With one episode to go, Prince Demande has a last dissent and the animation keeps getting better.
Our review of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 25.
Demande stands ready to tap the two Silver Crystals together, which will be … very, very bad.
Unfortunately, the cost of this Hail Mary is Plutos life.
The first half of this episode was just dynamite.
Holy crap, people!
Thats some good stuff.
So, everyones jazzed because a guardian to succeed Sailor Moon has been born, and then its halftime.
And when we come back… meh.
Ad content continues below
I cant say thatnothinghappens.
And yeah, yadda yadda, cliffhanger, but Im tired of that defense.
I cant say Im surprised at this point by this complete deflation of momentum, but Im still disappointed.
I just dont understand you, Naoko.
Where did Sailor Moon go?
I just wish I felt more for him than I do.
In theory, Prince Demande makes for a really great villain.
Because theyre not perfect.
Furthermore, were never given any info on exactly how Usagi came to power and was crowned.
Was there an election?
Some kind of international summit of world leaders?
Yeah, I know its just an extension of the fairy tale fantasy.
Shes a 22-year-old who barely graduated high school!
Does she have some degree in political science that Im unaware of?
By default, hes kind of a hypocrite right there.
That is some great material for a character.
So, where does the trouble come in?
That Im fine with.
It just seems kind of cheap and lazy, and it wasnt even necessary.
Demande was already an extremist.
Thats already motivation enough for him to cross the line and commit atrocities.
The insanity was completely perfunctory and really served no purpose up until his little Ima destroy the world!
The other big death in this episode is that of my girl (Scorpio solidarity!)
Man, this was well done.
I mean, really well done.
The tragedy of this character is palpable.
Talk about being stuck between two awful options.
If the latter, its a dick move.
In the manga/Crystal, shes major player in this arc.
Plutos arc here wasnt terribly involved, but it was solid.
Tell me where inSailor Moon Crystalany of the Inners had anything even remotely that good.
We see that Chibi-Usa used the Luna-P to stun Pluto and stole a time key from her.
Can you imagine how amazing they would have looked if they were just traditional 2-D animation?
you might actually see her moving.
Shes not obscured by all the CG.
Mercury is actually featured in her own transformation sequence, and it all looks like fluid animation.
Theres no stiffness to her movements or clothes.
Wouldnt this have been great?
So, there you have it.
However, one thing about the entire episode, front to back, cannot be denied.
Well, having watched this episode, its pretty fucking clear where the budget went.
So, thats it,Crystalviewers.
Just one episode to go.
Catch you on the flipside.
Rating:
3 out of 5
