Sailor Moon Crystal: Act 2 - Ami, Sailor Mercury - Review 

Sailor Moon: Crystal - "Act 2: Ami, Sailor Mercury" Review

For those who still think Sailor Moon: Crystal is a rehash of the 90’s series, rest assured that this is not a play-by-play of the old show. This week’s episode is proof of that, as it discards the filler from the original Sailor Moon and immediately introduces a brand new Sailor

"Act 2: Ami - Sailor Mercury" focuses on Ami Mizuno, a transfer student to Usagi’s school who is not yet aware that she is really Sailor Mercury, guardian of love and intelligence.  Unlike Usagi (who is dumb as a brick), Ami’s IQ is off the charts, which has made her somewhat of an outcast amongst her peers. Naturally this doesn’t stop the kind-hearted Usagi from making friends with her, and when the forces of evil show up to steal more human energy (and try to make mincemeat out of Sailor Moon while they’re at it), it’s Ami’s concern for Usagi that reveals her special powers.

Much of this episode focuses on establishing Ami’s role as the brains of the Sailor Guardians: she’s the best student in school, she studies hard even during breaks, and she’s the star pupil at a nearby computer lab (which is actually a front for a monster stealing people’s energy via computer discs, as Ami and Usagi later find out). The focus on Ami\'s intellect is a nice way of establishing her identity and importance to the story, and I like that she seems a bit more grounded and relatable than her 90’s counterpart, who always struck me as a bit...well, boring.

Though the majority of Act 2 focuses on Ami, Usagi also continues to evolve, gaining a new power in the form of a transformative pen. This ability to change the way she looks is a nice addition to her powers, especially given how much I hate that one of her “abilities” is ultrasonic waves created whenever she whines and cries. Having a magic pen is not only more useful than sobbing at her enemies (which doesn\'t even work in this episode), but is a lot more impressive.

Meanwhile we’re also introduced to the maleficent Queen Beryl, a villain who should be very familiar to old-school Sailor Moon fans. Queen Beryl\'s purpose was always a mystery to me back in the day, due to DIC\'s muddled English translation. Luckily, the new translation makes her motivation for gathering human energy much more clear, which in turn makes her look much more dangerous. Unfortunately, her henchman Jedite (the mysterious villain from Act 1) continues to look weak, since the monsters he summons keep failing. Tuxedo Mask also doesn’t do much in the series so far; he only appears to either tease Usagi or spout platitudes at her alter-ego Sailor Moon.

Luckily the Sailor Guardians look incredibly strong in this episode, and I love Mercury’s new transformation sequence, which is fun to watch thanks to the beautiful dancing water spouts that accompany her change into a magical sailor suit. Better yet, the lame Mercury Bubble Blast from the 90\'s has been replaced by the much cooler Mercury Aqua Mist, which allows Ami to surround her enemies in a mist made from whirling aqua discs. Speaking of better powers, I also like the animation for Sailor Moon’s Moon Tiara Boomrang, which looks a lot deadlier than it used to. With better and deadlier-looking powers, it\'s easy to believe that these girls are truly guardians of the galaxy.

Though this episode is strong overall, I do have a couple small complaints. First is the inconsistency in the animation. There are times when Crystal looks absolutely lovely, and other times when Toei looks like they drew the characters on the cheap. The result is a show that is incredibly jarring to look at, and it ruined some of Act 2’s more dramatic moments for me.  I’m also still pretty disappointed with the music, which doesn’t add any excitement whatsoever to the show. Hopefully both the animation quality and music will improve in future episodes.

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Act 2: Ami - Sailor Mercury wastes no time introducing new characters and powers, and I\'m happy it doesn’t bother with unnessarary fillers to stretch out the show. Though I admit I miss some of the silly hijinks that used to accompany the series, overall I think the more serious tone will keep the story and action going at a much better pace.

Sailor Moon: Crystal airs every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month on Hulu. It also airs on Crunchyroll.

Meghan Sullivan is a database editor at IGN, and loves Sailor Moon and RPGs . You can follow her on Twitter at @Meghan_IGN and IGN at Meghan-IGN.

"Act 2: Ami - Sailor Mercury" introduces a smart new Sailor Guardian, and a new and deadly opponent.  RT

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