Sailor Moon S - Gender Issues for Being Ahead of the Curve

Episode 90 - Episode 91 - Episode 92 - Episode 93 - The Movie

First off, it was a pain in the butt trying to find out which series was which. I did not want to just pick up more Queen Beryl or evil Chibi episodes. That would have made me feel like a poser, and a poser of female anime shows at that. It was high school when I did not want to mess around with gender role issues, so even buying these fan subs kind of felt like being on the down low.

Now 10 years later, I'm revisiting these reviews (as an act of preserving nostalgia) and wearing eye shadow at bars (just to play on the androgynous angle). Perhaps this is the root to my dilemmas, I refuse to change. Go ahead and comment on this. Save me some money and time from my shrink.

Episode 1: The Premonition of the World's Destruction / Enter in the Mysterious New Warriors

Rei has a vision of the end of the world which is down played by the other girls since they are studying for high school entrance exams. Later that day, she is working at the shrine where she is attacked by a demoness formed from her family's fortune tree. This monster seems to be after Rei's Pure Heart. It goes from bad to worse when 4 of the 5 soldiers and Tuxedo Mask have been trapped and Usagi has lost her power.

So far, the biggest problem with this series is that we have little background info on the uber villain. All we have at this point are two guys wanting pure hearts to form a chalice to rule the world. This does give more time to concentrate on the soldiers, but concentrating on Rei without allowing her to pick on Usagi isn't that lively. I feel the best aspect of the episode is the mystery behind the two new soldiers, and their seemingly selfish plan. This episode is pretty much exposition on what is to come for the rest of the series, and it serves that purpose. The episode isn't bad since it'll get better once we're past this, so it was good to see the girls act how they normally act.

Episode 2 - The Birth of a Rod of Love! / Usagi's New Transformation

After the last battle, Usagi has been pretty down, and thinks she might even be kicked out of the Sailor Soldiers. Mamoru decides to try to cheer her up by taking her to a house full of little kittens who are watched over by one little girl. When Usagi finds out that this house is going to be destroyed, she starts a crusade to give all the cats homes no matter how many each soldier has to take care of. While all this is happening, the girl who watches over the cats is being attacked for her pure heart by a demoness formed from her puzzle of a cat. Still, Usagi can't transform. Usagi has to come up with some miracle to save the day, so I guess their pretty much doomed.

I may sound bias, but how can anyone not like a episode of any show that has a lot of kittens? Add the rest of the characters in the show being the way they always have been, and the result is a very good episode. Only problem I can see is why do the new soldiers have to be more powerful, but of course I can't say I blame them for not joining the others for that fact.

Episode 3: A Pretty Boy! / The Secret of Ten'ou Haruka

Usagi has set her mind to studying for her exams, that is until she sees Minako hanging out in an arcade. While they are playing a racing game, a boy named Haruka wants to join in. Minako decides to try to win him over, and also convince Usagi to stay loyal to Mamoru, but how can they compete with whom seems to be his girlfriend. They soon have to forget about this though when the mechanic working on Haruka's car is attacked by the car for his pure heart.

Any episode that is based on any character trying to succeed with a goal, and deal with Usagi seems to work. The episode may be based on a simple concept, but it really works well especially with its surprise ending. Also it's nice to see a more caring attitude by the two new soldiers and to know what planets they represent.

Episode 4: Usagi Yearns! / The Elegant Genius Michiri

Usagi's goal has changed from studying to being the perfect bride for Mamoru. To bad the other soldiers do not take her request for help in achieving this goal seriousely. Upset with the others, she wonders around until she sees Michiri and Haruka. She is amazed with Michiri's talent in playing the violin, and immediatly starts to idolize her. Michiri plays along with this and gives her tickets to a orchestral concert for her, Mamoru, and the other soldiers. This romantic evening for Usagi is unfortunately cut short when a cello steals the pure heart of one of the performers.

The episode has a similar concept to the preceding one, and again the episode works well. It's great that they are giving us a better insight into the other two soldiers, and it's interesting to find out what their goal is. Also the fight scene in this episode is of the same quality of the last three episodes which have all been better than most of the ones in the dubbed episodes.

Sailor Moon © Naako Takeuchi/Kodansha and Toei Animation