Act 3 of Sailor Moon Crystal, Rei – Sailor Mars, was released on August 2nd. You can watch it on Crunchyroll, Hulu or Niconico. With this new episode we are introduced to the incomparable Sailor Mars! Many will debate whether or not Sailor Mars is the greatest of the Sailor Guardians and these people fall into two categories. Those that think Sailor Mars is the best, who are right, and those who disagree, who are wrong! Rei’s portrayal in this episode is closer to her personality in the manga, which may be a bit of a change to those who know her fiery attitude from the original anime adaptation.
As with the earlier episodes we once again see an incredibly faithful manga adaptation as Usagi, Ami and Luna investigate missing persons on a bus that stops near the Hikawa Shrine which introduces them to the the Priestess Rei Hino. Usagi is immediately attracted to Rei, calling her beautiful throughout the episode. Usagi isn’t sure if Rei is friend or foe, just like Rei is herself unsure if Usagi is an enemy or not. It turns out both are actually being confused by the evil energy of Jadeite, who is driving the evil bus.
The main change from the manga that is seen in this episode takes place when Usagi and Mamoru meet on the bus. In the manga Usagi notices that Mamoru looks like Tuxedo Mask and Mamoru notices that Usagi looks like Sailor Moon. Clearly this is quite a change from the original anime where the tiaras and mask do a great job of hiding one’s identity. Later in the episode Rei recognizes Sailor Moon as being Usagi which tells us these disguises aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
Finally we have the “death” of Jadeite which is pretty subtle. We don’t really see him die. It’s unclear if this is meant to be a change to the story or if his death was made less graphic to make the show more child friendly. I watched the episode with someone who was not familiar with the original story and they assumed he had simply escaped to return another day. We will know for sure in two weeks.
August 16th Act 4, Masquerade Dance Party, will have the Sailor Guardians, Tuxedo Mask and the Dark Kingdom searching for the Silver Crystal. This week we actually get the next episode preview on all feeds, rather than just on Niconico as we had been seeing in the past. We continue to follow the manga with this next act. By this schedule Sailor Jupiter should be arriving in the following episode, Act 5 which will be airing September 6th.
Keep reading for more screenshots from the episode.
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I really liked this episode, because it shows Usagi slowly maturing into the warrior and leader we know she will become, and it hinted at where this show might go. I also think Jadeite escaped, and that he’ll show up again soon. And if his attraction to Rei is any indication, we may see that whole thing about the Four Kings and the Sailor Soldiers once having a romance. We also see Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask suspect each other’s identities, so it’ll be fun to see that play out.
I also liked this version of Rei, who felt very lonely and responded well to Usagi and Ami saying they’ve been looking for her for a while. I have a feeling that this will be a running theme in the new anime, that the Sailor Soldiers will feel somewhat lost and lonely until they meet Sailor Moon and the other soldiers, and then they’ll finally feel that sense of belonging.
And as for where this series is going, I’m going to predict that if Sailor Moon Crystal covers the Dark Kingdom arc, then it’ll be faithful to the manga up until a certain point and then deviate in significant ways, maybe going in a while new direction from the manga or first anime like PGSM did. I could be very wrong, but that’s what I think will happen.
” then it’ll be faithful to the manga up until a certain point and then deviate in significant ways,”
I agree, or that it will at least do some minor storyline branching. I know a lot of us are eager for more Silver Millenium, and I’m a big Sailor Venus x Kunzite fan, so I’m hoping for more of that myself.
I can’t wait for the next episode. But I especially can’t wait for the future beach episode to see if Amy and Mina will wear a two-piece bikini.
You know a simple Google search will get you those two in bikinis, right?
They’re hoping for a cheap CGI reveal and Ami’s eyes two inches farther apart than they should be while Minako’s eyes are looking in completely different directions. They want the ~Crystal Bikini~ experience.
I’m really enjoying Crystal so far. I have high hopes for this series!
While I really enjoyed this episode, it unfortunately seems like they had their B-team animating a good portion of it. Some of Rei’s drawings in particular just looked either really bad or really misproportioned. There were some really beautiful shots, but others that just looked bizarre.
I just hope they don’t have the same issue with future episodes (especially Sailor Jupiter’s episode).
Thank you so much for a nice review , just a question, why act #5 is scheduled for Sep 6TH?! Why are they skipping the 30TH? not fair'((
Hi Valerie. The show is released only on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month, not every 2 weeks. Because of this we will occasionally miss a week.
That scene with Usagi with the charm on her face is the only funny face I’ve seen in Crystal. IMO this entire act was horrible, the animation and art sucked, the characters were so ugly…liberties were taken in a bad way…