Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 190 and 191 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 191 - Usagi is Shinji

This week on Hulu and Neon Alley‘s new episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars things get really emo! Seiya got hurt last week and we spend two episodes fixating on that and being all Shinji about it. Also a ton of video game references and inspiration from the Sailor V comic.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 190 - Seiya sings for Usagi

Episode 190, Truth Revealed: The Star Lights’ Past, is all about how to scam a free concert. No actually it’s mostly about silly drama. Seiya got hurt helping Usagi and now the Three Lights don’t like the Sailor Guardians and then Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto get into the mix. They confront Sailor Star Healer and Maker, and everyone seems to agree that it’s best for everyone to be hostile for no terribly good reason. Forced drama! So where the hell is Hotaru? I mean she still hasn’t had a transformation sequence and we never get to see her when her friends show up. She’s probably in bed at home alone without a babysitter. She should have stayed with her father. This anime doesn’t seem to like Sailor Saturn at all. Anyway it’s all about trying to cheer up Usagi while still keeping her away from Seiya which is ultimately what is making her miserable. Drama, drama, drama. Finally Seiya breaks his silience and asks Usagi to come to a live performance he’s doing, with two other guys who are intent on keeping her away. Too bad it’s sold out! But this doesn’t stop Usagi who for once can’t just use her contacts to see a free concert. She goes to the top of a Ferris Wheel to watch the concert from there! This reminds me of the Sailor V comic which has Amano, the Sailor V version of Umino, uses some sort of radio receiver to scam free music from a concert. For a comic and show that frequently features musical artists, they sure do like to teach us how to scam music! Seiya is able to see Usagi in that far off ferris wheel, and so it’s like he’s singing for her. This gives us cool backstory for the Sailor Starlights. We see their planet getting destroyed and them following their Princess to Earth. Seiya passes out from his injuries. The target this week is the amusement park manager who turns into Sailor Amusement. The bad guys are so bad at their job! Guess who shows up to fight?! Not Sailor Saturn!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 190 - The Sailor Starlights planet is destroyed

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 191 - Cosplay Codename: Sailor V Volume 2 - Minako as a game character

Episode 191, Butterflies of Light: A New Chapter On the Horizon, continues with last episode’s Usagi/Seiya drama. Chibi Chibi is chasing a red butterfly which coalesces with others to form an incense burner. Full confession. At this point in the series, upon my first viewing in the 90s, I was convinced that Chibi Chibi was Princess Kakyuu. The Three Lights know that these butterflies indicate that their Princess is around. Back to the drama Usagi is crying on her bed while listening to her walkman. Total Shinji moment. Terrible. Chibi Chibi has a slipper that says Chibi^2. Witty! There’s a video game event and Taiki is going to be present! The gang go out in costume. Ami is dressed in a toga that somewhat resembles Palutena from the Kid Icarus games. Why is this relevant? In Kid Icarus Uprising for the 3DS and the Super Smash Bros. games the voice of Palutena is provided by Aya Hisakawa, the voice of Sailor Mercury. Of course she was cast in this role some 15 years after this episode aired, so the resemblance can’t be more than a coincidence. A lot of little video game references follow. A trophy thing that looks like Mario, fighting games that looks like Street Fighther and Virtual Fighter. Even a t-shirt referencing Sailor Moon musical actress Anza Ohyama. Cosplayers dressed as all kinds of characters like Chun-Li and Felicia. I have no idea what Rei, Makoto and Minako are supposed to be dressed as but they seem to be somewhat generic video game characters. Maybe from fighting games. Minako’s costume somewhat resembles that of a game character she dressed as in Volume 2 of the Sailor V comic, Minako in Game Center Crown. Similarly Ami’s rival in the final round, Yukihide Ohbayashi, looks just like Taku from that same issue. It should have been Minako to fight him if this parallel was to continue but for whatever reason Ami episodes are as common as Taiki episodes this season. The target this week is idol Reiko Kanagawa who turns into Sailor Gamer. How many of our readers would turn into Sailor Gamer? Probably a few!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 191 - Yukihide Ohbayashi who looks like Taku Codename: Sailor V Volume 2 - Taku
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 191 - Ami dressed as Palutena Palutena from Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 190 - Princess Kakyuu

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24 years ago today, the first episode of the Sailor Moon anime aired in Japan

Sailor Moon episode 1 - Luna freaking out with a bandage on her head

Episode 1 of the original Sailor Moon anime, The Crybaby: Usagi’s Beautiful Transformation, aired on Japanese TV on March 7th 1992, 24 years ago today. It’s been a long time and love for the series is still going strong! More than that we are 4 years into the 20th anniversary and we are showing no signs of letting up that celebration!

