The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal is now available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. This week is Act 19, Time Warp – Sailor Pluto. The gang travels to the future and are confronted by Sailor Pluto, but not after Mamoru and Usagi spend the night together.
As the episode opens Chibiusa is pleading for Sailor Moon to come to the future to help her mother. Artemis doesn’t care much about that, but has the idea that if the Black Moon Clan is the one that attacked her future city, that might be where Sailor Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are waiting. It would be nice to think that the gang goes to the future to rescue Chibiusa’s family, but in reality they have the ulterior motive of rescuing their friends. Regardless they decide to go, but not before a sleepover!
Chibiusa wants to sleep at Mamoru’s, but she’s not alone! Mamoru tucks her into bed with Luna-P which is kind of funny because it looks like Luna-P is a full sized human and that the ball is just a head. Following this Usagi and Mamoru share a tender moment in which Usagi expresses her jealousy for Chibiusa and then they have sex. This happens in the manga as well. It’s fairly obvious what happens but here it’s even less ambiguous. They kiss, they lie down, they hold each other’s hands and they sleep together. We later see them the morning after where Mamoru puts a white shirt on Usagi. He’s wearing one, Chibiusa is wearing one and Usagi is wearing one. It looks like Mamoru has nothing but white dress shirts in his closet and that he loves putting them on women. I’m not sure why anyone finds this comfortable. These aren’t the shirts that Mamoru wears under his tuxedo. Those have little folds on the collar and frills along the front. These are white dress shirts Mamoru keeps seemingly exclusively for putting on women who don’t fit in them. Not sure I see the appeal of this comfort but it seems to work for him.
In the pre-sex conversation Mamoru sees Usagi almost disappear. What is this? Is Usagi meant to be disappearing because of all this time travel? This is really not how time travel works. If past Usagi was affected I can understand the time travel plot of having future Usagi disappear, as silly as this concept is. But here it’s future Usagi that is in danger while past Usagi is fading a bit. How odd. Perhaps that’s not what this is meant to be at all though. Perhaps this is an omen Mamoru has about the future dangers to Usagi.
We decide to go to the future! Everyone has one job and one job only to ensure this is a success! Hold on to Chibiusa’s hand and don’t let go! They do this and as soon as the time travel starts everyone lets go! Well done folks. This leads to some confusion in the future.
Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Venus, Luna and Artemis are the first to arrive at the Space-Time Door. Sailor Pluto is there and she doesn’t seem to care that they are Sailor Guardians! She uses her lethal Dead Scream attack on the whole lot of them. Time travel is sort of frowned upon and Sailor Pluto’s job is to kill people that do this. She’s pretty soft on Chibiusa though as she does nothing to punish her for traveling through time to save her mother. Sailor Pluto makes a comment which I’ve seen translated differently so it’s hard to interpret. In the English translation of the manga and of Sailor Moon Crystal she mentions that “You guys” have always caused trouble for her, which one would assume means Chibiusa and Sailor Moon. This insinuates that she knows fully well who Sailor Moon is and who she has become in the future but is still willing to kill her! The other translation I’ve seen in the French version of the comic simply says that Chibiusa is causing her trouble, or in another French translation that Sailor Moon treats Chibiusa like Sailor Pluto has. If Sailor Pluto really does know who Sailor Moon is murdering her seems like a pretty extreme reaction to running into her in the Space-Time Corridor. While the true identity of Sailor Moon is a mystery to the viewers and inhabitants of the 20th century it doesn’t seem like it’s something she keeps secret from the future inhabitants of Crystal Tokyo.
We learn that Chibiusa is a Princess! Boy I wonder who her parents are then? We see an image of her in a princess dress that is very similar to the one Princess Serenity and the young Queen Serenity wore. Perhaps this is simply the style in the future.
The villains this week are Chiral and Achiral of the Black Moon Clan. In the original anime they were Droids but in the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal they are human. In the manga Chiral is white and Achiral has darker skin. In Sailor Moon Crystal they are white and whiter. What’s next. A white Sailor Pluto? In the manga Sailor Pluto has darker skin. She isn’t black but she is certainly more tanned than the other Sailor Guardians. In Sailor Moon Crystal she’s not much darker than most of the other characters.
