Saturn

First off, when I opened this site, I was wowed. It is remarkably clean and easy to navigate. I have seen a few different incarnations of this site and the only complaint I have ever had layout wise was that sometimes it is a bit dark and hard to read and that the main font of the top image is a bit blurry, but that is a personal taste and it is up to the choice of the author of what they are going for. Regardless, it DOES work here and I am glad to see that.

The first category for content is the "kirameki awards" which I wish I had entered. I understand that this was an important event in the sites history, but I am wondering why it is still up. Are there going to be more sessions of kirameki awards? And if so, can I enter? :P

The second category is screencaptures and that is pretty much self explanatory. There is a REALLY good set up going here and LOTS of captures. If you need an image, you will most likely find it here. However, the lack of forward or back links makes it a bit hard to navigate. I would suggest at least a link back to the main page or the subcategory. (And I don't want anybody to say "well SMPB doesn't have back links!" and whereas that is true, our format is that you can go immediately back to subcats, so if you don't like it, well we already handled this in the flame war.)

"other galleries" cracked me up because I liked the name of one of the subcategories "scavenged". Thank you web author for giving me a giggle.

The part of this site that really has me in awe is "detailed inspections". This category goes into similarities between the animation, the manga, and PGSM. It is very well laid out and you can obviously tell that the author knows their stuff. I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven't already. I won't go into it here as I am encouraging you to view this wonderful site as I do with all good sites.

"video" is amusing to say the least. There are some of the commercials for some of the merchandise which can be quite corny/commical by western standards. Thank you for yet ANOTHER giggle.

"fan made" is great. It is full of all sorts of fan creations such as livejournal icons, winamp skins, fanart, and other photo manipulations. Some are better then others, but if you are looking for something to spiff up your computer, I suggest giving this category a look.

The 'internet guide' is another fairly unique section of this site. Whereas a lot of people have put these sections on their sites, most of them are not this detailed. Most sites I have seen that have sections like this will have some links and maybe a blurb or two, this one goes into what each link is and is set out in a way that is rather friendly.

"communication" is a way of showing a contact address, a place for link buttons, and the image usage policy. I am glad to see this here and I see that it is unobtrusive without being cut out all together. Nice job here.

This site is easily one for the good column. I like it, it is easy on the eyes, and is chock full of content. Keep up the work and let me know if you are ever going to hold another "kirameki awards" thingy.

Uranus

It took my fellow reviewers to let me know that A Soldier's Effigy was Mizuno Caitlin's site, because she's very anonymous here. But she's a Major Player among PGSM fans, especially on LiveJournal. This site definitely does credit to that status. The main facet of the site is pictures, always needed for the relatively fresh PGSM, and ceratinly attention must be payed to the kind of effort displayed here. For the Special Act, she put up 1,858 screencaptures. I'll say that in words so you get the impact. One thousand, eight hundred fifty-eight screencaptures.

And you'd need these pictures if you'd entered her contest. Seven different categories, and the contest generated some excellent work. I only hope our contest does one-seventh as well. (By the way, have you entered our contest yet? Get moving! Time's a-wasting! I'll wait here. . . OK, done?) In addition to the thrill of the competition itself, here for posterity are some beautiful cosplay collages, and some icons that might even impress the people over at our affiliate, Tiara Envy. (Have you been there yet? Go! It's fun!)

Also of particular note is the Detailed Inspections, which give closer looks at some of the settings and props from PGSM. I'd like to see this part grow beyond what it is now, because it's a seed of greatness. I don't tend to notice little design details like these, so I need sites like this to tell me.

And if you've got money to burn, there's a shopping guide for all things PGSM. Far more comprehensive than the Oracle's (the only other one of which I'm aware), it details the pros and cons of all the places to get Sailor Moon merchandise. Sadly, "too expensive" is an all too common con.

All that I've detailed here is the unique parts of the site, but what will take the majority of your time when you go (You are going, right?) is getting the audio and video clips from the cds and the show itself. This way you can sample these before you go buy the CD's and DVD's (wink, wink). Not everything is here, but enough that there's probably something you want.

Not to be ignored, A Soldier's Effigy is a pillar of the online Sailor Moon world. Get to know people like this and you'll have an in to anything you could want on Sailor Moon.

Neptune

Layout-Easy to navigate and nothing opens to a new window. Only complaint I have is that (to me, maybe not others) it's a tad dark. But other then that everything looks good.

Content-Heh...lots of stuff! We have screencaptures, music/clip downloads, buying guides as well as site guides! If you are looking for a place to find decent screencaps then this is definately a good place to go.

Background/text-Again my opinion is that it's a tad dark but it doesn't hurt the site at all. The text is your basic black so it works well for what the author has set up.

Navigation-Easy. Self explainitory and everything is well thought out. If you're new to this site, don't fret as the author has made it easy for you!

Overall Opinion-Nice site with tons of information and media. Nothing makes me dizzy and nothing blinds me. The author has spent hours upon hours of hard work on this site and it shows. Good job!

Pluto

Breakdown of site 75/100

Welcome and site Identity 7
-Regularly updated which is nice to see in this day and age of dormant fansites. Very professional looking graphic and layout although a little dark for my tastes.

Navigation 7
-Clearly set out categories and subcategories with descriptive and interesting names.

Content of Interest 8
-The content is very interesting and quite different from most sites I've seen out there in that it doesn't focus on the actors/actresses in the series but on the little bits and pieces of the show - the outfit comparison was especially good and in-depth, the commercials are a great innovation and the internet guide idea is great as well. An audio section is pretty much mandatory these days with everyone and their dog wanting to download songs from the show, and fan art is always appreciated. One thing I did notice was the lack of back/forward buttons or links which would have made navigation of the site just a little bit easier. Spelling needs a little improvement as well as it's a bit disconcerting to see a wrong word here and there.

Advertising and sponsorship 7
-The Kirameki Awards which are sponsored by Soldier's Effigy, a great way to advertise your site and it appears to have made a difference as I know a few people who had entered. (I am indirectly associated in that I was the host for the winning music video at one time)

Self-promotion 5
-Lots of banners and buttons to use to link to her site, but few links out to other sites as of this review.

Filler 7
-There is a bit of filler info on the site but it's all part and parcel of the entire package of Soldier's Effigy, and what helps to make it the interesting site that it is.

White-space 8
-Very good use of white-space. The information is set out in a common sense and easy on the eyes manner which means I didn't have to go searching all over the page for bits and pieces of the information. Very relaxing site as well, if a bit dark.

Other 7
-Overall a very positive experience with this site. The information is set out in an orderly fashion, and isn't the same old boring stuff you see on other sites. The 'filler' information commonly found on other sites IS the info of choice here and it works. Back/forward buttons or links might be of more use in navigation, and rather than having the Kirameki Awards websites as part of the entire site, it might be better to have them as an entirely separate entity for the purposes of the site itself because the different idea behind it, as well as the layout differences don't add to the character of Soldier's Effigy for this reviewer. I'm looking forward to seeing more information added as time permits.