densetsu" won first place in the Song category in

Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...

's 15th and 16th Anime Grand Prix. It came seventh in the 17th Grand Prix. According to a poll conducted by Japanese music magazine ''CD&DL Data'' in 2016 about the most representative songs associated with the moon, the original version by Dali was ranked 4th by 6203 respondents aging from teens to thirties. In 2019, the original Dali version won the Performance Award of the Heisei Anisong Grand Prize among the anime theme songs from 1989 to 1999. "Moonlight Densetsu" was ranked 12th in ''Onegai! Ranking'' Series' derivative variety show "130,000 People Vote! Anime Song General Election" broadcast by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

on September 6, 2020. Due to the high similarity of its melody to the song "Sayonara wa dansu no nochi ni" (lit. "Goodbye After the Dance", composed by Hirooki Ogawa, lyrics by Hiroshi Yokoi), the composer, Ogawa, negotiated through

JASRAC The , often referred to as JASRAC, is a Japanese copyright collection society. It was founded in 1939 as a nonprofit organization, and is the largest musical copyright administration society in Japan. Overview JASRAC's main business activity i ...

and reached a settlement under the condition that he would receive a certain amount of money.

Track listings

1992 single (Columbia CODC-8995) is a split

by Dali and Misae Takamatsu. It was released in Japan on March 21, 1992. # — Dali (DALI) # — # "Moonlight Densetsu" (Original Karaoke) # "Heart Moving" (Original Karaoke) 1995 single (Columbia CODC-8995) is a

by MoonLips and Meu. It was released in Japan on July 21, 1995. The single was used for the ''Sailor Moon S'' and ''Sailor Moon Super S'', respectively. # — MoonLips # — Meu # "Moonlight Densetsu" (Original Karaoke) # "Rashiku Ikimasho" (Original Karaoke) 2000 single (Columbia CODC-1873) is a split

by Dali and

Yoko Ishida is a Japanese singer. She is known for having performed theme songs for anime shows such as ''Prétear'', ''Ai Yori Aoshi'', the ''Ah! My Goddess'' TV series and the ''Strike Witches'' series, as well as for having sung for the Para Para Max CD ...

. It was released in Japan on June 21, 2000. The second track, "Otome no Policy", had been used to end ''Sailor Moon R'' and ''Sailor Moon S''. # — Dali (DALI) # — # "Moonlight Densetsu" (Original Karaoke) # "Otome no Policy" (Original Karaoke)

References

{{authority control 1992 singles 1992 songs 1995 singles 1995 songs 2000 singles 2000 songs Sailor Moon songs Animated series theme songs Children's television theme songs Split EPs Nippon Columbia singles