The Best Episodes of Toei Sailor Moon

 Recently I completed re-watching the Toei Sailor Moon, this making it I believe the fifth time I watched the series completely. To mark this event I wanted to review the series. Toei Sailor Moon is a series that draws more polarizing feelings from me then any series: The only series who's best matches the Sailor Moon Manga, my favorite series of all series, yet who's worst is painful to me in a way few other series can match. As such I thought I'd make three blogs to express my feelings about this series: one to go over what I don't like about the series, one to go over what I like about this series, and then finally one to express my feelings towards the series as a whole.

After watching the series I attempted to rank the 200 episodes. It was a difficult experience, and many episodes were interchangeable, but a general picture began to develop. Of those 200 episodes, there were around 20 episodes or 10% of the series I had negative feelings towards. There were around 30 episodes I felt mixed or neutral on. There was around 120 episodes, the meat of the show, that I liked divided roughly evenly between episodes I liked moderately and episodes I liked a lot. Finally there was around 30 episodes I fully loved. 

That means that around 90 episodes, or almost half the entire series are episodes I either really liked or outright loved. Most of the time if I saw two episodes, one of them was an episode that I thoroughly enjoyed myself on. For a 200 episode series that's amazing for me. And it's not like the other was usually negative. 150 episodes I enjoyed, not even overall mixed or neutral, but I overall enjoyed. Given how I tend to feel neutral about most things, that's a pretty huge margin. 3 out of every 4 eps I enjoyed and most of the rest were ones that I could take or leave. 

I'll be honest when I go back and rewatch, it does hold up better then I think it's going to. I went into this thinking most of the time every two eps I'd probably feel positive about one and feel neutral about the other but the proportions were much more tilted in the positive direction. What I expected was more the case in R and SuperS, the seasons I liked least. 

What makes a Toei Sailor Moon ep good? Well it's a mixture of things I like from the Sailor Moon Franchise and things I like about the Toei Sailor Moon anime in particular. They're also harder to put into words then things I dislike but to do my best the things I like from a Toei Sailor Moon episode:

-Uplifting Spirit: The hardest reason to describe is also the most quintessentially Toei Sailor Moon. All versions of Sailor Moon have a good amount of darkness and angst born in part from the series 90s root as well as a sense of tragedy. And while I enjoy all this, the Toei Sailor Moon is the version that best encapsulates the opposite joy as well. In most episodes this comes through in the series being the most comedic and lighthearted version but in the series more serious eps it comes across in the series being the most optimistic about human nature and the bonds between people. The series has more focus on redemption then any other version and its best it captures the magic of believing in things like redemption and friendship. Most of my Top 30 have something uplifting in it, a positive message or a wholesomeness to it. 

-Fun Villains: More then any other Sailor Moon save maybe PGSM, Toei Sailor Moon focuses on having the villains having a lot of characterization. But while PGSM this was done more tragically and realistically, the Toei Anime does it exaggeratedly and bombastically for fun. Very often how good a stretch of the series correlates to how much you like villains of that section including all levels of Monsters of the Week, Minibosses, and Big Bads. While the Manga for instance the villains are complete monsters representing the opposite ideals of the Sailor Senshi, in the Toei Anime they are treated as having more human personalities for humor and sometimes so you will want to see them redeemed. 

-Mythic Iconicness. The Toei Sailor Moon Anime is the most influential Magical Girl series of all time, no competition and part of it is the cosmic mythological scope. The Sailor Senshi are classic 90s girl power. I can enjoy the eps that are more taking the piss out of them comedically, but my favorites tend to be the ones that present them as super cool with super dramatic conflict, or have that sense of being something iconic and influential. For instance I really like the R ep where the Sailor Senshi fight Jakoku, the Shinigami Droid, and part of it is that seeing Sailor Moon defeat Death is such a cool mythic imagery. 

-Depth: Something common to all the versions of Sailor Moon but Sailor Moon is the kinda series where it draws essays and essays of words just thinking about me. I think in part this is because the creators of Sailor Moon consistently seem to want to draw inspiration from tons and tons of sources. Takeuchi wanted to do with the manga, Sato, Ikuhara, and Igarashi all wanted to with the anime, and every subsequent version also seemed to want to. Everything in Sailor Moon is an ocean of references and atmosphere drawing on other inspirations. My favorite episodes of Sailor Moon are all things I want to yammer on and on about because there's so much thoughts they draw out from me. 

Honorable Mentions:

Episode 1: So this episode can get overlooked when talking about the best episodes of the series but this episode is really really important and slightly awes me every time just for how iconic it is. This episode is Legendary, it is the most seen and referenced episode of any Magical Series without exception. It is the birth of the Modern Magical Girl. It is the blueprint for how every Magical Girl series after it would be made. The aesthetic style, the shift from a glossy relaxing vibe to suddenly dark and foreboding, the mixture of childishness with hints of raciness and adult seriousness... this episode is so iconically perfect I can't not put it on here. Usagi's transformation literally and metaphorically is the major character arc of the series and seeing it start here along is always captivating. Somehing else to note is that it's actually rather similar to the Manga with one notable change I don't like (I don't like how it doesn't have Usagi rush into battle despite being scared for Naru) and 1 I do like (the way she saves Luna from some children outside of randomly stepping on her.)

