Jupiter's episode might not have been full of a great change like last week but Act 17 was adapted fairly solid with some nice tweaks here and there. Sailor Moon Crystal may be on the way of stabilizing at least somewhat, if it hadn't been for perhaps the worst animation mishap in the show's history.
Last week marked the very first time the show dared alter source material and didn't utterly fail in the resulting new script, in fact making the episode somewhat stronger than the equivalent manga chapter despite some resulting losses. Having been positively surprised in such a way, left me... well, not really hopeful but at least anticipating this episode a bit more. Let's get right to the gist of it.
Technical Performance
There were some rather nice musical themes again. Sometimes Crystal's music can create a good atmosphere and this episode was one of them. Otherwise there really wasn't much that can be said aside from what I have already done so ad absurdum. We got to see two of Jupiter's attacks today, including the new and improved Sparkling Wide Pressure... improved... right. You know what I think about attack animation in this by now. I've given up on this front mostly.
And that was all I had to say until I made the screencaps for this episode and noticed the most affronting animation error to be performed ever, especially since it's one that begs the question whether the producing team actually looks even ONCE at the finished product. I've spoken enough of Moon Princess Halation, however, this time it was animated with the old (elongated) Moon Stick plus Silver Crystal.................. Must I say more?
No.
No!
Really... No!
That just doesn't cut it. It's not even half-hearted effort anymore, it's a slap in the face. And the most freaky thing is that I am fairly sure this is not a recycled animation from the first arc, which means the people drawing it had to be consciously aware (or maybe rather intoxicated) while drawing this.
Characters and Practical Performance
First of all, this time there was no big stretch of changed source material like in Ami's episode but that was not necessarily a bad thing as the source here already offered a good setting which was surprisingly well adapted.
Especially the interaction between Makoto and Asanuma was well done and the emotions from these two were much more tangible than the manga chapter offered. Of course, last episode offered us a look into Ami's emotional state and that really made the episode feel more like a character episode. It was a gambit that paid off, so why hasn't it been done here?
That's difficult to answer and I cannot say I wouldn't have liked to see something like this again. I think it depends on the character. Makoto is a strong character who lives on her own. She's independent and not as insecure as Ami who had to endure a lot of loneliness due to her parent's divorce and work situation. Makoto does not crack so easily, so an approach like last time wouldn't suit her. She's not someone who would be affected by emotional subversion like that. As such the scenario in this episode was best-suited for Makoto, I think. It is a fitting depiction of her character which subsequently required no need to be changed, just a suitable execution. And that was delivered.
At the same time the first half of this episode offered some more development on Chibiusa's front as well. I've pointed this out before but this is really one of the stronger points of the manga compared to its anime equivalent. Chibiusa isn't just an annoying brat. There are numerous other situations later on when she does mature things similar to trying to cheer up Usagi in the beginning of this episode. This is an aspect that Sailor Moon Crystal has thankfully gotten just right so far.
Modifications in this episode have thus been rather small. Little tidbits like Saphir back-talking to his brother again and such. Nothing that would be excessively missed. Except for the one thing which I have already pointed out last time as my one regret in the tradeoff. I suppose it is a direct result of cutting out Asanuma's memory from meeting Mamoru in the last episode that this was not part of the conversation with Makoto. Unfortunately this now makes the second time that his powers are mentioned in the manga and are cut out in Sailor Moon Crystal. The gradual buildup to the manifestation very soon from now is pretty much lost which is really a shame.
What I liked about the small changes was Chibiusa looking in on Usagi's parents and remembering her own (in far more detail and obvious "hinting" as ever done in the manga at this point), making her sadness in the next section more pronounced and in context.
We also got a good look at Makoto's parents for once. That picture was in the manga but very tiny and it makes a difference in color and high-resolution since otherwise we get very little on them.
One last semi-grievance I have with the preview. While one would think there isn't anything in the preview that would be of use to somewhat that already knew what would be happening, the very last scene, after the episode title was a rather huge spoiler regarding a question that I had dreaded the answer of since Venus was robbed off her moment glory in defeating Beryl some episodes back. I swore I would do something very violent if there was a change for next time and Venus would end up abducted as well... Apparently she won't, judging by that last picture. At least that's a relief so I let that negative element go, it's still quite a big spoiler to put in there, even if it just makes sense to someone that knows what will be happening.
Conclusion
A few episodes back I declared that I have lost much hope of Sailor Moon Crystal going anywhere beyond the source material. Obviously it won't as the arc is pretty much planned out already. As such I resolved myself to mostly treat this for what it is, a somewhat adequate, very close adaption of the manga into animated form. While last episode broke that impression slightly, it was apparently only a dent. However, the quality of the adaption has definitely been upped slightly. The setting of mood and display of emotion in this episode was rather well-handled. With that Sailor Moon Crystal does feel a little more like just a copy of paper to screen. There was some more heart into the execution which has often been missing and that at least is something to note positively. I dearly hope at least that can be maintained.
Unfortunately cutting out the scenes about Mamoru's powers twice in a row now is worrisome, yet the animation mishap is just downright awful and hurts my overall perception of this episode (I initially gave it a quarter point more before I noticed THAT).
Still, these two points aside, Sailor Moon Crystal is moving into a somewhat more comfortable territory. By far not good, least of all great, but at least somewhere a little above adequate. That this is still like a deathblow to a franchise with this kind of history is indisputable still, yet I can mostly live with it now that my expectations have reached rock bottom. Probably not the best of compliments but I tried at least...
Rating: 3.5+
Gallery/Screencap Commentary
(Source: All Screencaps made by me) |
| The opening scene underlines Chibiusa's mature side and the much better interaction with Usagi nicely. |
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| Let's go! |
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| Yep, SO alike. ^_^ |
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| And we have upgraded Artemis' appearance to yet a few more frames and lines... Poor guy, really. |
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| It was a nice touch to have her remember her own parents that way, makes the following sequence much more fluid. |
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| Chibiusa, the magician! |
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| What exactly did you expect, Luna? You were talking openly with Chibiusa present the first time she was brought home... This was bound to happen. |
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| Now that doesn't look useful. I mean how the hell would she go about seeing a doctor if she gives out static shocks everytime?! |
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| Makoto's dead parents. Probably the single most detailed frame showing them in all of Sailor Moon history. |
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| I liked how this part was presented really. |
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| That was really sweet actually and not in the gagging corny way either. |
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| And here comes the invasion from Mars... err, sorry, Nemesis. |
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| Too bad you cannot hold down Mako-chan even with a cold! |
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| Flower Hurricane! |
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| And here comes the Sparkling Wide Pressure! |
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| Sorta okay but still not exactly breathtaking. |
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| That would have been a cool fight if... |
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| Yes, if it hadn't been over so fast again. |
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| Time warp much? Honestly whoever did that deserves to go the rest of the production without being paid. THE most severe animation mishap Sailor Moon Crystal has done so far. I am simply at a loss. |
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| And it ends like the last two episodes. |
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