Forum - View topicREVIEW: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Limited Edition Part 2
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Chiibi
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The Crystal Usagi and manga Usagi seem....different to me. I think manga Usagi has more personality.
Oh yeah, it's "creepy" because we know who the two characters are; I'm just saying that I liked how subtle it was as far as making-love scenarios go. I've seen some that are way more graphic and blatant so compared to those, it was handled well. |
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Sailor Sedna
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Manga Usagi definitely has more personality, she does, you can feel for her more (but some of her flaws that were in Crystal like that stupid jealousy are in the manga
 ). Crystal, not really, in fact, no one in Crystal to me really does...
The reason I thought it was creepy was the way they had portrayed Mamoru in earlier scenes, one of them here explains it: http://crystalquality.tumblr.com/tagged/mamoru-is-always-watching And in another scene in Black Moon which translated badly in Crystal, Usagi is sad and Mamoru cheers her up by kissing her tenderly, but the animators animated it so it looked like Mamoru was trying to force a kiss on Usagi while she was trying to get away.
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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That tumblr makes some pretty good points, thar. (I love tumblr tbh; great place to blog) I've never really got excited over UsagixMamoru anyway. I don't know why....but they are just....missing something. I shipped Snow White and her spoiler[trans-magical girl boyfriend] from MGRP a hell of a lot harder, I shipped MeimixAsuka from Saint Tail a lot lot harder, as well as HimenoxHayate, AhiruxFakir, SakuraxSyaoran, and especially MaronxChiaki. But UsagixMamo? Ehh....they're......okay, I guess?
Would you say S is at least worth watching? I'm really liking the nicer visuals and I hear overall, it is a vast improvement over the first seasons of Crystal. |
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Sailor Sedna
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I never heard of any of those relationships, I'd have to check it out.
Do you mean Crystal Season III? I'd say it is worth watching at least once, but it's only worth a rental. To me, without spoilers, the art design is much better, we get to see new Planet Power attacks and transformations, and the action scenes are mostly better, it actually improves some stuff in the Infinity manga, but the art pales in comparison to the original anime still (there's just something about modern anime that's inferior to older ones), the animation quality actually takes a nosedive near the end (but not as bad as seasons 1-2) the story still feels rushed and not that well developed at parts, Uranus and Neptune are much worse here than in the original, the fight scenes still feel lacking in a way, most of the villains are just "eh"/just there, the Inners are still pushed to the sidelines overall compared to S, and the finale so far is the least best out of all Sailor Moon series I've seen (sadly the Infinity arc in the manga, considered to be the best art of Naoko, didn't age well also  ).
Like I said in my first post, it's fairly decent, but still not the Sailor Moon we deserved and it's still lacking in a way (you also aren't really missing anything if you skip out frankly); I'd only give it round about 6.5 or 7/10, and I still can't recommend Crystal overall (if seasons 4 is good then yes, but if season 5 is also lackluster, then no again).
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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Same, completely. It really got obnoxious, and to me, was devolution of the character. They had a problem of making character development go backwards at times just for a laugh. :/
My bad, I totally missed that part. ^u^; It was in R, and early in. I'll see if I can hunt down the ep and chapter for you~! (And I know I've seen the gifs and screens of that page/ep, so I can probably nab those too, hehe.)
