Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this.
An innocent shrine maiden gets drawn into the latest Dark Kingdom plot to drain energy via a haunted schoolbus. When Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury find themselves outmatched by Jadeite, they discover that the innocent shrine maiden is far more powerful than they realised!
“Rei –Sailor Mars–” is the third 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). Being the third episode of the series, it also introduces the third main character of the series, Sailors Mars.
It also shows us the rest of the villains, the Four Kings that are the counterparts of the Inner Senshi. At this point, only three major characters for the first story arc haven’t been introduced, which means that we can expect to see different permutations of characters and more varied interactions for the rest of the series. Hooray!
Highlights
Rei’s loneliness is evident
There’s some good backstory for Rei here – despite being popular, pretty, and powerful, she also feels very detached and distant from other people. It’s a relatable emotion – everyone wants to be able to connect with someone else. Yet Rei feels that she’s an outcast, an alien, someone who just doesn’t fit in, so when she meets the Sailors and finds there is a purpose to her strangeness, it’s a gratifying end to that beat.
First appearance of all Four Kings of the Dark Kingdom
Well actually we’re missing Kunzite but at least we get to see the other villains. Just Jadeite and Beryl doesn’t give the villains much room for conflict (with each other) or development. But pitting Jadeite against the other Kings gives us some insight into his character, and also lets him talk to his peers. Before this, he would only talk to his superior (Beryl) or his enemies (the Sailors).
Confrontation between Jadeite and the Sailors
Yay, it’s their first real fight! You know that the monster of the day will be destroyed anyway, so those fights aren’t really serious. But with major characters against major characters, you get to see their power levels and their true abilities, and it’s exciting to see who will prevail (since the villain might very well win).
Sailors are powerful and competent
There’s none of that helpless screaming or reactive attacks. Here, the Sailors take the initiative and press the offensive, and you get to see them shine. They aren’t pulling any punches in this episode. And it’s when everyone is fighting at full capacity, that real tension ensues.
Letdowns
Rei’s friendship with Usagi feels strange and rushed
Just barely halfway into the episode, Rei tells Usagi not to hang around her because she’s a bad influence. It’s a rather strange thing to say, given that the pair haven’t had any serious bonding yet. It establishes that they have been meeting up for a while, but organically it feels like their friendship was forcibly create to serve story purposes, rather than naturally letting the viewer come to that conclusion.
“Rei –Sailor Mars–” is where Sailor Moon Crystal starts shifting gears, with more exciting battles and several key revelations (Tuxedo Mask spots Usagi using the Moon Disguise Pen for one). With Sailor Mars, the Sailors now have a powerful offensive member, which means deadlier villains have to appear to compensate for it!
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