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Volume 3
Act 15: Invasion Sailor Mars
I think this is a solid first chapter for the second arc. I like how everyone quickly gets their new power ups with no real fuss, I find the new characters very intriguing (especially Chibi-Usa), and I like how this arc hits the ground running. Honestly while there are times in the first arc I thought a bit of a slow down would be nice, I do love how this arc does not take a pause. I makes everything feel overwhelming for the audience as well as the Sailor Guardians.
I will say I'm of two minds on Mars getting kidnapped. It does show just how powerful and aggressive these new enemies are but it does mean we're gonna miss out on time for character growth and interactions with the other characters. To be fair this chapter does focus on Rei and her personal growth since awakening as a guardian but still. *shrugs*
Speaking of, I find it fascinating that Rei no longer seems to have the creepy reputation she had in the first arc. I've always had a headcanon that awakening to their true selves changes how other people see the girls (and Mamoru) and, in the manga at least, that does seem to be the case.
Act 16: Abduction Sailor Mercury
This chapter feels very similar to the first chapter, and like the first chapter I do like it. And even then we get a bit more information on the villains and on Mamoru's powers. I love Mamoru's character development in the manga. It's both well done in it's own right and works amazingly well with Usagi's character development. I also love that, unlike the anime (where Rei is really the only one with psychic abilities), all of the girls seem to have some psychic abilities. With that said Rei is the most powerful, well and possibly Mamoru.
But in all seriousness this chapter does a good job of giving us Ami's backstory and shows off her powers before she is also kidnapped.
Act17: Secrecy Sailor Jupiter
Ok the Mako part of this chapter hits the same beats the past two chapters, and does as good a job, so we're gonna focused on some other parts. Well no one quick note: I love how a sick Makoto has trouble with her powers. I wouldn't have mind seeing that explored more, either with her or the other girls.
Starting with Usagi... yeah girl isn't doing well. She's been in quite the tailspin since Mars got kidnapped that's only gotten worse. And Mamoru isn't helping... Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why he thinks that way, but dude your communication skills suck. Oh well, *shrugs* still it's better than what happens in the anime*. You can tell this is a man who, until recently, has not had a close relationship with anyone though.
As for Chibi-usa's crush... I've always been of two minds about her little crush on Mamoru. I'm gonna touch on that more in either the fourth arc or in a separate essay though because to fully explore that plot point now is difficult without those spoilers. Otherwise, I adore her which, considering when I first read the manga my only experience with Chibi-usa was the old English dub where she was a pain in the ass, this quite surprised me. Especially since I tend to find kid characters annoying. Naoko does a really good job making her characters feel their ages even when they are forced to go through things no one their age should have to go through and Chibi-usa is a fantastic example of that.
Finally the villains are interesting enough that they don't annoy me, mostly, and I do like how they feel very different from the Dark Kingdom. One example being them wanting to destroy the Silver Crystal rather than use it. I kinda wish we got more time with the sisters but there's always the anime for that.
*Yeah I agree the anime break up is in character for Mamoru... still a bone headed decision that should have ended in a massive grovel scene before Usagi took him back though. Also what to you mean I have to watch a break up arc right after my OTP got together finally!!!
Act 18: Aggression Sailor Venus
And Venus's turn... Although, thankfully, she does not get kidnapped. Partly because it breaks the pattern in a very satisfying way. But also because, of all the girls, Venus has gotten the least amount of time, unless you count Sailor V of course, so this will allow for more focus on her. Finally Venus is the longest working senshi in this life and the leader in the past life so she should be more of a BAMF than the other girls.
We also get a LOT of fleshing out of Chibi-usa and her backstory in this chapter. While I honestly think most of this would have been guessed even by new readers, it's still nice to have information confirmed. I also like that it's pretty heavily implied that her parents knew this was going to happen and prepared her for it. Which is interesting for so many reasons.
As for Mamoru, the channeling so he can communicate with his knights is a bit out of nowhere. Remember, the last time we saw those stones they were fragments and it was implied that their spirits were moving on. Or at least that's how I read it the first time I read the manga. There aren't many plot holes in the manga that trip me up but this one does. Ah well moving on, I do like how he finally does get an offensive power though. Like I said I love how the manga handles Mamoru's character arc, it's so satisfying and plays off of Usagi very well.
Speaking of character growth, I also love how Usagi is able to push Chibi-usa away from Rubius. Mamoru is needed to save her but Idk it's a great moment that shows how by this point Usagi is more competent as a Guardian than when she started.
Finally I love the Naru knows something is up with Usagi... And yeah I think she knows Usagi's Sailor Moon. I mostly avoid spoiler but I will give you this one... Nothing ever comes of this scene and it's never brought up again. If there's ever a reboot of Sailor Moon I really hope one of the things they focus on is how everyone's family and friends handle the situation, whether they know or not. The manga teases us a couple times with such scenes and I'd love to see them explored properly.