Sailor Moon episode 1 - Usagi runs into Mamoru

The Sailor Moon official web site’s title remains the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Project Official Site. The official Twitter account is @sailormoon_20th. This branding isn’t going anywhere any time soon! It’ll look really silly next year as we celebrate the 25th anniversary. The manga will be 25 years old on December 28th of this year!

Sailor Moon episode 1 - Crybaby Usagi's Magnificent Transformation

If you’re feeling nostalgic you can watch episode 1, The Crybaby: Usagi’s Beautiful Transformation, on Hulu either in Japanese with English subtitles or dubbed in English.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 188 and 189 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 188 - Usagi is not in seat 12A

This week on Hulu and Neon Alley‘s new episodes of Sailor Stars everyone’s secret identities are revealed! Episode 188 and 189, which seem to directly follow each other, span a time period of over 9 months if tickets are to be believed!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 188 - Tickets for the Three Lights movie on a plane

Episode 188, Invitation to Terror: Usagi’s Night Flight, centres on a very impractical movie premier. The Three Lights movie which was filmed earlier in the season has somehow now been edited and is being released! The special preview, available only to fan club members, is taking place on an airplane in flight. This seems like a really terrible idea. The expense alone would be considerable. Where is the plane going? Is it flying in circles for 2 hours or more? What does a ticket cost? How is there possibly enough room on this plane for all of these fans? Rei is fan club number 2906. This is a big plane with three rows and a second level but it is still tiny compared to even a small movie theatre. Usagi receives a ticket from Sailor Aluminum Siren saying that there is a special seat saved for her. That seat is 12A. The date on the ticket appears to say January something. How does this make any sense? Throughout the season dates have generally closely followed release dates of the episodes, but this episode released October 12th 1996 is nowhere close. Usagi arrives at the airport and tells them to abort the takeoff. In this naive pre 9-11 time the flight attendant responds by showing her to her seat. Seat 12A. I had to do a bit of research into Japanese planes but it seems that they, like planes I’ve been on, have the letter for the seats starting from the left, or port, side. In this case 12A should be a window seat with her window on the left. Usagi boards the plane and is sitting in first class with the Three Lights but once sitting the window is on her right! Scandal! In all likelihood Usagi could have moved, but it looks like nothing on this ticket makes any sense. So everyone is on the plane and Sailor Aluminum Siren makes the flight attendants into Phages, in this case Sailor Stewardesses. Things are tighter than Usagi’s dining room in first class so there is no choice but for everyone to transform in front of each other. First Seiya transforms into Sailor Star Fighter and then the rest of the Three Lights follow suit. Next Usagi transforms into Sailor Moon and Sailor Star Fighter is shocked. Wait a minute didn’t she put all of this together a bunch of episodes ago when Sailor Moon knew the little toy bear belonged to Seiya? I guess not! Basically everyone transforms and that will make for great drama next episode but at this point they just take care of the monster. Sailor Aluminum Siren, so close to getting some True Star Seeds, is naturally killed by Sailor Galaxia. Her semi replacement is Sailor Tin Nyanko, though Sailor Lead Crow is still around. So many villains at a time in this season.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 188 - Sailor Tin Nyanko

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 189 - Rei the fortune teller

Episode 189, Duty or Friendship: Conflict Between the Sailor Guardians, is all about brooding! Last episode everyone figured out who everyone was and now Usagi and Seiya are kind of upset at each other but not for any good reason, just a bit of drama. Rei is working as a fortune teller and happens to have Seiya and Usagi come in asking about advise for the same problem. Yo just talk it out it will be fine! Rei gives Usagi a ticket to a Three Lights event at good old FM No. 10, the radio station that keeps coming up. We first saw this radio station in episode 3 when it had a different looking sign. The date on the ticket is September 28th at 7:30pm. Yes it seems like the better part of year has passed since last episode’s mid January Three Lights plane based movie premiere! The Three Lights are doing a live thing and Seiya and Usagi stare longingly at each other both during and after the show. The target this episode is DJ Jack of FM No. 10 who turns into Sailor DJ. Seiya is injured which causes Usagi to hold him in her arms, and there is some tension from the other Sailor Starlights because the story would progress too easily if we could all be friends.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 189 - The Three Lights on FM No. 10

