Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this.
The Sailors make the journey to the Moon to visit the ruins of the Silver Millennium, and learn about their past lives as guardians of Princess Serenity. After Sailor Moon meets with the last vestiges of Queen Serenity, they return to Earth, only to find that the Shitennou have launched yet another attack on the planet, freezing it into a wintery desert like the North Pole. Will they be able to overcome the four knights?
“Moon” is the tenth episode of the first season of Sailor Moon Crystal. It’s Japanese anime and I watched it with English subtitles (I don’t speak Japanese, though I would like to at some point). It follows the journey of the Sailors to the Moon, where they learn more about their past and the war that ended the Silver Millennium.
So you know how I’ve been excited to see a battle between the Shitennou and the Inner Senshi for some time now right, given that they’re not going with the “kill them off one by one” type plots that the previous series always had. Well, this episode finally sees that as a reality. Woo hoo! Wonder if we’ll get Shitennou toys. OK if it’s a toss up between more Sailors or Shitennou, I’ll go with the Sailors. I’m talking about the new SH Figuarts toys of course.
Highlights
Battle between the Inner Senshi and the Shitennou
We finally get to see them square off against their former lovers in this episode! After lots of energy attacks, they go on one-to-one duels. Not only does this pay off their slow introductions, but it also shows how much the Sailors have grown in power. Any one of the Shitennou could have taken them down in the past, but now it takes all four of them to fight the Sailors. We could have seen more extended battles scenes, but I’m sure that will come up in a later episode.
The tragedy of the Silver Millennium
The sense of loss is palpable, especially given that they establish the cost of sealing away Queen Metallia was to have the entire Moon Kingdom turn into stone. The part at the end where Queen Serenity starts to flicker and lose power also adds to the sacrifice, thus giving us more reason to root for the protagonists.
The reveal of the Shitennou’s real identities
While hinted at throughout the series, it’s now finally confirmed that the Shitennou are good guys in their past lives. Their romantic pairings with the Inner Senshi also serve to strengthen the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru, since it mirrors their love for each other and the pairings between the Moon and the Earth.
Sailor Moon gets another upgrade in power
Now her Moon Healing Escalation can heal an entire planet! This is probably a function of the Silver Crystal’s emergence. But again, just as with the fact that it takes all of the Shitennou to pose a legitimate threat to the entire Sailor team now, this reflects Sailor Moon levelling up and increases our admiration of the heroine.
Letdowns
No explanation of Sailor Venus
Sailor Venus just… transforms. There’s no explanation that she’s Sailor Venus. Of course, it may that the show expects smart audiences to already know who she is, so there’s no need for an explanation. Still, it comes rather abruptly, especially since the other Sailors have relatively detailed introductions.
“Moon” is a good episode that fills in some gaps and provides greater stakes for the conflict ahead. It also gives a stronger sense of unity to the series as a whole by tying everything together and building connections that link all of the main players together. After this episode, we’ll probably see the final story arc that closes this first portion of Sailor Moon Crystal.
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