"In the Name of the Moon" Rewatch: "Usagi Learns Her Lesson: Becoming a Star is Hard Work" & "The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cramschool of Horror"

Sailor Moon

We are starting to get into the meat of "Sailor Moon," especially with the second episode we will take a look at in this post. I love Usagi and the first few episodes with her working things out solo are charming and not bad, by any stretch. I just prefer the episodes with the other Senshi. Usagi is an even better when she has her close friends to bounce off of and while Naru is fine, she just doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with the other Scouts. The introduction of Ami Mizuno comes at just the right time.

"Usagi Learns Her Lesson: Becoming a Star Is Hard Work"

Umino: (holds up poster) "Ta-dah! I finally got the poster of Mikan Shiritori I wanted."

Usagi: "Hold on, Umino. You didn't just steal this from the drug store, did you?"

Umino: "No, of course not. I just ordered it off the internet. It's a series of tubes that connects people's computers. Anyways, I've got a whole bunch more so if you want one I can sell it to you for cheap."

Naru: "We're gonna pass this time."

Everyone at Juban Middle School is obsessed with becoming famous like former classmate, Mikan Shiritori. Usagi and Naru are not immune to this outbreak of star fever. Their musical partnership is short-lived, though. Queen Beryl and Jadeite decide to capitalize on all this, incapacitating Mikan and disgusting their Youma, Derella to zap the energy of the wannabes.

A double act that flopped.

This episode is cute. I mean, you can level that adjective at most "Sailor Moon" episodes and have it be apt, but this one feels like extra cute. That might sound like a backhanded compliment, but it's really not. Well, a little.

One thing I wanted to briefly touch upon in this is the pretty standard trope in Japanese anime, manga, video games of, I guess, the well-meaning, harmless pervert. It's literally in everything and "Sailor Moon" is not immune to it. Umino fills this role, and he's not as offensive as say, the old guy on "Dragonball Z" or the grape kid in "My Hero Academia." Umino feels especially harmless because the girls frequently call him out on his perv-y behavior and he is routinely made the butt of a joke. His unabashed creepy horniness getting him into situations that he wouldn't be in otherwise, like dressing in unconvincing drag to be Naru's new partner once Usagi splits. I will say it wasn't a great look for Naru to use Umino's crush on Usagi to manipulate him into that, but like, it's Umino, so no one is THAT upset.

Where "Sailor Moon" acquits itself a little better than other anime that use this trope is that it leans pretty heavily into the harmless aspect of it all. Umino isn't trying spy on girls while they change or trick them into touching things and he's their age. The longer the show goes on, the less they rely on it, too. Umino eventually becomes just like your standard nerdy school kid minus the creepy, pervy stuff. It's almost like the show was like, "OK, we did this, because we had too, but now we don't, so we won't."

Otherwise, this episode is cute. There are nice, funny touches. Usagi and Naru singing the "Sailor Moon" theme song as their audition was fantastic. Umino in drag is a cheap laugh, but it works. Umino's Fran Drescher accent is a... choice. Some dings against the episode are how quickly Naru and Usagi's friendship devolves. I always think of "Sailor Moon" as a show about female friendships and how empowering that is, but then stuff like this happens. It's kind of a foreshadowing of Usagi's somewhat contentious relationship with Rei. But we will get into that later. Oh yeah, and Tuxedo Mask is back. Woot.

Grade: B

"The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horror"

Ami: "Mercury Power Make Up!"

Usagi makes friends with Ami Mizuno, the smartest girl in her school and maybe all of Tokyo. Usagi immediately takes to soft spoken and kind, Ami, and is ready to take advantage of her smarts. Luna has a bad feeling about her and is worried she may be a Youma in disguise. When Usagi and Luna investigate Ami's cram school, they find that Ami is not the monster, but the second Sailor Guardian, Sailor Mercury. Can Sailor Mercury acclimate to her new role and help Sailor Moon destroy the Youma?

And... pose.

I mentioned in the intro that "Sailor Moon" works best when the other Scouts are there to bounce off Usagi and it bears repeating here. For all intents and purposes, Usagi is the main character of the show. I mean, it's named after her. I completely understand why they decided to take a few episodes to flesh her out before bringing in the other girls, but having Ami Mizuno hit the scene really highlights these other great qualities that Usagi has that we haven't seen yet.

Usagi is an extremely empathetic character and has this uncanny ability to see the good in and be friends with anyone. We see that a little bit with Naru, especially towards the middle of this first season, but it's really on display when she interacts with the other Scouts. Yes, she wants to use Ami's smarts to benefit her, but she isn't a taker. Usagi introduces Ami to video games and is only slightly sad when Ami schools her on them. Usagi lends Ami balance in her hectic academia filled life and it's something the brainy teen really needs.

We get a reminder of Usagi's mission in this episode when Luna visits the arcade and speaks with her mysterious contact. It's always good to know that there is a method to this madness and keep the Moon Princess in viewers minds. I'm surprised that Luna immediately deduces that Ami is a Youma rather than a Sailor Guardian. Clearly she's been looking for these other girls since she found Usagi and yet it doesn't cross her mind?

The final showdown at the evil cram school with Garoben is thrilling and no matter how many times I see it, watching Ami transform for the first time and use her power is still pretty awesome. This also proves my theory that studying is evil.

Grade: A

What did you guys think? Are you happy when the other Guardians start to show up? Is Ami your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

Next up, an evil clock has time ticking away for Ami and Usagi and Rei hits the scene.