The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal, Act 20, Crystal Tokyo – King Endymion, is now available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Niconico. The gang is in the future city of Crystal Tokyo and now it’s time to have the ghost of King Endymion give them exposition about the story to date, including a bunch of revelations of things we mostly knew about.
We meet King Endymion and with that we learn all about Chibiusa, Crystal Tokyo and the Black Moon Clan. King Endymion appears as some sort of non corporeal projection of the real King who is in another room. In the original anime he is a hologram but in the manga and here it’s not entirely clear what is happening. He’s not stored in a computer like Queen Serenity was on the Moon. It seem more like he’s a sort of ghost. But does that mean King Endymion is dead? More on that later.
Chibiusa is Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask’s daughter from the future. At this point we mostly already figured this out. If we hadn’t we can immediately infer this from the fact that Sailor Moon noticed that King Endymion is the future Tuxedo Mask and that Chibiusa calls him father. We can easily infer that this means Tuxedo Mask is Chibiusa’s father, but Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask do not have their “OMG WTF!!!” reaction until they are blatantly told what is what with Chibiusa. Their embarrassment seems to insinuate that these two have not previously had sex. We know this is likely not the case.
We get a description of what’s up with Crystal Tokyo and it seems that in all it’s glory it was … a bunch of islands? We don’t know a ton about Crystal Tokyo but what we do know is that it is the future city of Tokyo. Tokyo is not a series of islands like the Florida Keys. It’s just a city on the Ocean. So what’s up with Crystal Tokyo? It looks a lot like Dubai, a city on the shore of the Persian Gulf but which is also home to a ton of artificial islands along the coast giving it a somewhat similar look. It’s certainly possible that the inhabitants of Crystal Tokyo built these things on the ocean. They would have the technology, and magic, to make it possible. When Chibiusa travels through time she does not arrive in the past in the ocean or in the future on the main land far from the palace. I always assumed the time travel was tied to a specific place but in a different time but this is never clearly established. Regardless, Crystal Tokyo in the manga or original anime was never portrayed as a series of islands as it is seen here. It wasn’t even shown like this in earlier episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal.
This episode has the introduction of the adorable kitten Diana! She is Luna and Artemis’s daughter from the future. Luna and Artemis seem shocked and embarrassed to learn this which suggests that they do not currently have a relationship. Is their relationship a predestination paradox based on them now seeing they will be in one in the future? The show doesn’t appear to work that way.
We learn some interesting things about Nemesis in this episode. King Endymion mentions that it’s orbit is impossible to calculate. Indeed Nemesis is based on a real non existent planet. Many have searched for a planet which explains some inconsistencies in the orbits of other planets. These inconsistencies can better be explained by other phenomenon, but in the Sailor Moon world this is a real planet. In one shot we see the Black Moon Clan on Nemesis with a Moon in the background. This is a first. The Moon is even illuminated in such as a way as to highlight the crescent Moon that is seen on the foreheads of the Black Moon Clan. We have not seen a Moon around Nemesis in any other Sailor Moon canon.
The gang must travel to the past because Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are disappearing. The excuse given is that Sailor Moon is disappearing because she’s in the same time as Neo Queen Serenity and that she’s occupying a space too close to her. This is fair as she’s lying right near them. Why then is Tuxedo Mask disappearing? Supposedly for the same reason, but this does not occur in the manga. Only Sailor Moon is seen as disappearing. Still King Endymion’s body is not far away so this makes some sense.
We learn that Chibiusa and Diana were the only two to survive the attack by the Black Moon Clan but that they don’t know why. The reason it turns out is that it was because Chibiusa had the Silver Crystal on her, and that she was holding Diana. Too bad we don’t actually see Diana in Chibiusa’s arms when she is attacked. This creates a bit of a plot hole as compared to the manga when Diana is clearly shown with Chibiusa’s at the time of the attack.
This episode also introduces us to Sailor Pluto’s crush on King Endymion! She immediately blushes when she sees him. Perhaps this is why she was so quick to try to kill Sailor Moon earlier! Eliminate Sailor Moon in the past and future King Endymion is all of a sudden back on the market! King Endymion asks Pluto to give Sailor Moon a Key of Space-Time, which she does. This whole exchange seems totally charged as no doubt Sailor Pluto is envious of the relationship Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask have and will share in the future.
