As if Usagi didn’t have enough trouble trying to win over
the Sailor Starlights, a mysterious girl appears in her home, posing as her
little sister. Who is “Chibi Chibi” and
why is it giving Usagi a strange case of Déjà vu? Meanwhile, Seiya’s growing feelings for Usagi
begin to test their resolve. Is Seiya
willing to risk the Starlights mission to find their lost princess for the sake
of winning Usagi’s heart? All these
questions and more might pale in comparison to the new threats Galaxia is ready
to send everyones way when Sailor Iron Mouse finally runs out of chances to
fulfil her own mission.
We’re at roughly the halfway mark of Sailor Moons final
season and I have to say, either Sailor Moon SuperS really was that bad or its
been way longer than I thought since I’ve had two back to back reviews with
very little to say in the negative department (either way SuperS is THAT
bad).
Round 4 of the Final Season
introduced new baddies and spent plenty of time showing the complex but
loveable bond continuing to form between the Inner Senshi and the Sailor
Starlights.
We also got an adorable new
cast member and plenty of focus on one of my favorite ships of the series.
All in all, this set of episodes is Sailor
Moon at its most fun.
Whether Usagi wants to believe it or not, she and Seiya
have had a very strong bond since their first encounter.
Yeah, it’s pretty one sided since Usagi
doesn’t want to give up on Mamoru despite him going radio silent on her.
I just like Seiya a lot more than Mamoru and
not just because Mamoru sucks.
There’s
something about their banter with Usagi that feels wittier and a lot more fun.
They also manage to make Mamoru’s famous
nickname for Usagi, “Bun Head,” come off as a fun tease rather than a disparaging
comment about her hair.
Seiya really
likes Usagi and makes it known a couple of times that they’d like a shot with
her.
There was a moment where Seiya
placed a photo of Usagi and Mamoru face down on a dresser saying “She cant wait
forever for you.”
I know how that sounds
but I don’t think Seiya would do anything that would make Usagi uncomfortable,
even if Usagi is reading things that way.
Seiya even trusts Usagi enough that they wanted to share their secret
identity as Sailor Star Fighter with her.
But Usagi just kept thinking Seiya was trying to kiss her and things
snowballed from there.
We’ll come back
to that last bit later because it might be one of my all time favorite episodes
from the whole series.
Tl;dr, I’m all
here for Usagi and Seiya and Usagi should give them a tiny bit of a chance.
The beginning of this set saw the inevitable end of Nezu
aka Sailor Iron Mouse.
Man, Sailor Moon
can be scary at times but holy crap was the build up to Nezu’s demise downright
chilling. Chased by the black telephone she uses to contact Galaxia and doom
music via piano, this rather playful comic relief villain couldn’t hide
forever.
Nezu didn’t even get to have
one final showdown with Sailor Moon and the Starlights.
Instead, Sailor Galaxia herself showed up to
destroy her minion despite Nezu just moments ago seeing Seiya transform into
Sailor Star Fighter and hoping to use that intel to bargain with.
Seriously, I got chills whenever I saw Nezu
and heard that phone ring.
Taking her
place are two new minions and wow they are some of the hottest baddies in all
of Sailor Moon.
Their staggeringly good
looks aside, Reiko and Karasuma aka Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow
are a fun change of pace for bad guys in this show.
Despite Karasuma insisting she and Reiko are
rival for the position of Galaxia’s right hand, Karasuma seems to care a great
deal about the aloof and always hungry Reiko.
It’s rare to see this level of friendliness in a series that normally
has subordinates trying to one up and even kill each other to get into a
position of power.
Makes me wonder if
Karasuma has a thing for Reiko, but likely they just have a very strong
friendship and she wants Reiko to succeed. As I said, nice change of pace
there.
The other newest addition to the cast came falling out of
the sky on an umbrella, Mary Poppins style.
Everyone, Chibi Chibi has finally arrived.
Who or what is this adorable bundle of
cutness who at first can only say “Chibi” like she’s Groot from Guardians of
the Galaxy?
No idea but I like that the
immediate assumption from Rei and the girls is that Chibi Chibi might be Usagi
and Mamoru’s future second child and thus Chibiusa’s little sister.
Setsuna, popping up for ice cream on a hot
day with the girls, put the kibosh on that theory instantly.
And yet, Chibi Chibi has pulled a Chibiusa
and somehow inserted herself into Usagi’s household as her little sister.
This should raise a bunch of red flags but
dammit, Chibi Chibi is just too damn adorable.
Just seeing her do cute things like trying to open a door when visitors
arrive or repeating everything everyone says (she’s still a much younger kid
than Chibiusa), puts a smile on my face.
There’s also a moment where Usagi and the girls are freaking out over
Seiya trying to kill a cockroach in Usagi’s kitchen and meanwhile Chibi Chibi
is watching violent TV with Luna sitting equally interested at her side.
That’s just a priceless moment of laughter
and “awwww” right there.
So…when are we
going to find out Chibi Chibi is another Senshi?
Is she from outside the Solar System like the
Starlights?
In a set that featured battling Monsters at campsites,
Rei rescuing a pottery master cousin from Monsters (btw hey Usagi’s Mom, it’s
been forever since we’ve seen the other relatives of the Senshi), and Taiki
learning that the music of the Three Lights is reaching out to special hearts
even if they aren’t their long lost Princess, one episode stood out amongst the
bunch.
When a supposed burglar is
roaming the streets, Seiya volunteers to watch over Usagi for a night.
This is where the moment where they almost
confess to Usagi that theyre Sailor Star Fighter came from.
But every chance Seiya gets is interrupted by
Chibi Chibi and then Rei, Minako, Ami, Mako and even Haruka and Michiru
stopping by for a bit.
This is what I
call “Usagi’s House Party” and it is one of the funniest episodes I’ve seen in
all of Sailor Moon.
From Michiru being
the sexiest troll teasing Haruka about her insecutiries with Seiya to Reiko and
Karasuma starting a battle in Usagi’s kitchen (and Usagi’s attempts to keep the
damage to a minimum), to Chibi Chibi just being around, I cant remember the
last time I laughed so hard at an episode.
Also cudos to having a fight actually take place in Usagi’s own house,
how has she gone five seasons as Sailor Moon and this has never happened?
We were missing some old friends to make this
a full house: Setsuna, Chibiusa and Hotaru (btw when are we going to see Hotaru
again?
The other Outers have shown up
and Chibiusa is back in the future so what’s her excuse for not popping back in
again).
But still, this golden episode
is Sailor Moon humor firing on all cylinders.
Magical moments between Usagi and Seiya (and the hilarity
and drama they bring with them).
Sexy
new bad guys.
The most adorable new
little mascot.
And an equal focus on gut
busting humor and character exploration.
Yeah this might be my favorite set of episodes from Sailor Moon Sailor
Stars yet.
Sailor Galaxia herself even
made herself known and the hype around her power continues to build.
So far, The Starlights Arc which started out
alright has jumped into full blown awesome status.
With 15 episodes left until the Series
Finale, can the momentum be maintained?
We’ll find out Monday when Sailor Moon Sailor Stars continues right here
at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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