Based on a manga of the same name by Takeuchi Naoko, serialised in Nakayoshi, Sailor Moon Crystal retells the story of Sailor Moon as she searches for her fellow Sailor Guardians and the Legendary Silver Crystal to stop the dark forces of Queen Beryl.

Tsukino Usagi is a little clumsy and a crybaby, but she is also one spirited eighth grader. One day she meets Luna, a black cat with a crescent moon mark on her forehead, and transforms into the pretty sailor-suited guardian of love and justice, Sailor Moon. As a chosen guardian of justice, Usagi apparently has a mission to protect a princess, and to find her fellow Guardians and the Legendary Silver Crystal. Meanwhile, Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom sends her subordinates to the town where Usagi lives. They cause strange events to occur there, all in an effort to acquire the tremendously powerful Silver Crystal. Can Sailor Moon and the other Guardians successfully find the Legendary Silver Crystal, and protect the princess?

This season contains episodes of the "1st arc" (i.e. equivalent of the 1st season of Sailor Moon); sometimes, the first two seasons are considered the 'first' Crystal season (with the "1st arc" and "2nd arc" (i.e. Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R equivalents), with the 2016 season as the 'third' Crystal season.