[GuardianAngel87]

Funnily enough, this is what might be my favorite incarnation of Sailor Mars and her actress did a great job with the role.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Also, as far as I know, this is precisely the case where the character is closer to the original manga than the anime.

One of the rare cases where I prefer a character being made totally different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuardianAngel87

Funnily enough, this is what might be my favorite incarnation of Sailor Mars and her actress did a great job with the role.

I doubt she'll surpass the 90s anime version for me, but I do hope to grow to like her more as the show goes on.

[DreamSword]

Act 4

I realize that I haven't really talked much about the plot up to now.

Part of it is because I figured many are kinda already familiar with the premise of Sailor Moon, but it's mostly because it's been rather secondary.

So for those unfamiliar, here ya go: The story goes that there are two opposing forces. The Moon Kingdom, and the Dark Kingdom, who are currently hunting down something known as the Phantom Silver Crystal.

It's said that whoever has this crystal will be granted ultimate power to do with as they please. The Sailor Scouts are the chosen Guardians of the Moon Princess, and together they fight against Queen Beryl and her forces, who create monsters to suck the life energy out of humans.

I bring all of this up now because, atleast so far, this is the episode that most has to do with the plot at hand, as it features both sides hunting down a jewel that they suspect of being said ultimate artifact. But that's not to say that character development is completely sidelined. This episode also features the softening of Raye, and the three girls learning to work together as a team.

And to that end, yeah, it all works out pretty well. Every character has their moment, and there's enough fun action and comedic beats to keep the ball rolling and keep me invested. My favorite bit being when Serena attempts to save Sailor Mars, only to then realize that she can't transform, thus causing the theme song in the background to come to a screeching halt. I always love it when shows do music gags like that.

There's of course other things like Tuxedo Mask and the "mystery" surrounding Sailor V's' identity("cest la vie" is pretty on the nose), but the plot is kept pretty thin on purpose, and I feel as though it's to the show's' strength, really. Especially this early on when the audience is still getting to know the main cast. It's a rather underrated form of storytelling in the online toku sphere, I've come to realize.

But, such moves almost always work out for the better in my eyes, and atleast right, PGSM is no exception.

[DreamSword]

Act 5

This episode was way too real.

Anxiety and loneliness is a combination that's really difficult to deal with. Especially when you're an introvert in an extrovert's' world.

Such is the tale of Amy in this episode, who's beginning to feel rather insecure about her friendships with Serena and Raye. And in a desperate attempt to fit in, tries to match the energy of her peers.

I was rather impressed by how down to Earth Amy's' struggles were being portrayed, as well as the lesson being told that being completely self-sacrificing for the sake of others, while sounds noble on paper, is hardly if ever worth it, and will only end up hurting you in the long run.

And on the opposite side of things we have another lesson via the actions of Serena here, who, while she does mean well, ends up hurting Amy via the constantly nudging and urging Amy to be something that Amy isn't. Real friends should love you for who you are, and being your authentic self is typically the best way to find the people right for you.

My only real critique comes at the very end of the episode, which seems to imply that Amy changing is ultimately for the better? Sure, it's in a rather small way'; that being not wearing her glasses all the time, but by the same token, it kinda goes against the entire message the episode had been aiming for about letting people be and respecting their boundaries. Had Amy gone completely back to the way she'd been before, I'd've respected this story alot more.

Still, it's ultimately a minor gripe, and I felt big emotions throughout the majority of this episode all the same.

[Androzani84]

The one where we’re not sure if Ami has some kind of disorder, (I mean, seeing a j-drama in which someone is murdered by someone else they considered a friend and assuming that’s going to happen to you… as someone on the Spectrum, albeit high-functioning, that seems like a sign) or she’s just antsy about losing the first real friendship she’s had.

Anyway, I think this is where the show starts getting more of its own voice, since the previous episodes were pretty much following the broad strokes of the manga’s first 4 chapters. Which meant that a portion of viewers who preferred this to the anime suddenly lost a leg to stand on.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Anyway, I think this is where the show starts getting more of its own voice, since the previous episodes were pretty much following the broad strokes of the manga?s first 4 chapters. Which meant that a portion of viewers who preferred this to the anime suddenly lost a leg to stand on.

I've never been super huge into the Sailor Moon fandom, so I honestly have no clue how debates between this, the anime, and the manga tend to go.

