A tiny, pink haired girl descends from the sky right on
top of Usagi and Mamoru on a date. This Usagi
lookalike, dubbed “Chibiusa”, is a child on the mission: retrieve the Legendary
Silver Crystal from Usagi. She’s also
been targeted by a new dangerous group known as the Black Moon Clan. As Usagi and the girls prepare for another
intense battle, Mamoru begins having terrifying nightmares of danger, visions
that compel him to put some distance between himself and Usagi. Can Usagi defeat these new enemies, keep
Chibiusa safe and somehow save her deteriorating relationship with the one she
loves?
Well, with the Makai Tree gone and never coming back, we
can finally continue with the main story of Sailor Moon properly.
In this slightly extended set of episodes,
things did pick up in terms of the quality of the threat and some fun episodes
for all of the Senshi that helped flesh them out a bit more, especially those
who were still in great need of it (Minkao).
But with this new change in status quo comes new problems and one of
them I have been dreading from the very beginning of this show.
I know I’m gonna get a lot of flack for this
but I’m just gonna say it and get it out of the way: I don’t like
Chibiusa.
Which is definitely going to
be a problem because I know she plays a central role in the rest of this season
(and likely the rest of the series).
Alright, let me break down my thoughts and reasonings behind this.
My dislike for Chibiusa comes from similar reasons I
don’t like Kid Trunks and Goten in Dragon Ball Z.
Yes, they’re all kids so theyre bound to be
loud, obnoxious and prone to a lot of whining and understandable childish
antics.
That’s pretty typical for an
Anime but I guess some little ones are better than others.
Chibiusa, for me, isn’t one of those better
ones.
For one thing, the mystery behind
her harkens to another tie in to Dragon Ball Z but I’ll save that for when her
true identity is revealed.
In the here
and now, though, Chibiusa’s refusal to just tell everyone why she’s in such
desperate need of the Silver Crystal is irritating and it leads to some pretty
dull slapstick and repetitive antics.
The arrival of the new villains, the Black Moon Clan, clearly coincides
with Chibiusa’s appearance and no one is willing to just flat out as WTF: Who,
What, Where, When, Why and How?
Such a
lack of intel led to Chibiusa’s power going out of control and altering Earth’s
gravity in one episode.
Also, Chibiusa
is kind of an insufferable brat who doesn’t miss a chance to make anyones life
a living hell, talking down to Usagi and the Senshi and dead set on making
Mamoru her husband…ewwwwwww.
I just
don’t like her.
The only thing of
interesting note is Chibiusa’s possession of the Luna Pi, a ball that looks
like Luna’s head (much to Luna’s shock and displeasure, that was a fun moment
when she realized it).
It can basically
become anything Chibiusa needs from toy guns to hypnosis umbrellas.
It also functions as a communicator, allowing
Chibiusa to speak with someone she calls “Puu.”
Who is Puu?
Sadly given how many
episodes are left in this season, it might be a while before we get that
answer.
And then there’s Mamoru and lets just get his bashing out
of the way.
Due to a vision from being
around Chibiusa, Mamoru thinks Usagi is gonna die in some Crystal Tower at some
point in the future.
His solution to
maybe stopping this fate?
Break up with
Usagi.
Sigh…ok “screw Mamoru” comments
aside, the break up scene between him and Usagi was actually pretty good and,
as always, it’s because of Usagi.
She
cant believe he’s being so cold towards her and goes through several stages of
denial before leaving in tears.
Seeing
Usagi break down in a telephone booth alone was such a sad but effective
moment…so SCREW MAMORU FOR MAKING HER FEEL THAT WAY!!!!
But, getting back to the bashing, Mamoru is
still helping out the Sailor Senshi as if that part of their lives hasn’t changed.
He still cares about Usagi (they’ve even
nicknamed each other Usako and Mamo) but refuses to let himself get close to
Usagi again.
He will, however, put
himself out there for Chibiusa because she’s a kid who’s stolen all of his
attention.
Oh and the “I only like
strong women” comment?
Sigh…F*** You
Mamoru, you don’t deserve Usagi and she deserves so much better than you taking
a page out of the Spider Man playbook at keeping your loved ones at arms length
when they can take care of themselves.
Ok, with my frustrations out of the way, let’s talk about
the new villains.
The mission of the
Black Moon Clan seems pretty clear: find Chibiusa (or The Rabbit as they call
her) and destroy her and the Silver Crystal to prevent the existence of a place
called Crystal Tokyo (I’m sensing Time Travel involved in this plot.
Who am I kidding, its practically a
guarantee).
While the leader, Rubeus
leaves a lot to be desired, his four subordiantes, the Spectre Sisters, look to
be fun rivals for the Sailor Senshi.
They have some cute designs and have some good chemistry with one
another, highlighting that they are a family in one way or another.
It’s also nice to see the gender swapping of
the villains, these four girls basically filling the void left behind by Queen
Beryls Four Kings from Season One.
Even
better,
Koan, Berthier, Petz and
Calaveras all seem poised to be direct rivals for Usagi’s friends.
Berthier might not have directly taken on Ami
but Koan, Petz and Calaveras all fought Rei, Mako and Minako in these episodes,
their elemental and energy abilities making them an even match.
It’s good to see the Spectre Sisters taking a
more direct role in battles as well, not just leaving it to the Monsters to do
their work (and thank God the Monsters aren’t just saying their names like
theyre Pokemon like the Cadrians did).
Theyre definitely a step up from Ail and An and I’m looking forward to
their showdowns with the Senshi in future episodes.
Speaking of the Senshi, when the episodes weren’t focused
on Chibiusa’s annoying antics, Ami, Rei, Mako and Minako all got some great
stories in this set.
Ami possibly
leaving to go to Germany explored the rarely discussed topic of life beyond
being a Sailor Senshi and the reality of Usagi having to say goodbye to one of
her best friends.
She’s still sticking
around but still, didn’t think this show would ask that question.
Mako and Minako found themselves rivals for
an episode after bad mouthing each others romantic pasts.
Minako has been a character in sore need of
development and I think pairing her up with Mako like this was great.
Naturally they found common ground and made
up in time to take on Petz and Calaveras.
But, of course, my favorite girl, Rei, got my favorite episode of the
set as her grandfather tried to start a self defense class to get more ladies
to come to the shrine.
Not only did we
get to see Yuichiro back again and see Rei’s Grandfather be a bit of a bad ass
against a Monster, but Rei got to show her good, strong character again as she
put herself in harms way to protect her Grandfather after the two of them had
gotten into a fight.
Plus, she showed
support for Usagi after Tuxedo Mask gave her the cold shoulder, assuring her
that Mamoru still cares despite his demeanor.
Rei’s even the first of the Senshi to show off a new attack in this set,
followed by Mako and Minako, that’s my girl.
Sailor Moon R began its newest Arc with the arrival of an
annoying new character but made up for it with strong stand alone episodes for
the rest of the cast and some good emotional moments for Usagi with the loss of
her relationship with Mamoru.
The new
Villains show a lot of promise with a good first impression and I hope it
holds.
If only it can make Chibiusa a
bit more bearable, I think Sailor Moon R has a good chance of stepped out of
the Makai Tree’s shadow to become a sequel that could be a bit stronger than
the first.
We’ll see how that goes when
we return to Sailor Moon R on Monday, right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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