Sailor Moon makes her last stand against the Dark Kingdom in the climactic Season 1 finale.

Here’s our review!

Usagi, however, is not about to let that happen.

Metalia is destroyed, but the strain of channeling all that power has tapped Usagis life force completely.

And she gets that wish.

Same deal with Mamoru.

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Here we are, folks, the grand finale.

Oh, the feels!

This leaves no ambiguity about the power of the crystal, but the implications are also key.

Queen Serenity died to unleash the full power of the Silver Crystal.

Usagi would be no different.

Even if it is a cheat, Ill take it.

As for everyone forgetting their superhero identities, I honestly have no idea why this was done.

All Usagi asked for was her life back, and a youma-free planet pretty much accomplished that.

That would have worked splendidly.

Why all this business with the forgetting and undoing all the character development they went through?

It was very clearly implied that theyd all eventually meet up again and remember anyway.

This seems like kind of a pointless move, but its a minor gripe.

THE STORY:The premise at hand is excellent.

The only area in which the story itself failed was in the exploration of its own mythology.

I always found this rather curious.

The brief glimpses of the Silver Millennium we actually got added considerable dimension to the narrative and the characters.

THE CHARACTERS:No bones about it.

The characters are amazing.

Usagis growth, both on and off the battlefield, was handled gradually and realistically.

She doesnt evolve into a completely different person.

Shes not fully realized nor should she be.

However, her adventures do give her a broader perspective on her life and her world.

She finds her courage.

Usagis relationship with Mamoru is portrayed rather well and is far more layered than in the manga.

Tuxedo Mask himself is quite the wild card, played as an ambiguous third party.

The revelation of his identity is also a fun process.

Reis relationships with Usagi and Mamoru made for an incredibly fun and touching triangle.

Sailor Mars guardian planet was named for the God of War.

Fire, her element, is a symbol of passion.

Given all that, which Rei sounds more thematically appropriate?

The feisty, impatient firebrand or the cool, aloof dude-cynic?

How many stoic, aloof, Vestal virgins do we really need?

Im going to say one; two, tops.

Sailor Pluto being aloof and not showing much emotion makes sense, given the archetype on which shes based.

This includes the villains, all of whom are given considerably more dimension than in the manga.

Jadeite was the least developed of the four, ironic since he had the longest tenure in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Zoisite and Kunzite were made into lovers, a trait that became their one noble quality.

They were selfish, petty, murderous villains… but they did truly love one another.

Hes my favorite villain of this season, possibly the entire series.

I think the one-for-one matching is awfully convenient.

Four and four, just so happening to have personalities that mesh and are conducive to four couples?

A little too clean for me personally.

The aspect I do wish the anime had kept was their backstory as Endymions personal guard.

That would have been great.

Surprisingly, Beryl didnt get much development either.

Skimping on Jadeite I can understand, but Beryl?

THE MINIONS:The youma can be divided into three camps.

First, there are those who are legitimately scary and/or beautiful.

The third are youma whose designs and attack themes are just plain ridiculous.

THE PRESENTATION:The visuals were very uneven.

The opening and closing sequences are well done (Im partial to Opening #2).

If you dont, theres also a fairly ubiquitous smooth jazz feel to the rest of it.

OVERALL VERDICT:This season as a whole was very good.

If you skipped that episode in the sequence, youd never be able to tell.

I love all those characters and enjoy what they add to the mix.

I absolutely adore the development theyre given.

This is not to say they arent fantastic villains.

And no, the whole Chaos retcon/arc-welding doesnt cut it.

That was an eleventh hour ass-pull that just happened to fit.

All this is not to say the anime is all downhill from here.