Tag: Rei Hino

Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal Act 34 (Infinity 8: “Infinite Labyrinth” 1)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Grey’s Moon-atomy!  The last episode ended on quite the cliffhanger with Hotaru turning into Evil Hotaru and then proceeding to rip the crystal right out of Chibi-Usa’s uniform; leaving her in a coma and the Sailor Moon absolutely distraught.  Now that Usagi has to face the consequences of letting her daughter fight bad guys while still in grade school, she must decide how she should handle the new Hotaru moving forward.  Will she stick to her guns and refuse to let someone else’s death be an acceptable sacrifice for the rest of humanity, or will she listen to the great Mr. Spock and realize the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Chibi-Usa in the hospital after getting attacked by the full grown Evil Hotaru and her wicked hair.  We’re not sure exactly how we got from the fight to here (did the Scouts just run away?  Did Haruka teleport herself to General Zod?), but that seems a bit inconsequential considering that Chibi-Usa is… well…

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“Gee doc.  You think we should DO something about that?”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 24 (Naru’s Tears: Nephrite Dies for Love)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

Sailor Moon and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Toei Animation and licensed by Viz Media

Episode directed by Junichi Satou and Takuya Igarashi

If the title wasn’t a good enough indication, this is gonna be the last time we see Nephrite.  Not only that, but it also kind of spoils HOW he’s gonna meet his end if the whole “dying for love” thing isn’t some red herring.  Still, there is potential here for a solid conclusion to this subplot that, despite my misgivings, is certainly an interesting diversion before we get back to the actual story line.  Will this be a satisfying way to capstone the end of Nephrite’s career, or will his tenure as the big bad guy fizzle out the way pretty much all of his evil schemes did?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Naru and Usagi at nearby park; the former of which is still feeling distraught over the events of the last episode.  She now knows that Nephrite is a bad guy but has also bought into his (obviously phony) story about trying to quit the Evil Organization, so now she’s faced with the prospect of never seeing him again which… I guess would be a bad thing.  I won’t continue to drone on about how bad of a relationship they would end up have if they ACTUALLY got together and about how much of a manipulative prick Nephrite is, but it does make it hard for me to care whether or not they will be an OTP by the end of the episode.  Usagi, not feeling too different from what I’m feeling, has the problem of having to see her friend suffer over her current situation which means she’s feeling pretty bad about it herself but knows what the right move would be which is to keep them apart.

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“I’m sure he’s doing what’s best for you.”     “He didn’t even bother to send a good bye letter though!”     “A goodbye letter… that could work!”     “What was that Usagi?”     “Nothing!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal Act 33 (Infinity 7: Transformation – Super Sailor Moon)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon Z!  The last episode managed to really kick the story into high gear which was good considering that several of the episodes prior to that ground everything to a screeching halt as we circled around the same plot points with no real forward momentum.  Ironically, the show that is known for going too damn fast ended up slowing things down TOO much.  Does this episode finally find a happy medium between the two, or is the concept of a properly paced episode of Crystal as likely as Uranus’s and Neptune’s actions actually making any sense?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins where the last one left off, mainly with the non-royal family members beating the hell out of each other and the Doublemint Twin Witches bragging about it.  Fortunately, the Holy Grail has just materialized and has the power to release the Scouts from the mind control spell the witches had cast on them.  Not only that, but the Outer Senshi’s talismans (Aqua Mirror, Space Sword, and Garnet Orb) are all reacting to the Holy Grail and getting a significant power boost!  Yeah, Sailor Moon would only get in the way MY ASS!!

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“You’re Welcome!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 23 (Wish Upon a Star: Naru’s First Love)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 3 Comments

Sailor Moon and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Toei Animation and licensed by Viz Media

Episode directed by Harume Kosaka

We’re back with another episode of The Naru Diaries!  Before we ran off to the beach, visited an animation studio, and attended a fancy ball, there was a subplot brewing about Naru loving Masato Sanjoin and Nephrite planning to use that to his nefarious advantage!  While it was brought up a bit in the last episode, this is the first time that that will be the focus of its own episode!  Will the fact that Usagi has to protect someone she cares about change up the formula and give us a fresh look at the series, or was this story dead on arrival three episodes ago?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Naru who is still pining for Masato Sanjoin and is not in the least bit deterred that, in her short time knowing him, he accused her of being Sailor Moon while wearing a stupid outfit and then following that up with possessing her to assault an international figure head.  It MUST be true love!

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“Who DOESN’T love a bad boy?”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal Act 32 (Infinity 6: Three Guardians)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 3 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Quantum Pluto!  When we had left our heroes, the latest member of Team Outer Senshi had fully awakened to their powers and is ready to help them save the world!  The last episode suffered from having no real direction and continuing to hammer home points that had already been addressed in prior episodes with no real advancement; bringing the show to a standstill as none of the subplots were ready to move forward just yet.    Hopefully now that everything is starting to be out in the open, the show can finally give us something new.  Do we get it this time, or are we still gonna have to deal with problems we saw the solution to several episodes ago?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Chibi-Usa running to greet the apparently reincarnated Sailor Pluto who showed up at the end of the last episode to finish off the witch who was about to chop the young Scout’s head off.  Pluto remembers Chibi-Usa and explains that she was reborn by Neo Queen Serenity to fulfill some important mission.  It’s not clear whether or not she had lost her memories up to this point, but I think the more pertinent point is that NEO QUEEN SEREINTY CAN RAISE THE DEAD!!  They don’t explain how she was able to do it, but that seems like a pretty useful power to have at your beck and call; especially to use on a Sailor Guardian who can go to whatever time they want.  Presumably the “bring back to life” process is a form of reincarnation like it was for the other Sailor Scouts which means it takes a good fifteen years to get going (or more like twenty in Pluto’s case) so it’s not something she can use as a plan B, but it’s still pretty useful!  Wait… now I’m confused.  Can Neo Queen Serenity go back in time too without the aid of Pluto to… I guess imbue an unborn baby with Pluto’s genetic code?  How does bringing her back to life in the past affect the events in the future?  Why didn’t she send a message to her younger self letting her know to keep an eye out for the reincarnation!?