Episode 12: This is the Cruise Ep with Thetis. This ep is to me the platonic ideal of the Sailor Moon filler eps, maybe not the absolute best depending on what you count, but everything a Sailor Moon filler ep should be. Thetis is my favorite monster of the week, having a cool underplayed but evocative design, an actual motivation, her own fun minions, and a place in the worldbuilding. The Senshi all have fun interactions with each other including scenes of just Ami and Rei which is rarer. There's fun situational comedy, fun physical comedy. There's also tension in that Jadeite knows this is a desperate gamble to keep Beryl from killing him, and Thetis is far more vicious then normal doing things like immediately charging Sailor Moon through a window after her pre-battle speech.

Episode 24: Nephrite's Death. The ep that really begins the anime's differentiation from the manga and its unique identity more interested in redemption as a theme. This ep has a weird shift in reputation where back in the day I remember it being basically universally praised and only recently have I seen people be more critical to it and while I can see where they're coming from, seeing Nephrite's slow realization that he does care about this innocent girl that loves him, that he's willing to risk everything for her remains compelling to me. Nephrite's death and Naru's pained reaction is when the series begins to develop in its emotional gravitas, and it also has an underratedly cool fight scene between Nephrite and the plant Youma of Zoisite.

Episode 25: The first ep of Zoisite's Arc and Makoto's introduction. While the ending of Nephrite's arc is great, the Zoisite Arc is more consistent and this ep does a great job of starting, mostly from the introduction of Makoto. Makoto is maybe the one Senshi I like even more in the anime then in the manga, she's constantly doing cool stuff and this ep is a great showcase where she actually gets the better of Zoisite in a physical fight before becoming a Senshi and then picks up and lifts one of the Seven Great Youma to help Sailor Moon again before even transforming for the first time. Yet despite being the girl who saves Usagi from bullying she is emotionally vulnerable due to her self-consciousness, all of which compounds to make such a sympathetic character. Starting Zoisite's arc, introducing the Seven Great Youma an the Moon Stick, Makoto's first ep, this has so much important things happening and so much energy.

Episode 38: This is the skiing ep where the girls are invited by Yuuchiro to his fancy lodge in the mountains and enter a princess skiing contest. Kunzite has always been my favorite of the Heavenly Kings and this ep is a great example why. He's so theatrical and vaguely genre-savvy like when he tells the youma that the girls will coincidentally be here because they're ALWAYS here. But the main reason I like this ep is that it is the epilogue to the Brief Toei subplot of Mamoru dating Rei. Going into why I like it is somewhat personal but Usagi and Rei talk about having shared feelings for the same man and this sort of wholesome downright loving bond between the two girls refusing to fight or be jealous over a man but to support each other was new to me at the time and it helped shape some ideals I have about love. 

Episode 70: The Koan Redemption Episode: I am not broadly a fan of R's middle arc with the Ayakashi Sisters and Rubeus but it does have one fantastic ep here. This ep is a very emotional ep for people because it's about escaping the bonds of being emotionally abused and used to find a better life and is the first time the redemption theme of the anime was used well. Koan is manipulated by Rubeus and when she fails breaks her heart and demands she sacrifice herself to kill the Senshi. Wakana Yamazaki's voice acting for Koan's despair is heart-wrenching and the catharsis of her redemption is arguably more emotional then any other redemption in the series. 

Episode 75: An episode I never see enough love for. This is the ep where they go into Chibiusa's mind and fight the Grim Reaper Droid. This ep remembers Chibiusa's trauma from seeing her home bombed and destroyed and represents it in the figure of Death. Jakoku is an imposing and creepy Droid and his invincibility in Chibiusa's mind is a compelling depiction of Chibiusa's fear that Death is unstoppable. And the climax where Sailor Moon is holding Chibiusa asking her to trust Sailor Moon, and Chibiusa's belief in Sailor Moon to defeat Death itself, it's a vibe the Toei Anime doesn't usually go for that works really well. It's beautiful, it's metal, it's Sailor Moon being the mythic messianic figure she is meant to be. It's the moment Chibiusa begins to believe Sailor Moon can save them. 

Episode 78: The Nurse Venus ep. After Season 1 I don't think Minako has a bad focus ep, she's such a fun personality and this episode has her trying to take care of the other Senshi while they are sick from a sickness Droid and cartoonishly messing it up. There's not much else to say other then it's really funny and Minako is so fun and compelling in it even as she causes a real mess for the others in just how genuine she is. 

Episode 86: The Death of Saphir. This is the ep where Saphir finds out Wiseman's plot and leaves to avoid being killed before willingly returning to try and warn his brother. This is the ep that has a lot of great moments for the villains and former villains of R. We see the result of the Ayakashi's redemption as they help Saphir when he is wounded, Petz and Saphir sharing feelings even as she know he is doomed by his love, we see Saphir go to his death to warn Demande, and we see Demande finally begin to realize the Wiseman is not to be trusted, bristling with a cold anger as he holds the dead body of his brother. This ep even has some cool eldritch horror type stuff as Wiseman invokes Death Phantom seeking to bring about his coming into the universe to bring it to nothingness. 