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 189 - Tickets for FM No. 10's show on September 28th

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 188 - Sailor Aluminum Siren is killed

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 188 - Seiya and Usagi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 188 - The Three Lights movie on a plane

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 189 - FM No. 10

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 189 - Seiya and Usagi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 189 - Sailor Tin Nyanko and Sailor Lead Crow

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 186 and 187 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 186 - A big dog licking Chibi Chibi

This week is all about Chibi Chibi with the two latest episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars added to Hulu and Neon Alley. First in episode 186 Chibi Chibi found the world of sweets or rather some old dude’s mansion and she gets into all kinds of trouble and next she transforms into a Sailor Guardian, Sailor Chibi Chibi Moon!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 186 - Chibi Chibi gives her doll some tea

Episode 186, Chibi-Chibi’s Mystery: The Big Noisy Chase, is all about Chibi Chibi getting into mischief. Chibi Chibi is so mysterious! She’s got a nice fancy looking doll and she’s always got treats. Usagi suspects she might be traveling to the world of sweets which we can all laugh at but is it all that weird? I mean is the world of sweets more weird than Chibi Chibi’s actual origin story? In this world of magic and superheroes maybe she’s been hanging out at Marzipan Castle with the Bonbon Babies! Anyway Chibi Chibi keeps almost dying but being perfectly fine, getting into a confrontation with a dog that is nice and similar such things. She ends up at a mansion, cue the mansion music because that’s how many mansions there are in Sailor Moon. She has been befriending this old dude Jotaro Kiriyama that has a bunch of antiques. You guessed it! He’s the target this week and he turns into Sailor Antique because he has antiques! He calls a horse, just like Chibiusa calling Pegasus, and that has hilarious consequences. Throughout the fight all of these priceless antiques get wrecked which is all fun and games.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 186 - Sailor Antique on his horse

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 187 - The Three Lights fan club has unexplainable clout

Episode 187, The Shining Power of a Star: Chibi-Chibi’s Transformation, is all about Sailor Chibi Chibi Moon! But first we learn all about the Three Lights Fan Club and its immense power. We’ve learned before about this club, which all of the girls are part of. Ami is member 25! A shocking revelation which tells us what a super fan she is. Who’s member #1? Well it’s Sonoko Ijuuin, a student at Juuban High School, where the Three Lights happen to go to school. Sonoko does not approve of Seiya and Usagi’s friendship. She thinks Usagi is beneath Seiya and does not want them to associate with each other. She suggests a bet, over a baseball game. If she wins, Seiya stops seeing Usagi. If Seiya and Usagi win, they can continue to have a relationship. I don’t really understand where she gets the ability to demand this. Can’t Seiya just tell this lady to screw off? These guys are the Three Lights. They will get along just fine without a handful of ungrateful disrespectful fans! I’m pretty sure the #2 member of the fan club would be perfectly happy to be the new #1. If not then maybe #3 and so forth because I’m pretty sure #25 is cool with Usagi! Whatever they agree to this charade because they literally hate freedom. Sonoko is the target and becomes Sailor Leaguer. In the fight Usagi drops her Eternal Tiare. Chibi Chibi picks it up and transforms into Sailor Chibi Chibi Moon, a pint sized Sailor Guardian! Well that sure is weird! She also upgrades Sailor Moon’s item to the Moon Power Tiare. This new weapon uses Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss as an attack, which has the exact same effect as her last attack, healing Phages. So they beat the bad guy and then they win the baseball game which means two people who had no valid reason not to be friends are allowed to be friends again.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 187 - Sailor Chibi Chibi Moon

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 187 - The Moon Power Tiare

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 187 - Usagi and Seiya win a game so they can be friends

The English version of Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars, is now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - The Ayakashi Sisters

