Sailor Moon Crystal Act 9: Serenity – Princess (SPOILERS)

SPOILERS

 

 

 

 

So, we start the episode right where it left off, with Tuxedo Mask having used himself as a shield to protect Sailor Moon from attack.  She is screaming his name and crying, and it gets very emotional.  This is probably the most emotional episode so far.  There are still some animation quality issues, but this is definitely the saddest one so far.  If you didn’t feel bad at all while watching it, then you probably have no soul.

Tuxedo Mask, in his near death state, remembers someone calling him like this, and remembers this exact scenario – him dying in his beloved’s arms.  He then remembers Usagi as Princess Serenity, and calls out Serenity’s name before giving in to his injuries.  Usagi screams for him, and her emotions transform her into Princess Serenity.  As this happens, the crescent moon on Sailor V’s forehead disappears, and appears on Usagi’s forehead.  The Legendary Silver crystal appears from one of her tears, and the light is so blinding that nobody can look at it.  Part of the crystal’s light goes into Tuxedo Mask, saving him.

But not quite.  As she’s distracted by the crystal and the Senshi calling her Princess and remembering their pasts, Tuxedo Mask is taken by Kunzite.  Beryl is also on the scene, and they take their new prize into the Dark Kingdom.  Usagi screams for him again, but it’s no use.

Once in their base under the Sailor V arcade cabinets, Minako explains that she was posing as the Princess to protect the real one.  All Usagi’s really worried about right now is Mamoru’s safety.  Artemis and Luna explain about what happened back in Silver Millennium, where the people of earth were brainwashed by an evil force (Metalia), and attacked the Moon Kingdom so they could get the Legendary Silver Crystal.  The Senshi were fighting off the Earth horde while Endymion tried to talk reason into them.  However, he was killed by one of his followers – Beryl to be exact, and he died in Serenity’s arms.

He’s taken to the Dark Kingdom.  They’re searching for the Legendary Silver Crystal within his body since a piece of the light went into him, but so far, nothing.  The Four Generals come and watch Mamoru sleeping, and they feel as if they’ve met him before.  Kunzite flashes back to Usagi screaming Endymion while she was Serenity, and you can tell that it refreshes something in his memory, but he either hides it or ignores it.

Usagi is so overcome with emotion that she passes out.  A few days go by, and everyone is sad and wants to see Usagi’s smile because it brings them hope, and she is the glue that keeps them together.  Usagi keeps having nightmares about Mamoru dying in front of Queen Metalia, and when they go to visit her, they find that her hair has grown really, really long.  It’s because that as she remembers more and more about being the Princess, her body also transforms a little bit.

Usagi doesn’t want to change – she wants to stay being Usagi Tsukino, and to be with Mamoru.  The girls cut her hair to try to make her feel better, and try to cheer her up.  Luna then says that they should go to the moon for answers on what’s happening.  Usagi readily agrees, saying that she is no longer going to be the tragic princess.  YESSS!  God, I actually did a fist pump when she said that.  This Usagi is so fucking strong to the core.  Yeah, she cries and is a goof, but that’s just part of her charm, instead of it being an annoying character flaw, like in the 90s anime.

Actually, as Crystal goes on, I find it harder to watch the old anime because it’s very formulaic, and the characters are a lot more one-dimensional.  It should be really interesting what happens with Chibi-Usa, if they get that far.  It might change my opinion on the character, much like Crystal has changed my opinion on Tuxedo Mask.