May 17, 2007 Anime News Network broke the story that web retail giant Amazon was selling a bootlegged version of Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Sailor Stars for $69.95 as the official Japanese box set. The illegal version is distinguishable from the legitimate import in its slightly different cover art, missing copyright information, and the releaser listing of “Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Production Committee” on the box. The illegal version also has a false yen symbol and misleading English and Japanese text.
At time of press, the mislabeled bootleg has been removed and a listing for the Unofficial Sailor Moon Stars, Season 5 available used and new from $29.99 now appears instead.
No North American publishing house has ever distributed the fifth and final season of Sailor Moon in the US. An official DVD box set has not been released in Japan (though Sailor Stars is available on individual DVD). Amazon Marketplace is known to sell third-party anime material, but the bootlegged posting was listed on Amazon’s corporate website. Anime News Network was unable to reach the web retailer for comment.
Sailor Stars is a two-arc season wherein the Sailor Soldiers encounter an old enemy and then battle Sailor Galaxia to save the galaxy from Chaos.