Sailor Moon Crystal Act X: Moon

Warning: Spoilers

Be sure to check out the Sailor Moon Crystal Page for reviews of Acts I through IX in case you missed them!

Sometimes I don’t know where to begin. Every Sailor Moon fan feared the new series might ruin a good thing. But I never imagined when I started watching Sailor Moon Crystal that I would feel like a kid again. If that isn’t a testament to the power of the story, I don’t know what is.

Act X gave me legitimate goosebumps. When it ended I felt jubilant from the rush of emotions. I was every merchandiser’s dream; I searched the web looking for Sailor Moon stuff to purchase, so that I could own a piece of the magic myself. I wanted a talisman to keep me connected to the show, and to prove to the knowing onlooker that part of my identity is also “Sailor Moon fangirl.” I settled on downloading the Moon Pride theme song so I could make it my ringtone. Along the way I also downloaded some of the classic songs (Moonlight Densetsu and Moon Revenge).

This episode got me in so many ways. The poignant moment when Usagi’s father realized she was growing up. The moment Luna helped teleport them to the moon gave me Totoro flashbacks.

I sat holding my breath, watching the eerie sadness of the destroyed moon kingdom. I’m sure I was holding my iPad with a death grip when Sailor Venus pulled the sword from the stone. Honestly, you should just go watch the episode right now. I don’t care if you’ve already seen it!

Once the sword is removed, Usagi is reunited with the will of her mother, Queen Serenity, which she stored on the mainframe of the kingdom upon the death of her physical body. She tells Usagi,

“Princess Serenity, Please remember this…

The power of the Legendary Silver Crystal depends solely upon your heart. Be proud and confident of being a princess, and being Sailor Moon, the Guardian of Love and Justice…

And don’t forget that you’re also a normal girl. The true meaning behind your rebirth lies in that.”

“Don’t forget that you’re also a normal girl.” This line really spoke to me on a personal level. I’m a workaholic by nature and am really hard on myself to be perfect, to do everything, and to make everyone happy all the time. The need to please others is not unique to my situation, or unique to women, but I think it is something we’ve socially been taught to do. It’s healthy to remember that when the day is over, the fight is over, we’re all just normal girls and women.

The thing that is really setting the Sailor Moon part of the internet crazy is the brand spanking new, only ever hinted at, relationships between Endymion’s knights, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite, and the Sailor Senshi. Speculation has been going on all season, and our expectations have been met! The knights briefly remember their past lives in the episode, but alas! Queen Beryl’s power over them, and now also over Endymion, is too much for them to conquer. I am predicting the Knights will remember their past again at some key moment, when they will be able to save Endymion from almost-certain death.

While Queen Beryl’s powers may have the men ensnared, Sailor Moon’s awesome strength is more than enough to thaw Tokyo, and the world, from Beryl’s freezing spell. I was very impressed that Sailor Moon floated into SPACE and used Moon Healing Escalation ON THE ENTIRE WORLD. Bazinga!

In the Sailor Moon subreddit Act X thread, many fans are commenting on the fact that Sailor Moon did not wait for someone to tell  her what to do. She just went and did it! In a total role reversal from the original anime, the Sailor Senshi were down on the ground saying “hey, we should try harder instead of being rescued by Sailor Moon all the time.”

As to how the story was told – the pacing was good, the music great, and the animation for the most part good. They still struggle in some spots, but it does not take away from the my enjoyment of the show. In the beginning I griped about the music a lot, but I have zero complaints now.

Sailor Moon is still my favorite senshi (I know, I’ve said it like a bazillion times) but, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I may actually not dislike Sailor Venus now. Her character is a bit deux ex machina-y, but she’s also been aware of her memories for longer and has more experience fighting. As many others have also noted, it was very cool when Sailor Venus ran up the side of a building like it was no big deal!

We have to wait three weeks this time before the next episode, so until December 1st we have ample time to watch and re-watch episodes 1-10. What do you all think about the season so far?

Want to keep up with Her Story Arc? Subscribe to our newsletter.