Mom, why didn't you tell me Sailor Moon Crystal premiered on Saturday?!!! *falls down stairs*
...okay, so actually I knew that. If you must know, I was out of town over the weekend and didn't get to watch the episode -- er, excuse me, "act" -- until late Monday. And then I took three days to write about it because... I have no idea why. But I'm here now!
Disclaimer: please remember that I have barely seen any of the original Sailor Moon, and I don't share the same nostalgia that most fans have. So if I make some stupid newb comment during the course of this review, forgive me!
As I said, I watched this episode late on Monday. I was very excited before that it would be airing through Hulu, as I have Hulu Plus and could watch it on my TV, but unfortunately my Wii U is unable to properly time the captions, and I couldn't read what they were saying until a second after it was said. I tried to use this to practice my Japanese listening skills, trying to determine what they were saying before the captions came up, but bouncing between languages like that just hurt my head so I gave up on the listening part near the end. So, yeah, from now on I will be watching this on my computer. :(
Anyway, onto the show!
The new series opens with shots of space and planets in an intro lasting about a minute and a half. Kind of like how a movie would start. No credits, no narration, just music.
After a few quick shots of Serenity, we are shown the Tsukino house, where Usagi once again does her famous "late for school" gag. After Usagi falls down the stairs and runs out the door in a rush, her mom wishes she would learn something from Sailor V.
Then the opening sequence starts, and oh it is GLORIOUS!
"Wait a sec, is that CG?" you ask. Well guess what, you're gonna see a lot more of that later.
All you "Moonlight Densetsu" lovers had better also get used to the new rocking, energetic, girl-power-themed "MOON PRIDE" opening song by Momoiro Clover Z. The scenes in this sequence are great as well, but seriously, that theme song!
Sailor Moon classic episode 1: "The Crybaby: Usagi's Beautiful Transformation"
Sailor Moon Crystal episode 1: "Usagi - Sailor Moon-"
...how original.
Calling it now: episode 2 will be "Ami - Sailor Mercury-".
So Usagi runs full speed to school and accidentally trips over an adorable kitty with a band-aid on her forehead. Usagi peels off the bandage to reveal a crescent moon shape on the cat's forehead. Suddenly she remembers she's late for school and dashes away from the mysterious cat.
Even then, she's still late for school, gets thrown into the hallway, gets caught eating in the hallway, and learns that she only scored a 30 on her English test.
...does all this sound familiar to you guys? Because I'm getting really bored re-capping it.
Naru and Umino look the same as always, Sailor V is still a legend, Usagi is still crushing on the guy at the arcade, blah blah blah... exact same stuff we saw in the classic series, just with new animation. Yawn.
Oh, but here's a change: one of the highlights of the episode, Mamoru's first appearance. Now I know some people said they hated Mamoru's clothes from the classic series, but is making him wear a tuxedo on his first appearance really the answer? Do you know how much dumber this will make Usagi look in the later episodes? "Gee, I wonder what that Tuxedo Mask guy's real identity is. Surely he's not the same as the one who wears a tuxedo all the time!"
"Who wears a tuxedo in the afternoon? What a show off!"
As before, Usagi gets kicked out of the house for scoring horribly on her test. Then Naru discovers that the lady running the jewelry store earlier that day is really a monster disguised as her mother, and is using the jewelry to drain energy from the customers.
In Usagi's room, the cat returns and introduces herself as Luna. Luna then gives Usagi her transformation brooch. I was a little irritated that it looks totally different then it did in the original anime, but then I looked it up and realized that's how it looks in the manga.
MOON PRISM POWER, MAKE UP!
I told you the CG would come back, didn't I?
Usagi hears Naru in danger and rushes to her aid. (By the way, they didn't include my favorite scene from the original, which was when the monster lady turned her head all the way around to look at Sailor Moon. It was so creepy it was awesome.)
What would Sailor Moon be without her signature introduction speech?
And her signature obnoxious crying. It's so irritating I can't help but love her for it.
Moon also uses her first attack here. This attack has actually gone through multiple names. In the original manga, it was "Moon Frisbee". In the original anime, it was "Moon Tiara Action". In the live-action series, it became "Moon Tiara Boomerang", and since then the manga and anime have both changed to use this name. I sometimes like to shout the attacks along with the characters, so I have a feeling for the next few episodes I'll be screaming "MOON TIARA AC-- dang it!"
Thus Sailor Moon defeats her first monster and officially meets Tuxedo Mask. The episode ends with a look at a mysterious new character (spoiler alert: it's Mercury).
So there it is you guys, the long-awaited Sailor Moon re-boot.
Was I disappointed? Heck no! Great animation, great music, and Mitsuishi Kotono still rules at voicing Usagi.
Was I bored out of my mind watching this? ...maybe. Obviously you can't drastically change the first episode of Sailor Moon. It's practically iconic by itself. But to me, I just couldn't really get into it for most of it. Perhaps it was more entertaining for those haven't seen the first episode since the 90s, and are in this purely for the nostalgia. As for me, it was almost painful having to watch this twice so I could review it.
I'm extremely excited, however, for Act 2. Crystal will only be twenty-six episodes long (about half the length of the original series), so it's clear they're introducing the team members much quicker. Thank goodness. It took so freaking long in the original that I never even got to the episodes with Jupiter back when I watched it.
I hope you all enjoyed my first Sailor Moon review! Comment about what you thought of the episode, what you thought of my review, and what you expect for the next act! New episodes air every other week, so Act 2 will be next Saturday.
I will do my best to review every episode, so follow my blog if you want to read more of my stupid, newbie, rant-ish comments on what is looking to be a great series so far!
