Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon Act 38 Review

 

The final act of the third arc beings with the lowering of the Silence Glaive and everything on Earth beginning to die. Mamoru and Haruka are contrasted one last time, tying back to the beginning of the arc, as both are overwhelmed in despair at Usagi's death, both wishing they could have protected her. Chibi-Moon holds closer to her father. Uranus admits that her princess was the one she wanted to protect, as scenes of the two of them through the arc play through her mind.

It's a pretty sweet show of their devotions to her.

It cuts to all the Senshi in despair as the Tau Nebula seems to draw near, that strange otherworldly galaxy dying out slowly connected to the feelings of imminent death. Chibi-Moon quietly looking up pleads "Sailor Saturn..." hoping that her friend Hotaru is somewhere within that strange Senshi of Death. 

However from within Pharaoh 90, a glowing orb emerges and to everyone's shock Super Sailor Moon appears.

So this is another example of Naoko's particular writing style. Thematically this arc is all about death and rebirth. It thematically makes sense for Super Sailor Moon to appear again, being "reborn", especially given events later this act. With that said it's not really explained how this happened and she wasn't just assimilated. Presumably it's because of the Silver Crystal protecting her or something but nothing like that is said or shown or even really implied. 

In a strange moment, Super Sailor Moon's re-appearance causes all the other Senshi to transform into their super forms as well...while strange on the surface I think I understand the idea. The Senshi were unified in their despair over Sailor Moon's death, with Uranus' despair being used as a symbol for how their hearts were aligned. Because this Super Form comes about via the unity of their hearts, this is meant to show the Guardian Senshi and Outer Senshi truly don't have a division between their hearts anymore, and are all on the same side and can all feel their power of each others hearts within theirs. It's a little bit nebulous and could have been shown clearer, but like Chibi-Moon's, it's not a deus ex machina because it's not actually used to solve a problem. At best, it's character development shown through a soft magic system and, at worst, it's fanservice.

Pharaoh 90 tries to run away from Sailor Saturn back to the Tau Nebula. Sailor Saturn being a heroine from a Shojo Manga, and a generally wholesome type character of course responds 

...I freaking love Saturn. 

Saturn proclaims she's the guide of death and will lead Pharaoh 90 to a world of void and silence. Moon and the rest of the Senshi are shocked as Saturn seems to be going in with him. However Saturn tells them there is no need to despair as with the coming of death, there is rebirth, with the coming of the end, there is hope proclaiming to Super Sailor Moon it is Usagi herself who brings about those things, contrasting the two of them as a dichotomy. Saturn continues by saying that because Super Sailor Moon released the power of the Silver Crystal and the Holy Grail, it's now possible to save the planet as Saturn is the one who brings about death so rebirth may come. The implication I think is that while death was inevitable, Usagi trusting in it demonstrated by her resurrection and awakening of Sailor Saturn, allows for rebirth.

Saturn calls out to Pluto and calls upon her and asks her to use her spacetime powers to seal off Saturn and Pharaoh 90 into the other dimension. That way Saturn can fulfill her duty and lower the glaive, releasing the silence, without it reaching the main dimension. Pluto doesn't want too but Saturn implores and Pluto invokes the god Chronos to seal off the Tau dimension, and Saturn along with it.

She takes it well

It comes a little bit out of nowhere. While I think Naoko's art here is great, Pluto is suddenly given a large amount of plot significance and connection to Saturn that comes out of nowhere. I get the idea that Saturn pulled Pharaoh 90 back into the Tau dimension so she could fulfill her duty, stop Pharaoh 90, while not killing everyone in the main world. But the need to seal off dimensions sequence feels like it could have been handled a bit more naturally.

Saturn's words echo in Usagi's mind as she channels her future self, Neo-Queen Serenity resurrecting everyone, Mamoru proclaiming Usagi to be the true messiah afterall. With the resurrection of everyone, the Senshi hear the cries of a baby revealed to be Hotaru reincarnated. The Outer Senshi decide to take responsibility for her and raise her.

