This week’s episode, “Act 34: Infinity 8 - Infinite Labyrinth 1,” opens on a tragic note: Chibiusa is dead! Well, not really. Turns out “cardiac arrest” is completely reversible if one’s soul can be reclaimed. The animation in this scene stands out, but for the wrong reasons: at moments, the characters look gangly and off-model, an unwelcome flashback to the Bad Old Days of Sailor Moon Crystal.
Haruka’s bedside manner leaves something to be desired as she announces her plans to kill Hotaru, then storms out of the hospital. The remaining girls take Chibiusa to Mamoru’s house, as he can keep her in a state of suspended animation. Usagi’s conflicted, wanting to protect both Chibiusa and Hotaru.
Back at Mugen, Mistress 9 gives Kaolinite a demotion, then delivers the Silver Crystal to Pharaoh 90. Meanwhile, Kaolinite revives the Witches 5. Outside Mamoru’s, Usagi finds the girls waiting. They go to Mugenzu to find the highrise transformed and covered in spiky green vines. All five girls are summarily sent to the Infinite Labyrinth, where they are reminded how the responsibilities of being a Sailor Senshi take them away from their other goals in life. Sailor Moon sees her friends turning against her, but quickly uses her good old Spiral Heart Moon Rod to drive the illusion away.
Meanwhile, the Outers hack through the vines now surrounding Mugen Academy, making their way to the site of the battle. Sailor Moon takes on the Witches 5 alone, as the Inners are trapped in some kind of enormous pillar of goo.
The Outers rush to her aid and we see two new attack sequences: Neptune’s Submarine Reflection and Pluto’s Chronos Typhoon. The battle over, Usagi embraces Haruka and the two groups agree to fight together at last.
The eight girls merge their powers to allow Sailor Moon to again transform into Super Sailor Moon. They head to the 60th floor to take on Kaolinite, arriving just she turns into a big gross monster! Yikes!
With the Outers on her side, Super Sailor Moon makes short work of Kaolinite, carrying on the tradition of disappointing villain battles in Sailor Moon Crystal. This one-for-one equivalence, where one act of the manga equals one episode of the anime, doesn’t always make for the best storytelling. After nine episodes of buildup, the face-off with Kaolinite feels rushed and anticlimactic.
As the episode draws to an end, the Senshi vow to find Hotaru. Elsewhere, Mistress 9 eats Chibiusa’s Silver Crystal. Apparently, it’s delicious, because this action is accompanied by an awful lot of slurping noises.
With the closing credits, we get our third and final ending theme of the season, featuring the dreamy Mamoru gazing soulfully into the middle distance in a rain-soaked shirt. It’s great eye candy, but the Chibiusa song it replaced was more of a toe-tapper.
Like last week’s episode, this week’s installment of Sailor Moon Crystal had its ups and downs. The English subtitles continue to be clunky and awkward, and the first half of the episode saw a noticeable step down in animation quality (particularly during the moments around Chibiusa’s bedside), though it recovered by the end. Any early hopes Crystal could supplant Sailor Moon S have all but evaporated after a very promising start and a slightly disappointing middle to this season. Still, there’s hope that the final four episodes will up the stakes, bringing the drama, romance and thrills for which this fan-favorite storyline is known.
Can’t wait to see what awaits the Sailor Senshi in the Infinite Labyrinth? Check out iDigitalTimes’ Sailor Moon Crystal news and recaps in the meantime!
New episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal premiere every Monday on Hulu, Crunchyroll and Viz.com.