Episode 88: The Climax of R. It's a good finale broadly. The Black Lady stuff in the Toei version is pretty meh to me, but the other two thirds of the ep I really enjoy. One part is the battle with Death Phantom and I think the reveal that the Silver Crystal was absorbed into Chibiusa's body and was released via her tears was actually a really great addition that works really well with what was established in the first arc and one of my favorite scenes in R, possibly my absolute favorite, is Chibiusa's goodbye to the senshi and the heartwarming reconciliation between her and Usagi followed by her finally being able to return to her mother. Maternal love type stuff in general kinda hits me hard.

Episode 92: This is the ep that basically introduces the character of Haruka Tenoh and has Usagi and Minako follow her around crushing on her all episode. If you're also a queer girl from this time period you probably have a lot of fondness for this ep. It was a great introduction to Haruka's character, and the scene of Haruka calling Usagi "Kitten" is burned into my mind for particular reasons. The Outers particularly in S are one of the single most popular parts of the series and it's super easy to see why. 

Episode 97: This is the ep where Ami is afraid that the she's only valued for studied and gets into swimming contests with Michiru, holding herself back because she's afraid of competition. This episode is one of the best character studies of the Guardian Senshi in the Toei Anime. Ami was the most popular Senshi when it was coming up and this episode really showcases why, as she is extremely easy to find yourself in within this ep, particularly if you're the sort likely to be watching, and she's very easy to root for. The episode can be heartwrenching as Usagi tells Ami how she's more then just her mind, that she's a wonderful person and the next minute can be really funny with one of the goofiest monsters of the week in the series. 

Episode 102: This is the second part of the Usagi's birthday two parter that ends the Kaorinite arc. While I don't like the first half that much, this episode is fantastic. It has the extremely memorable gag of after Usagi being kidnapped Minako using her disguise power to pretend to be Sailor Moon and it has the the first time Usagi talks with HaruMichi about the clash of their ideals, Usagi's idealism vs their cynicism.  it has the reveal of another layer of Haruka's character as she helps defeat Kaorinite with a really cool sequence of using the winds of her World Shaking attack to reflect the attack and for that matter it has one of the coolest Kaorinite sections ever, Kaorinite being maybe the most underrated villain in the entire series for me. This episode is awesome.

Episode 111: The final episode of the Eudial Arc, this ep has a lot to it. This is the episode that first has Usagi turn into Super Sailor Moon and reveals herself as the Messiah, a scene that has a really beautiful symbolism to it. This episode's contrast with the ep right before it if you watch them together is hilarious but also meaningful, going from the incredibly deep and heavy episode 110 to the silly antics of the Inners with Moon playing leapfrog to get across a sticky ground using them is really funny and yet also speaks to the difference in their worldview. As a child I also really admired Sailor Moon in these eps, her dedication that even after getting blasted by Eudial's flamebuster she still pushes herself to beat Eudial to the Holy Grail and fulfills the double meaning of her name Usagi by winning with a leap. 

Episode 115: This ep is about Hotaru and showcases the paradox. Hotaru is the bearer of Mistress 9, the powerful alien who will bring about the end of the world as well as Sailor Saturn, the messiah of silence who's awakening the Outers are terrified of. However Hotaru herself is just a lonely and timid girl, modest and this episode shows incredibly physically frail, hospitalized for regular seizures. I LOVE Hotaru and have since I was her age. I suffered from similar seizures as her and I found it incredibly powerful to see a girl like her depicted, frail externally but with an inner strength no one knew about. 

Episode 125: The S Finale, I this would be in most Moonies top ten episodes, and I get it. This episode shows the depth of Usagi's conviction as she averts the end of the world with the awakening of Saturn but even that isn't enough as Hotaru plans to sacrifice herself, desperately pounding the ground with a desire to save everyone, willing a miracle into existence from the unity of the Sailor Senshi's hearts. It's great symbolism, Hotaru's defeat of Mistress 9 is one of my favorite moments in S, her relationship with Professor Tomoe is wonderful. I think most people would question this ep not be in my top 10 more then why I like it. It very well could be in my Top 10 at some points, but I do have some faults with it, particularly and I hate to be THAT kind of fan, but in comparison to the manga version. I miss the wonderful Chibiusa/Hotaru conversation as Hotaru returns her (Chibiusa is unconscious int his version), the fight with Mistress 9 is heavily abridged and the fight with Pharaoh 90 happens entirely off screen. I don't know if this is unfair, and I do still love this ep but wouldn't put it top 10 at the moment, though I have in prior rankings. 

Episode 141: This is the S ep where Minako two-timers Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye and this is another ep like the Nurse Mina where it's really just Minako is super funny and fun to watch. I love how she actually breaks out of her dream mirror stealing board and gets angry at THEM for lying to her even as she was two-timing them before making them run away with her attack. She's also so deliciously over the top when she says stuff like "Being this beautiful is a curse." SuperS has a LOT of filler eps, but this is probably my favorite. 

Episode 166: The Climax of SuperS and Ikuhara's last ep, this ep is so atmospheric and artsy and I really love that vibe. We get Nehelenia's backstory and the explanation for the Dead Moon Circus' philosophy of eternal stillness and youth with Nehelenia's terror at growing old. More then that we have easily my favorite scene of SuperS, Usagi awakening Chibiusa. While it doesn't make literal sense, the symbolic sense is so beautiful to me. All the Arc long the question has been why grow older? The Quartet want to remain children forever to have no responsibility, Nehelenia wants to stay young to retain her beauty. But as Usagi pleads with Chibiusa to open her eyes and save them, she says she wants them to grow older together. The true reason to age and grow is to develop with people to grow in connection which is especially heartwarming for me when put in the context of a Mother and Daughter relationship like this. 

