Usagi character arc is handled really well in the manga IMO, the manga version of Stars is basically the ultimate culmination of her character arc. Through I think that's a reason why I see people dislike it.
The anime version of Stars is quite similar to S. So yeah, if you don't like anime S too much, I can't imagine you'll like it, but we shall see.
I feel like all of S's ideas are OK, it's the execution. It feels incoherent or disjointed to me. Like, at first Neptune and Uranus were developin' okay and their development seemed to promote the Inners' development, too, like with Ami's swim episode, but like, after Kaorinite leaves, until hotaru arrives, it feels lost. Sailor Moon saves Neptune and Uranus and somehow they become extremely upset at her and insist on a different vision of a world they never bother to elaborate on. I allow Chibiusa's arrival as a means of settin' up her arc with Saturn, and I don't really mind Sailor Chibi Moon, either. But at the same time, her arrival before we even meet hotaru feels sudden, bizarre, and disconnected from the rest of the arc. Likewise last season made a point of sayin' Pluto wasn't supposed to leave and that she was some kind of lonely sentinel, yet now she's pallin' around with Neptune and Uranus, acceptin' their narrative despite knowin' that Moon is more than what they claim she is.
It's even weirder because her stated purpose and powers are to combat enemies from beyond the Solar System, which is precisely what the Dark/Black Moon were, and yet she didn't act at that time, and is instead aidin' Neptune and Uranus's very specific mission to defeat Sailor Saturn, who by all accounts is an enemy from within the Solar System, not without.
Then there's the fact that they're willin' to deal with Mamoru, which makes even LESS sense, because in nearly 150 episodes I've never seen Endymion's powers come anywhere NEAR Moon's. Shit, Mamoru doesn't even have a named attack. his roses barely outrank Ami's bubble spray in terms of power. Yet for some reason they're willin' to talk to him, rather than Moon. The only part of it that makes sense is Mamoru not turnin' around and immediately reportin' to Moon, because Mamoru's always kinda been a cryptic dick himself. Shoot, Endymion was a colossal cryptic dick to Mamoru in R, so sure, okay.
Also I know I should just accept that there were 4 other Sailor Soldiers conveniently not invited to any major events in Silver Millenium's history or the past year of Sailor Moon's life, but what bothers me is that Uranus acts like she's supposed to be more of a pro at it than Moon and her crowd, yet accordin' to the season itself Uranus and Neptune have been at it for way, way less time than Moon and Venus.
I have a
lot of complaints with S, but when it's not all messy, I do appreciate it. Like when Venus was upset that only her heart hadn't been stolen. That episode turned out kinda funny, yet also kept the sort of serious undertone to Venus that appeared in earlier episodes, like when her ex showed up. I also
adore the Professor and Death Busters. They're far and away the most charismatic villains Moon's ever dealt with. Saturn's entire arc is pretty swell, and it's lettin' Chibiusa be more than she was in R.
S is still the worst season of Moon I've seen, but compared to some of my other exposure to the field of Mahou Shojo, it could be so, so much worse.
