Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R: The Movie

Sailor Moon in general is and always has been about the power of love and friendship, which is adorable. In this movie, there is a certain undertone of homo attraction from Fiore towards Mamoru: Usagi's boyfriend. As the story goes, it's understood why everything is happening just the way that it is, although you might get a little confused at the very beginning. The animation is smooth, the art-style is beautiful, the characters are mostly very distinct from each other and the Sailor team completes each other's strengths an weaknesses well. I recommend this and think you'd definetely enjoy it if you're into shoujo.

If the season of Sailor Moon R was arguably better than the first, then the same is true of the Sailor Moon R movie for the R season itself, which improves on the season in a number of ways; namely, the focus seems to be primarily a remake of the Makaijuu arc, with the theme of an alien from outer space and the concept of a bizarre interpretation on love being the most direct influences. Please note that during this review I may not discuss certain plot elements in detail so as to avoid spoilers.

The Sailor Moon R movie's main focus is on Mamoru, and ... more specifically, the origin on how he got his roses and what they may symbolize on a greater scale. While Mamoru's roses did play a significant role in the first anime season, this movie shows how he got his roses and what it means and signifies to another to receive one, and the movie appears to tell a tale of a gift that is able to touch affections across time and space. Along the way to this message, there are many themes covered: the most prominent are loneliness, symbolism, and love, and each of them plays a key role in gleaning the movie's primary message, which may be less obvious than it seems. Fiore's loneliness in the movie is the primary and most striking aspect and is the primary motivation for the events of the movie, which seems to be fueled and manipulated by the jealousy of the evil Xenian Flower. Throughout, Fiore rants about not being betrayed by Mamoru and how everyone else is being deceived by Usagi, which as we know from the series, is wholly incorrect by our current perception. This creates an interesting dynamic that breaks up the usual dynamic (that of Sailor Moon being bailed out of trouble, by this time having Mamoru in a unique contextual situation with Fiore), which results in some much different scenes, such as Sailor Moon being forced to come to terms with her relationship with Mamoru. In a way, this scene also successfully draws parallels between itself and the first season, as they share many of the same themes, messages and even scenes that appear to be NEAR a 1:1 of those found in the series (such as Mamoru being impaled, Usagi's desire to not have more human life be put at risk for her sake, and others). While I am unsure if this was intentional, I believe this works well to reinforce that Usagi is in a similar yet different position to where she was in the first season; the Sailor Senshi also have their backstories before meeting Usagi expanded, and we see their past lives without her, in particular: their loneliness and how being with Usagi shaped them into the type of people they are, which was a really well thought-out addition. While the animation, music, and direction all got a massive step up, I believe the best aspect of the Sailor Moon R movie is none of these and is simply the fact that it feels much more special than a simple movie, likely because of how much care was put in to show the girls' bond and care for each other. Beyond a simple "season-finale"-esque moment, the series perfectly embodies the girls' relationship with each other very quickly and is very easy to become invested in, the same being true for Mamoru and Fiore despite his absence in the series up to this point. One of the most iconic scenes in my opinion is Usagi and Mamoru's decision to refer to each other as their family, which isn't just a sweet moment: it ties back into the core of the latter half of the first season, Mamoru's own struggle with loneliness and Usagi's desperate resolve to save him.

I believe that the Xenian Flower was a wonderful enemy as well for the movie: manipulative, controlling, and seemingly evil, it served perfectly well as a vehicle to drive Fiore's actions and emotional state without one of them overshadowing the other, and it can even be represented as a stand-in for his own conscience. It also works on a symbolic level beautifully, with flowers being an object of nurtured beauty and growth, which is wonderfully inverted.

Overall, the Sailor Moon R movie makes several welcome changes and improvements upon the original, and is a recommendation not simply for all of these elements, but for the fact the movie is enjoyable even without them, and feels right at home, setting a high standard for the anime to upkeep, which it no doubt will. 10/10.

Wow It is better than seasons. It is serious and sad. I never see it before, and it is beautiful. Fighting actions are better than seasons. It changed scenes too. I love the ending part because it made me to be interested, and part is sad and keeping to not give up until protect earth. It is good movie! I am not finished yet. I am on three of five seasons.