You think they ever sit down to eat and it comes up that they wanted to kill her?

Mamoru calling Serenity the messiah is a furthering the theme demonstrated in the first arc when Usagi cried out the Silver Crystal and it healed all the people of Earth, an exaltation of a normal girl like Usagi as being capable of virtue such as to become savior of the world through her love. Likewise the theme of death and rebirth is so evident it hardly needs to be explained. Hotaru who was dead first metaphorically, nigh-literally, then actually literally is reborn and through her sacrifice is given a new greater life. 

The Outer Senshi show the Guardians the infant Hotaru, much to Chibiusa's shock, mentioning they will raise her as her parents, and it is time for them to leave all mysteriously and dramatically. Wouldn't be the Outer Senshi if they could do anything un-dramatically, normally, even something as mundane as saying goodbye.

Chibi-Moon asks where they're going and Uranus answers all dramatically "maybe close by, maybe far away." basically saying nothing. I get it's poetic the way it refers to how space for a Sailor Senshi can seem so small or big whether you measure by the measurement of us mortals or by the immensity of the cosmos or that space between our hearts, but literally that statement says nothing whatsoever. Chibi-Moon asks will they ever see them again and Pluto gives a far more sensible answer that of course they will see each other again because they're allies. Sailor Neptune tells Chibi-Moon that they loved her, their little princess and gives Chibi-Moon her mirror as promise of their meeting each other, saying she can use it to see herself grow stronger and more beautiful.

It's all very sweet and touching. If you're wondering why all the emphasis on Chibiusa, we're transitioning to the Dream Arc, aka the Chibiusa arc. The Outer Senshi's promise will have more meaning in that arc.

The Outer Senshi depart in the most over the top manner possible, by teleporting away to their helicopters where they leave just as the Inner Senshi get there, Sailor Moon thinking she's also sure they will meet again.

The emotional conflict of the entire arc has been the relation between the Guardian Senshi, and the Outer Senshi, the emotional gap between them formed by duty and distance and age and circumstance. The major emotional developments in the arc are when the characters grow in understanding and a unity of their hearts, and when they all attain their super forms I believe that was supposed to be the emotional climax, a demonstration of the unity of their hearts. If so then this moment which is the last moment really of the third arc is a conclusion of the emotional journey of the two groups as they have come together and promise to do so again. 

One timeskip later we get the introduction for the Dream Arc. Chibi-Moon writes a letter to her parents in the future telling them she's become an elegant Sailor Senshi and will return to the future on April First. I don't really see how this makes sense, given she could just return to the moment after she left. There's also a newspaper talking about a total solar eclipse, the greatest cosmic event of the century, and if you have any knowledge of how these plots tend to go that means it's the inciting incident for the next arc.

We cut to the Guardian Senshi who are excited and celebrating getting into High School, particularly Usagi who is admiring her Juuban High School uniform and while Rei is still at TA, Minako has now joined the other's high school. 

The girls all roast Usagi, being unable to believe she passed the entrance exam. Chibiusa wonders if it was the power of the Silver Crystal that did it. All except Minako who embraces Usagi proclaiming that they can not lament their failures together and be failing buddies, making the bunny cry; though either from continual mockery or joy is unclear. The girls all express what they want to do now that they're in high school, their dreams you could say; Minako is going to join the volleyball club and go to idol auditions on the weekends. Makoto is going to join the cooking club. Ami is going to join the computer club and Rei the archery club. Usagi wants to join the manga club so she can read more manga (like the reader right now.)

Even though they're being mean to poor bunny, it's still a pretty cute funny scene, especially Minako and Chibiusa's reactions. It also sets up the major theme of the Dream Arc. 

Mamoru shows up, now a freshman at KO Medical School, the college Ami wants to get into. The Senshi realize today is the day Chibiusa goes back home and ask her to come back and visit them, telling her that she can stay with them anytime and give her their goodbyes. Usagi, Mamoru, and Chibiusa go to the park for Chibiusa to go to the future, Chibiusa asking, to Mamoru's chagrin, if he can carry her there.

