[DreamSword]

Special Act

"Does it matter if we change?
Does it matter at all?
Don't you worry about me friend.
Don't you worry at all."

-La Lune, Madeon

I really love it whenever tokusatsu shows get epilogues.

It's a nice chance to breathe, and see how the events of the show affect the characters going forward. As well as offer a chance to tie up some things.

And while I wouldn't call this epilogue to Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon perfect by any stretch, as there's a handful of things I could complain about, it does do alot that I really respect.

To get the negatives out of the way, the exact rules of the reset that Serena did during the final episode are made really weird by this one. For example, if the Sailor Scouts can't transform anymore due to the reset meaning they never had to, why does Mio still exist? Why are the Generals allowed to come back?

I also must wonder if Raye's' actress was busy during the filming of this special, because Raye herself is only around for about three scenes in this entire hour long episode; to the point that Sailor Mars doesn't even get to be a part of the final battle. I'm an absolute sucker for the trope of the final group henshin during a big final battle, so to not get that here was a bit of a disappointment.

But, if you're willing to look past things like that, this epilogue does offer alot of fun aspects to it that had me enthralled all throughout. Mainly in terms of character interaction, though the action wasn't lacking either. I did actually like how the final boss was a giant CGI monster; calling back to the first two episodes of PGSM proper. And finally getting to see both Darien and his Generals throw down with some monsters was a real treat.

While I could end my impressions right then and there(I'm a simple guy, remember), I do want to note one thing that really stood out to me, and it's at the very end of the special: The message it ends on. I've said before that a story is more than its message, and I still mean that. So let me preface what I'm about to say with the statement that even if the episode didn't end on this note, I still would've came out of this feeling pretty positive on it. It's just that the final note really does well in bringing things to a close.

Far too often I've seen shows of various genres end on the idea of "Because of life, we can now never be friends again." A good handful of the Pretty Cure shows I've seen(at the time of this writing) end on that note, for example. And it's an idea that's always been incredibly depressing to me, as someone who takes his friendships rather seriously. So color me surprised when the live-action Sailor Moon here has the guts to instead end with the lesson of: "Life goes on, we all change, and friends might not always be within arm's' reach. But if your bond is true, then all it takes is a little effort to be there for eachother when it counts."

And that, right there, is a lesson that I feel people in general should learn, much less the kids watching a show like this.