Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon Act 36 Review

 

The act resumes with Mistress 9 and Super Moon's staredown. However the sky begins to distort as space warps around Pharaoh 90's approach and Mugen Academy is slashed clean in two by energy

Moon and the Outers see four glowing orbs emerge from the energy pillar, which Moon recognizes immediately as the souls of the Guardian Senshi being taken by Mistress 9. She tries to jump in to help them but the energy pillar repulses her.

Pharaoh 90, having been re-energized by the Silver Crystal begins to vessel-ize the Earth, merging with it and becoming the new worldsoul, turning it into the new tau world causing the ground to shake.

In Platonic and Neo-Platonic thought it is said that there is something called the Anima Mundi, the world soul. The world soul is the representation of the connection between people, giving life to all things as the literal soul of the world. It is equivalent to the Jewish idea of Chokhmah Ila'ah, the supreme wisdom of God's that orders all creation and vitalizes, filling it with life. Similarly in China the idea was developed of the universal chi represented by the Three Pure Ones, the formless celestial energies giving order and life to the cosmos. This is the ultimate plot of Pharaoh 90 and the Daimon; just as the daimons remove the souls from people, replacing them and wearing their bodies to persist in the human world, so too do they plan to take their alien world soul, a world soul of another dimension Pharaoh 90 to vesselize the Earth and replace it's world soul, making a world of alien life and order. It's such a cool idea taking this esoteric philosophical concept and turning it into this unique cosmic horror story. 

The Outer Senshi note how the forces of nature; sea, sky, and earth are being distorted becoming chaotic and wild from the coming of Pharaoh 90 and using their talismans create a barrier to temporarily hold back Pharaoh 90, though they know it can't hold him forever. 

Mistress 9 proclaims the act useless and proclaims that with the Master's vesselization, she won't need the human body anymore, however as she tries to escape her physical form, she finds herself suddenly trapped and unable to move. A ghostly voice proclaims to her that she won't let Mistress 9 escape.

It's revealed to be Hotaru's ghost holding Mistress 9 on the astral plane, holding her down, using her connection to her own body they're both within. Mistress 9 laughs saying she thought she had consumed her long ago, but apparently she's a stubborn little hoste. She proclaims that now she's powered up Hotaru has no ability to stop her and she'll tear this body apart. 

Of all the Sailor Senshi, Hotaru is the one most clearly differentiated from her Senshi self, Sailor Saturn. This isn't an awesome moment for Sailor Saturn, this is an awesome moment for Hotaru Tomoe, the weak little girl seemingly hated by the world fighting now the biggest threat to the world.

Hotaru notes her body is being torn apart by the daimon but so long as she protects Chibiusa's soul and Silver Crystal it will be okay. Sailor Moon attacks to try and help Mistress 9 but having reverted to base form she gets swatted away by a energy attack from Mistress 9. However, without the infinite energy of the Silver Crystal Mistress 9 begins to get drained and says she needs to find more power, trying to take it from the Guardian Senshis' souls, drawing them to her while licking her lip like a cat getting four fresh fish. Sailor Moon pleads with them to hang in there.

But Hotaru sees the souls of the Guardians and goes to help them, holding their souls and preventing them from getting any closer to Mistress 9. Mistress 9 calls her an annoying vermin demanding Hotaru give her those souls and Hotaru begins to strain worried she might not be able to protect Chibiusa and the four guardians' souls at the same time.

Hotaru comments to herself that it's strange, that she's just a soul now. Her body was stolen, her father died, she's basically nothing now, yet still she has fights. She asks herself why she is still able to struggle with all her might, find an even greater power with her. In a single dramatic burst of self-understanding Hotaru proclaims that she can feel an even greater "her" within herself, giving her strength and making her aware that saving the lives of others, protecting the Silver Crystal, these things are important to her. Her soul takes to the sky.

In universe this is Hotaru essentially coming into contact with the deeper identity of Sailor Saturn across timelines, but out of universe this is a metaphor I think for the way we can find a greater self within ourselves, paralleling Hotaru to Chibiusa. The way her soul rises is imagery meant to evoke the idea of the self rising into a more heavenly self. 

From up above Hotaru returns the Guardian Senshi' souls to their bodies much to Mistress 9 and Sailor Moon's amazement, though Mistress 9 notes that in return for losing their souls she has regained control of her body. Hotaru's soul briefly appears before Sailor Moon and the Guardian Senshi, smiling at them as though to signal her companionship with them, before leaving. 