Usagi and Mamoru do the concerned parents routine, asking Chibiusa if she has everything, going over all the things she needs in the future. Diana gives an adorable polite goodbye with Mamoru telling Diana to come back soon. It's revealed that humorously Luna and Artemis are doing the crying parents routine over Diana leaving. Usagi asks if they have Luna-P, commenting that she hasn't seen it in a while and Chibiusa confirms she has it in her pack, a cute little reference to Naoko not really including it in the story or any drawing since the second arc.

There, they see that a large crowd has gathered over the eclipse. We get some exposition about eclipses in general for readers that don't know what an eclipse is and exposition that this particular one comes once in a thousand years and that the "new moon will completely cover up the Sun." ...symbolism. If you've read the new arc but the new moon, the new character related to the Moon associated will overtake the character associated with the Sun. There's also a bit of pun humor hard to translate into English.

The eclipse begins and the sky grows dark. Chibiusa hears a clear bell sound others don't seem to hear and than she and Usagi hear a voice calling for them to "help me." They turn around to find the voice belongs too...

An ethereal pegasus. Wasn't there a crowd of people nearby? This is the start of something the dream arc is known for, things getting a bit more esoteric and surreal than usual, much like a dream. How you feel about the Dream Arc seems at least partially determined by how much you like or dislike that.

The pegasus calls out for the "young maiden" to help him before fading away. Usagi, Chibiusa, and Diana all get shocked faces before Usagi and Chibiusa begin arguing over who he was referring to prompting an adorable tiny exasperated head drop from Diana. Mamoru saw the pegasus too but their talking about the pegasus is cut short by the eclipse reaching it's zenith truly beginning the Dream Arc. 

Act 38 is hard to talk about holistically as the last third is basically the start of a completely different story. Really this act is comprised of thirds; the conclusion to the battle with Pharaoh 90, the epilogue with the departure of the Outer Senshi, and the prologue to the Dream Arc.

The first third probably has the best parts of the act with the dramatic paralleling of Mamoru and Haruka, Sailor Saturn's hilariously creepy proclamation of loving the agony in the moment before death, and the Senshi all getting their super forms as a demonstration of the unity of their hearts. On the other hand it also has the biggest writing troubles with the forced tension of Pharaoh 90 suddenly being depicted as a threat when Sailor Saturn was easily beating it last act and the slightly stiff feeling drama about Pluto sealing off the Tau dimension. I think it's clear Naoko was thinking that if the act didn't have any sweeping drama, the act would feel anti-climactic as the end to the Mugen arc, a mindset I think she improves dramatically by the time of the Stars arc. 

The second and third sections are obviously both a lot softer being an epilogue and a prologue respectively, and Naoko does a good job of filling both, especially the last third with cutesy wholesome parts. The second third I think is pretty good as a conclusion to the emotional arc of the Mugen Arc, the disunity between the Guardians and the Outers, though I think the symbolism could have been made more apparent.

The prologue of the dream arc is pretty good, filling the audience with mystery; who is this ethereal pegasus and which of Usagi and Chibiusa does he need the aid off? What is the relevance of the mysterious eclipse? I think it's pretty good funny and cute writing from Naoko with things like Chibiusa and Diana's goodbye, Diana's being all polite, the reference to Luna-P, the cute way Usagi, Mamoru as well as Luna and Artemis say their goodbye to their daughters. It also starts the more ethereal and even mildly surrealist feel of the Dream Arc which is a bug or a feature depending on who you ask.

Act 38 is kind of the opposite of Act 37 to me. Act 37 focused on one thing and did it exceptionally well but didn't have a lot of varieties of the types of goodness to it. Act 38 doesn't do anything as well the emergence of Sailor Saturn, all three of its parts are only good and not great, but it does have a large variety of types of goodness from drama to cuteness to funny to emotional spiritual resonance. In that way I think it really can be seen as the shift from the Mugen Arc to the Dream Arc, an intense and arguably darker arc focused on evoking the grandeur of spiritual ideas to an arc with some more comedic elements and with a wider variety of types of appeal.