Sailor Moon Stars Arc Review and Ranking

I adore the Stars Arc, it is my favorite arc of my favorite series. If Sailor Moon didn't have the Stars Arc it would still be my favorite series but I wouldn't be considering it in a tier of its own way I currently do. The Stars Arc is the culmination of the series, the part where it all comes together both literally in that it introduces a lot of that recontextualizes and explains vast amounts of the series before it, but also thematically and narratively as it takes Usagi's character and attempts to break it by bringing it to the most extreme length possible, in doing so merging the two biggest themes of the entire series. Just as this series contrasts and finally unites the physical and the metaphysical so too does it take both the literal and symbolic elements of the story to their climax. It's also the shortest arc being only 11 acts and with all of the acts being medium or slightly short in size. This makes its sheer efficiency in doing so all the more clear and helps it keep up its heightened level of quality across a larger proportion of the act, with more than half of the arc being in the top third of all Sailor Moon acts. 

It fascinates me how Takeuchi-Sensei decided to break down the internal world she built, destroying expectations from as early as Galaxia killing the, to this point, second most important character, the male lead, in the middle of a romantic scene with no warning. How she pretends to follow her own formula, only to rip down Usagi's friends, the things she believed in right in front of her. How she pushes Usagi, the heroine, to the brink, to point where she admits she never fought for love and justice, that she doesn't belong to the eternal world of ideals. A critique the manga has had to this point is how incredibly focused it is on its heroine, Usagi. Takeuchi-Sensei somehow addressed that point by creating the MOST Usagi-focused arc, destroying every single other important character to this point that appeared in the arc. The whole story has been focused around the Earth and Solar System, the microcosm world of Usagi's in particular and so Takeuchi-sensei destroys that microcosm to thrust Usagi into the greater macrocosm of the story, the larger world ruled by and embodied in that character created specifically meta-narratively to be a rival to Usagi, Sailor Galaxia.

Sailor Galaxia is my favorite villain in all of fiction and she makes this arc what it is, the embodiment of everything fantastic about it. She represents the maturation of Usagi and the series in being a threat to that destroys the sense of stability and security Usagi and the readers relied on. She represents the greater scope of the universe, the world beyond Usagi's personal world of concerns. I have mentioned that there are three regards I rate villains by and Galaxia is top tier in all three regards. In terms of being threatening, Galaxia's spirit hangs heavy over the entire arc until Usagi can finally confront her, she looms as a threat not just from her broken power, but from the sheer way she breaks Usagi and the reader down emotionally, the way she takes everything seemly so solid and breaks it down, the way she forces Usagi to her emotional end. In terms of being entertaining, Galaxia is constantly proactive, unlike many prior villains or villains in general, Galaxia is constantly acting and maneuvering, attacking just when Usagi thinks she is safe, and everything about Galaxia is over the top and yet has a silent seriousness. Every other sentence from her conveys the cosmic scope of the conflict. In terms of being compelling, Galaxia represents to me one of the biggest psychological troubles I've had, a disdain for the meaninglessness and arbitrariness of mundane life, the ambition to find the eternal perfect. Everything about Galaxia's personal character arc, the way she clearly wants to be understood even as she hides it speaks to me and the climax of her arc where she dies finally seeing the eternal she was searching for, with it ever just out of reach is heartbreakingly emotional. Even outside of villains, Galaxia is one of my favorite characters in fiction in general which is incredible for a character whose only around for 10 acts of a 60-act story.

