Sailor Moon Mondays: Sailor Moon S: Episode 104:
Ah well, it was nice while it lasted but the small pink nightmare has returned and she has been given a gimmick makeover as the allegedly hilariously inept sailor guardian from the future who has been sent back to the past to seek out new friends and get some desperately needed training. I will admit while I do like the direction they went, making Mini Moon here a dire rookie who needs to earn some combat training, I think they went too far in that direction and now she is a literal joke character at the moment. A more deserving station to be sure, but much like her interactions with Usagi, the joke goes from funny to overbearingly annoying more then it should. Still, it is a sign of a top notch production that I can actual be amused by Chibi-Usa instead of wishing for the sweet release of death, so kudos there. Really, that is pretty much all there is to her focus episode aside from crushing not only on the victim of the week but also our favorite lesbian power couple. There are many a harem protagonist that wish they had as much game as these two do without even really trying. Anyway, this episode comes very mildly recommended as it is tolerable but this is pretty much a gag episode that is lacking much in the way of relevance.
Sailor Moon Mondays: Sailor Moon S: Episode 105:
Ah yes, this is the kind of episode that has been needed for a bit of time now. Indeed, one of the true advantages the 1990s anime series had over its other incarnations is the sheer size of any given season means that the core cast will get face time no matter how out of focus they get at other points in the season. Case in point, this was a very solid focus episode on the inner team that we haven't seen in awhile. Granted the focal point is Mako and hero issues with inaquacy following her defeat and the hands of some monster of the week that I sort of remember and her sudden desire to train and get stronger become a lone wolf and such. While she is the star of this particular show we get a lot of interplay with the inners that used to dominate past season but have been since reduced in scale ever since the spore and The Most Interesting Couple In The World showed up onto the scene. While yes all of those players do show up for bit parts this was more Mako doing the admittedly cliched resolution of overcoming her individual weakness through the power of teamwork. Got to admit that seems to be a lesson she should already know but whatever this was just a good and soild episode, recommended to watch.