Far away, Hotaru's ghost appears at Chibiusa's windowsill, shocking Mamoru. She returns the Silver Crystal and Chibiusa's soul to Chibiusa whose body returns to life and causes her to awaken. Chibiusa regards the ghostly body of her dear friend with shock while the spirit of Hotaru weeps in joy at Chibiusa being returned to life. Hotaru proclaims that "even though we're both girls", that it must have been fate for the two of them to meet. Chibiusa joyously agrees.

This part is fantastic and beautiful. It plays perfectly to Naoko's strengths in all the best ways. Everything from the dialogue to the pictures to the very ideas are atmospheric, otherworldly, yet speak to the connections formed between people in ways beyond their knowledge. This is the culmination of Chibiusa and Hotaru's friendship across the whole arc and is at once able to draw forth a sense of wonder at its mysticism and wholesome in its relatability. There are so many things I wanna say I enjoy about it, the way people all arc have feared Hotaru as the bringer of death, yet here she is the bringer of life, especially of life to the one who believed in her most, the girl she healed at the very start of the arc. Or the way it tastefully alludes to the level of emotional connection between the two girls in terms young girls might actually experience yet is incredibly mature with the notion Hotaru suggests that it must have been fate that they join together. Chibiusa, the sugary excitably little Sailor Senshi, for Hotaru represents the life of a Sailor Senshi, a life of idealistically fighting crime and living an adventure and just experiencing LIFE thought denied to the girl who seemed nine-tenths in the grave already. Just as she feels the spark of life within her soul that allows her to fight, just as she can hear the voice of her inner self, the voice of a Sailor Senshi, so too is she reunited with Chibiusa; literally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually being the purpose for which she fought on and refused to die.

And speaking off....

Mistress 9 leaves her body, which falls away from her as she enters her true daimon form. Hotaru feels the pain course through her and tells Chibiusa that she's glad she met Chibiusa, that they became friends. Hotaru says her goodbye and her very soul disappears to Chibiusa's horror.

Nothing left but bits of light, Hotaru's soul floats away presumably unto Heaven. Chibiusa weeps in sorrow at how sad this destiny is, not wanting to believe that this is Hotaru's fate. In one of the most beautiful, saddest, and wisest statements Chibiusa makes the entire manga, she proclaims that there are those who have to live those destinies too. It is at once a sad proclamation at the tragedy of people having such a sad destiny, and a statement about how people who live on are effected by the sadness of losing people too.

Mamoru consoles Chibiusa and knowing his daughter is one of the few that can help as well as knowing it may help focus her despair towards a goal, asks her if she can help Sailor Moon. Chibiusa gets a determined look and transforms to go help Chibi-Moon, thanks Mamoru for preserving her and says they should try to help Sailor Moon as best they can. Mamoru hilariously says he feels like he gave away his daughter as a bride, both referencing the anxiety he feels at asking her to enter the dangerous fight ahead of them, and also alluding to the chibi-yuri he just witnessed between Hotaru and Chibiusa.

Mamoru comments how he feels stronger, like how Chibiusa and Hotaru gave him strength with their courage and transforms (?) into Tuxedo Kamen to help his Usa. It's a bit of a weird hiccup in continuity since the first arc establishes that he physically puts on his Tuxedo Kamen outfit, it's not a transformation. Personally I think when he awoke his powers in the second arc, it just gave him the power of "Henshin."

Back with the Senshi, Mistress 9 has discarded it's body and seems to be in serious pain. It's not clear why...possibly because it lacks a mortal shell to protect it from the Earth environment. You might be wondering why the other daimon didn't have that, but if you recall the other daimons were imperfect daimon or perfect daimons Professor Tomoe created by fusing a daimon egg into a person. Mistress 9 never fused with Hotaru, she just had her egg placed into Hotaru's robotic body, and so didn't develop any kind of material of this universe to protect her. At least that's how I interpret what's going on, it's not very clearly explained.

Chibi-Moon shows up, and her attack actually scares Mistress 9 which is pretty funny given Chibi-Moon's attack is "Pink Sugar Heart Attack." Chibi-Moon quickly explains what happened with Hotaru which is....less funny.

Tuxedo Kamen shows up and tells Sailor Moon to transform into Super Sailor Moon since all the Senshi are assembled again. Sailor Moon looks to the Guardians and Chibi-Moon and calls the Holy Grail. All the Senshi put their power in, including the Outers from their position holding the forcefield and the Guardian Senshi close to Sailor Moon.

