The Sailor Senshi have faced tough odds before but now
they face a fight that even they may not be able to win. It is a battle that will take them to the
darkest edges of the Dark Kingdoms power and reveal the true origin behind
their previous lives. Usagi is tested
like never before as her friends begin to fall to the might of the Dark
Kingdoms greatest warriors. In the end,
she stands alone against Queen Beryl and Prince Endymion, the man she loves as
Mamoru. Will Usagi be able to unlock her
full potential to save the world? Or
will she have to make the greatest sacrifice of all?
In 2011, Puella Magi Madoka Magica arrived and rocked the
Anime World with a deep deconstruction of the Magical Girls Genre, painting a
bleak yet honest look at the true trials of those who take up the fight against
Evil.
It’s definitely one of the best
Anime of all time for a mountain of reasons…but did we forget that Sailor Moon
went for a pretty risky move of its own at the end of its First Season?
Sure we did get a happy ending but before
that everyone except for Luna and Artemis bought it.
This was always going to be a big ending for
Season One but damn I never expected it to feel so heavy.
Goes to show just how much you can grow to
care about characters over the course of 46 episodes…well most of them.
It’s been a ride so far.
Let’s see how Sailor Moon wrapped her debut
before she breaks for a bit here at the Anime Corner.
The lead up to the Finale did some nice things besides
just throwing us more filler of the week.
For one, Endymion sought to reunite the Seven Great Monsters to unite
them as one unstoppable foe…and never got that far (wow he sucks as a
villain).
This was mostly thanks to Ami
and Mako, who managed to fend off the brainwashed dirtbag.
Ami in particular showed true strength and
bravery more than once in this finale and the first memorable time was when she
fought like hell to save a returning Ryo.
Between Ryo and Rei with Yuichiro, I’m glad some of the girls have
decent relationships compared to Usagi and Mamoru.
Meanwhile, we FINALLY got Sailor V’s
backstory…well some of it anyway.
While
we didn’t see how Minako got her powers or how she met Artemis, we did glimpse
her time overseas where she met a British Cop who fell in love with the Man
Minako was crushing on.
At first, it was
easy to dislike Minako for apparently faking her own death for the stupidest of
reasons: cause she didn’t want to be in the way of Katarina and Alan.
However, once she saw just how badly she
messed things up with her and Katarina in doing so, Minako accepted that she
was in the very, very wrong and pleased with Usagi to rescue a Monsterized
Katarina.
She even had to tell Usagi to
chill on the “revenge talk” because Usagi refused to believe that Minako, her
Sailor V idol, could even do something so dumb and cruel.
So good recovery there.
Too bad this didn’t come a lot sooner so we
could watch Minako grow a bit and not just be around.
Before we got to the true final battle, Usagi got a
chance to meet her true mother, Queen Serenity of Silver Millennium on the
Moon.
I have to admit…while we did get
to see the fall of Silver Millennium in greater detail, there wasn’t anything
new added to the history beyond what Luna and Artemis had already shared.
We knew Serenity and Endymion were a thing.
We knew Queen Beryl and Metalia were
brainwashing humans for their army.
We
knew the Senshi stood little chance against such an overwhelming force.
And we knew it was Queen Serenity who sealed
away the Dark Kingdom.
There’s a lot of
missed opprortunity here i think.
How
about instead of more romance scenes between Serenity and Endymion, we see
Usagi and her real Mom interacting in the past.
What was their relationship like?
How did Usagi interact with Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, even Luna or
Artemis in their past life?
But nope, if
the focus isn’t on Usagi and Mamoru and the romance I’ve never cared about from
the get go (mostly cause of Mamoru), it’s not a priority I guess.
Oh well, at least the episode closed out with
Kunzite getting defeated by Usagi reflecting his own attack back at him…kind of
like what Goku did to Frieza in Dragon Ball Z and Yes, I did look up when that
episode aired, DBZ did it first and way more gruesome.
Not that Sailor Moon wasn’t going to try though because
HOLY F*** suddenly the kid gloves were off and the Finale was taking no prisoners.