Episode 170: You could include every single episode of the 6 episode Nehelenia Arc at the start of Stars up here. That Nehelenia Arc is my favorite arc in the entire Toei Anime, and I really enjoy every episode in it. Sailor Moon as a franchise has a tendency to stick characters in usual interactions, but this arc mixes up the interactions with things like Ami and Haruka having to work together and they make for a really fun pair being so opponent in temperament, aided by Haruka being at one her most over the top points ("if you're not attacking, you're defending) compared to Ami's patient strategy. The way Ami figures out Nehelenia isn't really there is genuinely really cool (she notices Nehelenia's hair isn't blowing in the wind) and we get the first of the Rei/Michiru interaction this ep which is even better. 

Episode 173: This is the first episode of the Iron Mouse Arc where Mamoru leaves to go to college. So the Inners have some pretty funny interactions this ep when they're trying to cheer Usagi up and they're all jumping up and Usagi is embarrassed about. It also has Iron Mouse and Stars while a polarizing season has some really fun villains. But there are the two big reasons I love this episode. First of all you have Luna actually being supportive and acknowledging Usagi's growth which if you haven't experienced the last 172 episodes of Toei Luna being the worst and constantly tearing at Usagi's self-confidence you can't appreciate how big that is. And after that we get the airport scene where Mamoru basically proposes to Usagi, and as a huge fan of this pairing since I was four years old it always moves me to my tears. 

Top 10:

10: Episode 184: Episode 184 is the ep where there's a criminal on the loose and a procession of events leads to everyone in the extended cast being in Usagi's house at one time. This episode I think is probably the funniest episode in the entire series and as Toei Sailor Moon is a lot more of a comedy then other versions of Sailor Moon, that's actually quite an achievement. The thing about its comedy though is that it's comedy that is joking around with the tropes of Sailor Moon which is the kind of comedy that you only get if you've watched 183 episodes before this but if you HAVE makes it hilarious.

There's so many great scenes in this ep and everyone in the cast gets to have funny memorable parts like when Usagi is trying to do her pre-battle speech but is carefully slinking around to not knock things over with her oversized Eternal Wings or when Aluminum Seiren is distraught at Uranus and Neptunes' arrival not because they are more enemies but because they're standing on the table, making fun of how they in S would just appear somewhere elevated for theatrics, or how the Inners wonder if Haruka hates men which she denies and Michiru clarifies in a conspiratorial whisper that Haruka just hates popular men, and the Senshi all nod like "that makes sense" making Haruka mad. I could literally just keep listing off jokes here from the surface level goofy like the Senshi yelling in terror over a cockroach to jokes that would take an hour to fully unwrap  like the aforementioned standing on the table bit and the Outers subsequent embarrassment. Even the Starlights who I'm normally not a fan of are pretty goo this episode. Seiya keeps trying to tell Usagi that she's Sailor Star Fighter, yet Usagi keeps thinking Seiya is trying to proposition her instead, which is amusing. This episode is a real treat for sticking with a series for so long. 

9: Episode 109: I said 184 is probably the funniest ep because 109 exists and if 109 is not as funny as 184, it's VERY close and 109 has other advantages besides. Episode 109 is the episode where Minako wants to prove she has a Pure Heart Crystal since she's the only one who hasn't had heart crystal stolen, this leads to Minako having her heart crystal removed but actually derailing the usual plot by stealing her own heart crystal and running off with it leading to a chase in which the Outers and Inners discover each others identities. Minako is the joy she always is this episode, incredibly funny yet also sympathetic and compelling in her insane drive to the show that she is a pure hearted, and it leads to hilariously twisting the usual tropes. Like there's this one gag where she leaves Haruka and Michiru and it does their usual elegant exit music only for her to quickly come back and give them a crane game toy she won to show how selfless she is, and then it plays the elegant exit music while panning onto the toy. 

This episode is really funny and it also has a bunch of other great things about it. First of all if it's your first time watching it's surprising, because it seems like a normal episodic one where it's Minako's turn to get her heart crystal stolen but Minako in every version of Sailor Moon mucks up the formula every arc with her antics and it leads to actual plot progression. Eudial is great this ep and it has the legend Doorknober herself, a daimon with the fearsome ability to open and close any door. Doorknober is one of the best Monsters of the Week in the series for how funny she is being forced to fight by Eudial to her dismay despite not having any combat abilities, probably my second favorite MotW after Thetis. And the funny here also has some real heart behind it. Usagi absolutely doesn't want Minako to be targeted at any one point violently starts shaking begging her to stop and her exaggerations and the suddenness mames it funny, yet the hyperbole also shows just how much she wants to save Minako is. And Minako's drive to show that she's a good person, while funny, is also pretty compelling because Minako is probably the Senshi would most worry about that. 

