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「セレニティ -Princess-」 (Sereniti -Princess- )
“Serenity -Princess-“
Sailor Moon Crystal has amazed me this past month with its huge leaps in plot and consistent animation. Compared to its first few episodes, the animation actually flows and there are fewer distortions in the characters’ faces. In terms of the story, the introductions are now over and done with and all we have left is character development and the takedown of Queen Beryl. I’m thoroughly impressed by the way that Sailor Moon Crystal has delivered its revelations and all that credit goes to the original manga source. Although it’s predictable, it’s still entertaining and it feels like I’m watching a completely new anime (compared to the original). If you haven’t been following the series so far but wanted to know if it’s getting any better – it is indeed.
Unfortunately, this episode took a dip for me and all because Princess Serenity/Usagi was just terribly unbearable in some scenes. I understand that she got her memories back and Tuxedo Mask was taken away, but she’s got to know that there’s more to life than just finding true love. She cried when he was taken, she cried when the other Sailor Scouts were concerned and she cried every time Tuxedo Mask was brought up. All I thought about was how piercing her screams were and how repetitive it was getting. I get it – you miss the guy and you’re worried about him, but what about your friends? What about the Legendary Silver Crystal? Does none of that matter anymore because you lost the man of your dreams? Her actions were reminiscent of how I would expect a 14-year-old to behave, and perhaps sometime in my youth, I was also like that… but now that I’m older, I just can’t stand it. As a role model, Usagi should be better than that; stronger and not someone that hides out in her room and cries. I thought Usagi was making great progress and the previous episodes have demonstrated why she makes for a great leader; but this episode was taking several steps back. This shouldn’t be about how reliant Sailor Moon is on Tuxedo Mask; there’s more to life than that.
The better parts of the episode were the flashbacks that revealed Sailor Moon’s past. I was actually anticipating a full-on fight scene, but I guess the bits and pieces were enough to get the general idea. I don’t believe the original anime told the story this way, but I like the subtle changes because it actually places Queen Beryl on the battle field against Tuxedo Mask. The history is quite simple as well (as it should be for children) but it almost too simple that I wish there was some complexity to their relationship that wasn’t just as simple as a Romeo & Juliet retelling. I like that there is romance involved in the anime though as I feel a lot of adventure/action/shoujo series these days don’t get to that point even after a whole 2-cour series. The whole ordeal with the Moon Kingdom vs. the Earth didn’t feel like it was as devastating as it could be and that might be because they sped through the history rather quickly. I’m sure we’ll get an expanded story next week when we finally meet Princess Serenity’s mother. Also, I’m sure they’ll reveal the true identities of Zoisite, Kunsite and co. soon as well.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Wow… Usagi needs to get a hold of herself. Her life revolves around more than a boy. Is this what I was like at 14? #SailorMoonCrysal
Preview
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I don’t know if this is considered a spoiler, but just to be safe Show Spoiler ▼
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I don’t know, Usagi is alright compared to a certain female protagonist. Can you guess who? Two words: Show Spoiler ▼
What’s even sadder is that Usagi is more mature than her and we love that Usagi is a crybaby!
@Ichigo I don-t think Bella Swann is a good benchmark ^^; Comparing how awful something is to the example at the very bottom of the barrel does not tolerable the awful thing make.
Animation had a few ups and downs this week but the good thing is it is most likely gonna be fixed for the BD release. I did enjoy this episode as well though as you mentioned yourself Usagi is a screamer 🙂 and a tad annoying one on top of that.
she cried alot like this in the old anime as well if i remember right
i love that crybaby usagi and she was cried alot like that in the old anime as well not just in crystal
I personally think we should cut Usagi some slack. We as the viewer are judging her to be a leader and a role model, but Usagi hasn’t grown into that role yet. There are a lot of things people say each of us should be, be it more confident, assertive, etc. But these are not things that happen instantaneously, and it takes time to gain confidence and leadership skills. You have to learn to overcome adversity and pick yourself backup, and Usagi is at the beginning of her journey here. She also just had traumatic memories from her past life returned to her while in the middle of experiencing a new trauma (and to dismiss it as “just over a boy” seems callous, doesnt it? Is that something one would say about a girl’s feelings if she was an actual person, and something horrible had happened to her boyfriend?) We all have our moments of weakness, and this is Usagi’s. Let’s be a little more compassionate and a little less quick to judge, because like Usagi, we’re all only human, with human fallacies and weaknesses.
