Sailor Moon R episode 63 review

… we’ve got no time for kibitzers.

Rei’s grandpa starts acting really weird, and it’s up to Rei to keep the shrine from falling apart now that he’s gone off the deep end. I kept waiting for him to go back to normal by the end of the episode, but nope. He’s just gone off and become an absolute pervert. Meanwhile, the other girls help out at the shrine, with Ami giving a hilarious moment when she compares her math problem to Rei’s grandpa problem. Eventually, Rei SAVES grandpa from the Monster of the Week, and everything is hunky dory.

A weird episode to grade because Rei’s grandpa’s behavior is absolutely bizarre and typical of 90s anime. It would never fly today. Even so, Rei at least made this enjoyable enough, as she seems to do more often than not.

Best Sailor Guardian of the episode: Mars (5)

Episode rating: 5/10

Sailor Moon R episode 62 review

Ami is planning on going to Germany for some higher education when the Monster of the Week attacks. The Sailor Failures™ along with Sailor Moon this time get frozen, as in ice cold frozen. Chibi-Usa runs to the airport to give Ami her goodbye gift, when Ami decides that she’s going to SAVE the Sailor Failures™ and instead use the power of friendship. That’s instead of moving to Germany, which I hear is a really, really nice place, because even if you’re their prisoner they give you food, and it doesn’t suck like English food; it would be like heaven to a dog, yeah, that’s Germany.

Although this episode is about as predictable as a Mike Tomlin-coached team, it still works well, and there’s some suspense that gets built up as Ami makes her decision. Of course, for Sailor Moon to be useless too is a little bit of a surprise. A lot of stuff doesn’t make sense, like why Mamoru is still tagging along even though he unceremoniously dumped Usagi. But hey, Sailor Mercury learned a new move! And she didn’t have four moves already, so she didn’t have to forget one of her old ones. Shine Aqua Illusion is an awfully cool name for an attack, too.

Best Sailor Guardian of the episode: Mercury (2)

Episode rating: 7/10

Sailor Moon R episode 61 review

Usagi and Mamoru are going great together, so of course we need to break them up. Out of nowhere, Mamoru just decides, he’s breaking up with Usagi, and that’s final. Usagi of course is heartbroken. The other girls try to cheer her up, but as usual they’re useless even in this, and Usagi is left to wonder why. So are we, the audience.

Bizarre way to just change the plot like this, but I guess we needed some drama somewhere. It just took a character acting totally out of character to make it happen. Yeah, I’m not a fan of this. Let’s have some real relationship trouble instead of this contrived stuff. Argh, gotta wait till episode 99 for that.

Best Sailor Guardian of the episode: Moon (5) (by default, as none of the Sailor Failures™ transform in this episode)

Episode rating: 4/10

Sailor Moon R episode 60 review

…those people have never been in my kitchen.

Someone actually says the Cliff Clavin quote in this episode (one of the bad guys; unfortunately he doesn’t go as far as to say that Usagi, Mamoru, and Chibi-Usa have never been in his kitchen). If your head is spinning about the reference here, look up Cheers Jeopardy! and you’ll see one of the funniest segments of a sitcom of its day.

Chibi-Usa appears out of nowhere, in the middle of Mamoru and Usagi making love. She holds a gun to Usagi’s head, wanting the Silver Crystal. The gun wasn’t real, fortunately, but Chibi-Usa is definitely a problem. Not only that, she pulls out the Bleach trick from the Fullbring arc that puts her in people’s pasts, in people’s memories, and in people’s photos. Honestly, that might be the most disturbing thing anyone’s ever done up to this point in Sailor Moon.

In the end, the Monster of the Week shows up, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask beat her and save Chibi-Usa, and all of the Sailor Failures™ are sitting around incapacitated. Where have you gone, Sailor Uranus? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you. These Sailor Failures™ are proving to be a waste of space.

Oh, and a fun episode today.

Best Sailor Guardian of the episode: Moon (4)

Episode rating: 7/10