Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this.
Princess Serenity finally manifests, to the surprise of all the Sailors and the Dark Kingdom! Queen Beryl arrives to claim the Silver Crystal, but takes Tuxedo Mask when her ploy fails, separating the star-crossed lovers. To cheer up a depressed Usagi, Luna suggests a trip to an unexpected location, far, far away.
“Serenity –Princess–” is the ninth 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). Princess Serenity reveals herself in this episode, though not quite in the way that you would expect.
Unlike most episodes which have the exposition first and the exciting fights next, this episode flip flops the order and has the battle last throughout the whole of the first half, then the exposition in the second half. Then again, this is sort of Part 3 of a series that started in Episode 7, so it’s fitting and logical that it would tie everything up nicely at the beginning then give us a long, extended denouement that we haven’t had in a while.
Highlights
Tense battle that lasts over half an episode
Well, everybody gets to pull off at least one attack, which is awesome. No Sailor Planet Power, but then it may be too early in the series to have that. Queen Beryl and Kunzite, the two most powerful members of the Dark Kingdom, are also the antagonists here, so it ups the ante and makes it believable that they can kidnap Tuxedo Mask right under Sailor Moon’s nose. Why doesn’t she just use Moon Healing Escalation to defeat them, though?
Queen Beryl confronts the Sailors personally
This is the second time we’ve seen Queen Beryl appear! She’s far more hands-on and has a lot more ambition and personality than in the previous series, not to mention having been upgraded, aesthetically. Her appearance lends gravity to the situation, since it makes sense that she would personally come to escort the Silver Crystal away. Why doesn’t she just destroy them there and then though?
Almost every major character makes an appearance
Which more or less makes this an ensemble episode, doesn’t it? We have all the good guys appearing, both their current and past selves. We have all the bad guys appearing, which is somewhat rarer. That’s a lot of voice acting in one episode – 14 voices altogether!
Sense of tragedy and romance
The grandly romantic scenes, contrasted with the painful sacrifices made by Prince Endymion and then Tuxedo Mask, give their relationship the tragic romance feel. While it’s admittedly not the first time this has been suggested, this is the first episode to depict exactly why it is their relationship is tragic, and gives dramatic irony to the series by separating the couple once they understand each other.
Letdowns
Sailor Moon is too weak and passive here
I know it’s draining to transform into Princess Serenity and generate the Silver Crystal, but come on! All she does is sit down and cry over Tuxedo Mask, even though she has all this power at her disposal. Why doesn’t she just tap into the power of the Silver Crystal and zap Kunzite and Queen Beryl and end the first arc here and now? Why doesn’t anyone powerful just wipe out the other side when they can?
Too much screaming
Sadly, the screaming goes from tragic to annoying very very soon.
“Serenity –Princess–” wraps up the first major storyline for the first story arc, and sets the Sailors on their path to the second one. With all the Sailors assembled, you know things are going to get serious, which is what we’re all waiting for!
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