While being attacked Sailor Moon tries to use her Cutie Moon Rod but is unable to. We see it partially in black and white but it’s handle is still in colour. An obvious animation error which I expect to be fixed in the Blu-Ray release.
We get to Crystal Tokyo. It’s really bad here. We get a look at what it was like before the “explosion” and it looked quite nice but we also see an image of Chibiusa amongst a lot of bodies of what appear to be normal inhabitants of the city. Their clothes are completely ancient looking. They seem to match closely to what we saw in Silver Millennium on the Moon back in the day or even on Earth during this undetermined time period. Surely it’s not that far fetched that society would revert to some classic looking styles in the distant future. Some formal wear resemble very old clothing in many ways, such as the Tuxedo that King Endymion wears or the dress that Neo Queen Serenity wears. Why then does Chibiusa have a 20th century style school uniform? Her 20th century clothes stick out amongst these other examples of clothes which appear to some 1000 years older, all of this being set 1000 years in our future. But what do I know about style?
We get a nice look at Neo Queen Serenity. She’s lying on what looks like a tomb. It has an inscription on it that says “<<
Next up is Diana the cat! We learned earlier this week that she would be voiced by Shoko Nakagawa but we don’t actually hear her say anything in this episode. Her presence is overshadowed by the appearance of a familiar face. Sailor Moon immediately recognizes him as being the future version of Tuxedo Mask. Only this man is not dressed in a black Tuxedo but instead all in white. Why not lavendar? King Endymion in the original anime has a lavendar Tuxedo but is this not the case in the manga? Indeed he is almost always seen in black and white and wearing a very light coloured outfit but it is mentioned as being lavender and is shown in the opening colour pages of Act 20 as being of a lavender colour.
A cool effect exists for this episode. Whenever a character had an extreme emotional reaction, surprise, anger, shock, they showed a funny expression with a comical border. Fans can’t help but notice the similarity between these borders and those used in the original English dub by DiC. These borders were used at the beginning in the episode previews and again at the end during the “Sailor Says” segments. The one included below for comparison is from the episode preview for the second episode.
Next up is Act 20, Crystal Tokyo – King Endymion. The next episode preview drops of bit of a spoiler. It’s already been stated that King Endymion is the future version of Tuxedo Mask. The preview has Chibiusa calling him “Papa”. We now know, as if we couldn’t guess it, that Mamoru is Chibiusa’s father. It’s not much of a stretch to figure that her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, is actually Usagi. The series has not done a terribly good job of trying to hide this from us but I feel like by now we are expected to have figured this out a while ago.
Keep reading for more screenshots from this episode and the next episode preview.
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I would read the Roman Numerals as a single date, that is MDCCCXXXIII. This means 1833. It’s not clear the meaning of this, it looks like Takeuchi sensei just decorated the tomb with generic Roman symbols…
You see all those flower petals floating around during the sex scene. Boy, that’s a pretty obvious piece of symbolism! And why does Tuxedo Mask praying destroy the prison they’re stuck in? I don’t get that.
But Sailor Pluto attacking Sailor Moon…I wonder if maybe with all that mist she couldn’t see them that clearly at first. After all, there are thousands of Sailor Guardians across the galaxy and possibly beyond. As we’ve seen, some of them can go bad. Perhaps she’s had a few try to kill her and use time travel for bad reasons, and it was reflexive. Not until Chibiusa, who is distinctive in size and voice, show up that Sailor Pluto realize who’s here and knows she can trust them.
Well, two more weeks till the next one. Doesn’t Sailor Moon get kidnapped and dressed up by Prince Demande or is that later? I forget.
That sounds like as good an excuse as any. Also, maybe Pluto is just in guard dog mode and doesn’t even try to see who it is, she just attacks. Of course, like you said, Chibi-Usa is very distinct and would pop her out of it.