The fall of the Sailor Senshi was crushing to
watch.
I couldn’t believe the show dared
to do this to our heroic heroines in the final act.
But it did and the girls did not go quietly,
not a single one.
Makoto, Ami, Minako
and Rei all made sure that if they weren’t making it out alive, neither were
their opponents: the DD Girls (minds out of the gutter everyone).
Each loss hit Usagi pretty hard, with Mako’s
setting the baseline and each additional death getting tougher to watch.
It would be easy for me to say that Rei had
the most impact on me cause she’s my favorite and I like how far she and Usagi
have come, to the point where she admitted to Usagi she should’ve kissed
Yuichiro one more time just incase.
For
Usagi, everything got real super quick and it was overwhelming and sad and all
the emotions that come with that and more.
This was a super tough marathon to sit through…but dammit…the Sailor
Senshi went out like true champions.
These girls are Legends of Anime for a reason.
Which led us into the Final Battle with Queen’s Beryl and
Metalia.
Oh and Mamoru was there trying
to kill Usagi too.
Sigh, if I haven’t
made it clear by now: I don’t like Mamoru.
When he’s normal, he’s a rude asshat.
When he’s corrupted, he’s a poser villain with zero menace.
When he’s in berserk mode…well it makes me
truly adore Usagi for never giving up on him and refusing to fight him.
Truly, Mamoru doesn’t deserve her heart and kindness.
As such, when he eventually bought it, I felt
worse for Usagi than Mamoru…and I’m sure that wont be the last time I feel that
way when I continue on with the series.
Usagi vs. the Beryl/Metalia fusion was damn epic and awesome.
Usagi stepped up in spite of all the darkness
and loss and totally kicked ass.
Even
the spirits of her fallen comrades came to her aid in what’s probably one of
Sailor Moon’s most iconic scenes.
In the
end, the world was saved at a great cost…buuuuut Usagi managed to create an
Akira level explosion that somehow reset the world, brought everyone back to
life, erased their memories and is now allowing them to live a normal life sans
their friendships and Sailor Senshi powers…but come on, we all know that’s not
gonna last long.
And with that, Sailor Moon (Season One) comes to a
close.
How was it?
Well it’s a trendsetter and kind of wrote the
book on the Magical Girl genre and Season One showcases all of its tropes and
practices, both the good and the bad.
The bad came from the formulaic episodes, especially the ones that
delayed any true plot advancement towards the end of the series, this could
easily have been 26-30 episodes, not 46.
The Dark Kingdom had some creative Monsters but the Four Kings were hit
and miss with Nephrite being a stand out while the others kind of languished in
forgettability.
I wish Beryl had more of
an active role in the field too.
I’ve
talked enough about Mamoru for now so on to the good stuff.
Usagi and the Senshi were all great.
Everyone went through their own personal
growth…save for Minako cause she came in super late.
Ami, Rei and Mako all evolved over the course
of the season but Usagi grew the most.
Sure she still had a tendency to goof off and cry at any little
inconvenience.
But her increase in
confidence as Sailor Moon, and that translating into her personal life, cannot
be denied.
She might notve been the
ideal Superheroine in the beginning.
By
the end, Usagi earned her iconic status as the Pretty Guardian who fights for
Love and Justice.
All in all, this was a
fun First Season that had some growing pains but also was exciting, emotional,
funny and inspiring.
I was watching
Magical Girl History unfold on screen and I cant wait to see what comes next
when Sailor Moon R begins in January 2023 at the Gundam Anime Corner.
Just FYI, I’m going to be grading each season of Sailor
Moon individually just like I’ve done in the past with Black Lagoon, Full Metal
Panic and Slayers.
Ergo, Sailor Moon
(Season One) gets a 7.5/10.
Like I said, Sailor Moon will be back, big time, in
2023.
Tomorrow, however, Otakon awaits.
If you’re going, I hope I’ll see you
there.
Meanwhile, check back here on
August 8
th as we return to a one review a week schedule and the
return of Tenchi Masaki in
Tenchi Universe, right here at the Gundam
Anime Corner.
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