Sailor Moon
I am kind of at a loss sometimes with these intros. Sometimes I have a lot to say or an idea that comes to me right away and sometimes I don't. Well, today, I don't. So let's get right into it.
"Love and Chased: Luna's Worst Day Ever"
Sailor Moon: "Stop right there!"
Sailor Mercury: "Now that we've arrived, you won't be getting your way, Zoisite!"
Sailor Jupiter: "We won't let you turn that child into a monster!"
Sailor Moon: "In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
Luna has stumbled into a cat turf war on the mean streets of Tokyo. This leads her to be rescued by a... large cat by the name of Rhett Butler, who has amorous intentions that are not returned. Rhett leads them to his owner who Zoisite and the girls believe is the next great monster containing a rainbow crystal. It's actually Rhett. Can the girl stop Zoisite and will Rhett's love for Luna overcome his youma instincts?
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| Pest control is lacking. |
This episode is pure slapstick comedy and I'm really here for it. Everything about it is completely ridiculous and as long as you just give yourself over to that, then you will have a great time.
Right from the start there are laughs. That huge group of cats terrorizing Luna. Because she went into the wrong territory? Why is this an issue now? She seemingly wanders on her own regularly and this hasn't been an issue until just now? Huh? But again, it doesn't really matter because we get Rhett making his Tuxedo Mask style entrance, throwing a fish head complete with skeleton, much like Tuxedo Mask does with his roses. I'm not sure if this was the intent, but this really highlights how ridiculous Tuxedo Mask's saves really are. There is some great physical comedy in this scene too. The tiny cute looking cat clamping down on Luna's tail with her strangely piranha like teeth is pure comedy gold.
The reveal that Rhett is the youma not the little girl is pretty obvious from the jump, but again, it doesn't really matter. We get the great physical comedy moment of Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter crammed in that alley confronting Zoisite, trying to do their poses and falling over. It's good stuff. Zoisite gets put through the ringer in this episode. The rat blob is wonderful and I love Zoisite but I do really love seeing him like this. It makes me happy. Rei shows up, ditching Mamoru when she sees that Luna is in danger and misreading the situation as Luna actually having the hots for Rhett. The show continues to put Yuichiro in Rei's path, which is good since her relationship with Mamoru is doomed to fail.
I love this episode. It's dumb. Ridiculous. and tons of fun. Tuxedo Mask shows up and gets a rainbow crystal from Zoisite, so if you're keeping score, the Dark Kingdom has four, Tuxedo Mask has two and the Sailor Senshi have one. This was the first episode of the show that had zero transformation sequences.
Grade: A-
"Umino's Resolve: I'll Protect Naru"
Sailor Moon: "How dare you use a natural treasure like Marimo Algae as a weapon? I bet the Hokkaido Sightseeing Association didn't say you could use that algae, did they? Listen monster, I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and for justice. I am Sailor Moon. In the name of the moon, I'll punish you."
Now that all the rainbow crystals have been uncovered, the Dark Kingdom is focused on retrieving the three they don't have. Zoisite decides to target the Sailor Senshi first. He modifies the dark crystal to transform humans into youma. He decides to transform Naru to lure Sailor Moon out and get her rainbow crystal. Zoisite's plan goes awry when he transforms an amusement park sentai performer into a youma instead. Who will end up with the rainbow crystal?
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| Worst matchmaker ever. |
This episode is the definition of a placeholder. The rainbow crystals have all been revealed and we still have one episode to go before we meet the final Sailor Senshi and learn who the Moon Princess really is, so we get this nonsense.
OK, so maybe nonsense is a little harsh. We get another dose of Usagi's lackluster matchmaking skills that end up kind of working despite all the odds. Seriously, this is kind of like Rei and Yuichiro all over again. Usagi sees Umino and Naru having a perfectly nice friendly lunch and bombards them with a ton of innuendo about them dating even though Naru is pretty adamant that she doesn't want that and Umino is turning bright red. Usagi is undeterred. Males and females cannot just be friends. There has to be some kind of romantic feelings, so Usagi works to make it happen. telling Umino to woo Naru he needs to be more like Tuxedo Mask. Umino takes this advice very literally and we get a lot of Tuxedo Umino Mask.
Tuxedo Umino Mask is as embarrassing as you can imagine and he is in the episode way too much. Why would you use Tuxedo Mask as an example of how to be cool? He is the literally the lamest guy ever. Don't model yourself after him. But Umino does and it leads to lots of embarrassing failures over and over again. Then there is Zoisite's plan that goes horribly awry when he turns Redman into a youma instead of Naru. Akan encases Naru in algae along with others and Zoisite blackmails Sailor Moon into giving him the Senshi's rainbow crystal. Even thought Tuxedo Mask shows up, Zoisite gets away with the rainbow crystal and Sailor Moon deals with Akan. I'm not sure why Sailor Moon is so surprised that Tuxedo Mask is going to get all the rainbow crystals. He has literally told her that over and over again. Plus, I guess, Usagi's weird matchmaking kind of works since Naru is not off put by Umino's aggressive flirting/attempts to save her.
Grade: B-
Next up, the final Sailor Senshi makes her appearance and the Moon Princess is finally revealed.
What did you all think of these episodes? Any Tuxedo Umino Mask fans out there? Let me know in the comments.
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