But really, you think she would recognize her king (secret crush) and queen at least. Maybe it was a test, or maybe she would have even killed them in spite of who they were if not for Chibi Usa? (Uranus and Neptune probably would/might have if they had been the ones watching the door.)
Pluto explained that it doesn’t matter who they are, she is ordered to eliminate *anyone* who shows up at the Time-Space Doorway. That’s how the outer senshi are – they have specific duties that no one, not even their own allies, can interfere with.
In regards to your question, at the end of ep 20 she’ll get kidnapped
Thanks for that. I appreciate it.
If you’d read the manga you would know that praying is a significant part of the story.
Maybe I’m just wanting to believe Usagi kept her innocence a bit longer, or maybe I’m naive, but I still don’t see that it is definitely sex, it seems almost even more ambiguous to me in the anime than in the manga.
Plus, the scene in the manga (Dream Arc) when Palla Palla switches the body types of Usagi and Chibi Usa, Usagi, the Mixx version (which I know is not the best translation by any means, makes it seem as if Usagi has not been with him that way since she says she was ready to finally “go for it” but couldn’t because of her body. The Miss Dream translation is almost completely different and has her talking about becoming a High School student instead. (I’ve also noticed that Miss Dream has Usagi swear way more than any other translation…is that accurate or just her spin on what they are saying?)
I still haven’t read the new Viz translation of that chapter, does anyone know what she says in that? I’d like to know, but don’t go to any trouble, I can always peak at it at a bookstore.
I do know they almost certainly had sex before marriage as she mentions feeling a “new star” about to be born, and unless she’s really hinting, I’d say she’s already pregnant at that point.
I guess I’ll just keep thinking it’s ambiguous until the author right out says one or the other.
I’ve never thought about Mamo’s shirts before…that seems a bit creepy when you put it that way. I think I’ll try to forget that…
I was a bit annoyed that Sailor Pluto wasn’t darker. I’ve always thought of her as having a south Asian coloring, like someone from India, or even a Mediterranean coloring. I’ll try not to get hung up on it and I’m not the kind of guy who thinks there has to be POC in everything, I just hate seeing characters with already dark skin have it bleached out when there is zero reason.
I still love you Pluto. I’m not hating on you. And I love that voice.
The little Dic like cuts were cute…but a bit over done in this episode..can we maybe cut those down to a minimum, animators? I like the, but not when they are a response to everything!
All in all, I liked the episode. I look forward to the Sappir scenes and a few other things, but I remember thinking this was probably the most boring stretch in all of the manga.
Everyone in Sailor Moon is Japanese unless otherwise specified, and Takeuchi has explained that she just wanted Pluto to have a dark appearance. The idea that Setsuna Meiou is anything other than Japanese is pure fanon.
“The idea that Setsuna Meiou is anything other than Japanese is pure fanon.”
saintfighteraqua didn’t say they thought Pluto was supposed to be something other than “Japanese”, just that her skin is supposed to be the color tone of a person from India or South Asia, which is correct. She looks totally wrong with skin this light and it’s stupid that they changed it for no reason at all (it’s not like the comic where her dark skin made it harder to draw her). But they keep hanging design elements for no reason so it’s not a surprise.
Also, “Japanese” means a citizen of Japan. Anybody can be Japanese, even someone from India or the Mediterranean.
Thank you for understanding what I meant.
Well, at this point in the story, Sailor Pluto has not died and been reborn, so she’s not Japanese and all. She isn’t even an Earthling, she’s the daughter of the god Cronos (as the subtitles said this week). Now, when she’s reborn as Setsuna Meioh, she’s officially Japanese.
In regards to her darker skin, many anime styles use that to represent southern Japanese, those from Okinawa and such (if I remember right). That said, we’re talking about a group that includes two blondes with blue eyes and they’re specifically Japanese, so why would Setsuna’s skin color indicate her nationality any more than Usagi’s hair does?
30th centruy is from 2900 to 2999, not 3000 to 3099. From 3000 to 3099 is meaning 31th century like 21th century which is the time period we are on it. By the way this isn’t Dark Kingdom, this is Black Moon Clan.
Good points! I’ll fix those.
