A pair of energy-sucking extraterrestrials bring Sailor Moon out of retirement.
Check out our review of the Season 2 premiere here!
And yet I have no problem whatsoever calling Mamoru Tuxedo Mask, rather than Tuxedo Kamen.
Its a clumsy pun to be sure, but nonetheless intentional.
And that just about covers it.
and it seems their plan is a go.
Until, of course, their Cardian attacks Naru, and we all know where that road leads.
Lets just start by addressing the elephant in the room.
It was created expressly forSailor Moon Rfor reasons covered in my Essential Viewing Guide for the season.
Ail and An are fun characters with a cool visual design and theme.
Ail and Ans abilities are complementary.
In short, they act like the kids they are.
In this way, theyre kind of a perfect match for each other.
Despite all that, however, they are still incredibly problematic.
Very little about Ail and An makes sense.
Is it bigger on the inside, some sort of botanical TARDIS?
What of the whole middle school student cover story?
With Nephrite it made sense to have an alias.
Ail and An, on the other hand, are just attacking people at random.
From what I can tell, it only seems to get in their way and draw unnecessary attention.
After all, what is character but the sum of our experiences and memories?
They know all too well how far she came and are as disappointed by her regression as we are.
Luckily, it doesnt last long.
This is all confirmed when her memories are restored.
She reacts with this sort of quiet resignation.
It was a smart move to make this episode about Usagis awakening only and not involve the others.
Rei and Minako each make a brief cameo, but neither has a speaking role, which is fine.
Its only when theyve exhausted their own abilities that Luna restores Usagis memory.
Luna really is fantastic in this episode, especially in that moment where Naru is being attacked.
Why is it always her?
Were all thinking it, Luna, and bless your heart for saying it.
I laugh out loud every time.
I do call bullshit on Lunas convenient mastery of her psychic abilities.
Where did that little gift come from?
And Luna, honey, if youre not into Artemis, thats totally valid.
But cutting up the guys face?
A firm shove would have sufficed.
He got a little too close.
Its not like he said something lewd or started waving his barbed cat penis at you.
As far as premieres go, this one was pretty solid.
Mid-range in terms of overall quality as far as Sailor Moon goes, but not to be dismissed.
Not bad at all.
Rating:
2.5 out of 5
