Geekscape Reviews ‘Sailor Moon Crystal Act 2- Ami: Sailor Mercury’
My god, that felt like the longest wait I’ve ever had to endure. Yet, we’ve survived another two weeks, and the second episode of Sailor Moon Crystal is finally here! No longer on her own, Sailor Moon now has Sailor Mercury at her side! After watching the events of the episode play out again through the rebooted series, it was presented in a way that made the old story feel new again, while fleshing out Ami’s personality quite a bit, (or as much as 23 minutes would allow).
Episode 2 jumps right in to introducing Ms. Mizuno as a talented, genious level student who finds herself alienated by the rest of Juban Middle School for it. Her constant studying makes the rest of the school feel like she’s cold and stuck up, but as rumors spread, Usagi decides she will take the chance to befriend her, (if only for the hope that Ami’s smarts will rub off on her own awful grades). But their bonds run deeper than either of them realize, and once Ami’s genious level after school class begins having their energy drained by a new threat, it’s up to Sailor Moon to rescue her new friend… Or is it?
Moon fans of old will instantly notice how much stronger the character development moved in this episode compared to its mid 90’s counterpart. Between characterizing the newest Sailor Warrior, developing the friendship between Ami and Usagi, showing that there’s more than meets the eye to Usagi’s advisor, Luna, and making the enemies seem far more threatening than they used to, and it’s easy to tell that the production team wastes absolutely no time with what they’re given in Crystal.
Most importantly though, the episode made me feel, which is an impressive feat when watching TV at three in the morning. The innitially selfish intentions Usagi had for befriending Ami quickly fade away, especially during the arcade scene, making these polar opposites seem like they have a legitimate, fast forming friendship. Even during the fight at the end, though I know the story and how it plays out for the most part, I still felt a sense of urgency for Sailor Moon when it looked like she could have been killed, rather than staring at the clock waiting for Tuxedo Mask to save her. This surely has to do with the fact that she used more than just her tiara in the fight, leading to a failed supersonic cry. After being so used to a one and done super attack at the end, seeing a back and forth with a throwaway monster felt fantastic to watch.
Oh, and by the way, the best part? Tuxedo Mask DOESN’T save her, or at least he doesn’t directly stop the monster. He was only able to cut Sailor Moon out of her trap AFTER the newly discovered Sailor Mercury uses her Aqua Mist to distract the enemy. After a mostly faithful transformation sequence, Mercury hits the scene hard, complete with her own battle introduction. Just try watching this episode and claim that she’s useless in a fight. She saved the whole fight!
Yet, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the 3D animation used during the transformation sequences is still jarring, especially when it switches back to 2D, immediately highlighting the huge contrast between styles. Something about it just doesn’t fit. And while I’m happy that Sailor Mercury’s transformation isn’t almost a full minute, the show would benefit from speeding up Sailor Moon’s overly drawn out one.
Yet, that’s the only real complaint in an episode that accomplished so much in so little time. More humor was introduced in this episode, (especially with Usagi and Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask outside the school), the facial expressions were more varried, and we saw a variety of powers on display. And of course, we’re teased with Jaedite, the current antagonist, getting moe and more frustrated with the intervention of the Sailor Warriors, closing with a teaser of Rei/Sailor Mars, making the next two weeks even harder to bare. With the way the series is playing out so far, at least we know the wait will be well worth it.
Final Score: 4.75/5
