The media franchise became one of the most successful Japan has ever had, reaching $1.5 billion in merchandise sales during the first three years. Ten years after the series completion, the series featured among the top thirty of "TV Asahi" Top 100 anime polls in 2005 and 2006. The anime series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1993. Sales of "Sailor Moon" fashion dolls overtook those of Licca-chan in the 1990s; Mattel attributed this to the "fashion-action" blend of the "Sailor Moon" storyline. Doll accessories included both fashion items and the Sailor Soldiers' weapons. "Sailor Moon" has also become popular internationally. Spain and France became the first countries outside Japan to air "Sailor Moon", beginning in December 1993. Other countries followed suit, including Australia, South Korea, the Philippines ("Sailor Moon" became one of ABC (now 5)'s main draws, helping it to become the third-biggest network in the country), Poland, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden and Hong Kong, before North America picked up the franchise for adaptation. In 2001, the "Sailor Moon" manga was Tokyopop's best selling property, outselling the next-best selling titles by at least a factor of 1.5. Critics have commended the anime series for its portrayal of strong friendships, as well as for its large cast of "strikingly different" characters who have different dimensions and aspects to them as the story continues, and for an ability to appeal to a wide audience. Writer Nicolas Penedo attributes the success of "Sailor Moon" to its fusion of the shōjo manga genre of magical girls with the "Super Sentai" fighting teams. According to Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper, "Sailor Moon" became popular because of its "strongly-plotted action with fight scenes, rescues" and its "emphasis on feelings and relationships", including some "sexy romance" between Usagi and Mamoru. Usagi and Mamoru's romance has been seen as an archetype where the lovers "become more than the sum of their parts", promising to be together forever. In contrast, others see "Sailor Moon" as campy and melodramatic. Criticism has singled out its use of formulaic plots, monsters of the day, and stock footage. Patrick Drazen states that "Sailor Moon" has two kinds of villains, the "monster of the day" and the "thinking, feeling humans."