M&M DreamWorks: Sailor Moon Crystal Spotlight: Act 09 Recap!

A composition full of atmosphere. Act 9 captures the special emotions of this pivotal segment of Sailor Moon Crystal and culminates in a brilliant catharsis.

There are supposedly people who are not familiar with Sailor Moon yet. These people have surely been looking forward to this episode after last time's cliffhanger. However, even for the hardcore fans Act 9 held a special interest. The first awakening of Princess Serenity is after all a pivotal part of the story. And it seems the producers have actually put in some effort.

Technical Performance

For the first time the BGM can actually be praised in this episode. A short time ago I have criticized the missing impact of the music, something I cannot do here. Especially in the beginning and for the final scene the background music was of excellent quality and fitting for the situation.

On the visual side, the myriad of facial expression expressing Usagi's emotion is surely a highlight. Even the harshest critics have to admit that for once a good job has been done with it. Even if the rest sadly still lags behind. It is a real shame that especially the animation of a long anticipated adaption is far from what it could have been because of the low budget (not exclusively because of the budget of course).

Characters

Act 9 shows one thing clearly: Usagi's character development. From the lowest point up to the cathartic finish containing the resolution not to be a tragic princess anymore. This episode pulls Usagi threw the entire rollercoaster of emotions and in the end presents us the strong Usagi which will be prominent in the rest of the story.

Even more than in the manga equivalent, the feelings of the other Senshi for Serenity but especially so Usagi were much better expressed. The last scene greatly shows the connection, friendship and also gratitude especially towards Usagi who brought them all together.

Practical Performance

It tells it own tale that there have been a good amount of changes but I have (almost) nothing to criticize. On the contrary, the last scene which contains the greatest change in its conception is perhaps the best piece of new composition that the development team of Sailor Moon Crystal has created yet.

Emotionally Act 9 scraps on the edge of developing a tad too much pathos, manages to keep just right, however, and as such creates a believable atmosphere for the reactions and the expression of various emotional dispositions. This culminates in the final scene at Usagi's house. Whereas in the manga Usagi pretty much forces herself out of her own slump by referencing to her heritage as a princess, Sailor Moon Crystal presents us a wonderfully sad yet at the end cathartic scene which portrays excellently the closeness of the girls both as Senshi and as normal humans. Usagi's emotional spiral comes to an end and culminates in a strong resolution which finds a wonderful conclusion both through the music and the staging of the scene (the girls standing up together).

I cannot quite leave without a few other comments though. What I have been missing somewhat were more illustration for the power of the Silver Crystal. The only thing shown here was the blooming of flowers. This part has been cut somewhat and as such needlessly diminishes the importance of the Silver Crystal somewhat. In fact, the entire spectacle around the awakening scene is almost short enough that it becomes incidental. Only almost, however.

I still want to know what will happen with the generals. The scene between them and Endymion fit but didn't really gave us anything new. Where exactly this plot change will impact still remains to be seen. Since there is no obvious sign of any slowdown in the 1:1 adaption of manga to Crystal-acts, I honestly pray that it will not be just a short and as such ultimately pointless resolution.

Especially interesting is the wording for the appearance of the Silver Crystal. Usagi's tear or more specifically her emotions have broken the seal on the crystal. It would not be appropriate to theorize about this here but think about what we know from the end of Stars and this wording becomes interesting. But that's another topic altogether.

Conclusion

For the last scene alone I would say this act is the best episode of Sailor Moon Crystal seen so far. Surely there's still a lot of room for improvement but if this level of scripting is kept in the following episodes with their emotional content, then it can only get better.

Score: 5/5