The Sailor Moon Crystal premiere has arrived.
Here’s our in-depth review of the first episode.
Mainly yes, with a side of no.
This isnt a bad thing.
Sailor Moons origin is kind of perfect.
When tweaking it, it really becomes a case of less is more.
Once time marched on and those trends went out of style, all the emphasis on how MODERN!
an interpretationPretty Guardian Sailor Moonwas ended up seeming dated at best and pandering at worst.
I dont care that video arcades have all but gone the way of the trilobite here and abroad.
Thats a huge part of theSailor Moonmythology.
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Dont care.
Seeing Usagi in a video arcade didnt break my suspension of disbelief for a second.
It just felt right.
Shes now a contemporary mom in a shirt and pants.
Its a small touch that accomplishes the goal of updating the story without violating it.
The outline of the story itself is the same.
Usagi is a klutz who oversleeps and is late for school.
So, whats different?
Well, true to its promise, this anime does go back to its manga roots.
All the plot twists are telegraphed at the first available opportunity.
And then Tuxedo Mask shows up there later.
And his mask isnt even opaque.
Same thing with Usagis past life identity.
There was still a chance Usagi could have been a red herring.
Here, not so much.
We get Usagi experiencing one of my favorite tropes, the past life dream.
Which brings me to my next point: the humor.
And sure, the style ofSailor Moon Crystalis much more graceful, but it feels like something is missing.
Shes a little too everygirl.
In the original, she wasnt.
She wasnt some idealized shoujo heroine with flawless beauty and poise.
She was a real girl, but she wasnt an average girl.
She was a lazy, shallow, gluttonous crybaby.
There are other unfortunate implications of taking things back to the source material.
For all her big picture vision, Naoko Takeuchi was not the best when it came to character development.
She pretty much defined someone when they were introduced in the manga, and they tended not change much.
Nearly every member of the supporting cast (i.e.
And then she throw her tiara for the kill shot.
The fight in this premiere was just a one and done.
It was a more or less hollow victory.
All Sailor Moon learned about herself was that she could follow instructions.
Well, thats not so much a problem here.
So, that right there is already time youre getting back.
And yet, the episode went by in the blink of an eye.
Everything seemed shorter…because it was.
Usagis interaction with her classmates, with her mom and her brother, with Mamoru, with Luna.
Basically, the first introduction of every relationship Usagi has gets short-shrift.
Yeah, it was true to Act 1 of the manga, but thats the problem.
The manga moves too damn fast, and so farSailor Moon Crystalis following that trend.
I, for one, hope shes not.
There are 14 acts to the story arc theyre covering.
The higher, crackier register he has here just suits him better.
Hopefully, it will continue to do so.
Lets hope they make the best of it!
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Rating:
3 out of 5
