Should you watch this, Wiki this or wait for the recap? Watch this.
When Prince Demando threatens all of reality with the two Legendary Silver Crystals, Sailor Pluto makes the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone, breaking the spell upon Black Lady and triggering the birth of a new Sailor! But will even this be enough to stop Wiseman, or rather, Death Phantom from usurping life from the universe? Can the combined power of the Sailors stop this foe from the future?
“Showdown –Death Phantom–” is the twenty 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). This episode continues the second story arc and is Sailor Chibimoon’s debut (although she isn’t referred to as such).
“Showdown –Death Phantom–” jam packs many key plot developments, giving us a graceful exit for two characters and a beautiful introduction for another. It’s a lot of action and suspense to be put into one episode, and as the penultimate episode, sets everything up for the final showdown between Death Phantom and Sailor Moon by resolving all other plot lines. Finally, the Sailors are together!
Highlights
Sailor Pluto’s sacrifice
When Sailor Pluto’s background began, with the whole thing about the three taboos of time, you knew it would lead to this. She’s already broken two taboos, and it was just a matter of time before she broke the third. Being the only person who could have stopped Prince Demando, her sacrifice was justified, and it’s because of her that the Sailors have one more chance to stop Death Phantom. It’s a good set up, and the pay off is well deserved.
Sailor Chibimoon!
At least she gets a transformation sequence in her first appearance instead of just appearing in a flash of light! Sailor Chibimoon’s transformation is as cute as she is, with various pink ribbons and pops happening. Although we don’t get to see the full extent of her abilities yet, at least she has achieved her heart’s desire without resorting to evil means. If only we could see a showdown between Black Lady and Sailor Chibimoon though…
Prince Demando’s last stand
As the angsty villain-turned-anti-hero of the Black Moon arc, Prince Demando’s final push against Death Phantom is a fitting send off for him. He would never have allied with Sailor Moon, so this was really the only other option left for him. While he may have failed in taking revenge for the Black Moon Family, at least he showed he was loyal to the end.
Death Phantom appears
And then we have Death Phantom appearing – yet another form of Wiseman! It all goes back to his powers of deception when we see that once again, there’s another layer to him that we don’t understand. This Death Phantom plot thread was started quite a few episodes earlier, so it’s a satisfying to see it finally come to fruition. Again, just as Sailor Moon stands for light and life, Death Phantom stands for darkness and death, so symbolically it’s also very fitting.
Sailors stand together
As a sort of Sentai series, nothing thrills more than seeing all the Sailors putting their powers together to defeat the enemy. Given that the Inner Senshi have mostly been captured in this arc, it’s fun to see them stand together in the remaining few episodes they have. It’s their moment of awesome, and it also makes up for all the pain and sadness that Sailor Moon had to endure in the earlier few episodes.
“Showdown –Death Phantom–” is where everything comes together, and also everything comes to a head. Now finally, we get to see the battle that the entire second half of the season has been building up to!
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