What follows is just a ridiculous amount of time traveling. It was taboo to do so last episode but now we go back, spend a quick nap time in the past, then we fly back to the future like it was nothing. Mamoru doesn’t even sleep in his bed. Chibiusa is in the bed and he sleeps on the floor. This makes us wonder where exactly he and Usagi had sex earlier when Chibiusa was in the bed. Did they just do it on the floor? Not very dignified for the future royal family!
Back in the future we see Diana sleeping with future Luna and Artemis. She’s in a room with the bodies of the Sailor Guardians, who are said to have taken the brunt of the attack on Neo Queen Serenity, as well as King Enydmion. So what is up with these people? They appear to be pretty much dead, which would explain the state of King Endymion’s ghost. This isn’t really explained but they are at best near fatally wounded and at worst corpses like the rest of the city.
The enemy this week is Esmeraude and her ridiculous multi arms! This reminds me a lot of Queen Beryl’s hair. This is actually something which happens in the manga though then she has even more arms! She’s seen chocking Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon with two arms each in the manga though we don’t really see where each arm comes from. Here in Sailor Moon Crystal we have an arm awkwardly coming out of the back of Esmeraude’s neck which just looks weird.
Sailor Moon tries to use her Cutie Moon Rod which doesn’t go that well. It looks a lot like it did when it failed last episode. Actually it’s the exact same image only they fixed the weird half uncoloured animation error they had. Otherwise it is identical as can be seen above. The reason for the failure given is that her Crystal doesn’t work in the future, because you can’t have two Crystals in the same time. Oh that’s nice I guess we won’t have another Sailor Guardian running around the present with the 30th century’s Silver Crystal…
Luckily Tuxedo Mask saves the day with a Double Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber which he performs with the help of the ghost of King Endymion! This is yet another thing from this episode which did not occur in the original manga and for a good reason. If King Endymion’s ghost is fully capable of using his powerful Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber attack isn’t he vastly superior to physical King Endymion? Let’s just get all of the Sailor Guardians running around as ghosts using their attacks without being vulnerable to attack by the bad guys! The Black Moon Clan would really be on the ropes if that happened!
Next up is Act 21, Complication – Nemesis. Sailor Moon is kidnapped so I guess now we actually have to do something! With the previous three kidnappings rescuing them was a priority but now that Sailor Moon is actually gone what are we to do? Sailor Moon is the prisoner of Prince Demande. We will finally see what’s up with the other Sailor Guardians and some big changes may begin for Chibiusa!
Keep reading for more screenshots from this episode and the next episode preview.
Possibly Related Posts
-
Watch Sailor Moon Crystal Act 20, Crystal Tokyo – King Endymion, Saturday April 18th at 6am Eastern Time -
Sailor Moon Crystal Act 19, Time Warp – Sailor Pluto, Review -
Sailor Moon Crystal Act 11, Reunion – Endymion, Review -
Shoko Nakagawa to voice Diana in Sailor Moon Crystal -
Sailor Moon Crystal Act 18, Invasion – Sailor Venus, Review
One thing I’d like to comment is the fact that the Sailor Soldiers are asleep (?) after the attack from the Black Moon, but in the 90s anime, they were protecting the Crystal Palace like active pillars of energy, and for that reason Black Moon cannot attack them.
Well, I prefer that version instead of the manga version.
And the last thing… hahaha… the Pluto romance for Tuxedo Mask (King Endimion) was shocking… hahaha… that wasn’t told in the 90s anime… hahaha.
Agreed. I always loved the image of the Sailor Guardians protecting the Queen!
+1 Future soldiers protecting Crystal Tokyo FTW
I have to agree, the Senshi being pillars of protection was much more awesome and made them seem more powerful.
There are actually a few planets (or maybe they’re dwarf planets like Pluto) in and beyond the Kuiper Belt. One is called Eris, and it’s a bit beyond Pluto. It’s got a moon called Dysnomia, and it’s got a pretty odd orbit. It’s like Nemesis in a way. Funny coincidence, right? Their names even match in a funny way–Goddess of Revenge and Goddess of Chaos and Discord.
