Sailor Moon Redraw

2019fan art challengeclassic

Sailor Moon Redraw is a Twitter fan art trend where artists reinterpret one specific still image of Sailor Moon crying on the ground, taken from a 1995 anime episode. It started with a Korean art challenge in July 2019 and hit peak virality in May 2020 among Japanese artists.

redraw challenge memesanime mangafan art memesdrawing fad memes2019 memes

Overview

Sailor Moon Redraw is a fan art trend where artists redraw a single still image of Usagi Tsukino from the 1995 anime series Sailor Moon S, showing her on the ground with tear-filled eyes after being tricked by the villain Mistress 92. Each entry keeps the pose and framing of the source screenshot and swaps out everything else, from lineart and shading to character design and medium.

Submissions have covered everything from photorealism and oil painting to 3D renders, chibi versions, and reinterpretations of the character as figures from completely different franchises5. The image usually circulates alongside the original screenshot for direct comparison, letting viewers see the artist's personal style set against the 90s cel-animation source.

How It Spread

Through the rest of summer 2019, more artists picked up the reference. Twitter user @azolitmin posted a version on August 5th, 2019 that received over 2,200 retweets and 8,000 likes3, and an August 17th post by @Lazoomaiga was among the earliest notable uses of the English-language #SailorMoonRedraw hashtag attached to this specific image5. Entries from @heart_puff in September and @GurepyonArt in October each pulled several thousand retweets over the following months5.

The trend jumped from moderate to viral in mid-May 2020 once Japanese artists ran with it. On May 16th, 2020, a redraw by @Souryu_STD reached over 22,700 retweets and 90,500 likes in a few days4. The next day, Pop Team Epic creator Bkub Okawa posted a version that hit nearly 40,000 retweets and over 167,100 likes in three days7. Taiwanese artist Eddie Han's May 18th entry landed around 24,000 retweets and 111,100 likes.

On May 19th, 2020, Twitter artist Silverjow posted two versions that gave Sailor Moon more East Asian features, including one with black hair instead of blonde, and users argued that many other redraws had whitewashed the character6. The debate spilled into broader Twitter discourse over the following days, with Japanese fans posting their own responses to the whitewashing argument6.

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple: take the specific frame of Sailor Moon on the ground with tears in her eyes and redraw it in your own style, then post it with #SailorMoonRedraw5. Artists typically preserve the pose, head angle, and framing while changing everything else, including art style, medium, character design, or even swapping Sailor Moon out for a different character entirely5. Many posts pair the redraw with the source screenshot for a side-by-side comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sailor Moon Redraw

2019fan art challengeclassic

Sailor Moon Redraw is a Twitter fan art trend where artists reinterpret one specific still image of Sailor Moon crying on the ground, taken from a 1995 anime episode. It started with a Korean art challenge in July 2019 and hit peak virality in May 2020 among Japanese artists.

redraw challenge memes anime manga fan art memes drawing fad memes 2019 memes

Overview

Sailor Moon Redraw is a fan art trend where artists redraw a single still image of Usagi Tsukino from the 1995 anime series Sailor Moon S, showing her on the ground with tear-filled eyes after being tricked by the villain Mistress 92. Each entry keeps the pose and framing of the source screenshot and swaps out everything else, from lineart and shading to character design and medium.

Submissions have covered everything from photorealism and oil painting to 3D renders, chibi versions, and reinterpretations of the character as figures from completely different franchises5. The image usually circulates alongside the original screenshot for direct comparison, letting viewers see the artist's personal style set against the 90s cel-animation source.

How It Spread

Through the rest of summer 2019, more artists picked up the reference. Twitter user @azolitmin posted a version on August 5th, 2019 that received over 2,200 retweets and 8,000 likes3, and an August 17th post by @Lazoomaiga was among the earliest notable uses of the English-language #SailorMoonRedraw hashtag attached to this specific image5. Entries from @heart_puff in September and @GurepyonArt in October each pulled several thousand retweets over the following months5.

The trend jumped from moderate to viral in mid-May 2020 once Japanese artists ran with it. On May 16th, 2020, a redraw by @Souryu_STD reached over 22,700 retweets and 90,500 likes in a few days4. The next day, Pop Team Epic creator Bkub Okawa posted a version that hit nearly 40,000 retweets and over 167,100 likes in three days7. Taiwanese artist Eddie Han's May 18th entry landed around 24,000 retweets and 111,100 likes.

On May 19th, 2020, Twitter artist Silverjow posted two versions that gave Sailor Moon more East Asian features, including one with black hair instead of blonde, and users argued that many other redraws had whitewashed the character6. The debate spilled into broader Twitter discourse over the following days, with Japanese fans posting their own responses to the whitewashing argument6.

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple: take the specific frame of Sailor Moon on the ground with tears in her eyes and redraw it in your own style, then post it with #SailorMoonRedraw5. Artists typically preserve the pose, head angle, and framing while changing everything else, including art style, medium, character design, or even swapping Sailor Moon out for a different character entirely5. Many posts pair the redraw with the source screenshot for a side-by-side comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions