Sailor Moon Crystal - Act 15: Infiltration: Sailor Mars

Previously: Act 14: Conclusion and Commencement: Petite Étrangére

Photo Credit: Sailor Moon Crystal

We begin this episode with Chibiusa holding a gun to Usagi’s head; Chibiusa is demanding that Usagi hand over the “Legendary Silver Crystal” for reasons she has yet to go into. She goes on to threaten Usagi, telling her that the gun is real. Understandably, Usagi is completely mortified by this turn of events. Chibiusa goes to pull the trigger, but Mamoru yanks her out of the way just as she fires. After a loud bang and a collapsed Usagi, we find out that the gun was in fact a toy, and it only fired flowers. Chibiusa then runs off, leaving the two teens in her wake. The next thing we get to see is the members of the Black Moon Clan: Prince Demand, Saphir, Esmeraude, and Crimson Rubeus. They are celebrating the fact that the “Legendary Silver Crystal” has been found, and - at the behest of the mysterious Wiseman - their mission is to seek it out and destroy it so they can bring back their own fortunes. Rubeus asks for permission to take care of it, calling out the four Spectre Sisters to do his bidding. Koan, the youngest of the four, volunteers as tribute. She has her eyes on the girl that can control fire, much like her; we then see a silhouette of Sailor Mars. Back on Earth, Usagi finally comes to and wonders what the hell just happened, wondering if she’s actually a villain. They track her down and find her at a park, swinging alone. Mamoru shows her a great deal of kindness, and she gravitates toward him and grabs his hand. Mamoru then sees a flash of a memory and wonders himself what’s going on. That evening, the three walk to Usagi’s - well, Mamoru and Usagi walk; Chibiusa is being carried by Mamoru - when they are greeted by Usagi’s family. Chibiusa runs to Usagi’s mom and hugs her. She then decides that she’ll stick around for a bit, turning her Luna ball into a parasol so she can hypnotize Usagi’s family. Usagi drags her to her room in order to question her; instead, she gets summoned to dinner. On the way, Luna and Usagi catch a glimpse of a key and what appears to be the “Legendary Silver Crystal,” Luna tells Usagi that she doesn’t think the little one is a threat, but she wants to keep an eye on her.

The next day, Usagi meets her fellow Guardians at the Crown Fruit Parlor where they wax poetic about peaceful times and who Chibiusa really is. Luna then shows up and gives the Guardians new transformation pens and communicators. Before parting, Rei invites the girls to a carnival; she’s going to be a fortune teller because of course she is. That evening, Rei meets up with the Supernatural Research Club (Sure.) and meets the people she’s going to be working with. During a candid introduction, Rei is told by the club president that there have been UFO sightings going on recently, and they want to investigate them. They also want to investigate the people dying from spontaneous combustion; that’s a new trend that started when the UFOs showed up. There’s no way this has anything to do with the mysterious people we saw after the open, right? No…this has to be one of those coincidences. Anyway, they get reports that there is another club looking into the same thing as they are; they’re called the Supernatural Phenomenon Association, and they also go by “Black Moon.” Yeah; coincidence. The next morning, Rei is happily giving out positive fortunes, but their competition is telling people when they’re going to die. Time, date, everything. They go to report the evil fortune teller, but they are distracted by seeing someone burst into flames. On cue, the club president faints, the other Guardians show up, and they transform. The lackeys show their true colors and are soundly beat down. Koan reveals herself to the group, and Sailor Mars takes umbrage with that. The two end up in a fire battle, and it’s a battle that Mars loses. Badly. Mars is engulfed in flame, Sailor Moon’s Tiara attack gets knocked back to her by Koan, and Tuxedo Mask saves the day. The two then spawn the creation of a new weapon just by touching: the rod of Queen Serenity. Sailor Moon uses the wand to completely obliterate Koan, but they’re unable to save Sailor Mars, as she is abducted by Rubeus and the Black Moon Clan.

Here are my five standout moments from the episode:

1. Chibiusa is gangsta, isn’t she? You run into your parents in their past, and the first thing you do is pull a gun on your mom?
2. I loved the moments of humor in this episode; these are the things I’ve missed the most in the episodes thus far. The most poignant of them was during the hypnosis scene; the music and their reactions were perfect.

3. The sound effects in this episode were turned way up. Every single hand clasp, item pickup, glistening shimmer, and air swipe is loud enough to be picked up a city block away. Hearing these things are fine, but they don’t need to be that pronounced!
4. Nice work on the opening credits! Away goes the Dark Kingdom and in comes the Black Moon Clan, Chibiusa, and our first introduction to Sailor Pluto!
5. So long, Koan; we barely knew ye. No, really; we have no earthly idea who the hell you were. So…bye. I guess.

It appears that this show is back on the right track after ending its introduction arc in such a lackluster fashion. Yes, I know that it’s a slave to the manga, but that’s why some things don’t need to follow the source material so closely. This episode had enough drama, humor, and action to make even the most highfalutin fan happy. Sure, there were a few hiccups along the way, but this was a very fun episode to watch, and it didn’t feel like it was a chore to watch at all; although, I will admit that it did feel longer than its 24 minute running time at times. The only thing that made me sad was that Koan got killed off like REAL QUICK! She was a part of one of my favorite DiC dubbed episodes, and it had a line in it that still cracks me up to this day. I won’t get to have that moment with her this go around, but that won’t detract me from enjoying this episode. I look forward to what they come up with next.