I would have preferred that Naoko use a real Astral body and not something so discredited for her story, but I suppose it’s just another pseudoscientific element to this arc!
If Usagi and Mamoru disappears because of being close to their future forms what about Artemis and Luna? Artemis, Luna and King Endymion lie down at same place, but the only one who is effected by this situation is Mamoru.
Yeah. Venus too. It doesn’t make a ton of sense. The assumption that Sailor Moon is simply closer to Neo Queen Serenity seems to work best for the manga but this version lacks consistency.
Aha, I forgot Venus… Venus is the most unimportant character in Crystal unfortunately.
So many questions, so if Diana and Chibi usa are the only ones who survived the attack then who put the sailors and king Ed. on the table? Whats with the 30th century clothing? You think they dont feel like wearing metallic clothes? Why do we have to wait two weeks for the next act??!
Diana and Ghost Endymion are the only ones around to do so. If Luna can tie a clock to herself without thumbs I suppose Diana may have been able to do it!
I wondered the same thing, but I imagine that maybe the palace itself moved their bodies.
Or maybe even the spirits of Jadeite, Kunzite, Zoisite and Nephrite?
*waves hand*
Something with the Silver Crystal.
I assumed that in the future, the majority of Japan would be swallowed up by the ocean due to the effects of global warming, so maybe Toei was trying to reflect that in this episode with their portrayal of Crystal Tokyo? The original manga made it more clear that Usagi and Mamoru had sex on Mamoru’s kitchen floor which is very kinky of them. I didn’t get the impression the ghost Endymion was attacking at the same time. I just assumed he was sending his power to Endymion to give him an energy boost.
That’s a pretty good interpretation that explains what we see pretty well!
Wasn’t it even mentioned in the original anime that there was an ice age or something?
Yes in the anime there was an ice age at an unspecified time that lasted and unspecified length that Neo Queen Serenity saved the world from which made everyone so grateful that they accepted her rule. I was under the impression that this was an unnatural event though, like that of an enemy.
I had this fan theory at some point that in the original timeline Princess Snow Kaguya was much more effective in freezing the earth and that was the event. After Sailor Moon R enough had changed that the Sailor Guardians were more prepared for her attack and managed to fend her off more quickly and avoided catastrophe. Of course that event was key to Luna and Artemis pairing, which leads to Diana. How different would their relationship have played out otherwise? Time travel hurts my brain when the author doesn’t carefully plan things out!
Makes sense to me!
If you want, I can try and clarify some of your doubts according to what I understood from the manga:
1) Diana and Chibiusa’s survival:
Diana was inside the Palace, too, just like Chibiusa, while Luna, Artemis and the senshi were all outside, and that’s why they got hurt while Chibiusa and Diana didn’t: the palace is magical in the sense that it can protect anyone inside, that no one who’s not a part of the senshi’s team is allowed to enter it, and that it can magically teleport its inhabitans back inside itself if they are outside and get injured, or expell intruders magically out if anyone who’s not from NQ Serenity’s group manages to get in. That’s why Black Lady kept getting magically thrown out in a later chapter: she IS NQS’ daughter, but she’s kind of evil now…
2) King Endymion’s ghost aiding Tuxedo Mask with La Smoking Bomber:
King Endymion’s spirit has separated from his body, in the same way Helios’ spirit separated from his body to escape Neherenia in SuperS. The only difference is, King Endymion’s ghost can’t actually carry his Golden Crystal everywhere along with it, like Helios did in the anime… Therefore, his spirit is defenseless because it can’t use its power without its physical body. The closest thing to King Endymion’s physical body is Mamoru’s body, his past self’s body, so that is why the King’s ghost can use his power through Mamoru’s body, and ONLY through Mamoru’s body: he can share power with his past self through his aura, and that is so precisely because Mamoru is his past self, in the same way NQS will share power with Usagi later on, allowing her to finally be able to use her Crystal in the future.
Wich brings us to the final point:
3) Usagi’s crystal and NQS’s crystal:
It’s like a tug-of-war between the two crystals, as long as the two are being used at the same time. Chibiusa can’t use NQS’s crystal, and NQS is never in the past: therefore the presence of JUST NQS’s crystal in the past is not enough to block Usagi’s power.
