Sailor Moon Mondays: Sailor Moon R: Episode 61:
If I may be frank here, I have not made disdain I hold for Sailor Moon R very secret, of course much of that is borne out of ancient hatreds, though so far my loathing has been justified time and again. The Tree of Doom arc is still a monumental waste of time, Chibi-Usa is still a plane of hell made flesh and given the personality of Usagi and Rei in twain and this episode introduced the third nightmare from the carnival of stupid. Well, kind of, I should say a confounding continuation of the hatred that the writers had for Usagi and Mamoru as a couple. I wonder if any of them went on to work on Friends? Anyway, this is the episode that gave us what has been charitably been called the Mamoru Break Up Arc and uncharitably as a massive pile of idiocy.
So the gist of things is Mamoru breaks up with Usagi out of the blue due to some strange portents and while I suppose the idea is not without merit, the execution is so haphazard that the obvious logical flaws are commented on almost immediately. Indeed, this is also how you can tell we have returned to cannon, the knowledge that Mamoru and Usagi being eternal lovers is secure. Anyway, the other big problem is Mamoru just flat out refuses to give his reasons, instead he evades, he lies and he shatters hearts. If I recall correctly this was a move so ill thought out it caused friction far beyond what was expected, like it was referenced in future seasons. Anyway, in spite of all that I would still recommend this episode because the change into the new era has given this show such a shot in the arm that it can overcome the larger storyline and character deficiency.
Sailor Moon Mondays: Sailor Moon R: Episode 62:
Right, with the larger paradigm shifts established it is now time to issue the first character focus episodes of the arc and this time it is Ami who draws the first straw and we get one of those well worn chestnuts when it comes to team plots. Ami all of a sudden has the opportunity to study in Germany in order to realize her grand dream of becoming a doctor but this would come at the expense of her duties as a Sailor Solider. Yea, the plot is pretty old hat and the outcome is obvious, but that not what this episode is really about. I am not sure if the change in staff is at the root of the matter but there is different kind of focus here in the current arc. This episode was about exploring Ami's hopes, wants and dreams as well as insights into her personality and character. Like her rationale into not inviting her friends to see her off because she feels she is more wishy-washy then Charlie Brown. Usually this would be the b-side in service to whatever zany scheme the villains are cooking up that episode. That being said, the monster of the week plans are stuff fairly stupid. Also, new powers, new sticks, new watches, all out of the blue. Yea, I am sure that could have been handled better. Anyway, this episode is mildly recommended.
