“Invasion –Sailor Venus–” is the eighteenth 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 Venus and Tuxedo Mask.
“Invasion –Sailor Venus–” doesn’t quite focus as much on Sailor Venus as you’d expect, and instead, it gives a fair bit of airtime to the serial story as well as Tuxedo Mask. That helps to build up all the other supporting characters, so that you’re not just rooting for a straightforward battle between good and evil, but between different protagonists who are motivated by different reasons. It’s not without its flaws, but hey, we do get to see the Ayakashi Sisters once last time before they are presumably forgotten for the rest of the series.
Highlights
Tuxedo Mask’s new power
It’s been a (whiny) long running plot thread that Tuxedo Mask is actually no more powerful than a regular human being – he just dons his tuxedo and cape whenever Sailor Moon needs help, and rushes to save the day with her. It’s not all that believable since he goes toe-to-toe with the other bad guys at times, and the Sailors can barely hold their own sometimes. Also, when Queen Beryl powers him up, he becomes nigh-invincible – surely he had to have some level of power before that?
Regardless, it’s a welcome change to see Tuxedo Mask get his own attack, especially since he no longer tosses roses, and he doesn’t seem to wield that cane of his anymore. Hooray! More power to the heroes.
Return of the Shitennou
It’s a nice treat to see them cameo in this episode. They really are the advisors and servants of Endymion, and Mamoru puts them to… some use. I won’t say good use, since they don’t offer that much insight, but it’s a hoot hearing them call him “master.” Maybe they’ll get a group attack to aid Tuxedo Mask. But seeing as how that wasn’t the case in the manga, I’m not holding my breath here.
Conflict within the Black Moon Family
It’s also fun to see the Black Moon Family squabbling about the direction of their leadership. They sound just like a regular dysfunctional family, or a company for that matter. In any case, it sets up a bit of tension between the villains and keeps them interesting, rather than boring evil caricatures that want to destroy Earth. We also get some hints of a future showdown between the Black Moon members and Wiseman.
Letdowns
Less focus on Minako than for the other Sailor-centric episodes
It kind of shortchanges Minako, doesn’t it? Every other Sailor gets a whole episode dedicated to their background, their motivations, their hopes and dreams and fears. Perhaps it’s because originally, Minako had her own Sailor V series, and her character kind of overlaps with Usagi’s as well. But I really hope to see her get more character development than in the previous series, especially since they’ve been particularly solid with character focus for Sailor Moon Crystal.
Calaveras is not very threatening
She’s clearly not the most powerful, and having to call her other sisters for aid makes her look weak. She’s not a good sister to deploy as the last one against the Sailors – since she’s not all that powerful, it feels like she’s called on just so they can use up the sisters. A bit more of that voodoo would have made her more intriguing, if not more powerful.
“Invasion –Sailor Venus–” is an interesting episode that focuses on far more than Sailor Venus, which is both the strength and the flaw of this episode. Nevertheless, it gives us the “Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber,” and that, honestly, is a good enough plot point for you to watch this ep.
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