I won't say I completely disagree with you, but I suppose I also think of it on an individual level (the girl has dealt with a lot as is and if they're being safe and cautious, I can let it slide), but I'm also just keeping in mind Japan's own social climate at the time? Apparently, girls that age and a little older being sexual was becoming a thing? But no one was actually trying to 'tackle' the subject. And so I guess there was just. . . different portrayals of sexuality that tried to show yes, we know you guys are doing it, without shaming the girls? But I think this kind of example is also healthier? I think a lot of the worry at the time was because of the growing topic of young girls sleeping with older men for money, so to show two people close in age, in a long-term and healthy relationship be intimate together and be responsible about it is a lot better? For what it's worth, it sounds like they aren't that active actually. It seems to have been implied twice, and in Dream, Usagi does mention "take our relationship to the next level," so everything before that may have been. . . heavy petting and groping. (Hehhh, I feel awkward talking about it this way now? ^u^; ) But, given she doesn't even get pregnant until she's. . . 19 or 22? Somewhere in-between there? Seems like they don't have sex often, or they were just very prepared and safe about it. |
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Almighty Cod
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Sure, if you like watching what is essentially the Usagi and Mamoru show. Where the Inners are conveniently captured and locked away in a cell. Except for Minako, who doesn't do squat for the remainder of the entire arc. And Usagi acting like a brat towards Chibi-Usa. Showing more concern for her boyfriend, when her so called 'friends' lives are at stake. Sorry, but you couldn't pay me to sit through that again. I know it's become trendy these days to put the 90's anime down in order to stick it to the nostalgia fags (or whatever). A tedious subject that I'm not touching with a barge pole. But it doesn't change the fact (as it's been said before) that the show simply does not have enough substance for it too stand apart. It handles it's themes and material with all the skill and grace of a drunk rhinoceros. Now it's not like I haven't made every effort to try and enjoy Crystal. But I have seen very few anime as half-heartedly slapped together as this one has been. And it honestly saddens me how so many people cannot see how very little effort Toei has put into this. It relies heavily on pre-established knowledge and familiarity with the franchise to subconsciously fill in the areas the writers can't be bothered too. For example, what reason do I have to care about say, Rei, Ami, or Michiru. Characters who might as well not exist for all they contribute. Even the third season was barely a step up. The Inners once again aren't worth two cents, since the Outers are portrayed as completely superior to them in every single way. And their relationship with Usagi is a hollow joke. Which isn't very pleasing, particually if you happen to be fond of the likes of Mars and Jupiter as I am. The rapid pacing still means we jump from one plot point to the next without any real build-up, or breathers. Add in the usual boring interchangeable villains, each one as forgettable as the last. Frankly, if this was the only version of Sailor Moon in existence. Meaning none of this 'it's faithful to the manga therefore it's brilliant so shut up and go away hater' crap, and you had no idea where it was going. It would barely have registered as a blip on the radar. But the likes of Crowlia have put it far better then I could. For me those are the most honest and 'neutral' reviews of Crystal on the entire internet. And why it would have failed miserably, without an established and lenient fan-base there to support it. Of course, I might as well be saying this to the wall for all it matters. But I'm tired of people giving me grief for not drooling over it, and trying to shove the series down my throat as quality. When all I see is a cheaply made cash-in, that constantly squanders its potential. All for the sake of following a narrative, that wasn't even that well written to start with. |
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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Good thing I literally said, "for me," in my post? ^u^; R had its little moment of the senshi, and it was a very Usa - Mamo - Chibiusa arc. Less so Mamo this time around compared to other times, but still. I'm fine with that. I've read the manga and didn't mind that. And I know in Dream, the senshi get their time to shine even more (at least until the end of the arc, lol, but that is usually the format). I don't mind what version people prefer most, and I'm upfront about which I enjoy. If I'll be really honest, the 90s/Classic was crap for R to me. Crystal I enjoyed. But the newest Myu is the best. There, I said it, lol. I get the feeling SeraMyu isn't really cared for outside of pockets of the fandom though, but whatever. People are free to prefer whichever version they want~. We all have different tastes, and it reflects in which version we relate to and/or enjoy the most. I've started trying to pick apart and diss individual versions less for that very reason, because what place do I have tearing apart people's preference? I kind of whined about R a little earlier, but I also put it out there that for me, going for those extra laughs doesn't do it; but it does for some people. Some people are so into those 90s anime style gags. That's cool. I'm glad they have Classic for it. I'm spoiled, because I have the Classic for when I want a certain kind of laugh, but I also have the manga and Crystal, all these versions of SeraMyu, and PGSM. And hopefully PGSM will get a sequel or reboot real soon here. (And by the White Moon, I hope so bad they bring back Yasuko