Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon Act 43 Review

 

Continuing from the last act, the Lunar Senshi and Sailor Jupiter run to the side of Mamoru, extremely ill, and Helios, damaged from protecting him from the lemure. Mamoru coughs up the truth alongside his blood. Chibi-Moon asks Helios if this is part of the enemy's plan. To answer Helios takes on his humanoid form again, introducing himself properly as High Priest of Elysion.

As images of the planet are drawn in front of Helios to compliment the surreal tone, unclear if it's a physical illusion Helios is making or purely an effect Naoko is drawing for the reader's benefit, Helios explains his purpose. He explains that Elysion is a Holy Land resting deep within the Earth, acting like the Heart of the planet and that as the High Priest of Elysion it is his duty to protect the Earth along with it.

One of the things people cite as one of the draws of the Dream Arc is it is a visual showcase, showing along with the Stars Arc Naoko's development as an artist, particularly because the Dream Arc's tone allows her to regularly represent ideas with otherworldly imagery drawn alongside the literal events that are transpiring, allowing the artwork to shift easily between the literal and the symbolic allowing Naoko to do what she loves to do visually; draw striking images. I'm not especially good at analyzing visuals for quality, but I know that the final two arcs are usually considered the high point of the series visually.

Helios tells Mamoru he's Mamoru's guardian priest, addressing Mamoru as the prince of this planet. Mamoru is surprised at how Helios knows of his past life, and Helios confirms that he knows of Endymion, his prince, even if Mamoru knows nothing about him. He explains that his body and Mamoru's bodies are linked with the Earth and Elysion, that their bodies have been resonating together. He then uses some kind of x-ray beam from his horn that shows a black rose growing in Mamoru's chest, explaining that the black rose is the curse Nehelenia placed upon Elysian, affecting all four of them.

It's a very elegant shojo-y image while also being quite dark. 

Helios continues to exposit that the form they see now is just his astral projection, that his real body was imprisoned in Elysium and turned into a Pegasus by the curse. Chibi-Moon asks who did this. Helios finally tells our Heroes what they're up against. Helios tells them of the Kingdom of Nightmares residing within the New Moon, led by the Queen Nehelenia, sealed away long ago in the darkness of the new Moon. I really like this backstory as it's very fairy tale sounding yet has that cosmic Sailor Moon element.

In the darkness Nehelenia stirred, casting a dark curse on the Earth, infecting its heart, Elysion, and causing the dark rose to blossom in Helios and Mamoru as was shown earlier. Helios using the holy power of Elysion was able to for a time hold the curse at bay, but was overtaken but the nightmare which lay Elysion to ruin. 

With Helios' power gone, the Earth was laid open for invasion and the Dead Moon Circus emerged from the New Moon. But it is more complex then that, for the Dead Moon Circus is trying to encircle them, invading them from within and without, attacking the surface with their ship, and nightmares sieging Elysian, trapping them all. Once the nightmares reach the surface the world will die.

Helios mentions they have a single saving grace, that the Dead Moon Circus didn't realize the Heir to the Silver Millennium had been reborn upon the Earth, and implores Super Sailor Moon to save the world. Usagi gets all resolute and says she will of course save the Earth and Mamoru and defeat the enemy. However, Helios drops the other bad news...that even if they destroy Nehelenia, her curse will not subside. Instead, Helios says that the person he was truly looking for was the "chosen maiden", the one who can break the seal on the Golden Crystal which can restore the Earth. It does seem strange that another crystal could heal what the Silver Crystal itself could not but I will have my own explanation for that when we come to it. It also provides an extra wrinkle to the plot to give it the cosmic "search and find" mystery element most Sailor Moon arcs have rather than just have it be the too simple "beat the bad guy and everything goes back to normal.

Helios describes the chosen maiden again, one protected by moonlight, a soldier and a princess with beautiful dreams, the chosen maiden of the crystal can break the Golden Crystal, a description that can apply to both Usagi and Chibiusa. Helios is pained and begins to fade away as he loses the strength to maintain his astral projection, asking the Lunar Senshi to find the Golden Crystal and use it with the Silver Crystal to banish the nightmares from the Earth.

Mamoru continues to cough and double over from pain, and tells Usagi to stay away from me, that he doesn't want the curse to spread to her. Admittingly, I don't know why he thinks this curse can spread, but I imagine he was just being cautious and it does set up this awesome moment that comes next. Usagi tells him "I'm staying with you, just as you feel the planet's pain, your pain is my pain. No matter what happens, I will find a way to make you better" before embracing him wholly declaring in no uncertain terms that she WILL stay with him, that she will protect him and this world.

