SuperS was a weird season, one that I couldn't fully vibe with, and I think a lot of people feel the same. Thankfully, Sailor Moon Stars is a fantastic return to form for the anime, even if it plays things a bit too safe.
Sailor Moon Stars starts off with a six-episode arc about the return of Nehellenia to get revenge on Usagi by kidnapping Mamoru, which in turn threatens to erase Chibiusa from reality. It's a dramatic and high stakes conflict that brings back the Outer Guardians, with a dark tone that manages to capture the same magic that S had. I really love so much from the Nehellenia arc, from the brisk pacing, to the several dramatic transformations, to the crushing brutality of Nehellenia's traps and attacks, to the emotional rollercoaster that is its final episode. But what solidifies this as one of the best storylines in the whole anime is the character work, since halfway through Nehellenia splits up the cast into unlikely pairings. Sailor Moon rarely deviates from the same character combinations, so this was an incredible breath of fresh air that allowed for some great moments of development and bonding. Moments like Pluto and Minako's conflict over what makes a leader, Ami's defensive nature clashing with Haruka's more aggressive nature, and Makoto serving as Usagi's human shield were all fantastic, and I loved seeing the Senshi and Outers gain more respect for each other throughout the course of the arc. It's truly fantastic stuff.
Once Nehellenia is dealt with, we can get into the actual meat of the season, which focuses on the evil Sailor Galaxia. She, and her empire Shadow Galactica, conquer planets by stealing Star Seeds, and she's got her sights set on Earth. Meanwhile, a group of genderbending aliens (who are also Sailor Guardians) called the Starlights are also on Earth and are looking for their princess after their planet was attacked by Galaxia. It's a pretty solid storyline with a lot of great ideas going for it, particularly the Senshi getting to fight evil Sailor Guardians, the Starlights continuing Haruka and Fish's trend of completely destroying gender norms, and the sheer galactic scale of the whole conflict. While I initially feared the Starlights would come off as simple HaruMi clones, I did end up really enjoying their role in this season, even if some were better than others (Seiya was awesome, Taiki kinda sucks). And the villains are really solid too. Galaxia isn't as fleshed out as Nehellenia, but the lore regarding her character is great and I found her to be a very terrifying and bleak antagonist. I also really loved a lot of the side villains, with Iron Mouse being absolutely hysterical and Tin Nyanko being such a lovably hateable asshole. But then there's Siren and Crow, who are easily two of my favorites in the series. They have a dynamic so charming that I'd genuinely like to see a spinoff about the two of them going on missions. It's also worth noting that this whole storyline is only a measly 28 episodes, which makes for one of the best-paced arcs in the anime as well.
But while the plot is already pretty solid, it's actually the character work that really blew me away. Once the Nehellenia arc, Mamoru and Chibiusa are both written out of the series, the former with a clumsy plane crash. While I'm mixed on Chibiusa leaving (more on that later), this more "back to basics" approach means the show can focus solely on the Sailor Guardians, and it's great! We get way more cute slice of life interactions between the Senshi, Usagi and Luna get the most heart-to-heart scenes since Season 1, and the Outers show up periodically causing them to actually feel like a part of the world of Sailor Moon compared to their radio silence in SuperS. It also helps the cast is now in high school, so Stars also spends a decent chunk of its episodes focusing on this new environment and the hijinks that the Senshi get involved in there. But what really makes the slice of life elements in Stars work for me is just how damn funny this season is. Stars might not be quite as funny as the majority of the Eudial arc in S, but it's definitely up there, with way more creative and consistent humor than even the comedy-focused SuperS. The slice of life elements of Sailor Moon have always been an integral part of the anime for me, so it really helps a season more full when it manages to be enjoyable and fun like it is in Stars.
However, I do have one big complaint with Sailor Stars, and your enjoyment of the season will depend on how much it's an issue for you. SuperS was criticized for a lot, so Stars feels like a reactionary attempt to fix the issues with SuperS and capture the magic of the first three seasons. In that way, it's like the Rise Of Skywalker of Sailor Moon. Some of these attempts at winning back the crowd were great, like Nehelenia getting an arc based on the manga, the Outers returning, and putting Mamoru out of the picture for a bit. On the other hand, Stars ends up repeating several plot points from previous seasons (the Senshi dying, hunt for a princess, Seiya acting like Season 1 Mamoru), which causes it to come across as a bit unoriginal. But by far the worst instance of this is the debut of Chibi-Chibi, a replacement for Chibiusa who is not only introduced in the exact same fashion, but is worse in every single way. Chibiusa was pretty widely hated for her brattiness, so she got replaced by a literal baby who can barely speak with a sickeningly sweet personality. Where Chibiusa was a complex character with great development and a compelling arc about dealing with trauma, Chibi-Chibi is a blank slate and a plot device, and not to mention incredibly annoying. I can let all the unoriginal elements slide since the season was so fun and well-executed, but Chibi-Chibi would've been so close to ruining the whole season if Siren & Crow weren't there to keep things entertaining.
