Sailor Moon Crystal Act 3 Review :: Mars Power, MAKE UP!
Welcome back to our ongoing episode reviews of Sailor Moon Crystal! In Sailor Moon Crystal episode 3: Sailor Mars, guardian of fire and passion, has arrived!
This episode gravitated still further from the manga, and included additional filler scenes. Despite this, the episode continues the same level of enchantment and magic previously established by the series. These filler moments either provided seamless segues between scenes or provided additional background for characters. Let’s take a detailed look!
We open the episode in the Dark Kingdom, with Jadeite chastised by Queen Beryl for his recent failures. Here we meet two additional Kings of the Dark Kingdom: Nephrite, who is quick to point out Jadeite’s weakness in an effort to supplant him, and Zoisite, who is more pensive and concerned about the threat the Sailor Guardians pose. In this scene, I have to praise Misa Watanabe for her excellent voice acting talent: she perfectly voiced Queen Beryl’s desire and desperation when explaining what the “Legendary Silver Crystal” is. Upon Beryl’s command to get rid of their enemies, Jadeite vows to eliminate the Sailor Guardians once and for all.
Cut to Rei, who senses impending disaster during a fire divination. This ends up taking the form of the “Demon 6:00 PM Bus,” which, according to our favorite swirly-lensed otaku, Umino-kun, kidnaps passengers riding the 6 PM bus passing Sendaizakaue. While Umino’s role has been small, it’s perfectly executed. I fully enjoy all of his random, know-it-all appearances. Umino’s role continues to diminish in the manga, and I thoroughly hope they find a way to work him in more to the anime.
After a brief meeting at the arcade, Ami and Usagi board the same bus as their future comrade-in-arms, Rei. Ami points out the beautiful girl rumored to ride the bus, and Usagi is instantly enthralled by her beauty. I’m particularly fond of the subtle “heart eyes” animation in this scene. It blends well with the current animation style, and still pays tribute to the more over-the-top animation style of the 90s.
With nothing else to do, Usagi decides to follow the beautiful girl (because that’s not weird or anything). She follows Rei to a shrine, where Rei mistakes her for an evil spirit and tries to exorcise her. After apologizing for her mistake, the two overhear a mother praying for the safe return of her daughter, Mii-chan, who disappeared after visiting the shrine the day before. The harpy housewives passive aggressively accuse the shrine of being dangerous, and gossip about Rei’s strangeness as they exit. Much like Ami, Rei has also been isolated by other’s due to her ability to sense the supernatural. With a sad, mysterious smile Rei provides more context to the rumors of the “Demon 6:00 PM Bus,” telling Usagi that the people of the area call it being “spirited away.”
More students begin to vanish and, in a lovely number of filler scenes, Usagi overhears various classmates discussing the disappearances. These encounters paint a scene of anxiety and mystery as a world of “normal people” try come to terms with a supernatural explanation for the missing persons. Though at this point, I felt the anime missed out on a crucial bit of character development for Usagi. Luna cites Rei’s mysterious aura, spiritual powers, and noble face as reasons that she might be the princess they’re searching for. In the anime, Usagi eagerly agrees with Luna since Rei is so beautiful. However, in the manga, Usagi identifies the possibility that Rei may actually be an enemy. This shows Usagi coming to terms with the responsibilities of being Sailor Moon, and not simply putting in minimal effort by agreeing with the opinions of others.
Usagi and Luna then board the bus to visit Rei, and inadvertently (or inevitably?) run into Mamoru Chiba once again. This time, he’s more appropriately dressed in his high school uniform. That’s right: high school uniform – Moonies rejoice! Mamoru and Usagi’s relationship is age-appropriate!
The remainder of the scene is entirely adorable and awkward, and I almost didn’t miss their subconsciously identifying each other as Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. Though I have to say, an embarrassed Usagi using Luna to shield her face after Mamoru catches her staring at him was hilarious enough for me to forgive the inconsistencies with the source.
The locals begin to believe that Rei is involved in some way with the children’s disappearances. Worried, Rei attempts another fire divination to pinpoint the source of the problem. In the flames, Rei foresees Jadeite attacking Usagi and rushes off to warn her. En route, Rei falls victim to the “demon bus” as Jadeite brings her on board. Upon seeing Rei on the bus, Usagi transforms into a flight attendant (because passenger safety is her first priority!), grabs hold of the back of the bus, and disappears with it – much to the distress of Luna and a too-late Tuxedo Mask.
Using the power of Sailor Moon’s transformation magic, Sailor Mercury and Luna are able to teleport to Usagi’s location. Here they find Jadeite with the missing children, a ploy to lure in the Sailor Guardians. In a classic Sailor Moon moment, Sailor Moon demands Jadeite return the children, realizes she got a bit ahead of herself, stammers, and demands to know who Jadeite is.
A battle ensues, and Rei does something amazing: she recognizes Usagi as Sailor Moon! Seriously, Sailor Moon looks exactly like Usagi Tsukino, and yet somehow the enemy (or her BFF Naru) can never put two-and-two together. Rei, however, brilliantly and bluntly points out the obvious. Honestly, it was a relief to see – especially as Sailor Moon stumbled to convince Rei she was not Udagi.
But it turns out her attempts at subterfuge were unnecessary as we discover Rei Hino is actually Sailor Mars (surprise)! Her transformation sequence followed the same pattern as Sailors Moon and Mercury – tribute to the classic sequence with an updated CG twist. Once transformed, Sailor Moon and Mars combine their powers to hold Jadeite in place and, well, set him on fire.
In keeping with the manga, Jadeite is supposed to meet his end here. But in this episode, he appears to teleport out of the flames. Does this mean he will simply be eliminated by Queen Beryl next week, or will we actually see a longer version of the Dark Kingdom arc? Personally, I would love to see the four kings have more screen time – especially the show explores their past lives more.
Sadly, we won’t discover the answer until August 16. (This two week release cycle is KILLING me!) Plus, we got ROBBED on scenes from next week, as the preview only showed scenes from past episodes. Should you endeavor to, you can check out the preview below.
In the meantime, what did you think of the latest episode? Anything I missed in the review? Let me know in the comments below! And also, be sure to check out the latest episode of Wicked Anime where I guest star and – you guessed it – talk about Sailor Moon Crystal!
6 Comments
I really enjoyed this episode. Its cool to see Usagi take on a more proactive role as Sailor Moon. You can tell she is still getting used to it but she is also showing more confidence and willingness to take on risks. I also really love how the Sailor V game works into the show and the characters development. As the show has progressed Usagi has been getting better at the game, and each time she does she has been rewarded with a new piece of equipment. Does anyone else think Luna made it as a training simulator of sorts?
Well…. if you follow the manga… that game is indeed somewhat like a training simulator 😀
I haven’t watched Sailor moon before other than the occasional episode when I was a kid. I kind of want to go through Crystal first. Then I will probably watch the original and then maybe the manga.
Kyle, you just may be onto something with that theory of yours! (^?^)
Oh the Usagi-Mamoru bus scene in this episode is really my favourite moments 😛 I actually watched that scene up to five times in repeat! I’m also very very glad that Mamoru is not in college but in high school 😀
As for the four kings, I’m happy they are given more screentime in Sailor Moon Crystal. The part of them being close to Prince Endymion was not included in the old anime and I look forward to how or if they might incorporate this into Sailor Moon Crystal 😉
Right?! Right?! I’m really hoping for some serious Silver Millennium screen time! ^.^