Sailor Moon R
Things are really heating up with the remaining Spectre Sisters. We are getting introduced to new characters, revelations and the girls in peril. Check it out.
"Rubeus the Heartless: The Tragic Sisters"
Sailor Moon: "Not so fast! Hate to tell you, but you've got it all wrong!"
Koan & Berthier: [together] "Sailor Moon!"
Sailor Mars: "We fight for the sake of protecting our lovely planet."
Sailor Mercury: "For all kindhearted people."
Sailor Jupiter: "For trees, flowers and all of nature's creations."
Sailor Venus: "For love, happiness and a beautiful future."
Sailor Moon: "You want to trample all that? Not while I'm around. Now in the name of the moon..."
Sailor Moon and the Guardians: [together] "We'll punish you!"
The final two Spectre Sisters, Petz and Calaveras, are tasked to do what their other sisters could not. Rubeus gives Petz a magic stick that will amplify her magic and she's unwilling to share with Calaveras. They kidnap Koan and Berthier to lure out the Sailor Guardians. When they come to their new friends rescue, will Petz and Calaveras succeed or will they finally see Rubeus' true nature?
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| Usagi really wants those sweet potatoes. |
"Sailor Moon" has brought a lot of important issues that face young women to the show. Female friendship. Female romance. Body image issues. It was only a matter of time before they confronted maybe the biggest issue that faces young women today and that is of course... flatulence. Yes, "Sailor Moon R" is letting the people know that girls fart too especially if they are shoving their faces full of sweet potatoes. It causes noxious gas which Usagi expels and exposes the other girls, too. It's a real teachable moment. Prayer hands. I'm of course joking. I really didn't think that we'd ever have fart jokes on "Sailor Moon R." But I guess it was only a matter of time? I guess it's better than what they were telling Usagi earlier like it will make you gain a bunch of weight or Rei telling Usagi that her cavalier attitude about gaining weight is the reason that Mamoru dumped her. That was a super low blow, especially because the girls know that isn't the reason why Mamo and Usagi aren't together anymore.
This is kind of a serious episode so some of the shenanigans that happen at the beginning of the episode are kind of strange. There is more unnecessary conflict between Usagi and Chibi-Usa. I love Usagi, but these fights are making her very unlikeable. I think they are supposed to invoke big sister/little sister fights but they are so ridiculous. Like, how can Usagi be that mad about Chibi-Usa jumping in leaves which is like what little girls do. It's weird for Usagi to take umbrage with this because it's not as if she's the most mature. And then fighting her over a potato. It's a lot and I am completely over these kind of petty fights at this point.
Rubeus takes to manipulating the final two Spectre Sisters who are maybe the most annoying ones out there. Petz and Calaveras can't stop bickering and Rubeus uses that to his advantage. Petz won't give up the magic stick to Calaveras which Rubeus clearly counted on. This does feel like kind of a repeat of the climaxes of the previous couple of episodes. The girls show up. Rubeus shows his true colors. We just get a mini black hole in this one that now the Guardians jump in to the hole and combine their powers. It's great that the Specter Sisters are human now and are hocking cosmetics.
The biggest thing is that Chibi-Usa witnesses the girls transform, so it'll be interesting to see how that affects things going forward.
Grade: C+
"A UFO Appears: The Sailor Guardians Abducted"
Usagi: "Come back!"
[Rubeus laughs]
Chibi-Usa: "They're gone."
Tuxedo Mask: "Are you all right, Chibi-Usa?"
Chibi-Usa: "Y-yes."
Usagi: "CHIBI-USA!!"
[Usagi raises her hand as if she's going to strike Chibi-Usa. Tuxedo Mask grabs her wrist and shakes his head at her.]
Usagi: "Stupid. You ruin everything! This is all your fault!"
Rubeus is in the doghouse with the leader of the Black Moon Clan, Prince Demande. Demande has sent Esmeraude to relieve him if he can't take care of it. Chibi-Usa is still reeling from the knowledge that Usagi is Sailor Moon and steals her transformation brooch so she can try to user the legendary silver crystal to try to get home. Rubeus strikes with his UFO and it's up to the other Sailor Guardians to try to protect Chibi-Usa and stop Rubeus without their leader.
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| Fierce. |
Well, be prepared to call me a flip flopper because like four paragraphs ago I was all over Usagi's ass for the way that she was treating Chibi-Usa but now I'm firmly team Usagi after the boneheaded decision that Chibi-Usa makes to steal Usagi's transformation brooch. Look, I don't condone smacking kids, but like, in that moment in the final minute of the episode I could see where Usagi was coming from. Sailor Moon has saved Chibi-Usa countless times. It's crazy to me that Chibi-Usa would not talk to Usagi or any of the other girls or just take off with her brooch. Even when she reveals that she knows their secret to the other Sailor Guardians, they can't convince her to trust Usagi. She goes off about how Usagi is selfish and irresponsible, which isn't untrue. But she's seen Sailor Moon be the complete opposite of that. And she seems to trust the other Guardians, particularly Rei, so when Sailor Mars is sticking up for Usagi, I feel like that should count for something, child or not.
You can tell that things are kind of ramping up for this Black Moon Clan arc. The introduction of Esmeraude show us that a shift is coming. She immediately feels more competent than Rubeus and this could maybe me being a little biased because I'm drawn to Esmeraude more than Rubeus and his whole character arc so far has been manipulating women. So, I'm ready for him to fall flat on his face and for a woman to take his place. It's time for him to be dusted and I think that is something that we can all agree on.
There's a sense of tension in this episode that we don't feel in a lot of "Sailor Moon" episodes. There's always kind of this frivolous feeling a lot of the time (which isn't a read), but there is actual like stakes here. Usagi forgetting her brooch because she's late makes a lot of sense for her character. It feels like in this arc there has been a lot of time spent searching for Chibi-Usa and again, this time it feels different because of the stakes and the circumstances.
The UFO thing is kind of weird. Why a UFO? Where did it come from? Why haven't we seen it before now? It does look a lot like the UFO from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which I'm sure is on purpose. Anime is never afraid to reference. We end on a cliffhanger which is not normal for "Sailor Moon R." Rubeus kidnaps all the Sailor Guardians except for Usagi. So, it's going to be up to Usagi to save the team. And just me being petty for a moment, did anyone else hate that Tuxedo Mask puppet as much as the actual Tuxedo Mask or is it just me?
Grade: A-
Next up, the final showdown with Rubeus and Sailor Pluto makes her debut.
What do you all think? Do you hate Rubeus too? Who's side are you on: Usagi or Chibi-Usa? Let me know in the comments.
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