Things are getting pretty desperate for the Sailor
Senshi. The Black Moon Clans assault on
two fronts is drawing to a close and their beloved Chibiusa has become a
corrupted but powerful ally to Prince Demande and the Wiseman. As Usagi fights for the life of Chibiusa,
Saphir desperately tries to warn Demande about the Wiseman’s deceptions. As two timelines begin to collide, Sailor
Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus and Tuxedo Mask
stand united against an oncoming apocalypse with one mission: Save the world
and Chibiusa. But even if they succeed,
what’s next for the battle weary Sailor Senshi?
The Second Season of Sailor Moon was heading to a pretty
emotional climax, what with Chibiusa being aged up and corrupted by the
influence of the Wiseman.
With the Black
Moon Clan’s power descending on two time periods, it was definitely do or die
time for the Sailor Senshi, especially Usagi.
But could she save her future daughter and the world at the same time
and could everyone find a way to actually make it out alive this time and not
experience a really bad case of dejavu?
The
answer to both is an obvious yes and while it feels light on action until the
final battle, Sailor Moon R’s finale does succeed and an emotional level,
capping off a season long arc for Usagi that’s shown her grow once more, not
just as a protector of the planet but also as a girl whose gonna make one
helluva Mother in the future.
Picking up right where we left off last time, we got a
nice slow build to the full unleashing of the Wiseman, er Death Phantom’s final
endgame: screw conquest and just wipe out Earth altogether.
Saphir tried to warn Demande about this but
ended up on the receiving end of an assassination attempt from Wiseman.
This resulted in Saphir heading to the past
and reuniting with the Spectre Sisters.
While I wish their role had been bigger, it was good to see the most
enjoyable adversaries turned good guys of Season Two one more time.
It also provides evidence that Saphir should
have been introduced far sooner as the series couldve explored his complex and
deteriorating relationship with Demande and his apparent deep feelings for
Petz, or rather her feelings but he seemed to reciprocate them.
It almost makes having Esmeraude around kind
of a waste of time in retrospect as she got very little character development
while Saphir got an entire episode to shoehorn all of his in before his
unfortunate demise.
Demande seeing his brother die right in front of him
seemed to shake his resolve but it hardly excuses his creepy behavior towards
Usagi.
Once again, he tried to use
mental manipulation to coerce her into being his bride and you can see the look
on Usagi’s face when she sees Demande again.
She remembers their last encounter and that has to make anyone
uncomfortable in a really bad way.
Now,
one could make the argument that all of Demande’s obsessive nature with Usagi
was due the Wiseman’s powerful manipulations but I don’t know.
Maybe if we knew more about Demande beyond
the aforementioned obsession with the past and future Usagi, it could mean
something.
Instead, Demande, like
Saphir, learns to see the light too late thanks to Usagi…actually let’s talk
about Usagi cause wow.
More so than the end of Season One, the Sailor Moon R
Finale was Usagi’s show from beginning to end…well co-led but I’ll talk about
Chibiusa next.
Despite everything the
Black Moon Clan’s done to her and her friends, Usagi still found a way to reach
out to them and see the good in their corrupted hearts.
It wasn’t easy and Usagi had her moments of
doubt, especially about being strong enough to save Chibiusa.
But her friends were there to reassure her,
especially Rei, who shared a very tender moment with Usagi which is always
welcome.
Those memories of her friends
and the good and playful times with Chibiusa were all the power Usagi needed to
break through to her future daughter, return her to normal and then go kick
that Castlevania inspired bosses ass.
Once
that final battle got going, Usagi didn’t waver and showed no signs of
surrender.
If ever there was a time to
say she’s truly become a hero, it was during this battle.
Plus, she didn’t get to save the day
alone.
It ended up being a
Mother/Daughter combo so let’s talk about Chibiusa now and how her arc came to
a pretty emotional conclusion
I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed by how easily Chibiusa
fell under the Wiseman’s sway after all she’d been through this Season.
Sure she had that giant chip on her shoulder,
making the Silver Crystal disappear and causing the downfall of Crystal
Tokyo.
But she had to know deep down
Usagi and the others would still be there for her and help her save her future
home.