Kobayashi! |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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Something I haven't seen brought up and that I disagree with Rebecca about is Tuxedo Mask's power-up. I don't see it as a good thing in the slightest because the moment he gains his new power, the scarce remaining senshi become positively useless (even more than before). Even Usagi, who so far had been basically the only character getting any action, becomes incapable of doing anything the moment Mamoru gets a new power. It's most evident in the fight with Emeraude, in which Usagi's powers conveniently stop working and she and Minako have to get saved by Mamoru. About the same thing happens again and again for the remainder of the arc and it doesn't change until the final battle with Evil Blob of Evil with Evil Red Eyes #78659. For a show that was still harping on its "we're independent girls that don't leave our fates in the hand of a prince" this second cour sure had the prince taking up most of the saving and action and the girls turning into pathetic damsels in distress (don't even get me started on Usagi having a meltdown because 'I kissed a guy that wasn't Mamo' and never sparing a single thought for her friends ugh)
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Sailor Sedna
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@Almighty Cod/CrowLia
I'm with the two of ya (@Almighty Cod I think the stupid "nostalgia excuse" has died down, but you might not want to say "f*g"), it's just been hell to be a Sailor Moon fan ever since Crystal aired, and Crystal is not supposed to be like "The Tuxedo Mask Show". The only one who was really useful was Pluto I think, and sadly she gets killed off! In fact, the only characters in Crystal who really were useful were Pluto and Saturn, and yeah, season 3 still...isn't really worth purchasing when it comes out (and yeah, I have to agree with Crow, her statements were helpful though sadly made me realize the manga isn't really that great). Plus yeah, if this was the only Sailor Moon thing ever it would have been an anime I never would have liked in the first place. I agree, I can't understand how people saw how little effort was put into it... I recently discovered a bad anime from 1997, twenty years ago, called "Voogie's Angel" that was based off of a good radio drama, and it had mediocre characterization with no development, (interestingly one of the characters is named "Rebecca", and she's voiced by Usagi's VA, and some of the other characters are voiced by Mercury and Aluminum Siren from the original Sailor Moon anime, and one by Cardcaptor Sakura herself), bad storytelling and pacing, and terrible tone changes (goes from light hearted slapstick to dark tragedy very quickly), and bad animation quality (unlike Crystal's which was poorly done in almost every shot here it was hit and miss) but it's still better and in a way more enjoyable because of the concept of it (you can also build on ideas based on it). It was mostly written by Masami Obari, who's ironically considered one of the worst anime directors ever. @manapear The Inners had a good amount of focus in R, same amount round about as Classic and S did, they barely even did anything in R, Rebecca even explained that Mercury Mars and Jupiter were missing for half of the show and she unfortunately is correct,plus like I've said, what's even the point of giving them Star Power ups then, and what is the point of having a character and doing NOTHING with them? The reason why the other user sounded like that is, the thing is, Sailor Moon Crystal from my experience has one of the worst fanbases (not talking about you or generalizing here) I've ever seen. If someone said they don't like Crystal or something, they'd whine, rage at, cyberbully, harass, and make claims that people like that were "not Sailor Moon fans/blinded by nostalgia" and such, they would whine and rage over it, come up with lame excuses for the flaws and try to convince/force people to like it and stop hating on it, and they'd even send death threats, violence threats, and one even sent a sexually harassing one, I'm not kidding. Understand what I mean? I mean, this is from my experience, and coupling that with me thinking Crystal was bad, it was getting to the point where Sailor Moon wasn't even fun to watch anymore 
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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I just liked the story and background bits with them. It was nice to hear more about Ami's family, and have that peek at Mako-chan's home life. I'm hoping they'll stick with what the manga did for Dream, because Rei's grandpa is such a sweetie and I like those bits of her as a child. I really don't care either way about the power ups, and when the enemy is from the future, it's not surprising t that everyone else is getting the floor wiped with them. I can see why people care, but I don't really? I haven't seen that from the Crystal fandom, but I wouldn't be surprised. I also have seen similar from other parts of the Sailor Moon fandom. And from other fandoms in general. Unfortunately, that's just the kind of behavior that shows up in any fandoms; it's just more tragic in magical girl fandoms because the message of the series is so opposite to how people act. It's true that any part of fandom can begin to ruin something, but it's important to just report those people and isolate yourself from them as best as possible. I know I got hate from some Classic/90s fans, but if the harassment got serious, I just reported them; and otherwise, I blocked them. (Which became a lot of people seeing as so many would invade the SMC tag for a while, lol.) I think that's a problem with toxic, hateful people though. They have nothing better to do, or the only way they know how to be is try and bring misery to others. It's also nice to remind them of the shows' messages and watch them get ruffled feathers, lol. 