In terms of themes this arc has themes that are some of my favorites in the entire series, maybe my absolute favorite, and also express them in ways that are among my favorite, maybe my absolute favorite. The theme for this arc is the divide between the physical and the metaphysical, the temporal and the eternal, the imperfect and the perfect bringing rise to the two opposite extreme philosophies; Nihilism, the rejection of the eternal, and Gnosticism, the rejection of the temporal, moderated by Love, seeing the eternal's expression within the temporal. This is a philosophy I seek to live in my conduct and one that makes me emotional to think of. Expressions of this are everywhere in the arc. Galaxia rejects worlds, destroying them, because they are not the eternal world she was searching for. Sailor Cosmos lost faith in anything enduring after losing everything to Sailor Chaos and so advocated to let all things fade into peaceful oblivion. But Usagi saw the eternal in the temporal existence of her friends, because even if they were temporary, that love she experienced, was an eternal existence fundamental to being. Expressions of this are constant through the arc, with statements wishing that these bodies we express our love with would last for eternity like their Star Seeds, telling Galaxia she would show her the power of their hands and words, the temporal aspect of their existences, or Usagi expressing that she never for peace and justice, but for her loved ones. The theme isn't just expressed in dialogue, but in the dichotomy of Galaxia and Usagi's presumptions about each other. Galaxia takes everything from Usagi trying to show Usagi the temporal nature of reality, wanting both that Usagi would come to understand and be like Galaxia, and to awaken her true power, assuming Usagi would react to these things the way Galaxia did but couldn't understand why this would make Usagi save Galaxia, because Galaxia didn't think her own life as it was deserved saving. This theme is expressed more naturalistically than the Dark Kingdom Arc's, more consistently than the Black Moon Clan Arc's, more clearly than the Infinity Arc's, and more dynamically than the Dream Arc's. 

This arc also takes the two biggest themes of the whole series; the pain of isolation and the ennobling power of love and takes them to their conclusion, having the two intersect. Sailor Galaxia is defined by her isolation, by her philosophy that the greatest stars shine alone, that stars coming together is a sign of them being too weak to shine alone. She spends the entire arc forcing Usagi to feel the pain of isolation until the climactic act when making Usagi feel "the pain of true solitude" is explicitly her goal. Conversely, Sailor Cosmos is defined by her loneliness after Sailor Chaos destroyed the future, leaving her alone, leaving her in disbelief she could face the future. Usagi herself is at first in similar disbelief, questioning what is there worth fighting for if everyone is dead and gone. Likewise, the ennobling power of love is played with this arc. Usagi's love and her ability to grow stronger from her love has always been her greatest strength yet this arc turns that on its head with Galaxia trying to exploit that very facet by emotionally tormenting her to bring force a greater level of power, forcefully isolating her and paining her from her love, represented in the beautiful imagery where Seiya comments on Usagi having wings that hold her down, a force that should give let her fly bringing her down to Earth. The intersection of these two themes comes about in the final defeat of Galaxia's ideals by Usagi's ideals, when Usagi chooses to save Galaxia after everything Galaxia did because Usagi "saw (her) lonely self in Galaxia." Usagi's power comes from her love for her friends, and being without them is emotional pain of the greatest extent, but to someone with a heart of love, being lonely only increases empathy for those who are also lonely. These two themes are emotionally defining for Galaxia and Usagi, Galaxia defined emotionally by the pain of isolation, and Usagi by the ennobling power of love, but as they come together, as they battle directly, Galaxia was unable to understand Usagi, but Usagi WAS able to understand Galaxia. These two themes have been with the series since the beginning, but here we finally see the triumph of one over the other.

On a more basic level, I also love the more direct things of the Stars Arc. I think the expansions to the lore like Sailor Crystals, the Galaxy Cauldron, Chaos being the source of all enemies, all make sense and are really cool. I love the plot, especially the moment Galaxia finally reveals the reason behind her actions which gives so much meaning to the prior parts of the arc. I love the design and aesthetic sense of the arc, which I would go so far is to say is the best, save maybe the first arc. I love how this arc contrasts some of the most silly mundane antics in the series history with some of the darkest events in the narrative so as to maximize the effect. I love how this series pays homage to prior arcs while also subverting and breaking down the formula they were built on, truly making it feel like the conclusion to the story, the ideas taken so far that they break down and something new emerges. I could re-read this arc a million times and never gets bored, this is to me what good fiction looks like. The last page of the scene fits this arc so much because other stories I know will come and go, other interests will fill my mind and leave, but the Stars Arc will fly triumphantly in my heart for all time as an expression of what I reach for. 

