Sailor Moon Crystal

Episode 21

This is one of those episodes where both a lot happens and nothing at all happens. Sailor Moon, as we know from last time, has been kidnapped by Prince Demande of the Black Moon, and now she's stuck in his castle, unable to use her powers...and wearing a lovely new dress that I sincerely hope he didn't put her in while she was unconscious. (But I'm pretty sure he did, given that he's really not a stand up guy.) Demande monologues about how the Black Moon got started, and it seems that he's basically saying that he found Neo Queen Serenity's gift of immortality to her people as blasphemy, as all men must die someday. That didn't stop him from falling hard for her when she came out to save her daughter, and now that he has Usagi in her 20th century form, he's fulfilled at least one of his goals. To say that Usagi isn't happy about this might be an understatement, but unfortunately now that she can't use her powers, her solution appears to be to sit in a chair and despair. While I understand that she's a fourteen-year-old girl who has been going through some very traumatic experiences, this is not the action of a strong heroine, who might, perhaps, have resolved to at least walk around and look for a way out. In fact, we see Chibi-Usa doing just that during a few of her scenes of the episode: when she's being bullied by a group of boys, she tries to find a way to, if not make things better, at least remove herself from the situation. Granted, wandering off into the depths of the palace isn't the same as standing up for herself, but at least she isn't just sitting there taking the abuse.

A similar situation arises with the kidnapped Makoto, Rei, and Ami. Usagi is somehow able to contact them psychically, at which point they all awaken and attempt to transform. When it doesn't work, they allow themselves to be overpowered by the Malefic Black Crystal's powers and just lay back down on the floor. Again, I realize that they're at a disadvantage here, lacking apparent superpowers of their own, but isn't Makoto incredibly strong? And Ami smart? Surely they could have tried something.

Of course, it is possible that we are simply not privy to their moments of strength, that next week we'll find out that they've been working towards their own freedom. Or we could just see Tuxedo Mask and King Endymion save them all, along with the depressed Chibi-Usa, who feels she has lost her special friend and wandered off into the depths of space-time without her key. She really is the most interesting part of this episode: through flashbacks we learn that she blames herself for not being more like her mother and for the Black Moon's invasion. Now she hasn't been able to bring the help she wanted to, and she's in a very believably vulnerable position. Her lack of physical growth (Endymion tells us that she simply stopped growing one day) could be tied to her lack of emotional growth, trapping her as a perpetual ten-year-old who is unable to cope with the downward turn things have taken. The difference between her apparent giving up at the end of the episode and Usagi's actions earlier on is that we've seen Chibi-Usa try over and over again to make things right, whereas Usagi has stood by as her friends were kidnapped.

While not looking particularly good, this week's show does look better than the previous episode, with fewer off-model moments. The first shots of Usagi in her fancy new dress are quite lovely, and there's some very good casual body language from Demande and his brother when they're sitting around, making them look much more natural than we usually see. The talking this time is accompanied by a little more movement, and while most of the episode feels like it is spent flashing back with either Demande or Chibi-Usa (whose flashbacks are at times tough to tell apart from her present), they at least aren't static scenes. Hopefully things will keep improving next week as the action heats up...and even more hopefully, Usagi will stop sitting around and figure out what she needs to do to save herself.

Rating: C-

Sailor Moon Crystal is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.