sailor moon

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 126-127 (S Finale)

Well, whaddaya know. All this time, and it turns out the S stood for samsara.

Screenshot_2015-07-28-17-05-48

Unlike the past two seasons, where the villain was defeated and all loose ends wrapped up in a whiplash-inducing 22 minutes, this time around Sailor Moon takes a hefty chunk of time to give us a proper denouement. It’s arguably too much time, but if it means I get a chance to digest the finale and say long goodbyes to some friends, then I don’t much mind. Plus I can keep the recaps short and cram a season retrospective in at the very end, and that’s always a nice bonus, too.

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 124-125

I hope you brought your camping gear, ‘cause these episodes are IN TENTS.

Screenshot_2015-07-21-20-00-03

Wow, but this was a really good week for Sailor Moon. A slightly less good week for my emotions, but hey, when you’ve got two episodes stuffed with possessions, schemes, battles, “deaths,” tender reunions, redemptions, evil universes, and apocalyptic battles, it’s bound to be a bit trying on the ol’ FeelBox. (Only… don’t think too hard about the plot. Everything works great on a character- and engagement-level, but the sciency magic is mostly nonsense, a backdrop in front of which our protagonists can struggle. Just roll with it.)

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 122-123

WHAT HATH SCIENCE WROUGHT?!

Screenshot_2015-07-14-20-36-34

Sailor Moon is so steeped in fantastical elements that I’m usually prone to calling it a fantasy, but this week takes special care to remind me that, technically speaking, it’s probably more accurate to call it science fiction. Pretty much every major plot point of the story is rooted in some kind of SF element, from interplanetary foes to time travel to alternate dimensions to li’l universes. The scouts themselves are the most magical thing in the series, and even then I’m sure there’s some kind of “technical” explanation for their powers involving microorganisms or elemental particles or some such.

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 120-121

♪ Four little Witches jumpin’ on the bed… ♪

Screenshot_2015-07-08-13-44-26

We’re quickly approaching the S finale, which means we need to get rid of all those pesky minions so the path to the Big Bad is nice and clear. In fact, go ahead and think of this as the clean-up week, since we’re also learning pertinent (tragic) backstories and restoring the ties between everyone’s favorite Doctor and her very favorite companion. Could this be the first step toward a team-up between our two gangs of roving Guardians? I sure do hope so. I miss hanging out with Haruka and Michiru almost as much as the scouts do.

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 118-119

The gang’s all here…

Screenshot_2015-06-30-18-09-25

If you were wondering why the sailors skipped a planet along the way, wonder no more, for we’ve found Saturn at last, and she is… somewhat less interested in saving the world than the others are, it seems. And the Outer Guardians are a VERY exclusive club and don’t seem inclined to let her join. But that’s fine. I’m sure the Moonies can print up another Inner Guardian membership card if she asks. They gave Jupiter one, after all, so clearly their definition of “inner” and “outer” planets is already real flexible.

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 116-117

Roses and absurdism? Man, it’s almost like Ikuhara’s the showrunner or something.

mimete-okAbsolutely no one will be surprised to learn that Episode 117 was storyboarded and directed by Ikuhara himself, as it is hands-down the weirdest Sailor Moon to date and also one of its silliest. I’m not sure anyone else in the ani-business combines both meanings of the word “funny” so skillfully as Ikuhara does, and the result is just endless sight gags and WTF-ery that kept startling laughs out of me.

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 114-115

The Side-Eye is strong with this one.

Screenshot_2015-06-16-20-06-47

We’ve been in High Octane Plot Mode for a while, but we take Episode 114 off this week to spend some time with the charmingly psychotic Mimete and attend (another) creeper-tastic Sailor Moon casting call. It had its moments, but felt almost out of place given the amount of linear storytelling that happened both before and immediately after it.

I like silly Sailor Moon, but at this point I’m so invested in what’s going on with Hotaru and the Death Busters that any breaks from it feel like time-wasting. The series seems to agree with me, because we went right back to the central story in Episode 115, with backstories told and alter egos unveiled. And at this point, that’s very much as it should be.

Continue reading →

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 110-111

I hope none of you got whiplash from all those twists and turns we just took.

Screenshot_2015-06-02-20-06-01

We found the plot! We found ALL of the plot! Or, to be more accurate, a certain someone jumped out of their time machine and threw the plot down at our feet. Honestly, the more I think about these two episodes, the messi(ah?)er they are in terms of coherent writing and execution, but as far as emotional reaction and pure entertainment value go, they were pretty dang exciting and did a whole lot to forward the overall story line. So, all in all, I’d call them a success, even if I am going to mock them a little mercilessly along the way. Hey, it’s part of the job description.

Hop in and strap on those seatbelts, gang. Eudial’s takin’ us for a Sailor Moon Spin.

Continue reading →