The first full episode from the Black Moon Clan story arc is now available to view in English on Hulu and Neon Alley. Act 15, Infiltration – Sailor Mars, introduces us to a bunch of character from the Black Moon Clan including Rubeus, Demande, Esmeraude, Saphir and the Ayakashi Sisters. This episode focuses mainly on the rivalry between Sailor Mars and Koan. Many new voice actors are showing up this week, who are all reprising their roles from the new English dub of the original Sailor Moon anime. Those actors are:

Claudia Lenz as Koan
Cindy Robinson as Berthier
Cassandra Lee Morris as Calaveras
Jessica Gee as Petz
Steve Cannon as Rubeus
Rena S. Mandel as Esmeraude
Greg Felden as Saphir
Matthew Mercer as Prince Demande

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - Chibiusa shooting Usagi

This week also gives us a better look at Chibiusa who first showed up at the end of Act 14. Amongst some background character we see a boy who looks an awful lot like Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing. What do you think?

Gundam Wing's Heero Yuy at T. A. Academy in Sailor Moon Crystal

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 15 - Infiltration - Sailor Mars

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 184 and 185 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Chibi Chibi tries to take Seiya's towel

This week on Hulu and Neon Alley‘s new episodes of Sailor Stars we get a real mix of emotions. First in episode 184 we get one of the more comedy filled episodes of the entire series and then things sober up real quick for episode 185 which is about a little girl who might die in surgery.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Seiya the wolf and Usagi the sheep

Episode 184, A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger, is a bit of a contradiction. How can you be alone together? How can you be alone together when there are a dozen or so people in your dining room? I’m getting ahead of myself. There are burglaries in Usagi’s neighbourhood so Seiya offers to be a sort of bodyguard. Luna thinks this is a bad idea, likening Seiya to a dog or worse a wolf that wants to eat the sheepish Usagi, an obvious metaphor for some sort of unwanted sexual advance. Seiya comes over anyway, and seeing a photo of Mamoru and Usagi together, gets quite upset. Usagi is happy in the photo, which is no doubt at the core of what’s really upsetting him, but he then becomes upset at Mamoru for hurting Usagi. Things get a little intimate as it seems Seiya is about to kiss Usagi… and then Chibi Chibi stuffs some cake in his face. Classic Chibi Chibi! Next up is a sexy shower scene where we see a partial nude butt for Seiya! This shower is perfectly timed with the arrival of Usagi’s friends who see Seiya in a ridiculous tiny towel, which Chibi Chibi tries to take with humourous consequences. Yaten and Taiki join the party and things are really staring to get crowded. They play a card game which appears to be Hearts and then… Haruka and Michiru are down the street with car trouble so why not. Then a TV crew shows up to ask what they’re having for dinner which means the Three Lights need to hide because I guess it’s scandalous that they’d be at Usagi’s house, even though the convoluted explanation of events is totally legit. Sailor Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow show up to target the TV show guy, because once again we are completely passing up opportunities to steal Star Seeds from Sailor Guardians for whatever reason. Usagi has trouble finding a place to transform but finally does so in Chibiusa’s attic room. This makes me wonder what is going on with this room. When Chibiusa left and the Tsukino family forgot that she existed, did they also forget that there is a room in the attic or do they just use it for storage now? Chibiusa seems to have left with a backpack too small for most of her possession. Is it full of children’s toys, clothes and a dusty Stallion Rêve that smells funky? A fight breaks out and there are way too many people and it’s all funny. Still all considered Usagi’s family must have a ridiculously expensive house given its size and the neighbourhood.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Too many Sailor Guardians in Usagi's dining room

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185 - Princess Kakyuu

Episode 185, Taiki’s Song Filled With Passion and Faith, is unfortunately another Taiki episode. I won’t pretend to hide my dislike for this character, and this episode is another example of why I don’t really appreciate him. A young girl Misa is in the hospital awaiting important surgery. I know what you’re thinking. It’s a TV show for little kids. She’s definitely going to survive the surgery. They wouldn’t have a character in a children’s show like Sailor Moon die in surgery. Right. So Misa draws Princess Kakyuu which is kind of weird, since we haven’t seen this character yet. Interestingly enough there are also three stars in the sky above the Princess, which I imagine represent the three Sailor Starlights. I don’t know what little green celestial body is, but it’s cool. Taiki is given to young Misa as a gift, complete with bow on his head, but he draws the line at autographs! He notices Kakyuu and mentions that it’s the Princess they’ve been singing for, but Taiki is losing faith! It seems the image of Kakyuu came to Misa when she heard their music, but it hadn’t been there lately. Oh no! Taiki sings for Misa but her surgery is delayed because the Doctor gets turned into a Phage. I don’t know about Doctors but if I get my Star Seed removed and I turn into a monster I’m at least taking the rest of the day off, but the Doctor does his job and Misa is fine!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185 - Misa recovered and not getting her baby stolen

