REVIEW: Sailor Moon Crystal 37
Sailor Moon is the titular character, the leader, and the Most Special Girl in the Universe™. With the exception of Neptune and Uranus, Sailor Moon is the only one allowed to have a romance – not only that, her love also has the power to save the Universe. She gets all of the upgrades, she makes every final attack, and she is the only one who is ever allowed to grow. But this is (mostly) okay, because Usagi is the protagonist.
However, this week Usagi is not the most powerful or the most special character. She’s really not useful at all. After experiencing a moment of self-actualization in last week’s episode, she takes a backseat to Hotaru and Chibiusa. There are only two more episodes left in Season Three, and Sailor Saturn will debut next week. But first, Hotaru's story requires more development. Her struggle within Mistress 9 has reached its climax, and Mistress 9 is poised to tear apart Hotaru’s body, kill the Inner Senshi, and take over the world.
Prior to her complete possession by Mistress 9, Hotaru revealed her healing abilities to Chibiusa and the others. As the Sailor Senshi of Death and Rebirth, she has powers that scare the Outer Senshi and are beyond the understanding of Usagi and Chibiusa. Because of these powers, she currently is the character best equipped to save everyone’s lives. The scene in which the small Hotaru protects the Inner Senshi's souls, Chibiusa’s soul, AND the Legendary Silver Crystal in her arms is powerful. While Usagi helplessly stands on the sidelines, Hotaru fights off Mistress 9 and then literally puts the everyone's souls back into their bodies.
On a related note, this episode also shows the Inner Senshi at their least empowered. The Inner Senshi's weaknesses plague the entire series, but in this episode they are so easily attacked, abducted, and robbed of their souls that it was embarrassing to watch. I love each of those girls (my favorite changes every month, honestly) and it is frustrating to realize that the characters I love so much are absolutely useless to the plot. Luckily I also love Hotaru/Saturn and Chibiusa, because they are by far the most powerful characters in this week’s episode.
Hotaru experiences great spiritual growth while protecting the others. This makes sense, as she is faced with a huge existential crisis: she is technically dead and her father is dead, and she has no reason to fight this hard. She finally realizes that she has another self, a self who is more powerful than she could have previously imagined. With this realization, she starts doing some amazing things, signaling the coming of Sailor Saturn.
Hotaru’s realization and subsequent heroism also leads to her growing more candid about love and friendship. She saves Chibiusa’s life in a very touching scene. In a season that has covered a broad range of female-to-female intimacy, Hotaru tells Chibiusa that even though they are both girls, they are connected by destiny and that Hotaru loves her. Chibiusa cries, then says she will never cry about Hotaru again, and then, after reaching Usagi and Co. at the scene of battle, she starts crying again. This sounds like Chibiusa has returned to her former whiny ways, but really Hotaru’s sacrifice has increased Chibiusa’s determination tenfold. This leads to a surprise transformation and episode highlight: Super Sailor Chibi Moon.
Mistress 9’s descent into madness is another episode highlight. In a series with infamously inconsistent animation, her facial expressions are consistently mortifying, making her the easiest Sailor Moon Crystal villain to use as nightmare fuel. Speaking of animation, this episode is consistent with more recent ones in the sense that close-up shots still look incredibly smooth and distance while full-body shots still don’t look quite right. However, the subtitles have at least improved significantly in the past few weeks.
With Season Three winding down, there is a lot to celebrate and still more to look forward to. I feel like the potential for more Crystal episodes may be dependent on how well this season was received, and the Death Busters/Infinity arc has made a great impression. I have faith that this season (and the series) will only continue to grow. And while I doubt that some flaws (like the uselessness of the Inner Senshi) will ever be fixed, Sailor Saturn and Chibi Moon have shown that Crystal isn't just Usagi's show.
