Sailor Moon R

Skadi★ 9

After watching the original series for the first time in many years, I was very excited to start this series. Sailor Moon R proved itself to be a great continuation of the storyline. While it perhaps isn’t as strong as the original in whole, in parts it surpasses it. Story wise, Sailor Moon R is broken up into two story arcs. The first is filler not related to the source material, and the second is the Black Moon arc which was very good. The first arc isn’t bad but well you can tell its filler. The sailor warriors recover their memorieslost after the conclusion of the first season and gain new abilities. I think one of the things that make this storyline feel insignificant later on is that these new abilities are never used again later on. The Black Moon arc though is where the series really gets interesting. We are immediately introduced to a new character, Chibi Usa who forces herself into Usagi's life. The story takes a darker tone than the previous season and the romance between Usagi and Mamoru is severely tested. I thought the villains were also very well written as they had much more complexity. This is not to say that it was perfect, there were some annoyances. Chibi Usa gets particularly irritating after a while. Much like season one, the action is a weak point. It’s boring and formulaic and not that interesting. Each episode the Sailors fight a new "droid" which have different powers, but are pretty much defeated in the same manner every time. We get to see a lot more character growth out of all the girls. Each girl has at least two or three episodes devoted to them which was nice to see. Usagi continues to grow as a character and I found myself sharing her tears on occasion as she goes through rough times with Mamoru. Chibi Usa or Small Lady, I had a love hate relationship with. She did get on my nerves quite a bit and I found her to be very selfish and spoiled. I also got very annoyed with the constant fighting between her and Usagi. Much like I did in season 1 with Rei. She does change quite a lot by the end of the story, which was good to see. A lot of the supporting cast is noticeably absent from this season. Usagi's family rarely appears as well as other favorites such as Motoki and even Naru and Umino. The animation felt like it was a little better compared to the first series. Perhaps I was watching a better copy or I had just gotten used to it. It’s still very dated looking though. The music is pretty much the same as well. The voice acting is strong all around. Overall, if you enjoyed the first season of Sailor Moon then you are going to want to watch this as well. It is not quite as strong as its predecessor but it is still a rewarding experience. I recommend it highly.

3seren★ 9

I heard some pretty bad comments for this season, and how it's considered to be, if not the worst, the second worst to SuperS Sailor moon season. I honestly can't see it. For me this season is the best out of all 5 seasons and my reasons is that it's the "darkest" and "deepest" of them all. Story 9/10 The first arc with the doom tree is a filler, yet I really enjoyed it. Both the vilains were likeable and interesting and the story of it wasn't so bad either, also I liked that it ended positive for them. The second arc with the Black MoonClan and the future Crystal Tokyo is the best story arc in the whole series. They revealed some major plot in this arc, like Usagi becoming Neo Queen Serenity and Chibiusa being her daughter. The fact that Serenity was appearing often was a huge plus also for the season. Black Moon antagonists were also likeable (especially the Akayashi sisters and the birth of the Black Lady). Also Usagi's and Mamoru's relationship is at its peak in this season, which is another huge plus. Art 8/10 I didn't notice any major changes in the animation, and I don't think it got worse or better. The anime is pretty old so if i'm going to complain about the animation I wouldn't start watching it in the first place Sound 9/10 Nothing much to say about this. The background music of the transformations changed from the first season but it's still good. Character 10/10 I gave the characters 10/10 because I love how we can see their future selves, especially the Neo Queen Serenity and the future Guardians. Also the appearance of Sailor Pluto and the Black Lady transformation. Enjoyment-Overall 9/10 I really enjoyed this season, it was more fast paced than the first one and having watched the other seasons as well I can definitely say the plot and events on this one are my favourites.