Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this.
Rumours of a haunted mannequin at a bridal shop have the citizens of Tokyo on edge. Meanwhile, a new transfer girl at Usagi’s school is shunned for her ostensible violent behaviour, which supposedly got her expelled from her previous school. Will the Sailors be able to solve this bridal mystery, and just what is the secret of this new transfer girl, Makoto?
“Makoto –Sailor Jupiter–” is the fifth 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). Sailor Jupiter appears in this episode! If you don’t already know, she’s probably tied with Sailor Mars as one of the most powerful Inner Senshi, and she also has the most talent.
It seems that after the first few episodes of finding its path, Sailor Moon Crystal has found a formula doesn’t seem like the old “monster of the day” kind of stories, but still manages to give the Sailors enough room to fight and showcase their abilities without weakening the bad guys. In any case, it’s odd that the villains still use monsters (and retreat when their said monsters are defeated), but as subsequent episodes will show, this is due to their injuries sustained during the battle with the Sailors.
Highlights
Investigative element
There’s an investigative element to the episodes now! In the previous series, the emphasis was more on developing the character and personality of the victim of the day. While it may have led to more touching and heartwarming stories, it was also at the expense of the main characters – all that time could have been used to develop the core characters more. Now, there isn’t such a focus on the victims anymore, placing the spotlight firmly back on our Sailors.
Usagi’s down-to-earth friendliness
While Usagi’s klutziness was somewhat of a joke previously, we get to see the logical extension of that characteristic, which is that she is genuinely and sincerely kind to people, and truly wants to make friends with others. As demonstrated later in the series, it is this that bonds the Inner Senshi together and makes Sailor Moon the de facto leader of the team. The set up for her affable personality is firmly laid here, and in a funny, unintrusive manner.
Sailor Jupiter is powerful
She has two attacks! Her Flower Hurricane and her Jupiter Thunderbolt. She also vapourises the monster by herself and drives away Nephrite. She’s also strong. Even before transforming, she shrugs off the monster’s hypnotism. If these all aren’t moments of awesome that convince you that Sailor Jupiter is a formidable ally, I don’t know what it is. Protagonists should always be powerful, and Sailor Jupiter is a great example of that.
More Sailor V action
Ya OK I find the super deformed Sailor V rather cute, and a subtle way to remind/introduce viewers of Sailor V’s existence. Hence, when she appears later on, it’ll have been gently woven in rather than been another intro episode, which might be repetitive given that it’s the fourth one. Eh, there’s a lot of effort put into these Sailor V game scenes!
Letdowns
Other Sailors feel nerfed
The other Sailors were taken down a little too easily by the monster of the day. Weren’t they also pretty powerful in their debut? I suppose this is to make way for Sailor Jupiter and give her the attention, but I wish it wasn’t done at the expense of the competence of the other Sailors.
“Makoto –Sailor Jupiter–” introduces the fourth Inner Senshi in a visually stunning and impressive way, giving us the much needed firepower that you know the Sailors will need for their eventual battle with the Shitennou. Now all that remains is Sailor Venus’ appearance – let’s hope it’s not too far away
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