During the fight the monster x-rays Eternal Sailor Moon. We see her skeleton and there are no bones in her wings. A bird, who’s wings Eternal Sailor Moon’s most resemble, has bones in its wings. So what exactly is holding these feathers in place?

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 185 - Sailor Moon's skeleton

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 184 - Seiya the dog and Usagi the sheep

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 182 and 183 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Chibi Chibi

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!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Sailor Lead Crow and Sailor Aluminum Siren

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.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Usagi and Chibi Chibi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Young Rei

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!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - The Three Lights in swimsuits

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Chou Yellow, Chou Blue and Chou Red

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Chibi Chibi arrives

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - The Star Seeds of the Sailor Animamates

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Usagi and Setsuna discuss Chibi Chibi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 182 - Usagi in her designer shirt

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Seiya seducing Usagi

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 183 - Chibi Chibi creating drama

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 180 and 181 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 180 - Michiru and Seiya

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars were (probably) added to Hulu and Neon Alley this morning. This week we get episodes 180 and 181 which are all about Seiya! First we ship Seiya and Michiru, then Seiya and Haruka and then of course it’s all about Seiya and Usagi.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 180 - Sailor Iron Mouse is bad at her job

Episode 180, Brightness of Calling Stars! Haruka and Michiru’s Entry into Battle, brings back the absentee Haruka and Michiru! These two aren’t in Sailor Stars much because apparently they’re hanging out with Hotaru and Setsuna, who are nowhere to be seen in this episode. Michiru is performing a concert with the Three Lights which the girls want to go to and they are trying to phone in to buy tickets rather than the obvious solution of asking the girl who is performing in the concert if she could score them some tickets, you know for old time’s sake since they saved the world together and because thanks to Usagi their pseudo adoptive daughter who there were trying to kill is actually still alive. Michiru comes through with the tickets because that’s what you do when you’re in a superhero team with someone. The girls go to the concert, scheduled for July 13th 1996. We don’t often get years so this is a nice benchmark. Sailor Iron Mouse almost figures out who has some Star Seeds in a very comical scene! She’s starring at a poster which includes Michiru and the Three Light and determines that the Star Seed must belong to… the conductor on the poster. The show is kind of poking fun at one of my silly gripes with Sailor Stars at this point. In all other seasons the Sailor Guardians all got targeted in episodes but now for some reason no one with a Star Seed is actually having their Star Seeds removed. Well none that we’ve confirmed anyway. The concert is cool and then we ship Seiya with everyone! First Michiru asks him to help her out of her dress, which is not at all subtle. When Haruka walks in on this she tries to punch him, which is just full of sexual tension. Fighting ensues as Mr. Underpants has his star seed stolen. After the fight it looks like Sailor Moon and Sailor Star Fighter are about to become friends but then Sailor Uranus turns their hands shaking into a World Shaking. Same old. Sailor Uranus and Neptune don’t want anyone to be on the same team or be friends. They protect Sailor Moon from enemies from outside of the solar system, which is why they got involved in Sailor Moon S. Since the Sailor Starlights are also from another solar system, they are not allowed to play with the good guys! Forced drama! Oh well.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Usagi and Seiya dancing

