The third episode of the new season, ‘Act 28: Infinity 2: Ripples,’ picks up right where last week’s ended. After Hotaru heals Chibi Moon, she introduces herself before returning to the inner sanctum of Mugen Academy. Clearly struggling with fatigue and pain, Hotaru encounters Kaorinite and Professor Tomoe, whose insistence that they are devoted caretakers is all the proof we need that they are total jackholes. Hotaru tells Kaorinite to get stuffed and heads to bed. Ever the considerate dad, Tomoe then wakes up his ailing daughter in the middle of the night to give her a crystal amulet for protection.
Back at Crown Game Center, the girls and their kitties investigate the mysterious Sailor Guardians they encountered at Mugen. They even let Mamoru tag along and pretend to be useful! While Chibiusa fawns over Hotaru, Usagi seems unnerved by her decidedly un-childlike demeanor.
Kaorinite sketches out the villain agenda for the week, noting that the three talismans represent a threat to their evil aspirations. Mamoru has another prophetic dream, and broods handsomely in the window as Usagi and Chibiusa sleep nearby. Elsewhere, Haruka and Michiru discuss their own search for the talismans; the duo look fittingly windswept and interesting throughout.
The following day, Mamoru investigates Mugen Academy and Professor Tomoe at a bookstore, where he chats with Michiru. Outside, she offers him tickets to her upcoming violin performance. Unnoticed, Usagi watches their conversation nearby. Instead of launching into a fit of insecure jealousy (a character trait previous seasons of Crystal, and frankly the Sailor Moon franchise in general, have leaned on too heavily), she makes the perfectly logical assumption that the girl with the wavy turquoise hair looks an awful lot like that Sailor Senshi with the wavy turquoise hair from their last battle. Even better, instead of haranguing Mamoru for no reason, she runs to Crown to inform the girls. The handling of the scene nicely demonstrates how she’s grown and matured since first becoming Sailor Moon. On her way, Usagi runs into the charming Haruka, whom she asks point-blank about being a Sailor Senshi. Haruka laughs it off.
Later, Chibiusa celebrates becoming second grade class president with a big sundae, as the older girls fret about their upcoming high school entrance exams. Mako announces the next day is Rei’s birthday, but she is away doing some kind of shrine maiden training in the mountains. In a wonderful, funny scene, the girls visit Rei, each bringing a gift. Ami, true to form, brings a “Highest Level Workbook” for exams, eliciting groans from the others.
As the others chat, Rei takes Mako aside and reveals she also came to the retreat to spy on the Mugen training course happening nearby. The five girls look in on a judo class, only to be spotted by Haruka, who challenges Mako to a match, wiping the floor with her in record time. The girls protest, and Haruka insists, “Differences between the sexes shouldn’t matter,” then adds, “Do you take it for granted that women can’t beat men? Can you protect those precious to you with that mindset?” It’s a great scene (and a great message, especially after the first season of Crystal kinda tossed aside the girl-power mentality that made the original anime so endearing), it’s just over too quickly. It would have been nice to see the mighty Sailor Jupiter give Haruka a real contest.
Later that night, Mako can’t sleep for seething about her loss to Haruka. She turns to find Rei, watching a creepy bonfire from the window. Eudial of the Witches 5 runs the show, urging the Mugen students to “Devote your souls and bodies to our Master Pharaoh 90.” Rei and Mako dash through the woods and suit up to take on Eudial. (Thankfully, the interminable transformation sequences of last week’s episode are not repeated.) Mako eats her second slice of humble pie for the day as Sailors Moon, Venus and Mercury swoop in to put an end to the fight. The remaining Witches 4 peer down disdainfully at the site of their comrade’s defeat before vanishing.
Sailor Uranus appears after the battle, again sporting her Tuxedo Mask-inspired facewear. Sailor Moon chases her, but the mysterious warrior runs “like the wind.” (Funny, that.) Just when it seems she’s gotten away, Uranus calls down from a nearby tree to tell Sailor Moon not to get involved with the Death Busters or Mugen Academy. Cheekily, Uranus calls her odango atama, or bun-head, which is one of Mamoru’s pet names for Usagi. To close the episode, Uranus hops down from the tree and gives a very startled Sailor Moon a big ol’ smooch on the lips. The poor girl gets more unsolicited kissing than the damn Blarney Stone.
So far, Season 3 of Sailor Moon Crystal has done a far better job than its predecessors of showing the relationships between the girls and Usagi's maturation, rather than simply telling viewers about these things. Rei and Mako’s rapport in the mountains, which sees them quietly taking on an enforcer role while the other girls sleep, is particularly interesting. Allowing the Senshi to act independently opens up a lot more interesting storytelling possibilities, and if the quality of this season continues to hold strong, it could emerge as the definitive telling of the ‘Infinity’ storyline. This is really good stuff, and it keeps getting better.
New episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal premiere every Monday on Hulu, Crunchyroll and Viz.com.
What did you think of the latest episode? Do you think Sailor Moon Crystal could ever top the manga or the original anime? Let us know in the comments!