8: Episode 171: Like I said, all six episodes of the Nehelenia Arc at the start of Stars are up there for me. This episode is the penultimate episode of that arc and it has three sections all of which I really love. First you have the Rei/Michiru section. Like I said this arc does a great job giving unique character interactions. Rei and Michiru have a little interaction in the manga but despite being the two psychic Senshi they are rarely seen interacting. Despite that it works super well, as while they are both psychic the two are vastly different level of confidence in their psychic abilities and have completely opposite dispositions in general, Rei being fiery and blustery, while Michiru cool and composed, and the layers Michiru uses to build Rei up this ep in order to fight Nehelenia is great fun.

Then we have the Minako/Setsuna section and I can't imagine a more opposite pair of Senshi save maybe Ami/Haruka from the prior ep. Setsuna here is doing the Outers shtick of sacrifice for the greater good, being a lawful good trying to sacrifice herself so that Mina can go rescue the princess. But Mina has two sides to her: the goofy antics girl she pretends to be and the badass idealistic team leader on the inside and she shows them both off in a display that manages to save both of them, amusing and cool at the same time. 

And then of course you have the heartwrenching section where Makoto defends Usagi's prone hypnotized body from Nehelenia herself, first judo flipping her like a badass. Makoto defending Usagi's merit as a person and being heartbroken at the thought that Nehelenia might never have had someone like Usagi is a great character for Makoto showing her ability to empathize and means alot to me as someone who relates to Usagi a lot and the scene of her taking attack after attack from Nehelenia, shielding Usagi with her own body... nothing express Makoto's relationship to her princess. It is simpler then any other pair of Senshis' interactions, Usagi shows Makoto unconditional love, so Makoto now has unconditional devotion to her princess to the end. And it ends with Makoto's rose earring falling and waking Usagi as it reminds her of Mamoru's roses which... such a clever trick, both been in the show since Season 1. 

7: Episode 200: The Final episode of the anime. I do have some critiques of the Stars Finale in general, namely that it's around 6 episodes when it has the content for like 3, that said it's not really a problem with this episode specifically, this episode is pretty well paced and the content is phenomenal. Much of the plot of Stars is about having the trust in people to be able to share your burdens with them. It's what the Outers and the Starlights both don't understand, both think they have to deal with their burdens by themselves. It's what Galaxia tried to do with Chaos, seal it within her to save the galaxy, and it's Usagi's plot this season as she tries to be strong the way she thinks people want/need her to be. Having the final episode be a redemption episode focused around that theme was a really good way to end the season, and as a series finale it has a very beautiful underlying message. The conflict ends with Usagi returning Chaos to the hearts of every person asking Galaxia to trust in people to do the right thing. It's a theme that I really enjoy, it reminds me of the Magic Knight Rayearth ending where the Pillar System is removed so that the world is determined by everyone's' wills together rather then just the Will of just the Pillar as well as the ending of the 2017 Wonder Woman film where Diana expresses that she can't just kill evil because good vs evil is a battle within the human heart and only love can save the world. Both of these are things I also love for similar reasons.

Beyond that there's a lot else great about this episode. Usagi's strongest form being her angel form completely lacking in weapons and armor and the way Galaxia's will breaking is expressed by her sword shattering, the expression of violence and force being overcome by love and compassion is really beautiful. The ending sequence is one that very effectively tugs the ol heartstrings. There's plenty of other times this episode makes me emotional. Off hand when all the Senshi return alive to Usagi and when she finally sees Mamochan again and he tells her it's all over. I also absolutely LOVE the two callbacks to prior episodes this episode makes. There's one to Episode 46 where Usagi says she believes in the world her friends died to protect but this time Usagi also adds to the end that she still believes in that spark of goodness in Galaxia's heart, representing the growth of Usagi's love and trust over the series going from to loving her friends, to the world, and now in the final extent even to her enemies. And the last line of the episode is Usagi reiterating her opening narration from episode 1 but slightly altered that gives me chills every time. In episode 1 she says "I'm Usagi Tsukino. I'm 14 years old and Second Year Middle School. I'm clumsy and a bit of a crybaby. That's about it." whereas in episode 200 she says "I'm Usagi Tsukino. I'm 16 years old and First Year High School. I'm clumsy and a bit of a crybaby..." before conspiratorially saying "But secretly... I'm the Sailor Suited Soldier of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon" Ah I love it so much, it's so evocative of what I love about this franchise, the way a person can have an inner world, an inner strength, an inner heroism you'd never see. 

6: Episode 106: The Haruka/Michiru backstory. I've made it no secret I don't really like filler, and that the Manga is my favorite series. Yet this episode that's technically "filler", is an episode who's details I always imagine are from the Manga because of how right they feel. Sailor Moon is a series aimed at young girls, yet for anyone who's actually seen it, it's difficult to dismiss it as wholly childish because it has episodes like this, who's artistry and maturity are self-evident. 

This episode paints a picture of two young women given a terrifying duty in ominous dreams. They act opposite showing their opposite persona: the airy and ever elusive Haruka running from it, represented by her ever running and driving trying to leave the painful world behind it, an the perfect young lady, the artist and musician Michiru who lets it consume her, expressing her pain in her beautiful art. Both on top of the world, both secretly hurting inside, they are so opposite yet bound together in a secret understanding no one else can understand. This episode focuses on the two themes that mean more to me then any other: Love and Loneliness. 