Episode 181, Seiya and Usagi’s Nervous Date, is all about shipping Seiya and Usagi. Seiya wants to do something on his day off and decides to invite Usagi to come along for the fun. She doesn’t seem to realize this is a date and feels quite guilty about the whole endeavour. At one point she even thinks Seiya wants them to have sex, but he’s really just talking about dancing at a club. Oops! Sailor Iron Mouse is desperate at this point. She’s avoiding Galaxia and even hangs up on her! She has the bright idea that maybe the Three Lights have true Star Seeds, but when she tries to get one from Seiya he dodges the little bracelet thingy and flees. Ultimately Galaxia shows up and retrieves Sailor Iron Mouse’s bracelets, which kills her. We’ll learn more about the nature of these much later. For now lets mourn the loss of one of the coolest villains in the series, though the rest of the Sailor Animamates are cool too so we have something to look forward to. In true villain fashion Sailor Iron Mouse is killed right as she figured out who to target. If I’m ever a super villain I will always let my minions finish their sentence before I kill them. “But Adam I figured out who has the sacred amulet we’ve been searching for.” “Oh okay. Well tell me and I won’t kill you.” “It’s Ted.” “K. Thx.” *murder* While fighting, Sailor Moon sees a small bear toy that Seiya had and says his name, which causes Sailor Star Fighter to realize that Sailor Moon is actually Usagi. Good job Seiya!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Seiya figures out that Usagi is Sailor Moon

Note: This is scheduled to be posted as I am sun bathing in St. Lucia. It was written last week. I’m assuming Viz went ahead and released these episodes on Monday as they always do. The episode titles I put may not match the translation Viz decided to go with. I usually add the titles and episode links before posting, though my screenshots come from my Japanese DVDs so much of this post is what it would have looked like anyway. I will fix up the links and titles once I return to the frozen wasteland that is Canada around February 8th.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Sailor Iron Mouse hangs up on Galaxia

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 181 - Usagi and Seiya

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 180 - Sailor Neptune and Uranus

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 178 and 179 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 178 - Yaten and Luna

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars have been released on Hulu and Neon Alley. Episode 178 and 179 were accidentally released early last Thursday but were taken down after a day, returning once again this morning. This week we get a great Yaten episode and a so so Taiki episode. I hope everyone loves shipping Luna with Yaten!!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 178 - Luna in a dress

Episode 178, Luna’s Discovery: The Real Face of Yaten, is an episode in which I don’t believe Luna actually learns that Yaten is Sailor Star Healer as the title seems to insinuate. It is possible that the title is not a reference to Luna learning Yaten’s secret identity but instead seeing his true self under the hard exterior he puts on. More on that later. This episode is all about shipping Luna and Yaten! What a lovely couple! We know that Luna is into humans from the Sailor Moon S movie. We can also infer from her jealousy of Artemis and the Nun she thought he was into as being a further sign of her acceptance that cats can be attracted to humans. When Luna goes missing it turns out that she’s been with Yaten, living the good life, riding around in limos, overhearing conversations about their mission that don’t reveal a ton. Yaten is shooting a movie with a really terrible woman name Noriko Okamachi, an actress who is always carrying around her persian cat. She hits on Yaten but is quickly shot down. She later accuses him of being gay for turning her down, which causes Luna to scratch her face. Meanwhile Luna has been dressed up in some adorable/ridiculous girly clothes! Iron Mouse show up and takes Noriko’s star seed. The episode title insinuates that Luna sees Yaten transform, but this does not appear to happen. Luna is injured and left by Yaten who then runs some distance before transforming, seemingly while no one is watching. Naturally should he have transformed in front of a cat, that probably wasn’t something he considered a security risk, but we know it would have been. During the fight Sailor Star Healer mentions a cat and Sailor Moon asks if it’s Luna, to which she responds that it sounds like a nice name. The next day at school Yaten sees Usagi with Luna, referring to her by name. He really should be putting two and two together and figuring out that Usagi is Sailor Moon at this point, but that is a discovery for another time by another person.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 178 - Sailor Star Healer

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 179 - Makoto and Taiki on a cooking show

Episode 179, Friend or Foe? Star Lights and the Sailor Guardians, has a brief appearance by Haruka and Michiru. Great, so where’s Hotaru? Ah no of course we don’t see her. More on them next week! This episode is not about these cool characters we like. It’s about Taiki. Who likes this guy? He read poetry in this episode! Wow what a sensitive guy. Taiki seems to be all about slumming it on bad TV so he’s doing a cooking show this week, and Makoto comes along. This is a bad choice as the producers have clearly not properly vetted their guest to discover that she’s actually completely terrified of being on camera. Usagi to the rescue who manages to pretty much blow up the studio in a cooking mishap. The enemy is Sailor Chef and we see Taiki transform but we kind of already did a Taiki episode so there’s nothing really novel here. This episode includes a special sneak appearance by two new Sailor Animamates Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow. They are visible only briefly and partially obscured as we learn that Sailor Iron Mouse is doing a terrible job and is apparently replaceable. Oh no!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 179 - Michiru and Haruka

