Similarly, with Jupiter’s hair… I’m aware of the whole “yankii” visual shorthand, how red hair in Japan is considered a delinquent look, which was supposed to feed into people’s misconceptions about Mako-chan. Seeing Ikuko’s hair as a nice, deep blue-black rather than a washed out lavender just feels right. While I have nothing against pastels, it just felt like it drained a lot of vibrance and color from the show, so while I’m sure I’m showing some Classic bias here, I have to say that the reversion to a richer color palette is a welcome change. So often the palette in Crystal’s first 26 episodes seemed kind of washed out, the colors flat and pale. That includes the manga, the 90’s anime, PGSM everything. I’m going to come right out and say it, this is my favorite depiction of Luna, Artemis, and Diana ever. I love these new designs for them, the way their fur tapers at the cheeks, the detail given to the ears. And the cats? The cats look so fucking great, I can’t even! Their boxy faces from previous episodes are gone. When someone is at a 3/4 angle, their eyes are spaced and shaped accordingly. SO GOOD! Faces are drawn with smooth curving lines, rather than the sharp, awkward angles of a child’s drawing. It totally worked for me.Įverything looks so good. And you know what? That’s not a bad idea.
I’d also like to note that it seems Crystal is borrowing a little from Sailor Moon S here, having what looks very much like a daimon egg sequence at the root of the monster’s appearance, rather than the Mugen Academy girl simply transforming into the monster. The rhythm and energy… this episode practically crackled with it. Shots took their time but didn’t linger interminably and self-indulgently. I felt as though so much happened in this one episode. As a viewer and lifelong Sailor Moon fan, I was satisfied. The reintroduction of returning characters, the introduction of some (but not all) of the new players, just enough of the supernatural conflict of the season to pique the audience’s interest and establish the new mission… seriously. In any event, this episode flowed seamlessly. I can only hope that this more relaxed adaptation continues into future episodes. Because HOLY CRAP would it make a better ending than an opening, and it seems from this premiere that someone on the writing staff realized that their fidelity to the source material shouldn’t necessarily extend to Takeuchi’s pacing problems. Now, it’s certainly possible that next week’s episode will merely be the remaining 40% of “Infinity 1: Premonition,” but considering that the manga act ends with Sailor Moon and Chibi-Moon transforming, with the ensuing monster fight not coming until the beginning of “Infinity 2: Repercussions,” it’s possible they’d save that brief fight and its immediate aftermath (including the first silhouetted appearances of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune) for the end of Episode 3×02, rather than the beginning of 3×03.
We had a full story with a decently paced conflict that was executed and resolved, while opening the door to the next chapter. Our heroes get to show off their new transformations, they attack, they win, and the episode is capped off with the establishment of both a new mission and the plot to the next episode. We’re also introduced to some new characters who provide an organic segue to Mugen Academy, which provides us with the monster of the week. It opens with a hint of the enemy to come, goes immediately into reintroducing our heroes and establishing their relationships to one another. I did a page count, and this episode covered roughly 60% of the corresponding manga act, and as a result it was structured and paced exquisitely. It’s as though the production staff heard my prayers for them to abandon to the 1:1 adaptation of the manga and instead aim for episodes that properly fit the medium. The story was tight, the animation was damn near flawless, and I loved it.
Top to bottom fantastic on pretty much every level.