Sailor Moon R
These are the last couple of episodes of "Sailor Moon R" before we enter into the home stretch of this season. So let's dive right into it.
"The Terrifying Illusion: Ami All Alone"
Giwaaku: "Go ahead, Sailor Mercury. Kill those bad mouthing girls before they kill you."
Sailor Moon: "Hold it right there!"
Giwaaku: "What?! Who the hell are you?!"
Sailor Moon: "I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and for justice. I am Sailor Moon!"
Giwaaku: "Hmm. So the last one of you finally shows up."
Sailor Moon: "You have filled this cram school with dark power, infecting the minds of students with animosity so they say spiteful things! That is unforgivable! And in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
Esmeraude attacks a dark point at Esai Cram School and infects the students there. They accuse Ami of cheating and it's not long before everyone is buying it. Esmeraude's droid, Giwaaku, focuses on Ami. She starts to make Ami believe that her friends are turning on her and the Guardian's believe that she is a cheater and a terrible person. Can Sailor Mercury overcome these illusions or will she hurt her friends?
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| Mercury cheating power. |
I'm not sure Esmeraude is taking all of this very seriously. I mean, she's taking her crush on Prince Dimande seriously but the whole opening the dark gate thing? I don't think her hearts in it. She spends this entire episode in the bath getting harassed by Saphir. It's kind of weird, but this is "Sailor Moon" so I just kind of go with the flow.
How many cram schools are in Tokyo? At first, I thought the cram school that Giwaaku was targeting was Ami's, but it wasn't, it was an entirely different cram school that Umino goes to. So many cram schools. How many times can I say cram school in this paragraph. I'm tempted to say it one more time... cram school.
Speaking of Umino, one of my least favorite characters on this show, and this episode just makes me hate him even more. I know that he's under the influence of the Black Moon Clan, yadda, yadda, yadda, but that opening scene of all those kids attacking Ami is shitty and difficult to watch. Which, I think, is a testament to the show. This feels like a shitty thing that awful teenagers would do. And I'm really glad that the other girls were there to stand up for their friend. Mako lays the smack down on three of these douchebags and we love to see it.
We don't really see this side of Ami very often. We are used to seeing the confident, brilliant girl so seeing the foundation of what makes Ami Ami shaken to the core was interesting. We see Ami being confident with her friends and assuring them that she doesn't care what others think as long as they believe her. But it's pretty clear that the whispers of her other classmates are getting to her as she is walking down the street.
We all know that the bond the Sailor Guardians share is special even if this episode didn't really hit on it. So, it really hits Sailor Mercury hard when Giwaaku makes it seem as if Sailors Mars, Jupiter and Venus are echoing things that her other classmates are saying. I think this is impactful, but it also feels like it maybe goes on a little too long and you're not sure if Sailor Mercury is struggling or not. It feels like she is seeing through everything but then she's advancing on the girls and slapping Sailor Moon. So, it feels a little jumbled.
There are some funny moments in this episode. I particularly loved when Sailor Moon is able to ignore the illusory insults that Giwaaku throws at her because she's used to being made fun. And apparently one of those insults is that she's flat chested? OK. It's a little disconcerting that is why she's unbothered and it's great that Giwaaku is also weirded out by it.
Grade: B
"The Dark Gate is Completed? The Targeted Elementary"
Chiral: "Welcome, Sailor Moon."
Sailor Moon: "That is no way to welcome someone! I almost had a heart attack back there! You're going to pay for that and for destroying school property too! In the name of the moon -- "
Chiral: "Instead of using what time you have left to babble nonsense, you'd be better off saying prayers for your funeral."
Chibi-Usa is recovering from sickness and is visited by her friend, Momo. Usagi and the girls are happy to see that Chibi-Usa has her own BFF. At school the next day, Chibi-Usa sees her classmates fighting in the school yard and the interior of the school destroyed. It seems Chibi-Usa's school is the final dark point and she has sent Chiral and Achiral to make sure nothing stops the henges she's placed from collecting enough energy to finally open the gate. Can Sailor Moon stop this and save Chibi-Usa's friend?
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| All the boys love Sailor Moon. |
I think everyone knows that I don't really care for Chibi-Usa. She's just annoying. And maybe it's because she's a child and I don't love children in anything whether it's live action, animation or in real life. But I will say, it was kind of nice to see Chibi-Usa in this light. Usually, she's just kind of this annoying, shrieking hanger on that is always around the girls and she's supposed to be mysterious and you're supposed to feel bad for her because she is missing her parents and all that jazz. But I think I kind of appreciate her more in this episode when I see her like this, just as a normal little girl. We see a flashback of her first day at school being stuck up for by Momo and it's pretty adorable. And I'm kind of with Usagi and the girls when they are watching the two little girls just do what little girls do.
The monsters on "Sailor Moon" are usually kind of a joke. The villains that appear throughout the arcs are a little more menacing, but the monsters that they send after the girls are usually not that scary. I mean, they are shooting lipsticks and baked goods at them for the most part. They aren't the demons from "Demon Slayer" or the cursed spirits from "Jujutsu Kaisen." So, it's a nice surprise when the show introduces monsters that are genuinely kind of scary. That's the case with Chrial and Achiral, the Boule Brothers.
They toy with the girls. They go hard on them. It's clear that they aren't fucking around. Chiral even interrupts Sailor Moon's speech which the monsters hardly ever do. They aren't worried about who they are attacking. I mean, they fire dark energy at Momo and for a minute, I was like, are they going to kill this little girl? Did I forget something? Is "Sailor Moon R" that hardcore? They are not, but still...
Chibi-Usa unleashes her full power when Momo is in danger. One thing that I'm kind of confused about as far as that sequence is concerned is that everyone is so shocked that Chibi-Usa is doing that. They may have not seen her display this level of power, but they've definitely seen her show power before. She altered gravity. She would shoot lights in to the sky. This is much more impressive than the displays she's shown before, but the girls shouldn't be acting that shocked. It's definitely more aggressive, slamming the brothers outside of the school. Even Wiseman the Wise and Prince Dimande are taken aback by all of this.
At the end of the episode, Chibi-Usa tells the Guardians and Tuxedo Mask that she is ready to go back to the future to save her parents. She can make her space/time key work now and she asks if they will go with her. But they are like, naw, you're on your own kid. I'm kidding. They definitely go along.
Grade: B+
Next up, the girls come face to face with Sailor Pluto and they finally get to the future and King Endymion is waiting for them.
What do you all think? Are you excited to get more in to the meat of things? Let me know in the comments.
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