REVIEW: Sailor Moon Crystal 29
Last week’s episode ended with the reveal of two new Sailor Senshi and a blossoming friendship between Chibiusa and the enigmatic Hotaru Tomoe. These three additions to the cast have left Usagi and the Inner Senshi with a lot of questions. But unlike her past inability to identify Tuxedo Mask, Usagi quickly connects the new Senshi to the threatening but attractive couple who have just entered her life, Michiru and Haruka.
Hotaru, however, is still an unsolved piece to the Infinity Arc puzzle. We are shown that she has a connection to Kaolinite – or rather, Kaolinite’s citizen persona, Kaori – and that her father is the shady Professor Tomoe, who is not the most sympathetic parent in the world. Hotaru hates how close Kaori is to her father. She also struggles with pain and a heightened sense of mortality for a girl her age.
Professor Tomoe does show Hotaru a shred of sympathy by giving her the Taioron Crystal to ease the pain brought on by her frequent seizures. It is a seemingly sweet gesture, but Hotaru is troubled by her father’s cold hands and suspicious motives. I anticipate (and hope) that their story will unravel sooner rather than later into the evil family tragedy from the manga.
Meanwhile, Mamoru and Rei are unintentionally finding clues in their dreams and meditations, with their psychic energy throwing off Kaolinite and intercepting bits of her messages. In the rest of the episode, Eudial of the Witches 5 tries and fails to serve Kaolinite, the girls crash Rei’s birthday meditation trip, and Usagi gets a surprise kiss.
The pacing has been slower than in past arcs, but I’ve appreciated the buildup. It has allowed for greater character development, and is necessary to properly execute some of the main internal conflicts in this arc: by that, I mainly mean Mamoru and Usagi's jealousy problems, and Usagi’s confusion over her feelings for Haruka. This episode ends with one of the franchise’s trademark non-consensual kisses (Haruka kissing Usagi), the first lesbian kiss in Crystal.
The show so far has done a lovely job of depicting Haruka and Michiru’s relationship: while Sailor Moon has never been afraid of implied yuri, it was nice to see their intimate conversations treated with the same delicateness as Usagi and Mamoru’s. I found it funny that, immediately after the episode was released, I saw fans on Twitter expressing displeasure with Haruka’s presentation in Crystal. Haruka is a tease, and also not a perfect heroine like the Inner Senshi. In fact, that is why the Outer Senshi are so interesting: they aren’t innocent, immature sweethearts. They have their own motives, and they technically aren’t even supposed to exist at this time and place in the Universe.
I’ve also seen criticism about the kiss – I have to argue that the kiss was necessary (and beautifully animated, but that’s beside the point) because it reveals a lot about both characters, especially Usagi. After finding her soulmate at the tender age of 14, she has little to no experience with lust or flirtation. This arc has also showed her relationship with Mamoru as quickly turning into an old married couple arrangement, with little excitement and much annoyance. It seems like the spark has already fizzled: Mamoru shares his bed with Usagi AND his future daughter. Haruka, despite being drawn to Usagi, is using the girl’s immaturity to her advantage.
I was relieved that they only showed two of the full transformations in this episode: Jupiter and Mars, who transform after they find Eudial brainwashing a group of Mugen Academy students in the woods. While they ultimately rely on others to win the battle (fire/lightning vs. fire isn't an easy match-up), it was great to watch my two favorite characters share the spotlight in a well-done fight scene. The Witches are quickly being disposed of, which is great because they are weak villains and I want more of Professor Tomoe.
The anime is currently following the manga with a high level of accuracy. The animation, with some exceptions, has maintained a high level of quality. And overall the story has kept me at a high level of interest. Here’s to hoping that Crystal maintains this momentum!
