Neptune

Now I'm a fan of this site so content is not the problem. I'm going to do this review on the layout itself and go from there.

Layout-Honestly not the best I've seen. There are three different menus but everything goes to the right spot. I think this site can improve greatly by redesigning it with one menu. ^^

Content-Like I said this site has a huge range of content so there's tons to choose from.

Background-Stars everywhere. I'm happy that everything is consistent and nothing blinds me. A plus. Downside is that it's very basic.

Improvement-Just the layout design. I know this site can be 10X more wonderful if it had a "face lift". Doesn't need to be fancy but something fresh. ^^

Overall Opinion-Fans will enjoy what is offered as SSUK offers just about everything there is Sailor Moon wise. Downfall would be the layout. Other then that this is a fantastic site!

Pluto

Breakdown of site 22/100

Welcome and site identity 2
At first glance, I am not very impressed with the site. The links are very small and hard to tell they are there. They are also too close together. Maybe have them a little larger font size and spaced better. The top graphic is a bit small and makes the site look bottom heavy. The BabelFish translator link is a bit in-yer-face as well. I'm not keen on sites that have that link on it, as people who want it, already know where to get it from.

Navigation 3
As above, the links are very small, hard to see, hard to tell they are there, and too close together. Space them further apart, and perhaps either change the font and size of them, or make them into graphical buttons. Otherwise, they're pretty common sense text links. Interesting that when you click on the links, they expand and get larger, but ideally, this could be done without having to click on them. It would make it look better and not so 'hidden secret-ish'.

Content of Interest 3
Ok, now I am REALLY not impressed with the way the content is presented. There are some spelling mistakes, not a lot but still noticeable. On some of the pages, there is minimal text, and a huge black screen underneath. Not cool. The images in the art book section are not 'one size' thumbnails, they are all different sizes. You should have all your thumbnails the same size. It makes everything look so much better. Also, having them in a 2 column bordered table doesn't look so good. Maybe without borders and more columns/rows. That way there's not so much scrolling needed since there is limited content.

The Sailor Scouts (Senshi, people...senshi) galleries are in their corresponding colours, but it's still a bit awkward on the eyes, having so many colours on one page. The 'other characters' section is horribly set out. There is no consistency with the pages, the layout or the information on this site at all and it just looks really poor. There are plenty of other sites out there (yes, even in the UK) that look and present better than this.

The clip downloads seem to be hidden from the usual visitor, you seem to have to 'be in the know' about where to get them, as the page that normally shows them doesn't at the moment, yet I've been given links before to their downloads page. I wonder why this is. I know that one of the reasons SSUK is popular is due to the clips being up but this is ridiculous. If you're going to offer them, have them up properly for everyone, have rules for downloading and then let ppl do it. Or not. Take your pick.

The lyrics page in the music section is well done, with links to many songs from the dubbed series, 2 from PGSM, some from the Japanese series, as well as various songs from Sera Myu.

The sections on each of the series are not very well done. The PGSM page doesn't work properly with error messages at the bottom, the links are in different colours, which is rather cheesy, the information on the Sera Myu is sadly lacking (there are only cast lists for the various 'stages', and much of the manga and anime sections are filled with filler information only, rather than interesting information on the series.

Advertising and sponsorship 2
I'm a bit wary of those who advertise Amazon anything. No picture links to anything you can buy from them on this site. I like to see what I'm buying without having to click and go to Amazon to find it. This is a personal preference but I refuse to use Amazon.co.uk as their prices are unreasonable and prefer to get it directly from the US where I can (or even Japan, bypassing Amazon altogether).

Self-promotion 2
Few links to other sites, and I've not seen very many people link SSUK either. Update your site with a nice and classy layout, and you'll get more people linking to you.

Filler 2
I feel like the whole site is made of filler, with very little information on the series, the characters or cast being presented in a way that makes me want to visit. Just about every category apart from the main ones is filler - the media, fan section, fun section, shop, misc section etc. are all filler with very little content of interest to me or anyone else.

White-space 1
The site is poorly designed and implemented. The pages are not consistant, there is good use of white-space in some parts, while in others, there is too much or too little.

Other 2
Overall, this site was very poorly done, with inconsistant design, little information of interest, and I can easily say that people wouldn't come here again if not for the clips that are on offer to those in the know. I am just not very impressed with this site that bills itself as easily the UK's best site for Sailor Moon, as I know full well it isn't. My sites are much better than this and they are unfinished. Get a real designer in to do your layout and stick with it. Offer proper information, in an easy to read format, not so many links all over the place. Another HUGE issue is the consistant lack of credit given in this site. Nowhere is there a credits page. It is obvious much of the information and images are from elsewhere, but no information is given as to where. Not very good. The only things that are credited are fan submissions. EVERYTHING should be credited, from information down to images.