Highlights:
For Love (Episode 5): While both of the episodes in which the cast is split up are great, I think For Love is still the better of the two. Rei and Michiru competing over their predictive powers was great, Pluto and Minako together was a ton of fun, and Chibiusa and Hotaru managing to be the only ones to make it to Nehellenia was a very great ending. But the highlight was easily Makoto defending Usagi, quite possibly the character's finest moment.
Moon Power Of Love (Episode 6): What a phenomenal episode to end off the Nehellenia arc, absolutely crammed with legendary moments. There's finally getting to see Sailor Saturn fight, Chibiusa stopping Saturn from sacrificing herself, Chibiusa's heartwrenching disappearance, and the reveal of Nehellenia's true backstory. Everything gets wrapped up in a satisfying, if a bit neat, ending, and the voice actors sell the hell out of the whole thing.
Seiya And Usagi's Heart-Pounding Date (Episode 15): I actually really like Seiya and Usagi's dynamic this season so the episodes where they go on dates together tend to be really fun. But even with all the perfectly-timed comedic gags, the highlight of this episode in particular was actual Iron Mouse. Her panicked attempts at running away from death at Galaxia's hands was just perfect black comedy, with probably my favorite usage of the Funeral March in any show ever.
A Night Alone Together (Episode 18): Easily the funniest episode of Stars, and one of the funniest episodes of Sailor Moon period, A Night Alone Together shows what happens when you cram 12 different Sailor Guardians in the same room. The best way to illustrate how good this episode is to just list a bunch of hilarious moments, like the cockroach freakout, the towel incident, HaruMi transforming on a table, Siren being called an airhead, Usagi struggling to move with her wings, the frozen pizza toss, and Usagi trying to find a place to transform without being spotted. Even Chibi-Chibi made me chuckle this episode, it's that funny.
Invitation To Terror (Episode 22): The villain deaths have really been crushing me this season, Galaxia killing Siren in front of Crow was so painful because both of them deserved so much better! Outside of that, though, this episode also had a very fun fight inside of a plane as well as the Starlights and Senshi finally revealing their true identities to each other in an overall fantastic second half.
Princess Kakyuu Perishes (Episode 29): And thus begins the most heartwrenching final stretch of episodes in all of Sailor Moon, really saving the best for last. There was a bit of a bittersweet aura to Princess Kakyuu Perishes, especially with that great extended performance of the Starlights' performance. But then shit hits the fan, as Kakyuu dies, Tin Nyanko is predictably betrayed, and Galaxia finally begins her assault on Earth. Things just keep getting bleaker and bleaker from here on out.
Countdown To Destruction (Episode 30): So I know that the Senshi dying has been done already, but that doesn't make Countdown To Destruction all the less devastating. If anything, Rei's speech to Usagi might even be more heartwrenching. And of course, Galaxia only twists the knife by subsequently revealing to Usagi that Mamoru is dead too. The whole final stretch has this great sense of crushing hopelessness, and this episode is probably the most hopeless.
Ruler Of The Galaxy (Episode 31): While it really sucks that the Outer Guardians' plans all added up to pretty much nothing in the episode, I like Ruler Of The Galaxy for the sheer fact that we finally get to focus on the Outer Guardians for the first time since S. Saturn and Pluto get so much screentime, and at time, Haruka and Michiru's face-heel turn was a pretty shocking and fun twist.
Usagi's Love (Episode 34): I'm not a fan of Galaxia having been possessed the whole time, I much preferred the idea of her just simply being a power-hungry conquerer. However, that doesn't mean I didn't find this finale great in pretty much every other way. We got a flying sword fight between Galaxia and Usagi, everyone manages to get brought back to life, and the final few minutes wrap up the show pretty much perfectly.
Overall, while Chibi-Chibi tried her damned hardest to make me like it less, I did actually really love Stars and think it's one of the best seasons of the series. It may be a bit unoriginal, but when the character interactions and comedy are some of the strongest in the series, the pacing is pretty much perfect, the villains are a ton of fun, and the first and last acts make for some of the best stretches of episodes in the whole anime, it's hard for me to complain too much. Sailor Stars is a great season, and a suitably high stakes and satisfying ending for the anime.
