This week on Hulu and Neon Alley‘s new episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars we are introduced to Chibi Chibi. It’s a sort of mid season change up with two new villains, Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow, as well as the arrival of the mysterious Chibi Chibi. Episodes 182 and 183 have it all! We have Usagi holding Chibi Chibi in her arms followed by a swimsuit episode. At least one fan will be very happy with this!
Episode 182, Invaders from Outer Space: The Coming of Siren, is all about Chibi Chibi! But first we have some new villains. As we saw last week, Sailor Iron Mouse has sadly been killed. It seemed like she did not have a lot of choice in her situation, and we get a bit of a hint at why that is as Galaxia is seen holding the true Star Seeds of three Sailor Animamates, including the new villains Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow, though two of them actually look like Sailor Lead Crow, making the identity of the third unknown and not like that of any character seen in the series. Sailor Aluminum Siren is a bit of a goof, always eating, and Sailor Lead Crow is embarrassed that she is her rival. Through this hostility the two seem to have a great deal of affection for each other. The Animamates are all great, but no one will replace Sailor Iron Mouse to me! Enter Chibi Chibi! She arrives from the sky floating down with an umbrella. Sure is more graceful than Chibiusa who just falls on people. Is that comparison even relevant? We don’t need to wonder whether Chibi Chibi us Usagi’s second daughter as the characters ask themselves this same question. Something seems up when Chibi Chibi seems to have brainwashed Ikuko mamma much like Chibiusa had. Setsuna, who apparently is still around, does not believe that Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion ever had a second child. What is the story with Chibi Chibi? I won’t get into the specifics of course but so much to say the truth deviates quite a bit from the manga, which had not been completed at the time this series was written, so that they didn’t know exactly how to finish things. It seems odd for this episode to make a strong statement about Chibi Chibi not being a second daughter when for all the writers knew, that might be what was actually in store for the character! One could always use time travel to write around this, as it’s unlikely that the Sailor Pluto we see here was around to see the King and Queen die or otherwise become infertile, creating the possibility of more children. Neo Queen Serenity does have a second daughter, Kousagi Tsukino, though this is from an alternate timeline in the Sailor Moon manga named Parallel Sailor Moon. Throughout the episode Usagi wears the tank top that was designed by Yoshiki Usui in Sailor Moon SuperS episode 140. When Chibi Chibi gets lost, because she is a very independent child that can barely speak, she is picked up by Seiya who is acting as a police officer for a day. This is apparently a thing that can happen in Japan. The target is the Police Chief who becomes Sailor Cop, who is a really cool looking robot cop. This faces us off against the new villains. Finally the episode ends with a tender moment where Usagi invites Chibi Chibi into her bed and holds her in her arms.
Episode 183, The Screaming Dead: Terror of the Camp Monster, is all about Rei. Well sort of about Rei. We actually see Rei as a kid, which is sort of adorable, as she has these odd red dots on her cheeks. We meet her cousin, Kengo Ibuki, who makes art and is extremely self critical. He’s the target this week! Rei is out in some forested area where the Three Lights happen to be shooting a Power Rangers style movie. I always love it when Sailor Moon references Sentai, as it was itself meant to be a Sentai style series for girls. The live action series was a lot more Sentai style than any other incarnation, and the formula works quite well. The plot of the movie has a killer running around with a chainsaw, somewhat like Leatherface of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. The monster of the week, Sailor Artist, looks somewhat like him which leads to some high jynx. In the ensuing combat Sailor Artist recognizes a piece he made which Rei took as a child, which makes Sailor Mars realize who he is. At this point she begs Sailor Moon not to hurt him. Well is this really necessary? When did Sailor Moon last kill a monster? It’s been a really long time. As always, she uses Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss and he’s healed. No need for anyone to get hurt! The episode wraps up with the gang chilling at a cottage. Chibi Chibi bumps Seiya while he’s talking to Usagi, which puts them in a compromising situation and causes everyone to blush at the situation. This episode happens to be this season’s swimsuit episode. There always seems to be a reason to have the gang in swimsuits at least once in the year. I know some people like these so here’s a screenshot of three very sexy Sailor Guardians in one piece swimsuits!
Support this site by buying the first two seasons of Sailor Moon on DVD and Blu-Ray using the links below.