Every time I read this sequence I am filled with the impression of just how strongly these two love each other and how courageous Usagi is being for Mamoru. Usagi is a sensitive scared girl by disposition but it doesn't matter how scary the situation is, it doesn't matter if Mamoru's pain is a deathly infectious disease, she embraces him wholly, because his pain will always be her pain, because she wants to share everything he has and is with her. You can see in how she holds him to the fullness of her body that she is symbolically accepting him in his entirety, even his pain and suffering willing to bear it for him. This to me is such a strong beautiful expression of love. 

After that scene concludes with Chibiusa reiterating what was just said it cuts to the Guardian Senshi...discussing what was just said in the scene prior. The Guardians admit they don't have any strategy with Ami, Rei, and Makoto wishing the Outer Senshi were here, commenting about how the Outer Senshi made them stronger and how thinking about them in their time of crisis allowed the Senshi to reach their super state. Minako pretends to go along with this but it's revealed after that it's exasperating her insecurity as a leader, especially since she is the only one who still can't transform, something she's kept hidden from the others.

One of the things I like about Minako's chapters is they consistently mix up the plot structure that the others repeat, befitting Minako's chaotic and even cartoony energy. Minako was Naoko's favorite of the Guardian Senshi and you can really tell with how much unique plotlines she gets in the manga. Here for instance we don't get a contrast between a temporal dream and a deeper dream beneath that like we do for the other Guardians, we get Minako already focusing on her deeper dream but feeling like she can't reach it.

Artemis tries to encourage Minako telling her he's sure she will transform soon, just like the others did. Minako seems unconvinced and goes to take a bath. Artemis catches a glimpse of her bathing form and comments that Minako has grown incredibly beautiful lately, like the goddess Venus, though Minako herself isn't feeling it which is humorously reflected in the art.

This acts as a microcosm of the conflict. Minako has greatness inside her but can't see it, can't realize it.

After a brief gag where Diana comments that Artemis is looking at Minako like a boyfriend does a girlfriend and Luna bites Artemis for peeking on her in the bath, we cut to the Amazoness Quartet, who are doing circus things like swinging from trapeze or balancing on balls, commenting on one of the Guardian Senshi seemingly being unable to reach her Super Form. They comment on getting bored and two more Dead Moon Circus Members, Xenotime and Zeolite show up, and promise their "big sisters" the Quartet that they'll get rid of the Senshi.

You know I can really see why even though the anime adaptation of this arc despite being much longer and ridiculously full of filler, still didn't include these two because they are the most pointless villains in the entire arc. It's not like they have cool powers either, as you'll see...they just throw knives.

We cut back to the Guardian Senshi who are investigating the Dead Moon Circus. People are more irritable than normal and fighting all around them, which they don't know is from the intense heat, or from or supernatural interference. Rei brought Michiru's mirror using it to sense the strange disturbance and Ami comments that she's scanned the area and found there's a strange aura that is acting like a barrier around the region, attributing the discovery to a program Setsuna gave her, Minako visually twitching in annoyance. Makoto hears a helicopter which reminds her of Haruka and comments it'd be easier to scan the area from atop a helicopter like Haruka's.

Minako gets fed up, commenting that makes five times they've mentioned them...getting defensive and angry, thinking they all view her as undependable for a leader. Ami tries to console her and Rei comments she's acting strange which Minako has probably heard a lot as she runs off. Though of course, being Minako, she has to make a pun as she does so.

One of the great things about Minako is that she can do nutty stuff like this where it's somehow both comedic AND serious at the same time and the two to complement each other. Minako making a strange pun as she runs away makes the scene more comedic, but it somehow doesn't take away any of the serious impact and if anything exaggerates it by an expression of her personality.

Minako runs away, crying to herself that she's a failure as a leader. Then in...a bit of a whiplash, Xenotime from before in very slight disguise comes up to her and pretends to be a talent agent, who wants to scout her out to be an idol. We immediately cut back to Minako with the Senshi as they're all shocked she was scouted out by a talent agent, the drama of the prior interaction apparently completely lost on them. Everyone is shocked...

...except for Rei

Rei is used to this nonsense from Mina.

Ami notes that this seems really suspicious especially as it's a "Dead Moon Entertainment" production from a "Mr. Xeolite" according to her card, but as she's explaining it Minako is literally already halfway out the door. Minako in her own thoughts however reveals she knows it's a Dead Moon trap and is going specifically to prove herself as a leader and take it on by herself commenting  that she's Sailor Venus and she fights "for both fun and duty!"

