Sailor Moon R: The Movie

When he was a child, Mamoru Chiba met an alien boy named Fiore and the two swore to be friends forever, a promise made with a rose.  Years later, Fiore has returned but he seems different.  He’s angry that Mamoru seems to have replaced him with someone closer to his heart: Usagi Tsukino.  Corrupted by a dark power from deep space, Fiore abducts Mamoru.  Determined to set things right, Usagi and the Sailor Senshi take to the stars to face Fiore, save Mamoru and prevent a rose covered apocalypse on Planet Earth.

So originally when I decided to look at all of the original Sailor Moon series, well the Movies weren’t even part of the plan.  Then I decided, why not, theyre pretty easy to find through various means.  Then I decided that rather than hold off on them til I finished the series, I’ll just look at them as close to the end of each series as I can.  That’ll certainly be the case for the S and Super S movies later this year.  I think this works better too because the Sailor Moon R movie feels like a nice encapsulation of everything that worked with the shows Second Season and even provides an adequate scenario for which a failed arc could have actually worked.  In short, this is a pretty solid, if simple, first theatrical outing for the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and justice.
 
Dubbed “The Promise of a Rose” during its original dubbed release, the Sailor Moon R movie does the job of most TV Series getting their first movie: basic premise, one off villain, a little more epic scope than usual.  Given it was released in Japan while Sailor Moon R was airing, this film could theoretically fit in as a one off tale within the season itself.  Really though, the best compliment I can give the movie is: This is what the Makai Tree Arc should have been.  That idea popped to mind when I saw Fiore in his costume, basically he looked just like Ail.  There’d have to be some more ironing out when it comes to Fiore’s character, I’ll admit.  Most of his dialogue was endless repeats of how much he hated Usagi for being a liar and stealing Mamoru from him.  Looking past that, having a villain with personal ties to the heroes ups the ante considering how far Mamoru is willing to go to preserve his long lost friendship while protecting the girl he loves.  I just wish Fiore wasn’t just so one note and the Kisenian Flower doesn’t really have much to her character either besides the devil whispering in Fiore’s ear aspect.  So I guess the movie and the Makai Tree Arc does have the not so great villains in common.
 
There’s some nice exploration of Mamoru’s past in this movie.  It’s easy to forget that while these characters are reincarnations of their past selves and have had full lives that have seldom been explored, if at all, in the TV Series.  It almost makes me feel bad for poor Mamoru, a character I absolutely loathe in any other case.  Naturally, while Mamoru bears most of the emotional front of the movie, this is still Usagi Tsukino’s show and Usagi gets some of the movies best moments.  Her natural comedic timing is still in place but I loved how the movie examined her concerns and fears about the girls going into battle following Mamoru’s abduction.  I don’t think enough of this kind of reflection was done once Usagi got her memories back after Season One.  She’s seen her friends and Mamoru all die in battle and there’s always going to be that dark feeling that one day they might not make it back.  Still, Usagi trudges forward with the love of her amazing friends (she and my girl Rei have some great moments for my favorite Friend-Ship).  I’ve praised Usagi plenty in my TV Series review but Sailor Moon R: The Movie is Usagi at her absolute best.  This girl is an important part of Anime history for more than just the cute outfit after all.
 
The Sailor Moon R Movie also benefits from really, really good presentation.  A lot of familiar moments and attack animations are used but they look so fresh and brand new.  Even Usagi’s iconic transformation looks better than ever.  I’ve seen these sequences almost a hundred times by this point and yet with this quality animation, it’s like I’m looking at them for the very first time.  It never looks like a simply touched up episode of the series, the R Movie is a head above its TV counterpart in how gorgeous it looks.  This also means the action is top notch is well.  The Sailor Senshi are all able to move around with a lot more freedom with the movies budget and there’s very little reused animation in the attacks they use.  It is so freaking awesome to see Rei, Ami, Mako and Minako battling hundreds of Alien Plant Monsters while Usagi uses her Moon Wand to mow a bunch of them down like she’s using a magical Weed Wacker.  This is setting the bar pretty high for a feature film debut but if the R Movie looks this good, just how good will S and Super S’s movies look when I get to them?
 
Sailor Moon R: The Movie gets right down to business and shows off the best parts of the shows stellar Second Season while showing a little bit of what could have been for storylines that didn’t work from the TV Series.  The intergalactic threat is big but the emotional conflict is even greater.  Usagi and the girls are in top form and look better than ever thanks to a movie level budget.  Fiore might be lacking in the villain department but his presence does surprising wonders for fleshing out one of my least favorite characters in the franchise.  All in all, this is the best Sailor Moon I’ve seen since I started this year long project (plus looking at Season One last summer).  I already know I have a lot to look forward when I get to Sailor Moon S but this sets the bar pretty high.  And this is just a one hour film too.  It is, however, the kind of movie the Queen of the Magical Girls deserves.  Hail to the Queen Baby.
 
8/10
 
Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi will return with Sailor Moon S, coming this May to the Gundam Anime Corner.