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Sailor Moon Crystal
Episode 26

by Rebecca Silverman,

How would you rate episode 26 of
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (ONA 2014) ?
Community score: 3.5

And so here we are, at the end of Sailor Moon Crystal's much-maligned run. Does the final episode really do anything to restore the faith of those who have disparaged (or despaired of) this manga-faithful remake? Well...yes and no. On the plus side, Chibi-Usa's transformation has given her the courage she always lacked, making her a direct parallel to Usagi's storyline in the Dark Kingdom arc where she comes out stronger than her mother ever did. Possibly this is because Chibi-Usa's allies are fewer (Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Pluto are really the only two who truly support her), so more can be done with them and their relationship to her. It could also be because as a heroine, Chibi-Usa conforms to the “Orphan Fantasy,” a trope in middle grade and young adult fiction that states that the real adventure cannot begin if there is a loving set of parents present. While she does have those parents, in the future she hails from they're in comas and in the past she's currently in they're teenagers, so neither is really capable of giving her parental support. Usagi, with her functional nuclear family, does not fulfill the requirements for the Orphan Fantasy, and therefore her journey, while still empowering, lacks the true self-sufficiency that Chibi-Usa has to find.

Sadly Chibi-Usa is really the only one to come out of this finale with any sort of personal growth and triumph. The other Sailor Guardians continue their trend of utter uselessness, although in their defense they really do want to help – Neo Queen Serenity won't let them, basically telling them that they have no part to play. Even their future selves, who have spent most of the series playing Sleeping Beauties, do no more than wave them off cheerily at the end; indeed, the only time when we really see them have value at all is when Rei and Makoto comfort their friends who saw them abducted. The message here is that Usagi and Mamoru only need each other (could this lead to Chibi-Usa's feelings of worthlessness before she shows up in the past?), and anyone else is just sort of decorative. That's really borne out when Neo Queen Serenity stops the Guardians from helping to bring them back; only their future daughter, who will be born of their union, could possibly help. The other girls are just outsiders.

Like the storyline, the visuals also fluctuate between good and not-so-good, with many noticeable off-model scenes, including one towards the end where Mamoru's head looks freakishly huge. While not strictly a flaw, there's also something kind of off-putting about the way Neo Queen Serenity smiles beatifically throughout her entire explanation of how Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask have been sucked away with the planet Nemesis. We could wave it away with the fact that if she's still standing there smiling, clearly this is not a dire situation, but it still feels every so slightly creepy. On the bright side, there are some beautiful shots of hair whipping around Alphonse Mucha style, which, if it doesn't excuse the other parts, is at least lovely to look at.

The episode ends with the return of Chibi-Usa to the past to be trained by Sailor Moon, which makes sense given that her mother said that she lost her ability to fight as a Guardian when she became queen. (That's an interesting statement in and of itself – the idea that a magical girl's powers wane when she gains a different set of responsibilities. Kamikaze Kaitō Jeanne makes a similar statement, although Nurse Angel Ririka refutes it.) We can't necessarily see this as an indication that an adaptation of the next story arc is coming, although the “À bientôt” (see you soon) after the ending theme is a decent sign. Given how much the adaptation improved with the Black Moon arc, I wouldn't be as worried about a third set of episodes as I might have been previously, and I know many girls in the target age group for the show (late elementary through early high school) who loved it. Whether or not another season is forthcoming, Sailor Moon Crystal has been both a treat and an exercise in patience. This episode may not have been as strong as I would have hoped, but it didn't destroy my fondness for the franchise.

No matter what version of the Sailor Moon story you like best, there's something in this story that touches a lot of people. Sailor Moon Crystal didn't work for everyone, but it did help to show that there's something in Naoko Takeuchi's tale of a whiny crime-fighter that lasts. It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes from here.

Rating: C+

Sailor Moon Crystal is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.


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