Sailor Moon Crystal: Act 15 - Infiltration, Sailor Mars - Review 

Sailor Moon Crystal: "Episode 15 - Infiltration, Sailor Mars" Review

The first story arc for Sailor Moon Crystal is in the bag, with Sailor Moon victorious over the evil Queen Metalia. But no sooner has Usagi’s life gotten back to normal, than a new threat has arrived. No, no! I’m not talking about Prince Diamond and the Black Moon Clan. I’m talking  about Chibiusa, the gun-wielding, 5 year-old terror with a bad attitude.

I couldn’t stand Chibiusa back in the \'90s anime, and so far she’s done little to endear me this time around. In just one episode she managed to manipulate Mamoru into thinking she’s harmless, hypnotized Usagi’s parents into letting her stay in their home, spied on Usagi everywhere she went, and generally acted like a brat. I’m not a proponent of violence, but if Usagi ever decided to pick Chibiusa up and give her a good spanking, I wouldn’t object.

Sailor Moon Crystal: First Season Wrap Up

We don’t know who Chibiusa is or what she wants. All we know is that she has a floating robot cat head that does parlor tricks, and that she has the Legendary Silver Crystal around her neck. Which should cause the universe to implode. I mean, there can’t be

Silver Crystals, right? Because as we saw, Usagi still has the Silver Crystal safely stored in her brooch. It\'s a paradox! Ah, well. I don’t really mind, since now I want to learn how the “two crystals, two girls named Usagi” angle is going to pan out. (It’s been so long, I actually don’t remember.)

At any rate, episode 15 featured less of Bratty McBrat and more of the Sailor Guardians and their new enemies. We don’t know much about the Black Moon Clan yet, but I like that the show wasted no time establishing their objective: to find the Legendary Silver Crystal and destroy it.

Prince Diamond’s court seems far deadlier than Metalia and her generals; I was genuinely alarmed when Koan ran around killing victims using spontaneous combustion. It was a surprisingly violent moment that foreshadows a much darker story arc. And her (successful!) plan to kidnap Sailor Mars is proof the Black Moon Clan will do whatever it takes to get the Silver Crystal. No holds barred.

Of course, the Sailor Guardians didn\'t just accept this new threat lying down. I loved the tense (albeit brief) battle with Koan toward the end. The Sailor Guardians weren\'t afraid to go on the attack once they identified the enemy, and it was exciting watching them use their spiffy new powers to try and take down the enemy. (Sailor Mars’ Burning Mandala being one example.) Even Tuxedo Mask stepped up his game: first he deflected a nasty fire spell headed straight for Usagi, then helped Sailor Moon summon Queen Serenity\'s Moon Rod, which took out the enemy in one slammin’ attack. (We hardly knew ye, Koan.)

The fight scene was good stuff, but my favorite part of the episode was watching the Sailor Guardians bond over ice cream sundaes. We rarely get to see the girls spend downtime together, so it was a refreshing change of pace. Plus, their meet-up had an amusing effect: I laughed out loud when Rei unintentionally made a sarcastic remark to a peer, a consequence of being around her immature girlfriends. (Though Rei\'s peers also noted she\'s much friendlier and more talkative, also a result of being around the other Guardians.)

And was it me or were their extra special cute shots of Luna in this episode? In fact, that whole scene at the breakfast table was adorable! I loved how Usagi was downing toast like it was going out of style, and it was so sweet when Luna had her head on the table as she watched the two Usagis gripe at each other. It’s these little moments that remind me of why I love Sailor Moon so much.

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Episode 15 was a strong start to a new story arc, with new allies, new enemies, cool new powers, and a heck of a cliffhanger ending. Let\'s hope the next episode will continue the exciting momentum of its predecessor.

The Sailor Guardians discover a new enemy that will stop at nothing to get the Silver Crystal.  RT

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