That was a good episode, I really loved Pluto and Chibiusa. Pluto has a great voice and what a kick ass she is ! But like some of us here I was disappointed by the fact that Pluto wasn’t darker in skin as her canon appearance seems to be. The same for Achiral. This is ironical because back to the old anime in 1992 they had darkened Kunzite’s skin for no reason, whereas he is pale in reality and with his white hair and grey eyes could be taken for an albino…
Toei, how many are they on your head ;p ?
Her voice was amazing, wasn’t it? It almost sounds like her old voice actor in some ways. I really hope we can hear what Haruka and Michiru sound like in Crystal. We need an announcement soon!
Totally agree with you !
Jupiter’s voice sounds great too, but Pluto’s one is definitely the best.
Indeed, I hope in turn that we’ll see and hear Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru ! Also because if Crystal had to stop after the Black Moon, I’ll feel like the solar system is not complete :/ .
It seems so much more natural now that the characters are showing emotions other than bored, slightly surprised and moderately amused.
I love when Usagi suddenly breaks that perfect expression. It took Chibi Usa to do it I guess!
I thought Mamo’s shirt were the ones he uses for his school uniform. I never pay the much of attention which makes me think who is weirder you or Mamo lol. But is true why didnt he just gave them a normal shirt thats a lot of dry cleaning if he doesn’t do his laundry or if he only own button shirts.
As the love scene goes I dont know I was expecting a little bit more magical (but is just wishful thinking).
It was an OK episode.
There is no reason why Pluto should know about Neo Queen Serenity’s past as Sailor Moon, because Pluto lives at the Time Gates, not in Crystal Tokyo. Therefore there is no reason for her to have heard the entire story of the Neo Queen’s youth, unless one of her occasional visitors had told her, and given the decisive role Pluto plays in the battle against Black Moon in the manga, they probably realized they couldn’t tell her much lest they ruin the entire timeline. Within the Time Gates, actually, she can’t see what’s going on outside, because otherwise she wouldn’t have been so anxious about Chibiusa’s whereabouts.
Yeah it’s not really clear how much contact Queen Serenity of Neo Queen Serenity might have with Sailor Pluto. Depending on the interpretation of the line about Chibiusa and Sailor Moon fighting though it could insinuate she sees how they interact with each other.
That’s interesting of you to say that Mamoru seeing Usagi might disappear is an omen of her future self. What make it interesting is, unlike in the original anime, instead of pushing her away, he wants to keep her close.
I was wondering if they were going to show the implication of Usagi and Mamoru having sex and how they would pull that off.
So now Sailor Pluto has appeared. Interesting how they changed the Dead Scream attack. Now I really want to see the other arcs adapted and see what the attacks were originally intended to look like.
I enjoyed it overall… Was disappointed with the first half though. I reread the manga act and they cut a lot out that 1- made mamoru far less creepy and 2- made usagi look more likeable. And the love scene… Sigh. That was just lazy.
Pluto rocked. And I’m really loving that mamoru isn’t useless like in the 90s version.
Well, Mamoru not being useless is straight from the manga, after all.
This episode I liked a lot aside from the horrid animation. I’m hoping that they will be allotted more time if they continue with a next arc, and hopefully more money for the budget now that they are airing on TV finally.
I think they didn’t do Pluto justice, but I wasn’t disappointed. And I was excited to see Endymion.
Regarding Usagi ‘disappearing’, it’s reference to the manga. In this scene in the manga, she confesses she is jealous and becomes distant and Mamo-chan says, “Usagi, you looked like you might disappear just now,” and he hugs her close. I think it was him realizing the danger they are about to get into and remembering how they lost each other once before and now they want to defeat that possibility once and for all.
Regarding Pluto almost killing them, I think it’s a combination of how the Outers have a mission to do their duty no matter who they have to take out, as that is what they were commanded, along with the fact that Usagi was always queen/princess Serenity. She wasn’t in her fuku with her bejeweled odangos. And Mamoru was also generally in his armor or royal attire as well, so maybe that’s why she mistook them until she was Chibiusa. (Regarding Setsuna’s unrequited love, that was only canon in the musicals, not in the anime/manga.) I read somewhere once that Takeuchi wanted Setsuna to have a Romani skin tone because she was a loner and her character matched those characteristics of the Romani people, or something like that, but I could be mistaken. I never heard of her as being a certain race though.