The progression of the Outers this episode is an amazing beautiful dance evoking as it is meant to the play of the wind whipping up the waves. Michiru wants Haruka to fight as a Senshi by her side but is unwilling, unable to admit how much she needs her and though Haruka knows the truth she runs in fear of being crushed and bound by destiny. Yet it is paradoxically only in that moment when Michiru is in danger that they paradoxically reach their limits, Michiru begging Haruka not to take up this painful duty, not to trap herself because she doesn't want Haruka to bear this pain that Haruka accepts it fully unwilling, unable to run from Michiru needing her. This episode is absolutely beautiful and an expression of the love between the Outers and the nature of love and loneliness, when it feels like only one person in the world understands you, shares in your world. 

5: Episode 44: Kunzite's final episode and the Moon Kingdom backstory episode. This episode has very special meaning for me in particular. This was the first Sailor Moon episode I ever saw at age four, and it blew my little mind. It's a strange episode to start on because it spoils the entire first season, yet it was just what I needed to instantly fall in love with the series. Until this point the content I had seen were very safe, edgeless. Sailor Moon was different. Talking about what this episode meant to me then and what it means to me now are different but harder to separate fully. This episode shows the conflict between the Sailor Senshi, these cool magical superheroes that were girls like me, battling an evil knight fighting for the scary Dark Kingdom. I love the girls and they immediately had such an impression on me with how cool they seemed and I loved Kunzite for some of the reasons I do now, the way he is so over the top and a dramatic dark warrior of the Dark Kingdom. 

This episode shows the beautiful utopian Moon Kingdom, enchanting and otherworldly, and its princess who fell in love with the Prince of the Earth. I can say honestly that seeing them together stirred the first romantic feelings I had ever felt, the way she presses into him, how she trusts herself entirely to him while he holds her tight made me want to trust all of myself to someone. The tragedy of the Moon Kingdom while I've seen similar things now was something that blew my mind as a child in how deep it felt, how intense it felt, how real it felt. This wasn't a safe world where everyone who was good got along, where no one ever suffered any permanent damage. The Moon Kingdom was a beautiful world and it was destroyed and the Queen gave her life to save the princess. I couldn't phrase it well then but it impacted me greatly, the weight of the tragedy and the meaning in the Queen giving her life for her daughter, expressing how beautiful one's life is, how many people before you gave everything they had to give you life. And then Sailor Moon had to fight the champion of that kingdom that destroyed it. Kunzite felt like an unstoppable monster the way he tears through the Senshi but Sailor Moon stood against him and knocked back his attack, defeating him. 

This episode changed my world, it shaped what I understood Sailor Moon to be and what I wanted out of the stories I consumed. And to be honest it is a niche that I've never seen another series perfectly fill. I love Pretty Cure but Pretty Cure and a lot of magical girl series made in Sailor Moon's wake are... safe in a way. They have magical worlds that are "destroyed" but get restored at the end without any major consequence. I love Puella Magi but a lot of these Dark Magical Girl series act like you're better of not becoming a Magical Girl despite monsters and the darkness they represent killing loads of people. Sailor Moon taught me as a young child a truth about the world. That the world has a lot of darkness in it, real horrific things. That it killed people that came before you, good and strong people. But that you can and you have to stand up against it, that you have a power inside you strong enough to fight it. It told me, a nervous young girl that I could fight against the darkness that I was afraid of, and even win. That to me is core to what I love about this franchise. 

4: Episode 110: I've actually seen recently a bit of a surge of people who don't like this episode, primarily for people who don't like Haruka and Michiru in it. I kinda get it, but that's crazy to me. This is the famous episode where Haruka and Michiru die against Eudial revealing that they had two of the Talismans the whole time. Haruka and Michiru are heartbreaking this episode and this episode has many of their most famous lines. Haruka saying these hands are dirty and Michiru saying she'd always love Haruka's hand for instance. The part that always kills me is at the start when Michiru is listening to the ocean and Haruka says playfully "no fair going to a world I can't follow...." followed at the end when Michiru is dead and Haruka before shooting herself with Eudial's heart crystal removal gun repeats "no fair Michiru, going to a world I can't follow..." referring I think Haruka thinking of Michiru going off to Heaven where she will never go. That part always makes me cry and be like "That's not fair Ikuhara!!!" It just breaks my heart so much Haruka's loneliness at having the one person in the world who understood her, someone whom they saw the hidden beauty in,  disappeared from the world.

The usual complaint is that they forcibly take brooch so she can't transform. However I feel like this is misunderstood. Haruka and Michiru hate their duty, suffer being Sailor Senshi. In their minds, this cruel act is the ultimate mercy, taking the burden from Usagi's shoulders. But of course Usagi goes there to try and help them because powers or no, she is driven by love. This in my mind is why Haruka sees Usagi as the messiah the next ep, because Usagi takes on the burden that crushes them willingly. This is the difference I think between laboring out of obligation, out of duty, and laboring out of love. Fundamentally this episode shows that the Outers for their cold philosophy of sacrifice are not hypocrites, and would just as easily give up their own lives to save the world. 

This episode also demonstrates the sheer versatility of Sailor Moon as a franchise. It has some classic Ikuhara humor mostly to do with Eudial with this being my favorite of her roles. It has stuff like sending a threatening message on the answering machine to the Outers only to get cut off for time and starting the next message angry at it, or the way she has this giant piano there she pretends to play dramatically only for it to be revealed to be a recording. On the other hand it also has what I think is the darkest scene in the entire franchise, Haruka shooting herself. It's a science-fantasy gun that shoots out one's heart crystal. However contextually, it kills people. This is genuinely Haruka killing herself to follow Michiru into the afterlife by shooting herself. This episode can continue both extremes because it is the most complex characters in the Toei Anime at their best, expressing the cold world of sacrifice and loneliness.

