Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36, Infinity 10 – Infinite – Upper Atmosphere, review

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Hotaru dies

The latest episode of Sailor Moon Crystal aired Japanese TV Monday June 13th 11pm. Immediately afterwards, starting at 10:30am Eastern Time, the show became available to stream first on Crunchyroll and then on Neon Alley and Hulu. Act 36 is the first of a three part finale for the Infinity arc, as this was once a single long chapter of the manga. The episode is all about Hotaru freeing herself from Mistress 9 and the consequences of that as well as a power up for Sailor Chibi Moon.

Phanto from Super Mario Bros. 2 Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Pharaoh 90 happy face

We get an idea of the Death Busters’ end game here. Pharaoh 90 wants to vesselize the planet. How odd! Up until now we’ve only seen the vesselization of living being but he wants to do it to the planet. What will this look like? Literally a comical smiley face on planet earth. No this isn’t a bad photoshop but rather a screenshot from the episode! Looks like Phanto from Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic to me! They seek to make the Earth a second Tau Star System with this. Wait a minute how do you make a planet a star system which is shown as a galaxy? I don’t really understand the scope of the astronomical references of this arc.

Sailor Moon Manga Act 36 - Mistress 9 with elf ears Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Mistress 9 has elf ears

Mistress 9 is some weird looking in this episode. What’s with the elf ears? This could be a reflection of the monster inside. She does have a more monstrous looking face as time goes on in the manga. I think, however, that those ears are inspired but a misinterpretation of some art in the manga. Only one panel shows Mistress 9 with pointy ears and I don’t think it was meant to be elf ears at all. She has all sorts of things sticking out of her in this one image and the sharp things near her ears just happen to look like pointy ears. She has normal small round ears in all other panels in the manga. She’s also got bulging Total Recall dying on the surface of Mars eyes.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Hotaru protects the Sailor Guardians' souls

Mistress 9 is chowing down on hostes or souls. She eats Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus’s but this doesn’t last long. Hotaru protects them, along with Chibiusa’s soul and Crystal, and decides it’s time to GTFO. She leaves Mistress 9’s body, which is actually her body, and is able to take those souls with her. Great news? Actually it means she’s going to have to die.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Hotaru and Chibiusa

Hotaru uses her last bit of life to bring Chibiusa’s soul back to her, along with her Crystal. What follows is a tearful and heart wrenching farewell. She mentions that she feels like her encounter with Chibiusa was destiny, pointing out that this seems odd because they’re both girls. The obvious interpretation of this is that destiny is usually something that would connect lovers. In Japan there is an idea, shared amongst other Asian cultures, that a red thread connects lovers together through fate or destiny. Why does Hotaru think this is odd? Because they aren’t lovers, or because their relationship is not heterosexual and therefore not fitting with her expectation? This story arc, and the show as a whole, has precedent dealing with same sex relationships. Ultimately the romantic aspects of Hotaru and Chibiusa’s relationship are subject to interpretation. There’s nothing overt about this relationship, but this is one of the many insinuations that it has romantic undertones. In case you were wondering, of course I’m shipping these two!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Sailor Chibi Moon flies

Mamoru encourages Chibiusa to go out in fight. You can see this is hard for him, but he pushes her for it anyway. Chibiusa is totally bad ass here. She digs deep and finds the will to fight to save the world. A lot of fans may not have liked her portrayal in the original anime but it’s hard not to like Chibiusa now. She seems to have immediately increased in power and she jumps out the window and flies to where she’s going. We previously saw that Chibiusa appeared to be the only member of the team that was not able to fly.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Tuxedo Mask transforms

I was really hoping that this episode would have an amazing transformation sequence for Tuxedo Mask. In the manga we see him transform and get a look at his nakedness. Sadly this doesn’t occur here. I was hoping for a full on elaborate stock footage calibre transformation for Tuxedo Mask. Instead we see him glow and quickly transform behind his cape. I blame the patriarchy.

Ryuk from Death Note Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Mistress 9's Daimon

When Hotaru left Mistress 9’s body, it meant that Mistress 9 was also no longer bound to that body. The Daimon inside escaped, destroying the body, which killed Hotaru. This Daimon kind of looks like Ryuk from Death Note. I don’t know much about this series, and only ever saw the terrible live action movie adaptation, but this guy from that show immediately came to mind when I saw it.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 36 - Super Sailor Moon and Super Sailor Chibi Moon

What’s the gang to do? Sailor Chibi Moon does an effective Pink Sugar Heart Attack for a change but that isn’t enough. We need Super Sailor Moon … but wait! Chibiusa gets a grail too and she becomes Super Sailor Chibi Moon. Unfortunately we don’t get a full transformation sequence for Super Sailor Chibi Moon. Oh well.

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 37 Preview - Sailor Saturn

Next time is Act 37, Infinity 11 – Infinite – Judge. Sailor Saturn. That’s all. Who cares what else happens in this episode because it’s Sailor Saturn! We’ve been waiting for this for like… ever! Finally we will start seeing a proper representation of Sailor Saturn in an animated series after she got totally shafted in the original Sailor Moon anime. I can’t wait!

Sailor Moon Crystal Act 37 Preview - Sailor Saturn

Keep reading for more screenshots from this episode and the preview for Act 37.

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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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