4/5 Stars
Sailor Moon is a lengthy show with a lot of characters, episodes, and story arcs, so let's go over some of my rankings and personal favorites of the anime:
Ranking The Seasons
- S: S is hands down my favorite season of Sailor Moon and it's not even close. I love the Outer Senshi, I love the antagonists, I love how well-paced and well thought-out the story is, I love the balance of comedy and drama, it's just all so good.
- Stars: While not super original and Chibi-Chibi sucks, Stars is just really consistently strong. The character interactions and comedy is fantastic, the pacing is tight, the villains are great, and the Nehellenia arc is easily a series highlight,
- R: Chibiusa is a bit annoying here, but I found most of R to be an improvement on the first season. The Makai Tree arc is really funny and gives more screentime to a lot of the side characters, the final story arc makes for a tense climax, and the villains are categorically more interesting and fleshed-out.
- Classic: The first season of Sailor Moon takes a bit of time to get going, but once most of the team is assembled, Sailor Moon Classic becomes an incredibly fun time for much of its second half.
- SuperS: There are parts of SuperS I like, particularly the antagonists, but between Helios, the general lack of plot progression for most of the season, and the uncomfortable elements like the sexual assault metaphor, this is easily the worst one.
Ranking The Arcs
- Hotaru Arc (S: Episodes 23-38)
- Nehellenia Arc (Stars: Episodes 1-6)
- Talismans Arc (S: Episodes 1-22)
- Zoisite/Kunzite Arc (Classic: Episodes 25-46)
- Future Arc (R: Episodes 29-42)
- Makai Tree Arc (R: Episodes 1-13)
- Starlights Arc (Stars: Episodes 7-34)
- Nehellenia/Quartet Arc (SuperS: Episodes 25-39)
- Rubeus Arc (R: Episodes 14-28)
- Amazon Trio Arc (SuperS: Episodes 1-22)
- Jadeite/Nephrite Arc (Classic: Episodes 1-24)
- R's recap episode (R: Episode 43)
These are the final episodes for all the aforementioned arcs, but I bolded the actual season-ending finales.
- Dreams Forever: Fill The Heavens With Light (Nehellenia/Quartet)
- Moon Power Of Love: The Nightmare Ends (Nehellenia)
- Mirror Of Dreams: The Amazon's Last Stage (Amazon Trio)
- Defeat Rubeus: The Battle In Space (Rubeus)
- Usagi's Eternal Wish: A Brand New Life (Zoisite/Kunzite)
- Usagi's Love: The Moonlight Illuminates The Galaxy (Starlights)
- The Final Between Light And Dark: Pledge Of Love For The Future (Future)
- Naru's Tears: Nephrite Dies For Love (Jadeite/Nephrite)
- True Love Awakens: The Makai Tree's Secret (Makai Tree)
- The Holy Grail's Mystical Power: Moon's Double Transformation (Talismans)
- A Guardian's Realization: Strength Lies Within A Pure Heart (Hotaru)
- Usagi And The Girls' Resolve: Prelude To A New Battle (R)
Top 5 Favorite Characters
- Minako - Super charming and funny, but has some great dramatic material too, all of her episodes are fantastic
- Ami - Probably the character I have most in common with, admirable sense of empathy
- Hotaru - Such a tragic character in S who you really want things to get better for, very fun in Stars
- Artemis - An absolute treasure who deserves so much better
- Chibiusa - Bad first impression but a very fleshed-out and fascinating character who I came to love
- ChibiChibi - Literally the worst possible replacement for Chibiusa we could've gotten
- Taiki - They're kinda just a jerk
- Helios - Such a creep...
- Jadeite - Who is this again?
- Witches 3 - Everyone after Mimete got hardly any screentime or depth
Favorite Villains Per Season
- Classic: Zoisite, I guess? The Shittenou was pretty boring.
- R: Esmeraude, if anything because of that laugh.
- S: Eudial is my favorite villain of the series for being hilarious and genuinely competent. Honorable mention goes to Tomoe, but he's more of a tragic figure than an actual villain.
- SuperS: Fish's Eye for their gender fluidity and redemption arc, and Nehellenia for her depth, backstory, and sheer unrelenting cruelty
- Stars: This should be pretty obvious by now but I adore Siren & Crow. They have a great dynamic and I love how they're only villains out of fear, it makes their deaths all the more heartwrenching
Favorite Ship: SirenXCrow, duh
Favorite Episode: The Shining Shooting Star: Saturn And The Messiah
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