[DreamSword]

Act 28

In terms of plot, you can tell Kobayashi wrote herself into a bit of a corner.

Main in terms of how, in order for the heroes to actually be able to win, she had to change the rules of how teleporting worked.

But despite that hiccup, this was an overall really strong finish to what I consider the second act of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon as a whole. And almost made up for the small stumbles I felt it had entirely.

The episode is all about addressing the divide that's happened between the girls over these past handful of episodes, and more importantly, Amy's' feelings on both that, as well as her own guilt over what she'd done when under Malachite's' control. And true to her character, she's rather hard on herself over it.

There's alot of nice visual symbolism that goes along with this story too, such as the four girls literally breaching a divide in the episode's' climax, resulting in them getting a team attack to beat the monster of the week with. And, more on the more subtle side, there's Amy and Serena wearing eachother's' colors, symbolizing them reinforcing their bond.

That all said, I think the thing I appreciated most was the ultimate lesson when it came this episode, which is one that the show has said before, but it's emphasized here: Friendships take effort. Sure, there are going to stumbles along the way, and everyone can't be together and on the same page 100% of the time, but so long as everyone is willing to put in just the smallest bit of understanding, true bonds will shine through, and work wonders for all involved.

PGSM absolutely stuck the landing on the end of this arc. Bravo.

[DreamSword]

Act 29

There's kinda not much to say about this one.

And I very much mean that. The episode is very much just the intro to the next arc and nothing else.

There's a new girl at school. She's a manipulative jerk. There's a monster attack. Lita and Amy are training to awaken more of their powers. That's... that's honestly it when it comes to the episode.

It wasn't a bad time by any means, but outside of a brief scene of Darien in London(who knew Ibuki could speak English? I sure didn't.), it just very much was serving the purpose of getting the plot a kickstart. And it does that, so uh, good job, I guess?

[DreamSword]

Act 30

A story is more than just its message.

If there's one commonality that I've seen when it comes to people who review tokusatsu, it's that they'll typically focus on the message and nothing else.

And as someone himself who's done that with specific episodes of shows he's talked about, I get it. When you see a show really speak to your personal philosophy, it's easy to feel seen and enlightened.

But if all you care about is the message, go to a seminar.

I watch TV shows primarily for entertainment. Not to get preached to, not to advertise my own personal philosophy, not to prove how smart something is.

Not to mention, I've always felt that, if the message really is the most important thing in the eyes of the viewer, shouldn't the execution also matter? People can preach how bad it is to kick puppies all they want, but if they're kicking a puppy while doing so? Kind of a bad look.

Case in point, this episode has a message that puts it ahead of its time: Showcasing the dangers of mob mentality and blind faith in someone of fame. As well as just how rabid fandom can be.

Sure enough, I really dug that aspect of it. But it came at the major cost of Serena being out of character in order to not only make it work, but also continue to drag on the plot with the manipulative idol come the episode's' resolution. Yeah, Serena is empathetic and naiive, but not to the point that she'd turn a blind eye to very blatant wrongdoings.

Yeah, I liked the overall episode well enough, but plot should almost never come at the cost of characterization, and it's the sort of mistake I'm not used to seeing in Kobayashi's' works. Yet, this version of Sailor Moon has had multiple examples now, and typically for the sake of melodrama. It's the sort of thing I moreso expect from Inoue; who in alot of ways I see has Kobayashi's' opposite in terms of style.

So, yeah. It's the sort of episode wherein you need to choose which aspects you want to prioritize, and it leaves me with some mixed feelings.