Tag: Viz Media

Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 12 (I Want a Boyfriend: The Luxury Cruise Ship Is a Trap)

~ 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 The Three Moon-eteers (Luna of course serving as our d’Artagnan in this metaphor)!  With Jadeite on the ropes after so many schemes not only failing but bringing his foes greater and greater power, he’s starting to get desperate for a way to stop them before he retires from this Evil Organization to pursue interests elsewhere.  Maybe Disney?  Anyway, will he be able to succeed in his latest hair-brained scheme, or will it all end in failure once again?  Well you can probably guess which one, but let’s see how it plays out!!

The episode begins in the bowels of Hell Corp where Jadeite is hiding from Queen Beryl’s condescending stare that he surely deserves considering his recent track record.  His self-imposed exile to the basement is unfortunately interrupted as one of Queen Beryl’s personal assistants tracks his butt down.

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“Queen Beryl has been looking for you.”     “I know.  Why do you think I’m here?  Just one more week and I’m out of this dump.”     “Should I let her know I found you?”     “I’d rather you didn’t!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 11 (Usagi vs. Rei: Nightmare in Dream Land)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 5 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 The Three Amigos: Moon Edition!  After gaining another ally in their fight against evil, the Sailor Scouts are ready to face whatever challenges will be set out before them!  With Jadeite’s impending retirement on the horizon, will he be able to stop three Scouts when he couldn’t even stop one in prior schemes?  Will the new dynamic for Team Moon work in their favor or will they get in each other’s way when fighting the forces of evil?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with a Sailor Scout team meeting as Luna catches everyone up to speed on their current goals for the coming fiscal year.  Sadly, they have yet to find the Moon Princess, but the increase in staff will surely mean success in the coming months!  That is, if Rei and Usagi can keep from killing each other.

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“I wanna read it!”     “I’m reading it!”     “No you’re not!  You only grabbed it after I started!”     “It’s mine and I don’t have to share!”     “LUNA!!  REI WON’T SHARE!!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 10 (The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire)

~ 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 Kazuhisa Takenouchi

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon: The Early Years!  It hasn’t been that long since Ami became a member of the team, but now we’re moving ahead to the next scout, Sailor Mars!  Once again, this is a story that was covered in Sailor Moon Crystal, so that begs the question; is this a better interpretation of Rei Hino’s introduction, or will this be an example of Crystal improving on what had already been done before?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins as most episodes do with Queen Beryl giving Jadeite the business end of her sharp tongue as she berates him for his continued failures to stop the Scouts.

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“I swear Jadeite, if you don’t stop them this time I will kill you myself!”     “Uh… I’m putting in for my two weeks’ notice.”     “WHAT!?”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 9 (Usagi’s Disaster: Beware of the Clock of Confusion)

~ 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 Harume Kosaka

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon Not Crystal, which is DOUBLY true because we’ve switched back to filler episodes after the last one was from the actual manga and therefore was worthy of being remade in the new show.  The good thing about filler episodes though is how much character building you can get out of it which is especially important now that the show is no longer the Luna and Usagi Adventures.  Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury) joined the cast last time and while I thought that the relationship between her and Usagi just wasn’t built up all that much in that episode, I knew that episodes like this would be on the way to fill in the gaps and get them to really bond as friends and Sailor Scouts.  Does this episode live up to those expectations, or will it take a bit more time for them to really get along?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Jadeite getting a stern talking to by his beloved mistress for failing so hard at his last scheme that there are now twice as many threats to their continued efforts to take over the world.

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“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OUT THERE!?”     “Well how was I supposed to know the book worm had magic powers!?”     “Oh, so it’s EVERYONE else’s fault but yours.  That’s your BRILLIANT defense right now!?”     “I’m feeling that this work environment is becoming hostile.”     “WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE!?!?”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 8 (The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horror)

~ 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 Junichi Satou

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon: The Full Screen Years!  Now the last episode was pretty much a disaster in my opinion, but then one before it was one of the better ones in no small part due to the interesting villain.  Things are about to change though as this episode will introduce us to Ami Mizuno, also known as Sailor Mercury.  Will this be a great introduction to the character, and how does it compare to what they did with this story in Sailor Moon Crystal?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins, in the main office of Hell Corp (also known as Dark Kingdom) where the two senior managers of the organization determine what their strategy for evil will be in the coming work week.  They actually do come up with something quite dastardly (and a little too real) which is to exploit the public school system for profit!  THOSE BASTARDS!!