Act 19: Time Warp Sailor Pluto
I love Pluto and the manga really does a fantastic job with her in this arc. I should probably say here that I'm not the biggest fan of time travel. With that said I tend to believe that the Sailor Moon verse is not a multiverse where with every choice the timeline branches and there's a new universe which works better for me. Also the vagueness of everything keeps me from having to pick everything apart. Also making time travel a taboo is an interesting choice, especially since we know Chibi-Usa was prepared for time travel. For those wondering, it's implied that the Black Moon is using a different way to time travel than the one Pluto protects... which is interesting. I also adore how the manga focuses on Chibi-Usa's friendship with Pluto here. It's very sweet and does a lot for the characterization of both characters.
Lets move back a bit and on Usagi and Mamoru's scene though. For me, Usagi's feelings are 100% understandable here. Girl is going through it and now here's this new person who, at this point Usagi barely knows, kind of occupying her boyfriend, who she just went through hell for, when she needs the support. And then Usagi is aware that Chibi-usa has a crush on Mamoru and isn't happy about that either. And yeah Chibi-usa is a kid but Mamoru just brushing of Usagi as being childish is just... Look if a person I'd been dating had done that I would dump them. I've talked about it more in my Usagi/Mamoru mini shrine (add link) but here's our first "I'll protect you" from Usagi to Mamoru and daww. I love this part. They are way to cute for words. I do think they need to have more of a conversation than they do at this point though.
Then there's Luna's flashback. I love this scene both for setting up for meeting Pluto and for giving us a bit more information on Luna. She was clearly very curious and loved to explore, a lot like Princess Serenity was. I do wish we'd have gotten similar scenes with Artemis here though (this is a bit spoilery but he's probably the weakest major character in the manga and the Sailor V manga isn't much better).
Finally I find it weird that Usagi can't use the Crystal at all in the future and Mamoru needed help to use his power but Venus doesn't seem to have any problems. I will say it's kind of explained later but not very well. Honestly, this might be the weakest arc for explanations ime, and we'll see more of that later.
Act 20: Crystal Tokyo King Endymion
It's been a hot minute since we've had a very info dump chapter but here we are. Most of the information you probably already guessed at this point but for anything you didn't figure out those answers are here. I will say though there are as many questions raised as answered and the new questions don't tend to get concrete answers. Examples include questions like why are Chibi-usa and Diana the only two to not be harmed, how did the Silver Crystal protect the queen when she was attacked, and why is Usagi the only one who can not use her powers in the future? I've got my head-canons for two of those but that's neither here nor there.
We are also introduced to another great character, Diana. She's to Chibi-usa as Luna is to Usagi. Her companion. If you've only watched the anime I will say that she plays a bigger role in the manga and she is adorable and quite awesome at times.
Finally note how last chapter I said Usagi and Mamoru need to have more of a conversation about Chibi-Usa and Usagi's mental state? Yeah right now, Usagi still has all those negative feelings and it's causing her a lot of grief at a time when she's got other stuff on her mind. I think Mamoru should have either let Chibi-usa stay with Usagi or had Usagi stay with him and Chibi-Usa. I'm also kind of surprised Minako and especially Luna didn't stay with Usagi. It's a plot point that Luna isn't supposed to leave her Mistress's side yet... *shrugs*
Act 21: Complication Nemesis
At the end of the last chapter, Usagi's been kidnapped by Demande and can't transform at all so our girl is understandably freaked. And I love this scene... it's not the first time we see Usagi in a scary situation alone and have to get herself out without help but it is a much longer and more complicated situation than last time. Also she doesn't have her powers so the stakes are higher. So far she's doing pretty good to, recognizing her weaknesses but refusing to let them rule her. Just a fantastic bit of character development for Usagi.
Speaking of, the her girls we do get a brief scene and I love how the girls are reacting in contrast to Usagi. They're also freaked out, especially when they realize they can't transform, but are more calm than Usagi is. Remember the girls have way more training than Usagi as soldiers from their past life so this makes sense. I also think this is the perfect time to see the girls. I know the first time I read the manga I was starting to get a bit annoyed that we'd not seen them up to this point and had no idea if they were ok.
Finally there's some very interesting info on Chibi-usa. She currently has no powers and is 900 years old most of that spent at the same age. She's dealt with a lot of shit for it, she considers Pluto her only friend, and while she loves her parents their relationship is complicated. TLDR poor girl had gone through it even before the Black Moon had attacked. I'm of two minds about how her relationship with her parents is written. Like all of the information we're presented makes sense for the story and characters but idk, it still irks me. Not sure why. We also learn why Chibi-usa has the Silver Crystal. She stole it... I have to admit I've got questions there... How did the Silver Crystal save her Mother if it wasn't with her? My theory is that the Queen is so in tune with her crystal that she didn't need to have it on her to use it but I'm open to other ideas.
Overall a lot happens in this chapter but it's fairly well balanced chapter even if it's all set up for future chapters. I will say though that ending cliffhanger is evil, especially if you had to wait for the next volume.
Side note for those going "but what about Diana?" Diana is very young (I'm guessing around 6 or so) and as far as we know she doesn't have the stalled age of Chibi-usa so she's not been in her life for long.