And as for the “boy”, she’s witnessed his death twice, taken away from her twice. How can she not cry so much when she remembers the pain before, and feel them once again?
There’s also the fact that there never was a Sailor “Moon” before either, so all this is brand new to her in more than one sense.
Venus was the leader of the Senshi in the past and they were her guardians while Usagi was merely the princess who, in a more typical princess fashion, never had to be involved in any of the actual fighting before, living an otherwise very sheltered lifestyle. Even at the very end, all she could do was hide behind Endymion and the Senshi for protection. Now she’s far more involved by not only actually having to lead and fight alongside the very guardians who protected her, but also being the Princess and possibly being involved in far greater things in the future.
Having all of that dumped on you in a span of minutes on top of being flooded with memories of a past life, AND having events practically repeating right before your eyes as those memories return, it’s a wonder Usagi didn’t have a total mental breakdown.
Props for Kotono-san for doing a wonderful job of portraying Usagi’s voice especially when crying. No wonder that she is a true veteran voice actress in Japan.
Well, I hope her vocals are alright…
Good to see animation has gotten better. The face of Rei is much better. Good voice acting for Usagi.
Well….technically….I believe she IS a 14-year-old girl. :/ But yeah, she was a bit annoying. And the giant slow pacing of this episode. I could feel the scenes getting longer and longer. <_<
What? This is what your conclusion from the episode is? But in the same episode was showed to us something incredible, what I haven’t seen anywhere else. Something, which is belittled, scorned, resented, shamed and laughed at at the same time IR is a source of the most powerful energy in the universe – teenage girl’s tears. You said she shouldn’t cry but her crystal clear tears, which was flowing from her pure heart, saved Mamoru’s life, no?
Poor Jupiter, so much potential for her. She deserves better than being some supporting character to a crybaby like Usagi. I Pray for a spin-off of her.
Did any of you read the manga???? Usagi cried like nuts in it too. I think they did a wonderful job of showing that she’s having a mini meltdown. She’s just relost the love of her live(s) and found out she’s the princess in one fell swoop…I think i’d be a little panicked myself. She’s having nightmares, which are PTSD. They showed a character having gone through something so tragic as to lose the man she loved as well as her entire world and then having to go through part of that again, she’s showing remarkable strength by just crying. Show Spoiler ▼
I think we all need a good cry now and again to get our emotions back into control. Even rocks break a bit.
Hell after this episode it is super clear that she is not the leader of the Sailor Guardians. That’s Minako. She does get better but Usagi is noted to be a crybaby is all adaptions of Sailor moon.
If you think about it the only time Usagi was crying that much was in the first episode when she was fighting the first monster (Naru’s mom) with her crying-scream attack. It didn’t really leave the impression she was a crybaby like this episode did. What she went through was tragic in the past and now, and to go through that again is even more devastating. So I can understand why she would be depressed and it is to be expected right? It matters to the audience to know how strong her love is for Mamoru by expressing her full-blown sadness like crying all the time, at least for me. That is just her character, to show that she looks/is weak at first but then she comes out strong when it counts. On a side note…
Show Spoiler ▼
Mamoru and Usagi’ s relationship is something not just anime but real life relationships should aspire to be. Good moral support and actually being in love with each other for who they are.
Funny observation, I like how Sailor Mercury put on some “sun glasses” when that crystal came out of nowhere. It was just for a split second, but you could see all sailor scouts covering their eyes yet Mercury is tapping the side of her to activate the glasses lol.