Wiseman’s corruption seemed
absolute and had more of a hold on Chibiusa than he ever had on Demande.
Wiseman wasn’t even beyond altering memories
or showing very, VERY WRONG images of Dark Lady making out with Mamoru…THAT’S
HIS F***ING DAUGHTER YOU SICKO!!!!
But once
Usagi did manage to turn Chibiusa back to her tiny, normal self, Chibiusa did
just like her future Mama did and stepped up to help save the world…by bringing
out the future Silver Crystal that had been within her the whole time.
I guess coming to terms with her mistakes was
all she needed to access it and what’s better than having one Silver Crystal to
blow up the perverted spirit, TWO Silver Crystals that’s what.
It was a strong ending for Chibiusa’s story
and as nice as it was to see her reunite with her family in the future, it was
even stronger to hear her call Usagi “Mommy” before she left the past.
I know I shouldn’t feel so sad about this
since I know she’ll be back but still, watching the bond between Usagi and
Chibiusa grow over Sailor Moon R’s run was one of the best parts of the season,
quite a statement from a guy who was determined to not like Chibiusa when I
started the season.
Any other odds and ends from this Finale before I give my
Final Thoughts?
Well a couple of
things.
First, the actual Season Finale
isn’t really a Finale, that’s more the second to last episode.
No the actual Season Finale is a clip show
with the girls discussing everything from Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R while
peaking at what’s to come in Sailor Moon S.
When I first saw this years ago, I thought it was a US exclusive episode
made to fill time, kind of like how they highly altered the Season One ending
to omit any mentions of the Senshi getting killed in battle.
Nope, this episode is full on cannon.
Unless you aren’t going into Sailor Moon S
right away, this is easily skippable.
Surprisingly, no Mamoru bashing for once but that’s because he kind of
took a backseat to all the resolution to Usagi and Chibiusa’s arc.
Lastly, Naru pops up in a quick cameo before
Usagi heads off to face Demande and the Wiseman.
Why wont Usagi just tell Naru that she’s
Sailor Moon?
Keeping her in the dark
when she’s earned the right to know more than anyone outside the Senshi circle
feels wrong and does a disservice to a character who was introduced in such a
pivotal role in Usagi’s life.
Maybe
they’ll rectify that in later seasons but considering what’s coming next, we’ll
be lucky to see Naru pop up that often.
Whew, this was a long one but Sailor Moon R is in the
can, so what did I think?
I think that
if you skip the Makai Tree Arc, it’s a pretty good sophpmore outing for the
series.
Chibiusa started out irritating
but grew into a very strong character and her interactions with the Senshi and
especially Usagi provided heartwarming moments and good laughs.
Rei, Ami, Mako and Minako all got good stand alone
episodes, even Luna and Artemis got some too and everyones character continues
to grow and progress in great ways.
The
Villains were a mixed bag.
Rubeus and
the Spectre Sisters were great in their run and I love how all of their arcs
wrapped up.
The second batch of foes
were either not developed enough or developed too late to matter and Demande
and Wiseman’s methods of trying to corrupt Usagi and Chibiusa respectively felt
incredibly creepy and icky (especially Wiseman, he had to go the sick freak).
In the end, Sailor Moon R doesn’t quite
surpass its predecessor because of some weak Villains and a pointless filler
arc opening.
I do think it is overall
just as strong as Season One because everything else works so well.
More than ever, I see why this show is held
in such high regard and why Sailor Moon is a pinnacle of female empowerment
stories.
Those last couple of episodes
alone saw the best come out of Usagi as a Hero, a Leader, a Diplomat and as a
Mother.
This was a great season for her
and I know the best is yet to come.
Sailor Moon R gets a 7.5/10.
Well it’s time for a bit of a breather before the saga of
Usagi Tsukino continues.
This Friday,
we’re moving from one kick ass Anime heroine to another as we begin
My Next
Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead to Doom.
Sailor Moon will actually return briefly
later next month when we look at
Sailor Moon R: The Movie, before we
return to the series proper in May with its Third Season,
Sailor Moon S,
right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
See ya then Senshi Army.
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