This review is, like the one of the first season, focused on the structure, aesthetics and characters of the show, if you just want to now how I rate this season jump to the conclusion at the end. (but for real, don´t do that) As always, this review is highly subjective, so feel free to disagree. Also I tried to write as spoiler-free as possible. (for an again nearly thirty years old anime, but whatever)
Structure: Before I go into the nitty-gritty stuff, I have to address that this season is divided into two story-arcs. The first one is about thirteen episodes long and considered filler. Whereas the second arc is an adaptation of the Sailor Moon manga. (like the first series) So I will start with looking into the filler-arc.
The filler-arc has a episodic monster of the week structure. This structure is pretty much the same as season ones. So expect these episodes to be dividable into to halves. Where the first half consists mainly of a a mixture of slice of life elements and some scenes with the main antagonists of the arc. The second halves are where the action scenes come into play. (so pretty much like season one) The main catch of this arc is that the antagonists interact a lot with the main characters during the slice of life parts, which consist pretty much exclusively of comedy and very, very slight elements of drama. So after looking on how individual episodes are structured, let´s take a look on the arc as a whole. The first few episodes are basically reintroduction the main cast while simultaneously dealing with the effects of season ones ending. Whereas the final episodes of the arc are more focused on the main plot of the arc. Speaking of plot. It´s super simplistic and suffers from being filler so it can´t do anything important with the main cast. So yeah. don´t expect to much. And with that being said, I will go to the second and main story-arc of this season.
The main-arc is structured like the first season, for the most part that is. So expect these episodes to start with slice of life parts, but this time with actual drama elements (and pretty well written dramatic moments imo) on top of the usual comedy. Also a lot of character interactions. The second half is like before reserved for the action scenes. This pretty strict episodic structure is present for roundabout the first half of the season. Part of the reason for this are the minor antagonists, who get thrown into the spotlight and dealt with for around one to three episodes each. But more about them later. After this first half and when the main plot also becomes the main focus. And most of the slice of life elements get consequently abandoned together with the strict episodic structure for the sake of the story. Another important note is that this season does mirror a lot of plot elements used in season one. (has anybody addressed this tough? I feel like it should have been talked about. Message me if you should know anything about this or feel like it. I mean I could research on my own but nah.) So that’s it as far as structure goes.
Aesthetics: So this is where the least things changed compared to season one. The music and the use of it is still great. Still a lot of reused sequences. Still beautifully drawn backgrounds. Even though I would argue that season one has the upper hand in this regard, if I look for example at the overall aesthetics surround the villains. But on the hand, there are some improvements on the technical side in season 2. The character and demon designs are as expressive as season ones. Probably even a more colorful. Literally and figuratively. Speaking of characters~
Characters: I´ll start with the antagonists of the filler arc. They are, if one does consider the simplistic plot, not that bad as antagonists. They do have clear defined needs and act accordingly. For the most part at least. They do have a major I´ll call it character convenience, which doesn’t really make sense. But yeah. Enough with the filler. In the main story, a new character joins the main cast. A child. One can argue that this child can be quite annoying, but the behavior of this child does make sense all things considered. At least this is what I think. And this child does create new and very interesting character dynamics. Which I see as one of the if not the most fun and interesting parts of Sailor Moon. Another important part of Sailor Moon are of course the minor antagonists. These are just like in the first season well written characters and not just steppingstones, evil for the sake of being evil. (with some exceptions of course) This season also does a good job in keeping some of the minor antagonists around and creating interesting character dynamics between them. Nothing really exceptional, but a really nice touch. Looking at the main cast the only thing I want to highlight is the way the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru is handled. This is the in my opinion most interesting part of this season, as it adds a good portion of drama to the series. I think I have said everything I wanted to, so here comes the conclusion.
Conclusion:
Story: Decent 6/10
This was a pretty tough one. I think the story was over all a bit weaker than season one as far as build up, intensity and to some degree the weight of some scenes go. I think this becomes clear when comparing one of the many mirrored plot elements with the OG one. (compare Endymion/Black Lady) But to name a positive development this season has less episodes where nothing happens and isn’t as repetitive as season one. All in all I think this season lacks some exceptional moments season one had, to be on par with or maybe even better than season one.
Art: Mediocre 5/10
Same as season one. Better production makes up for the more appealing backgrounds and some of the iconic animations season one had.
Sound: Great 9/10
Same as season one. Iconic soundtracks, great use of them and a great opening song.
Characters Good 7/10
As in season one great character designs. The main characters still have their sometimes over the top personality quirks and can be quite annoying at times. The main cast didn’t really change. And the one change that was made really created a lot of good character interactions. The antagonists where actual characters, even if I think season ones antagonists where overall more enjoyable and handled in a more mature way. And even the filler antagonists are at least somewhat interesting. So that’s always appreciated. The relationship between Usagi and Mamoru becomes even more important and is pretty well written overall.
Sooo~~
27/40--->
rounded up Total Score 7/10
I would say Sailor Moon R is a slightly worse but still good second Season of an good anime. But as always feel free to disagree. Feedback is appreciated. As a reward attentive readers can keep any orthographical and grammatical error they find. And don’t take these scores to serious, they are the least important part of this review.
Greetings,
Ilieas
