And we’re back with more! This one features two regular episodes, and one strange longer version.
Pictured: Hawk’s Eye, the pursuer of sexy older women. Figures the Sailor Moon character most like me would look like this.
EPISODE #130:
In a rather infamous one, the MILF-hunting Hawk’s Eye chooses a target- USAGI’S MOM!!! “In the name of my dad, I’ll punish you!”, lol. Usagi blows up because Ikuko has been favoring Chibi-Usa, and drowns her sorrows with her friends. Man, every episode so far has featured the “Fruit Parlor Crown” as a new “hangout” of sorts. A new directorial choice, replacing Hikawa Shrine (SPOILER ALERT: this doesn’t keep up). We also get a sweet moment where Ikuko reminisces over a photo album and has a heart-to-heart with Chibi-Usa about her dreams, how happy she is to have her family growing up healthy and happy, and her ultimate wish- to see her children walking down the aisle at their weddings.
Hawk’s Eye makes a play for her, playing up being a boy looking for his “long-lost mother”, only to start hitting on Ikuko for her youth and beauty- of course this is when the girls arrive to see what’s going on. Usagi’s V.A. gets a REALLY good line delivery with “Mom’s having an AFFAIR!?” with her voice cracking and fading out at the last word. But Hawk’s Eye immediately sets up her for Dream Mirroring. In a great moment, Hawk aims for a slap on Chibi-Moon, but Usagi SLIDE-TACKLES him, knocking him on his ass. But then she fires out a Moon Spiral Heart Attack, and he BLOCKS IT WITH HIS HAND, then breathes out a column of flame! The girls & Tuxedo Mask are then knocked flat by a Lemures shooting herself out of a cannon at them.
The “Queen of Wands” strip directly parodying the new transformation sequence.
At this point, Chibi-Moon summons Pegasus, who empowers their brooches and allowing them to shout “Moon Crisis Make Up”, giving us the most iconic Transformation Sequence of the second half of the series, featuring mother & daughter transforming at once, full of ribbons and cheek-kisses and such. And then their weapons transform into the Kaleido Moon Scope and Crystal Carillon! So after an INSANE amount of new Stock Footage, we have our new “thing”- the Make Up into Super Sailors, the Carillon calls forth Pegasus with a “Twinkle Yell”, and then an empowered S.S. Moon fires out her “Moon Gorgeous Meditation”- basically firing out her Moon Scope like a rifle of energy that turns the Lemures into a shattered picture. This stuff takes longer than any Power Rangers Mecha Transformation ever.
Cute episode. Though the sheer amount of stuff that happens in each fight tends to prevent fun stuff- like part of this is the thought of Ikuko having an affair, but we never see Usagi’s dad?
(First Appearance: Moon Crisis Make Up Transformation, Kaleido Moon Scope, Crystal Carillon, Twinkle Yell, Moon Gorgeous Meditation)
A reminder of happier times.
EPISODE #131:
This is a somewhat sad one for me, as this is Naru & Umino’s FINAL APPEARANCE in the anime- characters who were once massively prominent in the series, they had less and less to do the more Usagi had magical friends show up. And so, with seventy episodes to go, they say their goodbyes. It still feels a BIT unnecessary, though they’d long since lost any form of importance, and Usagi’s group of extra friends was now fairly substantial.
So Hawk’s Eye has built a cage charged with negative energy to create a “Subspace Prison” for Pegasus, and Tiger’s Eye is planning on using the “plain” Naru as bait. However, he’s mortified to discover that she’s ignoring him frequently for UMINO- his vanity is shattered, and his frustration is epic and pretty funny. Bizarrely, we get to THE HALF-POINT of the episode before we see any of the regular cast! These sentimental dinks KNEW this was the last time we were seeing Naru! So Tiger’s Eye is pretending he’s got three months to live and wants to “experience love” first, and Naru is a bit too reserved and kind to simply say “no”. The girls give some practical advice (Rei: “Love and pity aren’t the same thing, Naru”), but UMINO is staggered by the story, and tells her to stay by the man’s side! With tears streaming down his eyes like he just saw a Bret Hart match, too.