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“We’ll convince them that college is the most important thing to being a successful person, and then force them to run up incalculable amounts of debt at such a young age!!  MWA HA HA HA HA!!!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 7 (Usagi Learns Her Lesson: Becoming a Star Is Hard Work)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 5 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 Takao Yoshizawa

Welcome back to another episode of Sailor Moon: Reincarnation is Magic!  The last episode had our born again Moon Princess fighting off a really interesting villain who inadvertently was getting in the way of two people finding true love in one another!  It was actually a pretty nice change of pace from the formula the show was falling into where Usagi remained pretty much oblivious to the evil machinations of the villains until she finally confronts them at the scene of the crime.  So what’s the story for THIS episode?  Usagi will remain pretty much oblivious to the evil machinations of the villain until she finally confronts them at the scene of the crime.  Well, I guess they can’t ALL be original stories, so maybe they’ll find an interesting angle with what it is the villains will try to exploit this time.  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Usagi frantically trying to get to school before the bell rings yet again.  I mean sure, she’s fighting for humanity’s survival every night, but she should really invest in a louder alarm clock or something.  Along her route, she runs past an advertisement and, as any good consumer would do, stops to stare at it and contemplate purchasing the product.

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“Must… Buy… Red Bull…”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 6 (Protect the Melody of Love: Usagi Plays Cupid)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 4 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 Luna and Usagi’s Excellent Adventures!  The last episode with the hypno-furbys was fine but it really didn’t do anything different from the other episodes except for kicking Luna across a room which is DIFFERENT but I wouldn’t call that an improvement to the formula.  Will the mix things up for this episode or are we doomed to see Usagi repeat the same story every single episode until the other scouts come in?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins in Dark Kingdom and… what’s this?  Do we finally have some new animation for Queen Beryl!?  She’s not waving her hands in front of a crystal ball this time!?  This MUST be a special episode!!  The reason for this change in her behavior is due to her undivided attention for the demonstration of Jadeite’s newest soul-sucking scheme.  Apparently, he’s developed a sound wave or whatever that drains the life out of those who listen to it.

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“It was discovered during our research into The Brown Noise”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 5 (Scent of a Monster: Chanela Will Steal Your 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 Yuji Endo

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon Retro!  When we last left our heroes, they were in a rather uncomfortable and dated adventure regarding weight loss and self-esteem.  In hindsight, it may not have been the BEST way to tackle those subjects, but then again you can’t always go back to stuff from twenty years ago and expect it to get everything right in regards to modern sensibilities.  Besides, I’m sure that’s gonna be the ONLY time that this show will be THAT blatantly nineties, right?  It’s not like they’ll make an episode about Furbies or something!  Oh wait, this episode is about cute artificial animals that people can’t get enough of?  Okay then.  Well to be fair, this episode predates those toys by at least six years so maybe they were simply ahead of their time when they made this!  Will this episode manage to bring the series back on track after the stumble that was the last episode, or will the show continue to feel out of place and outdated as they continue to scramble to come up with episodes to fill out the season?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Usagi having a nightmare where she’s being chased by… I don’t know, the Smoke Monster?

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“DAMN YOU JJ ABRAMS!!!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 4 (Learn How to Be Skinny from Usagi)

~ 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

Oh good!  I was hoping we’d run into some dated nineties storylines at some point!  We all knew we were going to reach this point eventually.  You can go back to pretty much anything from any time period and find stuff that’s woefully outdated, especially when you think of how fast things have changed with the onset of social media.  Still, we can allow ourselves to overlook some less than ideal moments if everything else in the episode manages to pick up the slack.  Can this episode succeed despite it’s less than precise handling of the subject matter?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Usagi realizing that she gained a few pounds since her last weigh-in and she’s having a panic attack over it.  Rather than her parents telling her that it isn’t a big deal or Luna telling her the weight she gained is probably due to the muscle she’s built since starting her career as a warrior for justice, everyone around her gives her shit about it.  Her parents TRY to reassure her but fail miserably at it, and Luna seems intent on giving her Body Dysmorphia!

“I’m thinking Sailor Chubs.  Fatty Moon maybe?  I could really use your input here Usagi!”
“I’m thinking Sailor Chubs.  Fatty Moon maybe?  I could really use your input here Usagi!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Episode 3 (The Mysterious Sleeping Sickness: Protect the Girls in 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 Kazuhisa Takenouchi

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon Origins!  The last episode was by no means perfect, but it did show that just because they weren’t working directly from a story in the manga doesn’t mean they can’t make the filler in this show enjoyable.  Can this episode keep up with the level of quality we saw last time around, or are we already headed for a downward spiral until Sailor Mercury shows up in this?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Jadeite’s performance review in which he embellishes his accomplishments I’m the last two episodes.

“Our energy collection efforts are up three percent!”     “You lost two highly trained demons in the process.”     “I like to think of it as creating new openings for fresh faced monsters to hone their skills and become valuable members of our organization!”
“Our energy collection efforts are up three percent!”     “You lost two highly trained demons in the process.”     “I like to think of it as creating new openings for fresh-faced monsters to hone their skills and become valuable members of our organization!”

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