3: Episode 172: The final episode of the Nehelenia Arc at the start of Stars, this episode is hard to fully talk about without fully going into a difficult time in my life but I will do my best. Sailor Moon was already my favorite series when I saw this episode but this was the episode that made Sailor Moon herself my favorite character. Over the course of this arc we've seen constantly the Senshi are able to succeed in ways Nehelenia can't understand because the Senshi love each other whereas Nehelenia doesn't understand love. This episode takes it to two further extent. First with the conflict between Sailor Saturn and Nehelenia where Saturn prepares to sacrifice herself to use the Silence to kill Nehelenia, an action so alien to Nehelenia that she thinks Saturn hates Nehelenia hates her so much she'd kill them both to be rid of her, the Silence actually terrifying Nehelenia until Chibi-Moon stops Saturn. Then there is the Usagi interaction where despite Nehelenia do everything she can to torture Usagi, when Usagi hears Nehelenia's backstory, she is unable to stop Usagi from loving her. This culminates in Usagi offering to sacrifice herself to save Nehelenia, an action that shatters Nehelenia's worldview and allows Usagi to save them both. 

As a child my favorite characters weren't complex. I liked characters who were like me and were cool. I thought it was so cool seeing Saturn, frail otherworldly Hotaru, threatening the scary evil queen. But I was surprised that Saturn's silence was stopped. And then when Usagi saves her, even as a kid even if I couldn't explain it eloquently, I understood what the series was being telling me, that there's something greater then defeating your enemy and saving everyone else, but saving everyone. That the greatest victory was found in love. I had such admiration for Usagi. Every character I had ever seen followed some kind of logic in how they acted: they acted cruel when they were enemies or had cruel things happened to them, they acted nicely when they were friends or had good things happen to them. But Usagi's love wasn't logical like that. It didn't matter how Nehelenia was her enemy or how she tortured Usagi, she still cared about Nehelenia. She didn't cause conflict, she dissolved conflict. That's what a hero was. That was the kind of love I wanted to have. 

As I've grown I've come to see this episode in more context, but my love for it has only grown. Without going into too much details, there was a time in my life when I was very hard on myself, when I felt very lonely. The message of unconditional love resonated strongly with me and this episode in particular when Usagi says that if she was trapped alone like Nehelenia would act out like her, helped me start to show myself more compassion.

2: Episode 45: I don't think I need to tell you which ep this is but it's the ep that the Guardian Senshi die in battle against the DD Girls, the ep that traumatized a generation of children, and maybe the single most popular episode in the Sailor Moon Fandom. Beryl is getting close to fully awakening Metaria, who's presence is causing dangerous planetary effects and sunspots to begin to consume the Sun. The Guardian Senshi launch an invasion on the entrance to the Dark Kingdom and fall in battle one at a time. 

This episode was a huge shock to everyone when it came down. The Magical Girl was an emblem of society's ideal for femininity, an expression of our hope for the next generation of young women. Seeing the Sailor Senshi, the cool superhero magical girls die, even if it was obvious they'd be resurrected, was something I don't think people were ready for. What makes it far more impactful was how the Senshi die. Each Sailor Senshi dies in a Heroic Sacrifice that matches her nature, Sailor Jupiter is first when they manipulate her soft heart by showing Motoki, her crush as an illusion, and then dies protecting the others, using her lightning in close range to kill two of the DD Girls. She is the Guardian of Protection and there was no way any of the others could ever die so long as she was there because she'd always protect them. Sailor Mercury the intellectual who is always trying to teach her friends, strategically sacrifices herself by standing alone, rational yet loving, cool-y outwitting them to get in close before crushing their illusion gem, sacrificing herself to open her friends eyes to truth. Sailor Venus dies pushing Sailor Moon out of the way of a sneak attack by the enemy, before firing her laser into one's head at close range. Sailor V was the decoy for Sailor Moon, always silently protecting her, I have no doubt tricksy Mina could have evaded them forever, but she was always secretly protecting Usagi, willing to throw herself into her place in a stray moment. Sailor Mars puts on a brave face despite knowing she's going to her death, because her hysterical weeping princess needs something to believe in. So she puts on her strong face, confidently facing death with a strong heart, saving Usagi and destroying the last two enemies. I can go into each much more, but each Senshi's death is an expression of her in a way so much more evocative then most of these types of scenes. 

We see Usagi break down more and more as her friends die one by one, and I am with there, this episode destroys me emotionally. But it does that by showing just why each of the Senshi is amazing and wonderful. Each of the Guardian Senshi is an expression of her own form of heroism, a type of personality shown in its noblest. For a sensitive young girl like Usagi, the Guardians are each a kind of older sister, an ideal of strength and heroism aspire to. I love the Senshi, and this episode is the heart of why. They taught me in four beautiful pictures what love and heroism looks like. They taught me strength the same way they did Usagi. This episode trusts its viewers, young girls. It asked us if we were willing to engage with the idea of war and death, of the type of friendship and love where you'd give everything for the people you love. I am an adult now, who deals with this world that can sometimes seem dark and scary but the spirits of the Guardian Senshi linger in the strength I learned from this ep, just as the end of the episode shows their spirits driving Usagi on, past the existential despair at their death she would have thought was invincible. 

