Sailor Moon R Part 5 Episode 66-70

Despite the bickering between her and Usagi, Chibiusa has been accepted amongst the girls and Mamoru.  But the child yearns to return home to her parents and risks attempting to do so, triggering an intense showdown between the Sailor Senshi and the Spectre Sisters, plus their leader Rubeus.  The mystery behind Chibiusa’s mysterious origins and the goals of the Black Moon Clan deepen as a far off city in the future barely holds on despite an all out assault.  Their imminent defeat affects Mamoru’s dreams but can he really protect Usagi from a future disaster by keeping himself away from her?
 
There was a pivotal moment in todays set of Sailor Moon episodes where I realized that I might’ve been too harsh with Chibiusa last week.  Yes, she is obnoxious and prone to annoying childish antics.  But when Usagi saw her in danger and took a serious beating to protect her, she realized that despite the trouble this miniature version of herself puts her through, she cant bring herself to hate Chibiusa.  It shows growth and maturity for Sailor Moon and continues to prove that even though Usagi is a klutz, she is a hero through and through.  This set of episodes was much stronger than last weeks start to the new arc.  It not only gave Chibiusa a little more depth and understanding, it also gave us some major showdowns between the Sailor Senshi and the Black Moon Clan.  There are still some frustrating storytelling choices that I can’t get past but I still found myself enjoying this set a lot.  I wanted things to improve and they did.
 
Chibiusa got a great deal of needed improvement here and even got to grow a bit as a character.  I do get that she’s a five year old stuck in the past, separated from her family and desperately missing home.  But she is just a kid and kids are gonna be obnoxious brats from time to time (except Goten and Trunks, they actually caused the deaths of their entire families cause they were trying to showboat as Gotenks, but that’s neither here nor there).  I liked the more emotional and personal moments for Chibiusa, especially when Usagi overheard her chatting with Puu once more.  It helped Usagi understand her a bit better since Chibiusa has refused to share anything about her story til now.  Probably the biggest surprise I enjoyed was a Chibiusa beach episode where she befriended a Baby Dinosaur (just roll with it) and learned the value of new friendships and the support system she’d gained being in the past with Usagi and the others.  Also, we got to see the Sailor Senshi tackle an active Volcano, showing they don’t just limit the use of their powers to Monsters.  If need be, they’ll step up against natural disasters too, like true heroes should.
 
While Monsters of the Week still permeated this set, the Black Moon Clan did plenty of fighting of their own against the Senshi, including an all out brawl between the two teams complete with an awesome musical track.  Rubeus stepped into the field for the first time and not only is he mad powerful…he’s also a colossal jerk (he and Mamoru should get coffee).  But while Mamoru is pushing Usagi to the side to protect her from some prophecy his future self is telling him in his dreams (ok we don’t know it’s Mamoru for sure but only he could give himself stupid advice like that), Rubeus makes it clear at several points he doesn’t give a damn about the Spectre Sisters as long as they keep failing in their mission.  His dismissal of Koan was pretty cold and seeing how poorly he treated her inspired Rei to stand up for Koan and ask Usagi to change her into a normal human with the Silver Crystal.  It feels wrong to say but the heartbreak moments for characters this season have been some of the strongest scenes in the show.  Koan’s emotional breakdown was very effective, as was Rei feeling for her and even taking a blow from Makoto meant for Koan.  My only question now is what about the other Spectre Sisters?  Will the join Koan on the side of good and how will they react when they learn the Boss theyre all pining for kicked her out and could do the same to them at a moments notice?
 
So let’s talk about the mystery of Chibiusa and Crystal Tokyo for a minute.  From what I (and the Senshi) have gathered, Chibiusa is definitely from the future, a city called Crystal Tokyo and the Black Moon Clan has done something to incapacitate and capture Chibiusa’s mother.  According to Puu, a group of Guardians are doing their best to hold back the full on assault of the Black Moon Clan but their barrier can only last but so long.  We also learn of a figure named Prince Demande, who might just be Rubeus’ superior so we’ll probably see him before the Season is done.  The details seem simple, but I’m having trouble with the logic of certain aspects, mostly with Chibiusa.  It’s pretty obvious the “Guardians” Puu is speaking of, that Chibiusa sees in well drawn flashbacks, are the Sailor Senshi of the future.  Plus, if it isn’t already obvious, Usagi and Mamoru are her mother and father.  Soooo (insert Captain Picard WTF Meme here) WHY THE F*** DOESN’T CHIBIUSA RECOGNIZE WHAT HER OWN PARENTS OR GUARDIANS LOOK LIKE THEN THEYRE YOUNGER!!!???    She really cant just be playing dumb right?  Especially since she’s crushing hard on Mamoru, which would mean she wants to marry her own father (gross on more levels than you can count).  Also, how have they gone this long into the Arc and Chibiusa hasn’t seen Usagi and the others transform into their Sailor Senshi forms?  She really doesn’t know Usagi is Sailor Moon.  I get that this is supposed to be a show aimed at a younger audience but anyone with half a brain would be asking these same questions, no matter how old you are.
 
Some odds and ends before we wrap this set up.  If I haven’t made it clear, I loved the Rei vs. Koan episode.  Not only did it give some good material for Koan but Yuichiro got to show his bravery by protecting Rei and swatting Koan with a broom.  Rei might berate and belittle the poor guy but she knows Yuichiro is always there and the two more or less admitted to Koan they are in love with one another, so good on them.  Also good on Rei for continuing to support Usagi through the Mamoru being a total a**hole and keeping his distance from Usagi in order to protect her (guy probably loves the Sam Raimi Spider Man movies).  It’s good to see all the growth for their friendship in Season One hasn’t been completely ignored.  Like I said, Mamoru continues to be the worst love interest in the series.  He kisses Usagi to wake her from a Sleeping Beauty spell then tells her it was just because the world needs Sailor Moon but he doesn’t need her.  I know Usagi wouldn’t do it but one of the other girls needs to punch Mamoru hard in the face.  For a second I thought Luna might when she came to tell Mamoru Usagi was in trouble.  Lastly, I did not expect Sailor Moon to deliver a humorous bed wetting scene.  I thought this show was a bit above that.  However, Luna’s reaction to the idea that Usagi was still wetting the bed at her age was priceless.  Naturally it turned out to be Chibiusa but before that reveal I was admittedly cracking up a lot.
 
Well that pretty much puts us at just past the halfway point of Sailor Moon R.  Chibiusa’s become more tolerable despite the writers thinking everyones kind of an idiot dragging out some her mystery longer than needed.  The Senshi and Black Moon Clan threw down in epic fashion and Rei continued to show why she’s the best by convincing an enemy to join the side of the good guys by demonstrating true love and understanding.  But even if the girls manage to take down Rubeus and Koan’s other sisters, there’s still a crisis in the future and Prince Demande and the mysterious Wiseman still waiting for them.  There’s a lot more story to go and we’re gonna power through it all (man these seasons are major marathons).  See ya Friday for more Sailor Moon R, right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.