CJ’s Anime Review Blogs – Sailor Moon Crystal Season 3, Episode 7

Whelp, I’m traveling in Japan and it’s the first week I have off on my video review series of Sailor Moon Crystal. For obvious reasons, I’m unable to film, edit and upload reviews. I’m disheartened that I wasn’t able to do all of the videos on a week by week basis as planned, but I am fortunate that I am least able to do a review for them at all. Truthfully, going back to the written format for these reviews is refreshing. It feels like the old days, when I did these reviews almost as therapy when Crystal was a mess. Now, I do them simply out of love for this surprisingly respectful adaptation.

On a side note, it’s oddly hilarious to point out that this is the first episode that I’ve had to watch on a third party “service.” Most of Crunchyroll is unavailable in Japan. Despite hordes of Sailor Moon content surrounding me on a regular basis, I have a harder time viewing Crystal here than in the States. It’s really given me a perspective into the difficulty of being a fan who doesn’t live in the U.S.A. I can’t blame those who pirate when legal options aren’t otherwise available. And before you ask, I could have watched it on television but… no subtitles, no dice.

Anyway, onto the review. This first scene immediately proved my worst fears about not being able to do a video review for a while to address certain issues. Despite following literally the best episode we’ve ever had, Episode 33 begins with what I can only call a likely unintentional nod to Seasons 1 and 2 of Crystal. Horrible profile shots are everywhere and Princess Serenity’s animation jumps rapidly from the new style to the old style at an uncomfortable rate. Some shots look fine, but when you compare them to the stylized sequences in the manga, they’re lackluster. They even removed a comedy bit between Sailor Uranus and Neptune (though this could be forgiven given the tone of the scene, but added on top of everything else makes this scene pretty terrible).

It is in this scene that we have yet another horrific failure in adaptation that I could have swore I accidentally turned on the old Crystal. In the manga, Sailor Uranus confesses her mistakes to Princess Serenity with a pained look on her face. She looks like a guilty puppy and stays that way only until Sailor Neptune steps up to help her in the explanation like a doting parent. It is this very scene in the manga that cements Uranus as a flawed character and ultimately makes her actions forgivable knowing she actually felt bad about them. In Crystal, she has the same cocky smile plastered on her face as usual. I have zero clue what Toei Animation was aiming for here but it missed hard when it came to one of their few chances at relating Uranus’s character.

Oddly and pleasantly enough, we cut to two scenes that feel right at home with this third season. Dialogue is cut and edited to fit this new animated format. Extra time is given to show the weight and importance of Chibi-usa’s mission to those who know her. The scenes that follow again have clever adaptation choices. I liked that Kaorinite and Cyprine met through the mirror and not physically like they had in the manga. The added effect of Kaorinite dropping the crystal through the water to have it appear in Cyprine’s hand on the other side was a nice touch.

Then we get to one of the oddest adaptation choices. In one scene, we see Hotaru’s arm is partially mechanical but in the past it’s all of her limbs that are this way. I have no clue why they kept this inconsistency in the manga here in Crystal too. One could argue that maybe only her one arm was being operated on so that’s why it was exposed, which is why the skin reappeared later. I’d counter that the idea that any of her limbs could be disguised at any time defeats the purpose of her wearing long clothes all the time. It was an odd element to keep in and it’s sad that it couldn’t be fixed for this version.

The action sequences with Cyprine were done very well. I enjoyed seeing the extra attacks included to make the fight seem more dire. In the manga, the sailor soldiers just kind of fling themselves at each other to no real effect. Here, they’re going to town. It’s not perfect, but it’s at least a respectable change.

Also, what was up with the CGI on the Holy Grail? I’m praying that this doesn’t lead to more atrocious CGI material but one can only pray.

Sailor Uranus’s uncharacteristic cocky attitude, the whole first sequence in general, the failure to make sense of Hotaru’s condition and a CGI Holy Grail put this episode at my first C ranking of a solid C. This episode did a lot of things right, but it’s incredibly lackluster and weak compared to the powerhouse that came before it. That being said, this episode, like its predecessors, is still miles better than Season 1 and 2. It’s hopefully a small bump in an otherwise smooth road.