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“You probably have a lot of questions.  The answer to all of them is MAGIC.”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal Act 31 (Infinity 5: Setsuna Meioh – Sailor Pluto)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re back with another episode of The M-Files!  Unexplained and terrifying things keep happening at this school, and yet no one seems to have dropped out yet. I guess despite the numerous horrors to befall its students, it still gets them a kick ass reference!  Still, the strange stuff only got stranger last week when the formerly dead Scout (Sailor Pluto) showed up in what I can only assume is a reincarnated form; similar to what happened with the rest of the Scouts.  Does this episode manage to explore the true nature of Sailor Pluto’s return in a satisfying and compelling fashion, or is her reappearance merely a stab at fan service to keep the fans’ collective attention span from waning?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Not Sailor Pluto (Setsuna Meioh), or at least Not YET Sailor Pluto, working in one of Mugen Academy’s science labs that also looks like a greenhouse.  Actually, it looks a bit more like an office than anything else, but she said in the LAST episode that she’s a student.  If that’s the case, then how did she manage to get her own office!?

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“I swear, if this is leading to ANOTHER joke about my plants…”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 22 (Romance Under the Moon: Usagi’s First Kiss)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

Sailor Moon and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Toei Animation and licensed by Viz Media

Episode directed by Yuji Endo

We’re back with another episode of Great Moon-spectations!  After eleven episodes straight of filler, we get to another episode that’s part of the manga and was also remade in Sailor Moon Crystal!  Will this one manage to be the better of the two, or did Crystal manage to improve on whatever shortcomings this episode might have?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Usagi; late as always and running her ass to school before the bell rings.  On her way there, she runs into Naru who’s recalling the events of episode nineteen where Masato Sanjoin (Nephrite’s secret identity) started stringing her along because he thought she was Sailor Moon.  Naru already had a crush on the guy, but her last interaction with him left things a bit awkward to say the least.

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“On the one hand, he tried to murder me.  On the other hand, he has AMAZING hair…”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal Act 30 (Infinity 4: Haruka Tenoh, Michiru Kaioh – Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of The Women from M.O.O.N!  Uranus and Neptune are still keeping tight lipped about what they plan to do, but hopefully now that everything is out in the open things will FINALLY progress without this massive roadblock that’s slowing the plot down to a crawl.  Can we actually move past the mystery of whether these two are bad guys, or are we gonna have to watch as all the other Scouts slowly realize this over the course of the season?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins right after Uranus and Neptune’s grandiose introduction to the Sailor Scouts; all of whom are slacked jawed as if they had just sat through a production of Springtime for Hitler.  Despite introducing themselves as Sailor Guardians and letting them know exactly what planet and power they represent (on top of making it completely clear EXACTLY who they are outside of the costumes) they CONTINUE to tell them to get out of their lives and that none of this concerns them.  I’m sure they’ll invite them to dinner at their apartment, and take them go karting before asking them to go away and never see them again right before THEN planning their summer vacation together.

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“Except for now, and those other times.  We’re serious!”     “TOTALLY serious!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal Act 29 (Infinity 3: Two New Soldiers)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of The M Word!  Now the last episode was a cluster fuck of poorly conveyed information and confusing plot points that was just spewed out on screen, presumably in a way that was INTENDED to make sense.  That said, it did end on one HELL of a cliffhanger with Haruka planting a kiss on Usagi to her (and the audience’s) surprise!  Now that they’ve painfully force fed us the exposition LAST episode, will this one build off of the interesting ending and give us an episode that we can actually enjoy, or was it too much to hope that the series had gotten its act together after trying to retool it for season three?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Usagi debriefing the Scouts about what had happened between her and the mysterious Sailor Guardian (Uranus) she was chasing down in the forest.  She didn’t get much from her considering how annoyingly vague Haruka has been so far, so all she CAN tell the others is that the mystery Scout requested that they leave her and the other mystery Scout (Neptune) alone to do whatever it is they plan to do; tactfully forgetting to mention the kiss she was given.

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“Well we don’t have much to go on.  She has blonde hair, so maybe she’s European?  Possibly… Swiss?”     “WHAT!?  NOTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENED!!”     “You say something Usagi?”     “…no.”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 21 (Protect the Children’s Dreams: Friendship Through Anime)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

Sailor Moon and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Toei Animation and licensed by Viz Media

Episode directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara

We’re back with another episode of Where in the World is Sailor V!  The enigmatic vigilante looming of this series really hasn’t had an appearance outside of video games and merchandising, yet she’s still a very important part of the Sailor Moon universe once the series really gets going.  Until then though, I guess we’ll have to live with filler episodes that use her likeness instead of… you know; ACTUALLY showing her.  Still, this episode is all about an animation studio, so maybe it’ll be a fun look at the anime production world with a lot of in-jokes and lampshade hanging!  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with the news that Sailor V is getting adapted into an anime movie to the chagrin of Usagi who I guess is jealous that SHE’S not getting one.  I would be curious how that actually came about.  Did the animation have to contact Sailor V to get a licensing contract written up?  Then again, I guess she doesn’t have much legal recourse considering she’s supposed to have a secret identity.

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“Coming to a theater near you!  Along with forty knockoffs because no one has to pay to use her likeness!  CHA-CHING!!”     “These trailers just keep getting more and more depressing.”

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