The reason the 30th century crystal DOES affect Usagi’s use of her crystal in the future is that NQS, that future crystal’s onwer, is also there and she IS using her own crystal from a distance, while unconscious: she’s using the crystal layer all around her to heal and protect herself while she’s so wounded (remember here she is incased in Silver Crystal and not in quartz like in “Sailor Moon R”).
To allow Usagi to use her Crystal in the future, NQS will do something smilar to what King Endymion did with Tuxedo in this episode: she will share her own power with Sailor Moon through their crystals. Because it’s a tug of war, this basically means she will stop using her own crystal for a while, and thus stop attracting the energy to her end, herself and her crystal, redirecting instead all that power in the direction of Usagi’s crystal, so that she can finally use her own crystal in the future.
This is because, remember, both Tuxedo and Usagi’s crystals are supposed to be their star seeds / sailor crystals. They follow their hosts’ commands, even the unconcious ones (every time they seem to act on their own, they are actually following the unconscious wills of their hosts).
The crystals can’t do anything on their own, not even block their past counerparts’ power, without the presence of their “host”. Otherwise, in Stars the stolen sailor crystals would’ve been at least able to attack Galaxia and Chaos (or something) on their own, without needing Usagi to go to their rescue; and in this season Wiseman would have been able to use the future crystal to block Usagi’s power once he got it from Black Lady, but he can’t (to block another counterpart of the crystal’s power, you need to USE the version of the crystal that you have, and only the real owner of each Crystal can use it.
What about not disappearing of Artemis, Luna and Sailor Venus while both of Usagi and Mamoru disappears because of being close to their future forms altough all of them are close to their future forms, not only Usagi and Mamoru?
By the way, your answers are very clever.
Perhaps Usagi and Mamoru were closer to their future selves’ bodies than Venus and the cats were, and they were a bit more stable. They might’ve started feeling the effects a bit later if they stayed long longer, but because of distance and time they were okay.
I agree. Besides, I think that using their powers at the same time as their past/future self makes the paradox affect their physical bodies as well, along with their powers. NQS and Endymion are the only ones who are indeed actively using their power in some form of another, at the same time that their past selves are using their own: NQS is using it to heal herself, her injured friends and protect the palace from intruders (all while unconscious) and King Endymion is using his own to project this “astral” version of himself and greet their past selves… But future Venus, Luna and Artemis are not using theirs, that we know of, so their past-selves’ powers and physical bodies are not affected by this tug of war, or at least will not be affected as immediately and Usagi and Mamoru have been.
Speaking of King Endymion, a lot of people are asking “how come he says he didn’t know this and that would happen, when he’s supposed to have Mamoru’s memories?” The thing is, I don’t think we should: I really think he’s just playing dumb, mostly, for the sake of not ruining the timeline so that things can come to pass exactly as they should in order for Chibiusa to finally awaken her powers … because if he tells their past-selves too much info, let alone in front of Chibiusa or Sailor Pluto, he risks one of them deviating from the path he’s suposed to follow according to his memories as Mamoru. For example: If he tells them something before they were supposed to find it out, he risks changing the course of events… And yeah, sadly, both him and NQS basically need for Pluto to die, so that Chibiusa’s powers can finally be unleashed, because they don’t know any other way to make it happen; besides NQS can always resurrect Pluto.
My main issue with the Crystals, which I didn’t want to get into too much for future spoilers, is that Sailor Chibi Moon freely uses the future Silver Crystal in the past alongside Sailor Moon with no issue.
Because
*spoilers warning* …….
Sailor Chibi Moon’s crystal is not NQS’s crystal. There is a scene in this season, in the manga, right after Chibiusa transforms for the first time into a Sailor Senshi, where we see Sailor Venus holding *two* crystals, Sailor Moon’s and NQS’s, yet Chibi Moon has another one. So yeah, there actually are THREE Silver Crystals at the end of his arc: Sailor Moon’s, NQS’s, and Chibiusa’s… I guess we’ll have to see if Crystal goes with that too.
Sorry, I mean right *before* Chibiusa transforms… Then after Moon transforms and goes after Nemesis, taking away her own crystal with her, and NQS wakes up, while NQS is talking to Chibi Moon, Venus is seen STILL holding NQS’s crystal. So Chibi Moon’s is another crystal altogether.
