Sailor Moon Crystal Episode 10 [ Kingdom of the Moon ]

Usagi wants to learn the truth about herself as well as her past life, and to do so she and the Scouts have made it their mission to go to the moon. This episode was kind of sort of done in the original anime and is one of the first one’s I can actually compare the two in content. Both do a fairly good job at making us realize the things Usagi has lost in both her previous lives and this one always kind of stings. Yet again, however, I no longer feel Usagi is limited as a character to either repeat or be held down by her past lives.

As a kid who grew up on Sailor Moon, I have to say I couldn’t understand a lot of ‘Serena’ and ‘Darien’s’ love because I didn’t feel it. I can feel it now, the extent to which she loved him in which she took her own life. Now by no means was that a good thing for her to do, but it was something I at least could feel with the character. It’s sad to see her kind of grasp that the message she is getting is from her mother, and briefly I can see her pain at realizing she’s losing a mother she didn’t even remember. (A good comparison to that kind of feeling is the way that Garnet from Final fantasy IX acts, so it definitely piques some of my nostalgic interest.)

Seeing the Sailor Scouts get the awesome sword they did and realize how strong they were was awesome. But it’s very cool that in a way this episode was focused on their stuff too- it’s this episode we learn and confirm that each of the Sailor Scouts were in love with the General’s that Queen Beryl is fighting with. Even worse, they are fighting against Endymion who they swore to protect. This was in the manga but not to this extent, and I like it. While some people could find it contrived I think the whole reason they might end up working together is because both side were strong and noble warriors who defended their country and their leaders. The difference? The Sailor Scouts stayed true to their original goal. It really shows how the lifetimes couldn’t separate them.

When Usagi and the other’s head back they are forced to fight the Generals, and Venus reveals the truth about their past. They can’t fight back at first, but then Usagi gives them the strength when she uses Moon Healing Escalation to save the town and stop the attack. Okay, you can argue all you want, but there is no arguing that this Usagi does far more than the original Usagi in the anime did. She doesn’t scream and cry at every new attack, and she finds the courage within her to save the day. In Crystal, Usagi is my favorite character. In the original? Still got to be Jupiter.

So at the end of the episode and the preview we see that Mamoru has been turned by Beryl. Damn, you know that the ‘Great Ruler’ is powerful to be able to hypnotize someone she failed to do so for before, and the Shitennou. Sometimes that feels like plot convenience but I’m not going to lie, two weeks from now, I’ll be crying like a little girl. And keep in mind everyone, it is now confirmed Season 2 will be in Crystal and it will have Rini! I wonder if they’ll make her a little more endearing than the original anime did. Stay tuned and we’ll probably end up sobbing together in two weeks.

Mamo-chan, /sobs/

Oki