1: Episode 46: The final ep of Season 1. Like a fish swimming in the ocean, this episode is not valued enough in my opinion because it is taken for granted and we live in a world post its existence. This episode is a tier beyond every ep mentioned prior. It is not just my favorite episode in this series, it's not just my favorite episode in an anime, but my favorite episode of any television show that I've ever seen. That's not to say it is the most perfect episode, a few episodes have less flaws, there are a couple emotional beats that don't work for me, such as the infamous ending where time is reset with the Senshi not remembering anything that happened. I get what they were referencing in the Magical Girl Tradition. I still don't really like it. That said the quality of a work is not seen in its lack of flaws in my opinion, but the proportionality of its goodness compared to its flaws, and this episode has the biggest strengths of the series. 

This episode can be divided into two segments. The first segments involves Sailor Moon's confrontation with Dark Endymion and Queen Beryl. This is the culmination of one of the most famous plotlines in the genre and is such a beautiful representative of what the genre represents, to the point of becoming a trope in the genre. Sailor Moon tries to use her magic to purify Dark Endymion but can't and is attacked him as she pleads. In desperation she tries to attack him back, but this too fails and only makes him angrier. This is so important to understanding her for the rest of the series, that she has tried the way of force, and found it incapable. So as Beryl commands Dark Endymion to kill and he raises her blade, Usagi gambles it on a plea, showing Endymion the locket representing their love, restoring him to his senses, his love for her defeating Beryl. There's so much wrapped up in this. It's the feminine desire for a redemptive love that can save a good soul in darkness seamlessly integrated with a fantasy superhero story, it's the magical girl ideals of belief in people and in miracles, and about the triumph of love as a form of conflict resolution over force and violence. This scene is so influential because it tapped into something deep in the psyche of its viewers, speaking of an impossible inevitability, something beautiful about believing that love can overcome violence and malevolence. And this is the lesser of the two parts for me. 

The dying Beryl merges with Metaria, emerging as a towering monster, that causes the Sun and sky to be engulfed in darkness, that drains the energy of the world so all lights go out, shrouding Earth and Heaven in darkness. People chide Usagi for being a coward and crybaby, yet here facing that darkness that drives the greatest minds mad with terror, she walks out with determination. Super-Beryl and Sailor Moon begin their battle, Sailor Moon's heart pushing through her magic against the impossible threat put before her. Beryl asks mockingly what she still believes in. Love? Friendship? The Bonds between People? But Sailor Moon says she isn't fighting for abstract ideals like those but for this world that her friends died to protect, calling to my mind the moment in Act 59 where Sailor Moon admits she never really fought for love and justice but her friends, the embodied good. To give her the push in power she needs the spirits of her friends appear, holding onto the wand, her burden, helping her and giving her the final burst of power she needs. I've seen a LOT of Magical Girl series, but if anything is the heart of the genre, the central point, it's this moment. I can trace everything prior back to Sally's intro proclaiming "with mysterious powers she fills the city with dreams and laughter" as leading up to this moment, and I can show how almost every Magical Girl ending regardless of tone from PreCure to Puella Magi has reiterated on this theme and expanded from this ending. 

It is an expression of the way someone, especially a young woman, can be more then herself but the bearer of the dreams, the ideals, the very spirits of her community. How her loving heart can bring people together accomplishing the impossible, creating miracles. It is an expression of the most beautiful thing in the entire world to me, the miraculous way love surpasses death and evil. And for me personally, it was the first time seeing outside me those nameless feelings inside me I didn't know how to express, guiding me to know what things I would search for artistically. 

The things I love about Toei Sailor Moon are pretty well represented in these ten episodes. I would divide the things I love about Toei Sailor Moon into two categories: things I love about Sailor Moon as a franchise that also apply to the Toei anime, and things I love about the Toei Anime specifically. In the former case Sailor Moon as a general property has a special place in the heart for way it shaped me growing up, I love the characters, with every Senshi being genuinely strong enough to star in their own series. I love the artistry and depth in everything, the way everything seems to have more layers, the way the best episodes invite you to talk and think about them over and over. I love the girl power element, the way it created a universe for young girls to be the hero based on characteristically feminine traits as sources of power. For things I love about the Toei anime in particular, I think it is both iconic yet versatile. Toei Sailor Moon encompasses a wide variety of tones from grandiose serious to goofy, fom atmospheres ranging from very dark to very light, from genres ranging from slice to life to eldritch horror, Despite this it remains the most iconic Magical Girl series that somehow retains a clear identity and sense of self throughout. It also has perhaps the most indepth relations between the Senshi as well as the best overall villains in the entire franchise, though PGSM can give it a run for its money. I associate it so strongly with my adolescence when I first sat down and purposefully watched the entire thing from front to back. Those were days when I began to discover the world was so much deeper then I thought, when I began to construct my own identity and preferences as I searched for the transcendental beauty I longed for. They were the days when I found who I was, who I wanted to be, and the path I wanted to walk and Toei Sailor Moon helped guide that path.