She reaches the idol auditions which apparently called for swimsuits. Minako comments on how hot and humid it is. Seeing how many girls showed up for the idol audition Minako wonders if she can save all these people herself but worries that if she calls the others to help her, they'll find out she can't transform and decides that she's her mind up on it.

The audition starts and Zeolite calls out to them that that it's a story audition, that they are heroes in a jungle and have to get through the jungle and save the kids on the tower....I thought this was an idol audition, not an actress audition? Zeolite mentions the reward is 5,000,000 yen, though Minako obviously cares more about the childrens' safety. The girls run off with their fighting each other releasing energy with Jun-Jun collecting the energy, turning their dream (to be an idol) into a nightmare. Minako tries to calm them down, to no avail.

Giant rocks are rolled in the way of everyone and Jupiter shows up smashing them with her bare hands. The other Guardians get angry at Minako for not calling for help from them. Minako tries to transform, but to the shock of the others she can't, and in embarrassment, Minako runs away, devoted to stopping this herself.

Minako runs through the jungle commenting on the multiplying lemure sucking up everyone's energy, getting angry at how these girls just wanted to follow their dream and how she's gonna tear the Dead Moon Circus apart, climbing the tower. Meanwhile Xenotime and Zeolite are throwing knives at the Super Guardian Senshi and actually pressure them, telling them if they fight back they can't ensure the safety of their untransformed friend. Lemure attack the not fighting back Guardian Senshi.

Minako reaches the top of the tower, however the captured children turn out to just be disguised lemure. She's attacked by VesVes and one of the knife-throwing brothers, who pins her down. VesVes uses the lemure to brainwash Minako, but Artemis jumps in her face, scratching her to snap her out of it. VesVes, annoyed at this, opens the hatch below them, which causes what I think is  supposed to be a cartoon-style "temporary don't fall until you look down" gag

before Minako can fall Artemis catches onto her, somehow supporting her full weight on his little kitty arms. However PallaPalla arrives and summons another giant stone like before to come down so it will crush Artemis. The act ends on a cliffhanger as Minako yells for Artemis.

As I mentioned Minako's character chapters are always a bit different to the other Guardians in plot structure, seemingly in part because Naoko likes Minako most but also probably because Minako's chapters are last so Naoko wants to subvert the formula she had established. There's a little bit this act about Minako's two dreams, but the conflict isn't really about conflict between them so much as it is about Minako's insecurities as a leader.

On the positive side, I will say it's a fairly understandable and sympathetic motivation for Minako. Especially with how the last three chapters has had the other Guardians look to the Outer Senshi for their inspirations, as opposed to her their leader. Combined with her inability to transform and it's very understandable that Minako would be feeling insecure. Minako's antics and the reactions the others have towards them are generally funny as well.

I will say however this plot isn't resolved very well. It'd be one thing if it left on a cliffhanger and it was returned too, but without spoilers, this subplot isn't resolved in a way that really connects to Minako so much as it does another character. Because it's also focused moreso on Minako's relationship to the other Senshi, as their leader, it doesn't really explore Minako as a character in herself the way the other Guardian Senshi chapters do. There's a little of that with Minako declaring herself a Senshi who fights for fun and duty, but that isn't really an expounded on idea, or her getting angry that the Dead Moon Circus are exploiting childrens beautiful dreams for their energy but that's a motivation that could equally apply to any of the Senshi or really any heroically inclined character. Plus Xenotime and Zeolite are some of the most boring villains in the entire series.

Back on the positives though, I adore the sequence with Usagi refusing to leave Mamoru's side despite his sickness. I may had had problems with the whole "Mamoru hiding his sickness" in previous chapters but I think this resolution is a beautiful display of Usagi and Mamoru's love and a highlight of the Dream arc in general. I also thought that the lead up to it, while just exposition was very elegant and at least conceptually cool, even if I'm not sure what the deeper meaning is, if there is one. I've wondered if the idea of the Dead Moon Circus attacking from without and within is a reference to the idea of the two dreams, but that doesn't seem to connect based on depiction. 

It's strange to me possibly the most serious, dramatic sequence basically explaining the stakes of the arc are the prelude to Minako's silly antics this act, but on some level I think that's just Minako as a character, for whom silliness and seriousness, fun and responsibility, congeal and become hard to tell as distinct. Overall I think the act's pretty good; it had one great scene and the rest was pretty good and a nice mixture of serious and funny, even if not as deep as I'd like. Next time however, is an act oft considered the best act in the Dream Arc.