Sailor Moon Crystal: Season III

Episode 29

Okay, now I know I'm not imagining it – Sailor Moon Crystal's third season is using a lot of yuri imagery. That isn't a bad thing, and Naoko Takeuchi certainly wasn't above random use of lesbian-themed imagery in the original manga – remember this picture? There just really is a lot and it's become clear over these three episodes that it is intentional, which honestly feels just a little like taking advantage of the fact that Michiru and Haruka's relationship was the first representation for a lot of LGBTQ kids. Of course, it could also simply be an attempt to appeal to a broader spectrum of viewers, something which this season hasn't shied away from in terms of the new character designs and attack animations, both of which look much more like the contemporary Pretty Cure franchise than the original version of Sailor Moon. Again, this isn't strictly a bad thing, although it risks turning off some purists, it's simply moving with the times – magical girl shows are no longer aimed specifically at little girls and there's an awareness that an older audience unburdened by nostalgia also exists. It makes sense to try to rope them in too.

This week's episode, while still following the manga storyline, does still clearly strive for those other audience's viewership as well. People who were getting tired of the mass transformations will be relieved to know that only Mars and Jupiter get scenes this week, and there are no speeches either. This is largely because the situation is much more dire – Eudial of the Witches 5 has a huge bonfire going and is in the process of brainwashing the entire freshman class of Mugen Academy at a special new student training camp. Given that fire is her power, this doesn't bode well for the students…or for Mars and Jupiter, whose powers of fire and storm do not oppose Eudial's very well. This is really well shown when Mercury comes charging in to save the day and is able to stop Eudial's attack immediately: it clearly isn't that Mars and Jupiter aren't strong enough, they just use the wrong elements to combat her. Visually this is one of the best fights so far, and Mars' Snake Fire is particularly good looking, especially the preparation.

Most of the episode, however, is spent trying to figure out what on earth is going on over at Mugen Academy and who Sailors Neptune and Uranus are. Usagi has pretty well figured out that Uranus and Haruka are one and the same, even as Haruka denies it, which is a point in our heroine's favor. Meanwhile Michiru seems to be leading Mamoru to the same conclusions when she invites him to her concert; she seems aware that he is close to figuring things out. She probably doesn't know that she's been sharing visions with he, Rei, and Kaolinite, but she also seems less set on keeping the Inner Senshi in the dark. In any event, she and Haruka appear to have decided to divide and conquer – Michiru will handle Mamoru while Haruka will take Usagi. (I suspect they're both underestimating the rest of the Inner Senshi.)

This episode begins Chibi-usa's friendship with the lonely Hotaru, and when she asks Hotaru's name instead of running away from her healing power, the smile on Hotaru's face is really beautiful. We get confirmation that her life is anything but roses when we meet her incredibly creepy father, Dr. Tomoe, moments after Chibi-usa leaves; the fact that Kaolinite is living with them under the name Kaori is just the icing on the already moldy cake. Hotaru, like most of the cast at this point, knows that something is wrong; she just can't quite put her finger on it.

Luckily it looks like at least a few people will be figuring things out soon, as in next episode. This has been a slow build-up to the main story, and while I can't blame them for dragging things out rather than rushing them, it has felt pretty slow. On the plus side, we've gotten to see the girls show more personality than in the entire two first seasons. On the other side, they just learned the name of their enemies in this episode? The other improvements to Sailor Moon Crystal, however, do suggest that more thought in general has gone into this, so a few weird moments of off-model animation where Ami and Usagi look flat with perfectly round saucer eyes aside, I'm still willing to give this the benefit of the doubt. Sailor Moon Crystal is finally on the right track. I can be patient.

Rating: B

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal: Season III is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, Viz.com and Hulu.