Part of me is curious, the other part of me says "No, no, stay out of it."

[DreamSword]

Act 6

This is an episode that I feel will be greatly affected via hindsight.

On face value, I get it. It's essentially a sped-up version of the same arc that Raye just had via the past two episodes.

This one is about Lita, or Sailor Jupiter. And like in the 90s anime, she's a tomboy who likes sports, gets into fights, and has trouble with men she likes. Unlike Raye, she's generally friendly with Serena right at the jump though.

Where the (atleast for now) big difference between the 90s anime and PGSM is, however, in how exactly both shows portray Lita's' more "boyish" traits.

The 90s anime right from the jump made it very clear that Lita wasn't a freak for her more stereotypically masculine interests. Infact, that she was able to celibrate both masculinity and femininity at once was her strength and what made her unique. But here? The masculine side is kinda treated as a curse.

Like don't get me wrong, I get it, this show is meant to be a bit more downtrodden and dramatic than the versions of the story that came before it, but at the same time, this take seemingly removes a rather forward-thinking and cool element to Lita's' character. Granted, it's only her intro, so there's plenty of time to turn it into an arc as we go, but the starting point does make me uneasy.

But, on face value, separated from the versions of Sailor Moon that came before, this episode does work out pretty well for what it is. The general lesson it has, that you frankly shouldn't just someone as a whole for what they at first appear to be, is an important one to teach. And the basketball bullies getting dunked on(both physically and metaphorically) is rather satisfying to see play out. There's plenty to like here.

Oh, and this version of Raye is asexual. My glorious queen.

[DreamSword]

Act 7

I think this show was the first time I ever saw a Triple Date. Like, ever.

And while I'm not usually one for romance stories, I actually rather liked this episode, possibly even more than the past me did.

A big part of it is how this episode actually ends up subverting some common tropes I've seen in various other tokusatsu shows. The biggest of which being the "Misunderstanding Plot" of which Toshiki Inoue is most known for.

Because that's a big part of the story here: Serena mistaking the guy who works the front desk at the karaoke place she likes for being Tuxedo Mask. But because this is Kobayashi, the angle taken here feels rather fresh, and alot of the character stuff therein feels fun.

Legit, I had a good time seeing how every pair acted off of one another. Serena and Motoki get the most focus, sure, but Raye and Lita's' dates leave great impressions with what time they do get. Raye's' especially got a good laugh out of me, with how much she just doesn't want to be there. And of course there's the dramatic irony of the audience knowing who Tuxedo Mask is already.

There's of course the lingering "mystery" of who Sailor V is and Zoicite getting introduced into the enemy forces, but that's very secondary to the meat of the episode at hand, and I appreciated that because it showed that the more personal character stuff was the primary focus. And while it's obvious the plot stuff will get followed up on in due time, I really hope that Motoki and his feelings get some sort of follow up after this episode.

[Androzani84]

Admittedly, Tuxedo Mask learning who Sailor Moon is is a neat little wrinkle in the established formula.

[DreamSword]

Act 8

Raye and Lita don't get along.

The episode is interesting in many ways. Both in how it handles our two lead characters and in how it handles the message of independence.

While Serena would definitely prefer every get along, she's not actually a driving force that brings Raye and Lita together. It's something the two figure out themselves via finding some surprising common ground.

Connecting to that is even more of a shake up to how Raye is portrayed here when compared to her 90s anime version. Her grandpa? Not a thing. Instead, this Raye chose isolation due to her troubled relationship with her father. And Lita, also someone without a proper family, really empathizes with that.

As for the lesson of the episode, how it talked about independence vs community actually rather surprised me, given that from what I understand, Japanese society tends to be very community driven, with lone wolves looked down upon. Here though, the episode actually portrays both ideologies as something needed in order for people to grow. It's a rather refreshing take.

And on a total personal note, I was very happy to see how Jadeite was portrayed here. He's was an incredibly effective villain back in the 90s anime, and it was nice to see him going toe to toe with the Sailor Scouts without much issue during this episode's' climax. The show had me worried for a bit, given how his relationship with Beryl had been going up to now. I can only hope that Nephlite is done similar justice in the future, given he was my favorite of Queen Beryl's' generals back in the 90s.

Just a really well rounded package of an episode, this one.