At the end of the day, not everything is for everyone. Not all fans will always be kind and some people, sincere fans or not, will sadly be absolutely horrible. It's just best to love what we love and not give the hateful people the attention and satisfaction they want. ^u^ |
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Sailor Sedna
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But if that's the case with the first part, then how are we supposed to think they're good fighters and such? It doesn't make any sense.
Don't worry, I've reported and isolated myself from those people. |
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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Well, who says they're good fighters? I don't actually remember anything in the manga or Crystal saying they are good fighters. I feel like the point of R was to show how overwhelmed they were, even with power ups. Even Usagi needed help (from her future self, or her own daughter) to actually defeat people in R. I forget how the success rate in S was, but Supers/Dream is much better for the Senshi. If they don't get to be cool and impressive then (as they are in the manga), then I'll be disappointed. (I mean, I'm not really that disappointed now, but it would make less sense in Dream.) I feel like power levels has always been a weakpoint of the series though. PGSM and Myu are pretty consistent, but each anime version (and the manga) have been a bit bad about that. Actually, I appreciate in the manga how powerful Usagi is but ultimately still needing help often, but in terms of not final/boss fights, no one's power is really consistent. Classic/90s always had that problem, and Crystal/manga has that for the other Senshi. (Crystal and the manga are shorter though, so they can get away with it for me just a teensy bit more.) |
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Sailor Sedna
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They were decent in Infinity manga, better in S, not so much in Crystal Season III. Agreed, Dream is much better than that.
I think the reason I said that is because the action is one of my favorite parts of Sailor Moon and it's frustrating if we see the fighters constantly be ineffective (towards the end of Crystal Season III, like with Kaorinite, their attacks looked like they left no impact on her so it looked like they didn't work). |
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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Yeah. I think Dream is the best; but that's also going to suck for you if/when Stars gets the Crystal treatment because that's worse. The battles toward the end are okay, but the Senshi don't really get to shine and it's even less battle-focused than the other arcs. Be prepared. ouo;
The action for me is very in the background and kind of irrelevant. I actually like how quick the battles are in the manga and minimal. If anything, I love their attacks for how thematic their powers are, but I get bored of drawn-out battles. PreCure is my sweet spot for battles, but even those can drag on. I will say, as far as Sailor Moon battles go, I have liked what they did in the new SeraMyu, especially for R's battles. Not only were they well choreographed, but Mako/Jupiter's was superb (cool, and hilarious, lol). The manga and Crystal to me are better without the battle focus, because I like how introspective and character-focused they are in comparison. But hopefully we'll get another anime adaption after Crystal that goes that route for you and others that like the battles more. I wouldn't count on it, since Toei seems to want Crystal to be more nostalgia and adult woman geared and keep PreCure as their battle series and aimed at a younger (and kinda sorta wider) audience. Hopefully if PGSM does get a reboot or sequel, we'll get some good battles in there~. (I hope it's a reboot, because I can't handle that one, particularly sad, Senshi-related storyline. . .) |
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Sailor Sedna
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Yeah, that's the problem with the Stars manga arc, Naoko just killed them off and invalidated the Dream arc...and it really comes across like she didn't know what to do with them.
I haven't seen Sera Myu's battles, but I've heard the new ones are great. Precure's are just like DBZ style fights to me. I don't just like battles more, I also do love the friendship and relationships portrayed too. |
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