As the Holy Grail appears, Chibi-Moon watching wondering at how she'll be as strong as her someday, and and the crest appears on both Usagi and Chibiusa's foreheads, as the Holy Grail duplicates before their eyes, and before Chibi-Moon knows it she has transformed into Super Sailor Chibi-Moon along Super Chibi-Moon.

You might think this is a deus ex machina, however I would disagree. A deus ex machina is when a new thing is suddenly added into the narrative to solve a problem, however Chibiusa transforming into Super Sailor Chibi-Moon isn't actually solving any problem, now or spoilers for the rest of the arc. Instead, and while I think Naoko could have emphasized this point more, I think it's meant to be a character development for Chibiusa. On a literal logic level the Silver Crystal is praised this arc for its ability to create miracles, something seen since the first arc. Its power is dependent on internal qualities; faith, resolution, and love as such hypothetically it being able to do this as an expression of character development is narratively justified, so long as the user, Chibiusa, is in a stronger emotional state. The Holy Grail and the Super Form is formed from the union of hearts from the Sailor Senshi, and while Chibiusa hasn't really grown closer to the Guardians or the Outer Senshi recently, there is one Senshi she has...Hotaru. I think this is meant to show the change in Chibiusa's heart caused by the spirit of Hotaru still being with her, supported by how the art Naoko drew to put at the start of the act is ALL of the Senshi, Hotaru included, together. If that was the intent I think it's very sweet, but could possibly have been emphasized differently.

The act ends with Super Sailor Moon and Super Sailor Chibi-Moon preparing to attack, combining their powers

Act 36 is fantastic! It's quite possibly the best act in the entire arc. This act always flies by whether reading it or writing about it and while that's partially because it's a fairly action-heavy act with less dialogue, it's also because it's so engrossing the whole way through.

The idea of an alien world-soul trying to replace a world-soul of this world through dimensions is an insanely awesome idea combining science-fiction with esoteric philosophy and is immediately evocative and interesting and explains a lot as well as being consistent with how the daimon operate using normal human bodies as flesh-puppets after taking their souls. It's also super thematic in the way the villains this arc seek eternal life even through vile means, just as they take bodies without their souls, they seek life without living, survival at the brutal parasitic expense of others, and also coincidences with Tomoe's goal of creating a new world, by literally injecting a new soul into the world. Similarly the part with Chibiusa at the end is mostly amazing, having a really sad but sweet quote from her, one of the most cogent wisest lines showing her development and an awesome moment of determination from her paid off in attaining her own super form, followed by the hilarious line from Mamoru about feeling like he gave his daughter away as a bride. All of that is great and would be the highlight in most chapters. But there's really one thing that elevates this act; and that's Hotaru f-ing Tomoe. 

This act provides the payoff and culmination of Hotaru's character development through the arc and the development of her friendship with Chibiusa. It's fitting that the third arc is so based around religious imagery because the most common desire sought after in the religious inclination is rebirth, to come back to life from death. With the coming of Christianity, the world's most successful religion heavily referenced in this arc,  this idea was expanded from the literal dying and being resurrected to the spiritual, that we are dead in our sins and are brought back to life through faith. Naoko, as is her poetic tendency, synchronizes the literal and the emotional realities. Hotaru was dead physically, her body a lifeless machine and similarly her spirit was dead, she lacked the resolve to keep living. Yet even as her body seemed to be stolen from her, even as she wondered why should keep fighting when her life, her body, her family were taken from her...still she fought on because something deeper within her called for her to do so. 

I love this culmination because it can be viewed in so many ways, each emotionally fulfilling and philosophically interesting. It can be viewed as the hope for the triumph of life over death; that the drive for life will overwhelm even the states of "death" we may find ourselves in through a calling to save those close to us. It can be viewed as the redemptive power of companionship, that Hotaru truly only ever needed one friend, one person to understand and empathize with her in order to turn her from a girl suffering in the grave to one of the heroes. That Hotaru's body and soul both seem to disappear, and with what will happen in the next acts it can be a recreation of the old cults of death and life, that those sacrificed in the name of the divine shall live again, in transformed greater form. Hotaru's arc is one of the most complex arcs in the manga, and yet every angle is breath-taking in the doors it opens for interpretation. Broadly though it is about Hotaru choosing, like Usagi and unlike the Outers or the Daimons, to focus on living this life rather than to focus on fear of death or attempting to take eternal life for oneself. 

This act has a few slight head-scratching parts which I think Naoko could have clarified more, and I think it's complexity can keep it from having as immediate an oomph impact emotionally the way some arcs have, but it's one of the most intellectually interesting, and is undergirded by spiritual imagery that is truly beautiful.