Sailor moon did not made sex with tuxedo mask because she was crying on her bad.I think you are trying to make sailor moon crystal ridiculous.You should feel lucky that TOEY is making sailor moon again
Not in this episode. I was insinuating that last episode, Act 19, had some pretty strong suggestions that there was sex.
When you think that sailor moon it’s a bitch then why do you still watch sailor moon crystal
I just find her reaction a little unfair given the circumstances, while understanding this ties in to events yet to come. I still think she is a very strong character and all around great role model for the way she uses her heart and friendship to solve problems were others would use their fists.
Despite my somewhat snarky criticisms of the story I am still a big fan.
“Make sex”? Maybe these discussions are a bit too mature for you. Stick to the DiC version for another decade or so.
I’m sorry if my writing is bad because I’m from Europe and I don’t know very good English language
Can I make a suggestion? I think you’re being unnecessarily defensive. You seem to be misinterpreting what Adam is saying.
can you tell my then what Adam is trying to say
when you discovered that I am from Europe you started to protect Adam
don’t you think you are being a little racist
While I, like you, fall in with the camp that hopes Usagi didn’t have sex at this point (and I still think it is very ambiguous) …I don’t see that Ashley is being racist…how is Europe a race?
It’s really bad form to accuse someone randomly of being a racist.
She was a bit rude and overly defensive sounding in that comment.
Adam is just saying he feels like in the episode before this one it was insinuated that Usagi and Mamoru had sex in the floor. And it is implied that it could have happened…or maybe it didn’t.
The reaction both she and Mamoru share in this latest episode seems to imply they are shocked that one day they have a child and make it seem that maybe they didn’t have sex yet…or maybe it was more of an embarrassed reaction and they thought they’d been busted.
1) I’ve got zero problems with anyone based on race, creed, sexuality, nationality, or any other thing. Not at all, ever, so don’t go around leveling things at me.
2) I’m not protecting anyone, actually, I was trying to reach out and explain to you that you are inferring something from Adam’s posts that is not present.
3) There is no need to attack anyone based on what may or may not have happened in a cartoon.
Leo. To clarify. As saintfighteraqua mentioned. In Act 19 it appears that Mamoru and Usagi had sex. It’s not clearly stated and more ambiguous in the manga, but I feel like this is established as can be seen in my review of Act 19.
Here in Act 20 they seem embarrassed to have a child in the future. This can be interpreted in two ways:
1) They are surprised to learn that they will have children, the result of having sex, in the future.
2) They are not so much surprised by this, as they know it is a natural consequence of what they are already doing, but are embarrassed that the others that are present and perhaps not aware of the seriousness of their relationship learn this. This could apply to any or all of Minako, Luna and Artemis.
Ultimately it’s a bit silly. Usagi and Mamoru are very much in love and Usagi seems to fully expect to marry Mamoru some day in the future. To see a future where they were not together and with a family of some kind would be itself shocking.
I wonder what Usagi would have done if she’d gone to the future and found that Rei was married to Mamoru instead? Would she have still fought so hard to protect everyone?
Good riddance to Esmeraude. Next time I can’t wait to think what’ll happen to Sailor Moon in the next episode the following Saturday.
Was anyone else disappointed that they didn’t show the Senshi in their Eternal outfits? I was kind of hoping that they would since we all know they get those upgrades before Crystal Tokyo is built.
However, I still feel like there has to be two different timelines going on in this story to really make sense. Like I think that after Sailor Moon defeated Queen Metalia, that was it. There were no other bad guys and then she became the Queen. That’s why Neo Queen Serenity only has the Cutie Moon Rod as a weapon and not any of her later ones she got when she became super sailor moon or eternal sailor moon.
I think when the Black Moon came to the past as well as Chibausa, it set off a different timeline, one where more evil beings came to be. That being the deathbusters, dead moon, and galaxia.
Of course I know that the Manga was written without intention to keep it going so that was probably the main reason but then I would have just hoped they fixed that for Crystal knowing what actually happens in the end. Because it doesn’t make sense that NQS only has the cutie moon rod and that the senshi are all in their original outfits. The absence of the outer senshi in Crystal Tokyo would also be explained then because they were only awakened when the deathbusters came and if they never came in the original timeline, than there would have been no need for them and they would have just lived their lives with Pluto just remaining at the time gate.
