Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this.
Chibiusa flees the scene after Sailor Mars is captured, but Mamoru and Luna manage to find and comfort the poor girl. Meanwhile, the Black Moon Family is at odds about how to accomplish their dastardly plan, prompting the watery Berthier to volunteer her services to capture the Rabbit. Ami finds herself battling Berthier in a contest of wills and intelligence, but will her confidence be shaken when Berthier chess game turns out to be more psychological than intellectual in nature?
“Abduction –Sailor Mercury–” is the sixteenth 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). This episode continues the second story arc and focuses on Sailor Mercury.
I must say, I’m beginning to like the split between the episodic and serial nature of the stories. There’s enough focus on character (by now, the nature of the title should reveal who the spotlight is on) to have a self-contained story that ties up nicely to give you proper catharsis every episode, yet there’s also the ongoing story arc which will lead to a big payoff at the end. It helps because you want to watch the whole series to find out what exactly is going to happen in the end, yet there’s some sort of fulfilment in each episode that makes it possible to take it one slow bite at a time.
Highlights
Usagi’s realisation and guilt at forgetting that Chibiusa is still a small girl
At the beginning, when Luna tells Sailor Moon off for being so hard on Chibiusa, there’s no ostensible reaction. It’s only when she reaches home and runs to her room to cry, that you realise how hard Usagi is taking it. On the one hand, she has her friend, Rei, to worry about. On the other hand, she’s semi-responsible for a vulnerable lost little girl, and you see her conflict between these two competing needs. It also makes Chibiusa far more likeable than before.
Mamoru and Baby Tuxedo Mask
This is a cute one! Seeing Mamoru display ventriloquist abilities while putting on a puppet show for Chibiusa. Chibi-anything is cute, and in this case the Chibi-Tuxedo Mask doll serves its purpose well, since its placating another Chibi (in this case, Chibiusa). Also, more Mamoru character development is welcome!
Girls proactively trying to save Sailor Mars
Instead of wringing their hands, angsting about what to do next, the girls are actually trying to save Rei by doing research! Of course, this is a sign of the changing times – now the characters need to actually do something instead of just complaining about their captured comrades. There’s nothing they can really do now, that’s true, but at least it shows that they are independent, capable heroines.
Focus on Ami’s backstory
Sailor Mercury is my favourite Sailor. Hence, this is my other favourite episode (besides her introduction). You see more about Ami’s broken family, which is especially telling when she reminisces about how her dad left her, yet tells Usagi that her father gave her the swimming club membership. It’s not so much what the girls tell each other, but what they don’t, that reveal their insecurities and backstory. And here, it’s about Ami overcoming her fear of abandonment and loneliness to triumph in a… chess game. More on that in a bit.
Letdowns
Chess game was strange
Given that we’ve not actually seen Ami play chess (they even call it out in one scene), it’s suddenly strange to have it all hinge on a chess match. Furthermore, Berthier isn’t even shown as an intelligent woman, merely one with water-based powers. It’s odd that it all boils down to a chess match, which symbolically represents intelligence, I suppose… but still. If we never see another chess set again, I’m going to be more than annoyed.
Berthier comes out of the blue
Also, for someone who’s so famous and renown in everything, why does Berthier come out of nowhere? Yes, out of the blue is a pun, but it’s strange that someone so well known could be killed by Sailor Mercury, and there’s no police investigation to see what happened. It’s all in a fantasy world, I suppose.
“Abduction –Sailor Mercury–” is a pretty good episode – in fact, anything with Sailor Mercury is pretty good – that unfortunately, has an oddly used villain of the week that mars the believability of it all. Nevertheless, the backstory and ongoing serial elements are what makes this episode work, so if you haven’t caught this one yet, go watch this episode!
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