Saturn

Alright, I remember when I first started out as a web designer... and back then, this setup would have been alright, but not by today's standards.

Here is the problem. You have what LOOKS like a frames set up here, but upon investigating the source code, I find that it isn't. That being said, why would you put links along the VERY TOP of the page with a starry image below that with obvious cut off spots on the images. Take Eternal Sailor Moon for instance... where did her odango go? You don't know because they are cut off. And the PGSM version of moon on the right side... well I guess she is an amputee because her arm just disappears shortly after her elbow. It doesn't blend into the edge of the browser, but rather is just chopped. Hooray for amputee Sailor Moon!

Under that, there is what looks like browser styled links such as "Back, Refresh, Forward..." As much as I appreciate functionality on a site, this is just a bit too redundant, and odd. It is on its own bright lavender line and it just sems out of place.

Next there is a line of starry images down the left side with links over top of that. So far on this page without counting the "browser style" links, there are 12 links. But not ONLY 12 links because they have repeated the links on the left side of the page. The EXACT links that are on the top of the page. I am confused as to why this was done, except I am guessing that at the top of the page they wanted to try out javascripted menus. I am going to stick to the left menu for this as it is more easily seen for me.

The last thing that is really bugging me is that they have a link to Babelfish on their site. You know I am not completely "anti" babelfish, but damn... This site is in english and the button says "To translate this page click a flag!".... sure, lemme do a Kelly Bundy and translate from English to English, so lemme see.... That would be "Babelfish = Piece of shit that doesn't translate properly to ANY language!" And because of this translation from English to English is why I don't recommend Babelfish to anybody that is trying to communicate to somebody in a different language as you will most likely offend them if anything.

Moving on, I am going to the content of this page. Could somebody explain to me why after clicking the "Anime" link on the left it suddenly drops EVERYTHING in the category down in the left side as well?! Not just that, but the links are repeated on the right side in the content area.... The navigation of this site is getting on my last nerve at this point if you can't tell, so I am going to try to get going on this review quickly so that I don't give up all together.

If you click any of the categories for a section, it will completely load the page all over.... this could have been avoided by using an iframe or even regular frames.....

Don't click any of the Characters.... just don't.... I am five feet away from my monitor and I am blinded by the colors that were chosen for the doll box stats....

I am now digging through the "scripts" section and I am rather wondering what is the point of this. I mean there are a total of 7 scripts here.... as much as this seems to be an original idea it severely lacks. I mean I can understand trying to get scripts for eps that are not fansubbed or what not, but I am trying to figure out why this is here.... My brain hurts now...

I went to the movies section and I am curious as to why the S movie was left out and why Ami's First Love was considered a movie....

I felt the transformations section was a bit odd. I guess my expectations were too high. I was expecting videos... but there are screen captures here. VERY SMALL screen captures...

The attacks are even more depressing as they are once again screen captures, but on top of that, almost all of them are missing... once again, maybe my standards are too high.

I am skipping the Manga section as I am sure it will give the same annoying results as the anime section did, but lets see what they have for Myu here. It isn't what I had hoped for.... at all.... but lemme explain why...

I am in the cast section here, and as much as they have the cast listed for all the musicals, they have "Single Actors" as a category, yet the only person they have listed here is Anza. I know that Anza isn't the ONLY actress in Myu, and frankly I am more then a bit disappointed that they only included her and her mannish looking mug for this section. (I am sure that the Anza cult members out there are going to be onto me for that, but I didn't care for her as Moon. She can sing, but she looks mannish to me.)

The music section of Myu doesn't make me any happier. There are three albums listed here, but no songs. Just a list of the tracks. The purpose of this is still unknown. However I do like that the cd IMAGES are included as this isn't readily done on a lot of Myu sites. So good job there. (As much as I have torn your site apart, I beg you to let me use them.)

I have to say that the image section for Myu is the real score for this site thus far. These images (the ones for the Ryusei Porgram) are enormous and that is a great thing for people like me that like to make wallpapers and such. (You will let me right?) I am glad to see some super high quality images on the web.

