Hey, look at that–I love this show again.

As anyone who’s been following these posts knows, I spent much of the last cour becoming progressively more annoyed at Nephrite, High Lord of Blandsylvania, and what often felt like stagnating character arcs and relationships. I didn’t HATE it (and there were some episodes I quite enjoyed), but I wasn’t having nearly as much fun as I’d had during the first cour.

Of course, then last week’s two-part Feelsplosion happened, throwing my emotions into all kinds of turmoil, because dammit if I didn’t feel bad for Naru and even a little for Nephy, boring old bastard that he was. I got so tangled up in the short-lived romance that I was actually pretty sad by the end of Episode 26, and had forgotten one vital fact: Nephrite wasn’t our bad guy anymore. Zoisite was, which meant the show was all but guaranteed to get fun again.

And boy, did it ever. This week SM burst from its cocoon like a lame Metapod transforming into a badass Butterfree, complete with a neat premise, a fabulous villain, ridiculous monsters, a shiny Lovely Item, and a rockin’ addition to the Sailor Squad. It’s campy, hilarious, and awesome, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

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In the interest of posting this on time (I had to pack last night and I’m taking a flight today), I’m going to skip the long recaps and just talk in broad strokes about this week’s two-part Nephrite Finale.

Ah-hem.

So.

What the SHIT, Sailor Moon?!

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So when do Zoisite and his boyfriend get to take over as the Bad Guys, exactly?

While there have been a few high points this arc, I noticed that I’ve enjoyed the last nine episodes quite a bit less than the first thirteen. There are some (pretty glaring) issues with the growing romance between Moonsagi and Tuxedo Mamoru that play into this, but I think the main problem here is that Nephertiti Nephrite is just so…

Well, if you’ve been reading my recaps (or if you read the ones in this post), you have a pretty good idea how I feel about him. I know Jadeite didn’t have much in the way of a personality, but his schemes were so elaborate (pet shops! amusement parks! buses to Hell!) that it made the story a lot more fun and the plots seem much less formulaic. I’d give Beryl’s right arm for a good old fashioned Love Boat of Death right about now.

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Yep. Sailor Moon definitely works better as an ensemble show.

Man, but I like this series so much more when it shifts the focus even just a little bit away from Usagi. When it comes to favorite episodes, they all seem to be the ones where she helps other people out (both episodes with her brother have been great), or the rare times when the show becomes a true ensemble, either balancing the screen time for the scouts equally or focusing on a different Moonie altogether. Usagi’s good qualities are easier to see when we aren’t also constantly seeing her falling down, crying, getting scared, or mooning over Tuxedo Mask. (And yes, pun intended. Pun ALWAYS intended.)

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And then, every so often, Usagi gets shit done.

I was worried when I started this adventure that blogging a show meant for young teens would never work–that I had waited too long and the Sailor Moon bandwagon had left the station for good. But in some ways I actually think I enjoy it more now than I would have as a kid, because now I can watch Usagi and, instead of wanting to shake her, I can appreciate her for the flawed but spirited kid she is.

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Conflicted Josei is conflicted.

This week’s episodes saw a heavy focus on romance, and those tend to be the moments when I enjoy Sailor Moon the least.

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In the game of crystals, you win or you die. Er, sort of.

A lot of Stuff happened this week and I went a little wild on the recaps, so I’m going to skip the usual opening retrospective and just jump straight to the episodes. H’okay? H’okay.

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The Sailors set sail on more ‘ships than one this week.

I’m starting to look at Sailor Moon as a kind of magical girl sitcom, where its strength lies not in its story but in its humor, complications, and–most importantly–character interactions. And, like so many shows both before and after it, SM relies on the pairing tactic: throwing two characters into a room (or boat) together and seeing what happens next.

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The planets are finally starting to align.

This week Hino Rei stormed onto the scene as Sailor Mars, and her timing couldn’t have been better. While I did warm up to Ami a lot this week, her character seems to be a blend of intelligence, naivete (she’d never played video games OR gone window shopping until she met Usagi), and just plain niceness, which makes her great back-up for Usagi but doesn’t really create much tension.

And as fun as this show is, it’s in desperate need of some tension. Our villains haven’t been a real threat recently, and while Luna and Usagi do squabble some, they’ve gotten so used to each other that it’s all pretty good-natured bickering at this point. We needed Mars to bring some proverbial as well as literal fire to the show, and it looks like she’ll do just that.

While Usagi and Rei are very different girls, they’re both strong-willed and stubborn, which should lead to some conflict–and, hopefully, to character growth both in and out of their scout uniforms. And while I’d rather their entire relationship NOT be built around Tuxedo Mask, I must admit that a little romantic rivalry WOULD be pretty entertaining. Just… keep it as a side dish instead of a main course, please.

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