Chibiusa’s princess dress was the same as her predecessors in the manga except later in the series where they introduced her pink flowy dress. I just assumed it was the traditional royal family/national attire. Chibiusa in her 20th century clothes makes sense because she was in them when she came to earth/went back to the future and we weren’t seeing future Chibiusa, but current Chibiusa.
In the manga, Neo Queen Serenity’s hair was silver, not blonde. Even in art books and descriptions given by Takeuchi, it was silver. That’s why everyone threw a fit in the one of the last appearance of NQS, because she was blonde (and she was even blonde in the opening until they fixed that). Near as I know, they fixed her blonde hair to silver on the Japanese DVDs/BluRays, and she appeared silver haired in subsequent appearances as well.
Those Roman numerals, I am just chalking up to the team simply decorating and not being accurate. We’ll find out when they release the DVD/BluRay. I just really wish they’d get with the program and put out a finished, clean animation for once. It’s not fair for people to have to shell out $80 for something that should have been accurate and finished in the first place. But again, maybe it’s an issue of time and money.
I’m excited for the next episode, double the Mamoru/Endymion :d
The outfit Chibiusa had in the scene with all the dead people is her blue one which she wore when traveling to the past and arriving them. It does not appear that this was a costume worn to fit in but just what she was wearing in the future when things went south.
I’ll have to look at the hair of Neo Queen Serenity in the manga. I am so used to reading them in black and white that I just fill in the blanks for colour from the anime for most characters. The new editions are great for colour photos but I need to spend more time looking at them.
I’m pretty sure it was just Queen Serenity in the opening and not NQS.
I have seen plenty of artwork though that shows Princess Serenity with white/silver hair too, but some with blonde as well.
I keep trying to think if I’ve ever seen NQS with silver hair, but I can’t remember.
Seeing NSQ with silver hair in the anime might be nice though and make her seem more removed from Usagi and might explain more of why Chibi Usa didn’t recognize her.
I Googled it and you are right, there are multiple pictures of NQS with silver/white hair in the art books. I can’t believe I forgot those.
Figured out why Sailor Pluto attacked Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Venus! It’s the time travel of the series: when time travel occurs in Sailor Moon, it causes an alternate timeline, which is why Chibi-Usa’s parents never prepared for the rise of the Black Moon clan (it never appeared in their 20th century, so they never prepared for it) and why Sailor Cosmos goes back in time to try to convince Sailor Moon to close the Galaxy Cauldron (why would she if she knew the outcome already? In her timeline she never got an intervention from her future self and was unprepared for Sailor Chaos). So when Sailor Moon goes to the future, Sailor Pluto doesn’t recognize her because it’s an entirely different Sailor Moon. This Pluto is from the first timeline of Chibi-Usa’s parents, where she first met them during the Death Busters arc, that’s the Sailor Moon she recognizes.She might have powers that can tell when someone’s time-traveled, so she might see the Sailor Moon in front of her as a possible imposter or someone dangerous, seeing as her Sailor Moon is in a crystal coffin of sorts.It’s not until Chibi-Usa, whom Pluto recognizes, that she stops and understands.
It makes sense. When she speaks about Sailor Moon and Chibi-Usa cause her trouble, she means that both her Sailor Moon and the Sailor Moon she meets then, plus Chibi-Usa, have both caused her trouble throughout her lifetime.
Any thoughts?
Uhh Im just scratching my head lol
But I see what you mean is sort of when Doc from back to the future explains to Marty about new timelines.
Yeah, no?
It’s very similar to that
Isn’t Usagi only 14? Why is she doing that at such a young age?
By Crystal and manga continuity she should be 15 at this point. I was playing Super Nintendo and watching Star Trek at that age but such activities are not uncommon for teenagers…