If that makes any sense at all…I hate time travel talk haha
I’m pretty sure alternate timelines might have something to do with it too.
Probably alternate timelines, but it’s also possible that the ultimate forms of the senshi resemble their base forms.
I don’t think that’s likely. Even if their Super forms only included the addition of an extra long ribbon in the back and a few other changes, you’d think there were more changes in their Eternal forms that would set them apart.
I agree.
But then, we are not sure if Eternal is the final transformation level the senshi reach. It would be kind of dull to have their ultimate forms be the same as their very first ones…but it would also make some sense since those were the ones they wore during the days in Silver Millennium.
I think the most likely explanation is an alternate timeline though. That also explains why Pluto was still guarding the door and Uranus, Neptune and Saturn were nowhere to be found.
It does make one wonder, if they never powered up past the original level, does that mean they never fought the Death Busters or the Dead Moon? And does that mean those enemies rose to power specifically because of the Black Moon’s attack?
I seem to recall that Sailor Moon Stars established that all prior enemies stemmed indirectly from the same place, so it would make sense to me that the Death Busters and Dead Moon rose to power only because the previous enemy was defeated. Perhaps Chaos is not very good at multitasking.
That doesn’t however explain why it took nearly a full century after the defeat of Metallia for the Black Moon to rise to power (in the Crystal Tokyo timeline).
I was kind of disappointed too especially after they went out of their way to add in Luna in her human form at the end of the Dark Kingdom arc.
That’s what really made me think of it was how they added Luna in her human form so I had kind of thought maybe they would tease us a little more.
I think alternate timelines are definitely the easiest answer haha. I too feel like they never fought the dead moon or the death busters. I don’t know about Galaxia…that seems to be another story with even more timelines.
In a way, it would make sense that if the Black Moon traveled through time that they could have disrupted the timeline enough to create a rip in the dimensions leading an opening for the death busters to enter our dimension.
Maybe they will let us know if it gets renewed for a second season.
My best guess is they probably got a lot of flack for the anime only storylines they created with the Dark Kingdom arc and they probably decided they didn’t want to take any chances with Black Moon and just decided to stick with the manga since that was the safer route to go. It certainly does seem like the Black Moon arc has been much more positively received though Black Moon has always been one of my favorite arcs in the manga so that helps for me. I wonder how the NicoNico streaming ratings have fared for these episodes in comparison to the Dark Kingdom arc?
Is it just me or does this episode hold the record as the most number of comments for the Sailor Moon News blog for Crystal review episodes?
Well as of my comment that’s 52 comments on one page. So yeah, I’d say that’s a record.
all I see is a bunch of complainers least they are tryin to bring Sailor Moon back and follow the best they can to the original sailormoon
So, I have to ask… Everyone except Chibiusa and Diana is dead or comatose, right? Then who put the Sailor Guardians, Neo Queen Serenity, King Endymion, and Luna and Artemis on those slabs? Neo Queen Serenity was supposedly encased in the crystal as she was running to find Chibiusa, so even if some mysterious person managed to put all the others on those slabs, Neo Queen Serenity should have been frozen in place mid-run, right? Who moved her, and who made that funeral slab with all the fancy engravings? Surely Neo Queen Serenity didn’t have it made ahead of time!
Who do you think did all this? The Dark Moon Clan showing unexpected reverence for their conquered enemies? Pluto and/or certain other Sailor Guardians who have yet to appear in the Crystal anime? I wonder…
Reading so many of these comments…
It’s as though you people read one series of manga and I read another…
How can one miss so much that is so blantantly obvious, I can never understand.
People these days don’t even understand the explicit written word, let alone blatantly obvious illustrations of events, places, people. Sad, really…
For the record, one thing:
Tokyo, in our very real world, actually contains many islands, man-made places, such as Tennozu Isle – where the buildings which form the triangle delta Naoko created in the infinity arc.
So those sattelite isles in the new version of Crystal Tokyo could have basis in these real-world occurrences. Not that hard to understand, really.