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 179 - Sailor Aluminum Siren, Sailor Iron Mouse and Sailor Lead Crow

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 178 - Lost cat Luna

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 178 - Luna scratches Noriko

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episodes 176 and 177 are now available on Hulu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 176 - Taiki, Seiya and Yaten

The two latest episodes of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars are now available on Hulu and Neon Alley. This week with episodes 176 and 177 we get episodes featuring on Rei and Seiya and then Ami and Taiki. Don’t be fooled! These really are more episodes about the Sailor Starlights than they are about the Sailor Guardians. This is consistent with the rest of the Sailor Stars season which focuses a lot on the newer characters.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 176 - Seiya transforming

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 176 - Sailor Star Fighter transforming

Episode 176, Fighter’s Secret Identity: the Shocking Super Transformation, isn’t all that shocking. As always we are expected to be surprised by the revelation of a character being a Sailor Guardian. More on that later. The target this week is Akane Gushiken, who Rei knows as Sister Angela, one of the nuns from her school. She is pushing Seiya real hard and he’s getting pretty pissed about it. Standard story where she pushes him because of his potential and she’s not really evil and stuff. Not that anyone in this season is actually evil but that’s another story. Seiya, and the other Three Lights, are performing in a musical The East 42 Storyt. This would presumably be a joke on West Side Story. Once her Star Seed is taken Sister Angela turns into Sailor Director, with humourous results. Next comes the reveal! Seiya is Sailor Star Fighter! I wasn’t really sure this was something the audience wasn’t supposed to have queued in on but the title suggests it is. No character is privy to this revalation so the “Shocking” aspect of the transformation would have to be on the part of the viewer. I suppose with the Three Lights being male and the Sailor Starlights being female there may be some people who didn’t see this coming. What this episode does do is answers questions about the gender of the Three Lights. Seiya is seen in a very revealing outfit while rehearsing for the musical. This shows him to have a male physique, with abs and pecks, but without breast. During the transformation sequence we see Seiya, with no shirt, having a torso resembling a shirtless male transforming into Sailor Star Fighter who clearly has breasts. While most characters throughout the series transform only their clothes, there seems to be a more physical transformation amongst the Sailor Starlights. This is not the same as in the manga, where the Sailor Starlights are women who disguise themselves as men in their civilian identities. Because the best way to hide is by being members of a super popular pop group. The episode wraps up with a shot of Princess Kakyuu, which is who Seiya is waiting for, but this fades into an image of Eternal Sailor Moon. There is some confusion in Seiya’s heart.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 176 - Princess Kakyuu

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 177 - Ami and Wataru Amanogawa

Episode 177, A Star of Dreams and Wishes: Taiki’s Transformation, is all about Ami clashing with Taiki! One of Ami’s teachers is Wataru Amanogawa. He discovered a comet 15 years ago, which he called Françoise, and it is due to return! Amadagawa and Taiki participate in a television show together which focuses on the comet. While doing it a child mentions that his grandfather told him that people turned into stars after they died, and asks if this is true. Amadagawa, a hopeless romantic, assures the child it may be possible if some believe it. Taiki chastises him for this! This seems like a cold and rude thing for Taiki to do but he’s totally in the right here. People don’t turn into stars when they die. This is nonsense. Stars are massive balls of burning gas, undergoing nuclear fusion. Perhaps more tact can be used against young impressionable children though. Sailor Iron Mouse shows up and no surprise Amadagawa is the target. This leads to Taiki transforming into Sailor Star Maker, which shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. If you somehow made it to episode 176 before realising the Three Lights are the Sailor Starlights, it should be fairly obvious who Sailor Star Maker and Healer are once we learn that Seiya is Sailor Star Fighter. So this is great because we get to see the amazing Star Gentle Uterus. It looks like rain will get in the way of the comet, but luckily that clears up just in time. How fantastic. Nothing worse than bad weather interfering with stargazing!

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 177 - Wataru Amanogawa and Taiki talking about space

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars episode 177 - Françoise the comet

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