Story wise, Sailor Moon R is broken up into two story arcs. The first is filler not related to the source material, and the second is the Black Moon arc which was very good. The first arc isn’t bad but well you can tell its filler. The sailor warriors recover their memories lost after the conclusion of the first season and gain new abilities. I think one of the things that make this storyline feel insignificant later on is that these new abilities are never used again later on.
The Black Moon arc though is where the series really gets interesting. We are immediately introduced to a new character, Chibi Usa who forces herself into Usagi's life. The story takes a darker tone than the previous season and the romance between Usagi and Mamoru is severely tested. I thought the villains were also very well written as they had much more complexity. This is not to say that it was perfect, there were some annoyances. Chibi Usa gets particularly irritating after a while. Much like season one, the action is a weak point. It’s boring and formulaic and not that interesting. Each episode the Sailors fight a new "droid" which have different powers, but are pretty much defeated in the same manner every time.
We get to see a lot more character growth out of all the girls. Each girl has at least two or three episodes devoted to them which was nice to see. Usagi continues to grow as a character and I found myself sharing her tears on occasion as she goes through rough times with Mamoru. Chibi Usa or Small Lady, I had a love hate relationship with. She did get on my nerves quite a bit and I found her to be very selfish and spoiled. I also got very annoyed with the constant fighting between her and Usagi. Much like I did in season 1 with Rei. She does change quite a lot by the end of the story, which was good to see. A lot of the supporting cast is noticeably absent from this season. Usagi's family rarely appears as well as other favorites such as Motoki and even Naru and Umino.
The animation felt like it was a little better compared to the first series. Perhaps I was watching a better copy or I had just gotten used to it. It’s still very dated looking though. The music is pretty much the same as well. The voice acting is strong all around.
Overall, if you enjoyed the first season of Sailor Moon then you are going to want to watch this as well. It is not quite as strong as its predecessor but it is still a rewarding experience. I recommend it highly.
