Sailor Moon S Part 4 Episodes 106-110

Haruka and Michiru’s mission began long before they even met the Sailor Senshi and now its reached a crucial point.  With Eudial of the Witches 5 growing more and more desperate to retain her status amongst her peers, she sets a trap for the beautiful duo and despite Usagi’s pleas, they head out anyway.  As Haruka and Michiru face an unexpected disaster, Usagi and the others race to their aid but could find themselves too late to save the doomed lovers.  At last, the pure hearts holding the promised Talismans will be revealed.  All the while, a familiar friend waits for the right moment to return.

So we’ve reached the mid point of Sailor Moon S and…well I have some thoughts.  Look I know how important Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are to the world of Anime and far more in general.  I know how iconic they are and I do like them…but since I’ve been working my way through Sailor Moon properly I have to say, it’s hard to see how they became popular when their actions have very much been of an Anti Heroic nature.  Sure they’ll help the Sailor Senshi out of boredom or if the situation somehow calls for them to do so.  But for the most part, the pair will gladly leave the girls to clean up a mess when there isn’t a Talisman in a Pure Heart Crystal as if its no longer their problem, and regardless of any possible casualties.  Even when Usagi has challenged this mindset for them as Sailor Moon, Uranus and Neptune have remained steadfastly dedicated to their mission with a “Whatever it takes” mindset.  Look, I love their designs (they are incredibly hot).  I love their interactions with the girls when they’re just Haruka and Michiru, they’ve been a highlight of the season.  But there is no way I can believe that those two have Talismans because unless you count their unshakeable love for one another, Haruka and Michiru might have the least purest hearts compared to the rest of the Senshi.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  There was a lot going on well before that major bombshell left us on a pretty dark cliffhanger, so let’s talk about everything else and get back to this later…wow this was a long intro. 
 
Hovering around all the Uranus and Neptune developments were a trio of stand alone tales (one actually lead into the cliffhanger though).  The first saw Chibiusa fighting to protect a boy she befriended and developed a crush on in her Art Class.  I like that we’re seeing more of this with Chibiusa’s visit to the past as I felt this was a little lacking during her time in Sailor Moon R.  We need to see Chibiusa have a life outside of her mission and duties as a Senshi Trainee.  Plus Chibiusa’s awesome continues to shine as she didn’t even hesitate to attack Eudial and her monster even without her powers, she definitely takes after her Mom.  Then we got to see Mamoru meet up with a Professor friend who invited him and the girls to a nice soiree.  Admittedly, this episode was pretty forgettable save for Usagi getting drunk off wine and becoming the life of the party for a few minutes before everyone helped her sober up.  Drunk Usagi is fun Usagi.  The last tale was…ugh, oh Minako.  While it’s true, she’s the only Senshi to not be targeted by the Death Busters thus far, that’s hardly an excuse to go and put a target on your back just because you think you don’t have a Pure Heart.  This somehow tracks with the D20 roll Minako’s stories have been but even this felt like a stretch, especially when she was willing to donate blood with a smile to show she had a good heart.  I’ll admit though, Minako going crazy happy when she was holding her Heart Crystal and running off cheering was a good payoff to an otherwise headache inducing “why Minako” storyline.
 
Ok, back to Uranus and Neptune because this sets major events centered around them.  We opened things with an Origins tale that made me rethink their pairs relationship.  Michiru was the first to have visions about the end of the world and embrace her destiny as Sailor Neptune.  Haruka wanted nothing of it and even called out Michiru on attacking a Monster possessed Kid because she thought Michiru might kill him.  So it was actually Michiru who turned Haruka onto the whole “there’s gonna be casualties, get used to it,” mindset that Haruka is always spouting at the Senshi.  I don’t know how I feel about this as it changes the dynamic a bit.  At first I kind of thought Michiru might be an enabeler but in truth, she’s the reason Haruka’s become so cold and dedicated to the mission of saving the world, whatever it takes.  That commitment was put to the test when the pair were lured out by Eudial who claimed to have found a Talisman…which lead to what’s probably one of the most infamous scenes in the entire Sailor Moon series.
 
Much like half the Avengers being blipped out of existence by Thanos, I know that the “deaths” of Uranus and Neptune are temporary but wow it is one of the darkest moments for Sailor Moon S and a helluva cliffhanger to close this set out on.  Yes, the pair learned the had Talismans and Haruka even called out Eudial on this claim.  Considering everything they’ve done to this point, why are they the ones to have Talismans when others like Usagi fit the bill perfectly? (Hold that thought).  I did like that Haruka believed this was a punishment for everything they’ve done.  After all, why should they get to save the world when they’re willing to risk half of it to save a whole?  (Ok that’s a bit of a stretch).  Still, all the “if one of us goes down, the other keeps going,” crap went out the window when a weakened Neptune saw Haruka was in trouble and she rushed to save her, even if it meant the end of her own life.  Certainly shows that despite all their talk of sacrifice and casualties, these two are deeply in love with one another and wont let the other die so easily.  Whatever my thoughts and feelings are towards their character arcs and acts as Senshi, seeing Usagi laying helplessly between a lifeless Uranus and Neptune was a pretty powerful image and I cant wait to see how this is resolved.  Who knows, whatever way Usagi finds to bring the girls back might make Uranus and Neptune more open to working together with the other Senshi…probably not but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
 
Some other odds and ends.  The other Witches 5 came into play in the last episode of this set and I wish they’d been more active until now.  Eudial finding her locker tampered with and filled with slugs and then hearing the gossip amongst her fellow Witches shows these girls had some potential to be successors to the Spectre Sisters from Sailor Moon R.  Sadly, Sailor Moon S has been content to focus on only one Witch at a time and Eudial’s extra amount of zany has been entertaining.  However, the Spectre Sisters set a pretty high bar for Sub Bosses/Leiutentnats for the Senshi to face.  They had a fun dynamic and all experienced true character growth.  I’m not saying every Villain needs to have a redemption arc but this did make the characters more memorable.  This bickering and backstabbing element of the Witches 5’s dynamic should have been played up long before now since I’m sure Eudial is on her way out in the next set.  Lastly, Sailor Pluto is back, or at least she’s somehow been reincarnated I suppose.  She’s presented herself as the incredibly attractive Setsuna Meioh and while I’m sure she’ll make her true Pluto self shown next time, she didn’t play a huge role here other than helping Usagi and the others somehow get to Uranus and Neptune when those two had a freaking Helicopter lying around because when you’re sexy and perfect, of course you have that just lying around somewhere.
 
I will say that if Usagi doesn’t have a Talisman, she’s gotta be the Messiah, right?  It not only fits with the trope of her character but it’s also something Usagi is worthy of in droves.  After all, no matter how badly Uranus and Neptune don’t want her to interfere, Usagi finds a way, like tackling Eudial even after Uranus has stolen her transformation broach away to keep her from following…cause Usagi is awesome like that and more a hero than either Uranus or Neptune (same goes for Chibiusa who did similar to save her crush earlier on).  I guess we’re gonna find out just who or what the Messiah is, what the third Talisman is and just how Usagi and the others will bring back Haruka and Michiru from the dead in the next chapter of Sailor Moon S, which will arrive This Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.