Tiger’s Eye tries to take some liberties and get a little TOO close, which causes Naru to completely shoot down his idea, which is of course when he attacks (salving his pride by suggesting he’d NEVER go for a girl like her). The perv brings out the Lemures, a juggler with spikes on her breasts that she “squishes” inwards with each toss of the juggling balls. On a repeating loop, no less. In a pretty non-inspiring twist, the cage… doesn’t work in the slightest, and Pegasus simply jumps free- Sailor Moon then kills the Lemures.
Naru confesses that Umino being “such an idiot” by drowning his sorrows in 15 milkshakes (and getting sick off of them) is “what I like about you” is a cute bit, as is her offer of an EXTRA milkshake as a gift. Her smile and Umino’s horror caps off their time in Sailor Moon as a whole.
SAILOR MOON SUPERS SPECIAL EPISODE:
This one’s a three-part 45-minute special that aired during the season.
The episode advertises itself as a clip show, adding that “We’ll get to see Haruka and Michiru again!” as an lure. Seeing the old animation from the show’s beginning is funny, as they more or less retell the first season quickly (leaving out that the girls DIED, actually), then gloss over Sailor Moon R in about thirty seconds flat. It’s funny when everyone just goes “LOL THEY’RE PROBABLY BONING RIGHT NOW” when Usagi asks what Haruka & Michiru are up to at this time. Well, at least it’s nice that somebody’s ACKNOWLEDGING THEM- they haven’t been mentioned all season thus far.
And then HOLY CRAP they actually show up in the second half, which is a one-off involving an Evil Ventriloquist. Michiru, wearing the world’s ugliest bicolor outfit (jesus, what IS that?) is going solo, as it turns out that Haruka has a fever. And is hitting on the cute maid serving them on this cruise. Michiru passes it off with her same casual, aloof smirk (“And YOU seem to be doing much better”). The Ventriloquist is draining people’s energy (what is this, Season One?), and actually grabs Haruka’s, but Michiru transforms into Sailor Neptune, beats up a mind-controlled maid and attacks. The villain’s all “ho ho, but if you attack me, all the shadows of the world will rise up and slaughter their owners” and demands she sit still while he drains the rest of Haruka’s power… and of course Neptune blasts him. He’s all “how did you know I was LYING?!”, of course not realizing that these bitches are cold as ice, and would sacrifice everything. Neptune just smirks and says “Oh, you were lying?” while he’s aghast (“You attacked just to save your friend?! And you call yourself a hero of justice who protects the world?!”). All she says is “What’s the worth of saving a world without Haruka in it?”
The Puppet is smashed to pieces by World Shaking, saving the Ventriloquist from its grip- he dies “before I can serve the Dead Moon!”. The girls wonder about the new enemy, but they figure “The Messiah” (ie. Sailor Moon) can handle it. And that’s it for these two this season.
In the third part, Chibi-Usa and her school chums encounter a new girl who’s actually a VAMPIRE, and has been causing their friends to disappear. It’s a bit odd to see what looks to be a new supporting cast show up even though they’re not important (I think Chibi-Usa just gets new school friends every season, actually). Her one friend has a REALLY weird design- bright purple hair, and a figure that’s more “Jessica Rabbit” than “Young Child”- how the frick old is that character supposed to be? It’s REALLY creepy. Huh- turns out this “Momoko” is the same one as in Sailor Moon R and S, but has a totally different design. I never even noticed it was the same person- shows you how much I care about the “Chibi-Usa” episodes, I guess, lol. In any cause, the girl, Lilica, turns into an adult vampire, but Sailor Moon & Tuxedo Mask arrive to help fight it.
And then of course the OTHER Sailors arrive, using the fact that they ate garlic at a barbecue yesterday for their “Super Sailor Garlic Attack”, stunning the vampire with their breath. Both Sailors Moon are stunned by that working, and then blast the monster, who reveals the true Lilica.
Very weird, silly episode. The middle one is awesome because of Uranus & Neptune, and the second is actually pretty interesting until the monster is easily defeated by some of the show’s silliest stuff. A bit bizarre, though it’s at least funny.
And that’s all for now! I find that I tend to write more about each episode as time goes on, which is a bit odd as I’m not exactly taken with this goofy season thus far.
SWO Productions 