REVIEW: Sailor Moon Crystal 31
This week was a great relief from the slow paced, question-filled beginning of Season Three, with the debuts of Uranus and Neptune’s transformations, the Holy Grail, and a cameo by Setsuna Meioh…a.k.a. Sailor Pluto. Pluto’s presence alone is a massive game changer, as she will greatly influence the next steps that Uranus and Neptune choose to take. Add in some romance and a wicked Sailor Mercury moment, and it’s safe to say that this is one of Season Three’s better episodes.
The episode opens where the last one ended: with Uranus and Neptune revealing their Sailor personas. While they don’t initially reveal their civilian identities, Usagi and Chibiusa already have it all figured out. I was relieved by Usagi’s straightforward confrontation with Haruka later on in the episode, in which the conflicted Haruka shows some vulnerability about her motives and ambiguity regarding her gender.
Mamoru witnesses this intimate moment, which leads to some awkwardness before Chibiusa brings the couple back together. Usagi and Mamoru both admit their jealousy and become closer because of it. They bond while helping Chibiusa with an art project, which is based off of her mother’s Holy Grail. Foreshadowing, anyone?
Meanwhile, Ami tries a “trial enrollment” at Mugen Academy, gaining access to everything in the school’s labs, including a creepy replica of the Tau Star System. While the last Witches were levels 78 and 40, Viluy is confident that her arbitrary power level of 202 will defeat Sailor Mercury. Kaolinite is also confident, but not as much as the absolute badass Ami, who goes full James Bond. She runs off and finds a room in the basement filled with beasts. Viluy catches her but doesn’t expect her to receive any help from a certain Mugen Academy couple – or to be able to hold her own. Ami frees herself, jumping out of a window and transforming as she lands in a swimming pool. This whole scene increased Ami’s level of cool by 200%. By the Witches 5’s useless system, I would rate her at a level 5,000,000.
Mercury doesn’t last long, but fortunately the rest of the gang appears just in time. Neptune and Uranus debut their transformation sequences – Uranus’ was nothing flashy but fine, while Neptune’s included some wonky animation (like a mile-high forehead.) Toei, I thought you were trying harder this time! Michiru/Neptune should be presented as a breathtaking beauty, but she did not look good in most of this episode.
The new ending theme is a perfect ode to younger magical girls: cutesy, fun, and starring Chibiusa. There is also a new version of the opening theme, which is nothing spectacular and honestly should have been left unchanged. Aside from some unfortunate animation, I was very pleased with this episode. Things are moving in the right direction, and the show is following the manga quite faithfully. While I’ve noted before that this faithfulness is not good for pacing, it is perfect for characterizing the supporting Senshi. I doubt Ami would have appeared this cool in the first two seasons of Crystal.
Also, while I thought that it was all well-executed, I am relieved that the romantic tension and jealousy of the Mamoru-Michiru-Haruka-Usagi quadrangle has been settled. While I don’t want the whole show to be about their love, Mamoru and Usagi’s relationship is that True Love that Transcends Time, so I expect a little more from them than being a boring old couple. I hope the next few episodes continue to have a similar balance of romance and action, because that is when Sailor Moon shines the brightest.