I am not in the PGSM section and I am rather bored, so you will forgive me for moving on won't you? Ok, so I gotta say, there is some stuff here first... sorry sorry guys... I will do it as you request :P

And see what you have made me do now?! I am sitting here now looking at this screen blinking... and blinking... and blinking... I went to the "episodes" portion for PGSM and the person who was in charge of this portion stopped after Act 2... That episode aired back in 2003... there should be SOMETHING more then this by now....

Images, Music, Actors, and Clip & Promos just didn't do it for me.... I am more then disappointed with this section... dammit... I was hoping for more once again...

I am finding these further sections redudant. And let me explain. You see, I am back to the menu on the left again. And there are links for Music, Media, and Images.... well the problem with that is that these should have already been covered in the Anime, Manga, Myu, and PGSM categories. As those categories had their own sections about ALL of these redundant links. So I am not bothering with these sections with good reason.

The Fan section has potential. It has "Chat, Forum, Fan Fiction, Fan Art, Editorials, IRC" listed as categories. Well I feel that three of these should be combined. Why have a chat if you are going to have a forum? Why have a forum if you are going to have IRC? And why have IRC if you are going to list both Chat and Forum considering IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat"... meaning it IS a chat...

Fun and Misc could have been combined as well....

I clicked the shop link and I am here blinking again... Each thing is seperated into categories. But here is the problem. Manga, CDs, DVDs, VHS, Books, and Misc. Does anybody see a MAJOR category missing here? *jumps up and down raising hand yelling 'oh pick me pick me!!!'* Yes Saturn! You are right! There isn't a category for TOYS! Most of the SM merchandise I have come across over the years is toy related, and I am rather weirded out by the fact that that was left out here.

"Site" makes me sad. This is the first line on the page "Welcome to Sailor Scouts UK - the biggest and, dare I say, best UK Sailor Moon site." And whereas they do have the "dare I say" bit, I am rather saddened that they think so highly of this site. Yes this site has potential, but nowhere on this site do I feel it adds up to the best UK SM site. I have seen a LOT of SM sites in my years of fandom and frankly some of them have been in the UK and have been much better then this.

Alright, so here goes my good advice for the review.

First off, scrap this layout. It really needs a LOT of work. The colors aren't really all that great. I am sure you have a love of blues and lavender, but in this case it is a bit harsh on the eyes. Secondly, make your layout consistant. There are points in this one where I see black underneath the lavender. Next, I would suggest grouping categories better. As it stands, there are more than a few redundant categories on this site. You could easily fix this by combining them or even doing away with a few. Lastly, lose the Babelfish button. It does NOTHING for the site.

Uranus

I'm putting the transatlantic cable to some important use by checking out Sailor Scouts UK. This is, or at least was, one of those very important sites during the run of PGSM, because they were hosting raw episodes as they came out. Now that it's over, people who just came for the videos can now spend time checking out the writings, because in general, there is quality here.

The site layout is easy to use, but not the prettiest in the world. The color theme which runs to the blue and purple end of the spectrum doesn't really meld well with the pictures of the senshi in their various incarnations. They just stand out too much. It's less noticeable in the image galleries than in the main page or the title bar that overlooks every page in the site. The spacing is done well, however, and each link in the menu bar opens only its subcategories so as to keep things organized.

All those categories are useless without content to go in them, and SSUK provides that in spades. Under the purely informational parts, there are some juicy tidbits about the manga and Sera Myu that I didn't have in my lexicon. Unfortunately, the usual anime info is here as well, but we'll give them a mulligan since maybe the Brits need access to that stuff without having to send across the pond for it.

For media, SSUK is no longer the giant it once was, as the video clips are down for re-evaluation. Maybe they'll put something nice here, but even if they don't, they've already done their part by hosting the PGSM raws. But there are still a few musical albums for download and of course tons of images. AMVs are here also, but you have to sign up and they warn you it can take up to two weeks to be able to download.

For all that, don't go dismissing SSUK as a cookie-cutter site. The heart and soul is in the interactive sections, like "Fan," "Fun," and "Misc." Join the forums or chat and see what the folks are like, or have some just plain fun. I especially recommend the Ask Sailor Moon page, where you send in questions and people answer them in the personae of one of the characters. I've seen this done for other anime, but here it is for SM. Even if you don't want to participate, read what's come before for a good laugh.

So as long as the people of SSUK keep putting forth the entertaining content they have shown they can, this site will continue to be worth its popularity. A layout rebuild or a reorganization might be refreshing, but it's not necessary. It's far more important to be fun, and this site is.