Arc-Ranking:

11: Act 51: Act 51 is pretty clearly the weakest Stars Act to me not for having massive negatives per se but moreso for lacking positives. I think Haruka, Ami, and especially Michiru getting angry at the Starlights is a pretty funny scene, Michiru's anger in particular is perfect. That said most of this act is just introducing the Starlights and Chibi-Chibi. It's mysterious if this is your first time reading but otherwise you know everything about these four so there's not much to unravel. I think that Ami getting an imperfect store on a first year High School Exam just so she can get angry at Taiki getting a perfect score pushes the joke a bit past believability, and Aluminum Seiren is the single least interesting villain this arc. The civilian antics are fun this act. As mentioned Michiru getting angry at Yaten telling her that her lipstick shade is a trashy color and Michiru snaps the lipstick in pure anger will always be hilarious and Chibi-Chibi annoying Minako is funny, but the actual Senshi business has the least amount of attention this act, with Galaxia not even showing up. Ami and Makoto dying is unexpected but unlike Mamoru or Rei/Minako there was no build-up like Mamoru's two romantic scenes with Usagi or Rei and Minako's plotline the act before, and it doesn't advance the surprising atmosphere of the arc other than the fact it was one of Galaxia's minions, not even Galaxia who performed the deed. I think this is the act that could be easily rewritten to be better of the Stars Arc.

10: Act 56: So there's not much really wrong with this act, it's just that this is the Stars Arc and so the bar is set much higher than normal. Act 56 is the self-contained episode with Lethe and Mnesmonye. It serves narrative and thematic purposes for the arc being Usagi entering into the world of Galaxia, seeing the influence Galaxia has had on the galaxy, but particularly on a literal plot level it feels a little disconnected from the whole. I love Lethe and Mnesmonye as villains and their backstory is fantastic. I think this act does a great job of establishing two new antagonists and giving them a complete arc in one act while also using it to put a new light on the central antagonist and her world. However, the death of the Mautions seems a little excessive, and the beginning is a little confusingly paced with a concern being brought up only to be immediately disregarded. Overall a really good episodic plot in it, but a little disconnected.

9: Act 57: Act 57 is an act that has a lot of cool ELEMENTS in it, but comes across a little unfocused. It's good at a little bit of everything, almost exactly opposite to the very focused and mostly self-contained Act 56 right before it. This act has two different fight scenes, one being the Heavy Metal Papillion fight used to reintroduce Chibi-Moon and her Senshi and the other being the fight with Chi and Phi where Kakyuu dies to establish the role of the power of hope in the climax. This act also has the hilarious scene where Galaxia, just to infuriate Eternal Sailor Moon, teleports her castle around right before Usagi can reach it. It has a lot of atmosphere building with Heavy Metal Papillion's introduction to Galaxia's castle, Chi and Phi referring to the Senshi just as Sailor Crystals, and the speculation about Chibi-Chibi. This act has a lot of good things I can say about it but I can't say what it's about per se. 

8: Act 53: Act 53 is the death act for Venus and Mars, as well as technically the Outers but I think these were built up more then the ones in Act 51. Mars and Venus were a significant focus of the act prior and the Outers Death is something implied and we get the resolution for in Act 55. It's an act with two significant villains, Lead Crow and Iron Mouse both of whom are connected to prior characters and are the best Sailor Animamates. In that way it parallels Act 57 but it's more focused as an act. While it does not have the death of Kakyuu, Mars and Venus Deaths are some of the most impactful in the series due to being a double subversion which allows Usagi to finally begin to confront Mamoru's death. This act does a lot of worldbuilding both with learning of Mau and Coronis, beginning the distortions in the future plot point that will be thematically reflected by Galaxia asking Usagi if she's sure of the future she believes in, Yaten explaining Star Seeds and Sailor Crystals, the two identities of a Sailor Senshi, and the Outers trying to create a barrier around the System. The act serves to culminate the first few acts of the arc and to begin leading in to the end of the sub-arc. 

7: Act 58: Act 58 is 3/4th pretty good, and 1/4th great. This is the act where Usagi fights the Galactica Sol Senshi and finally confronts Galaxia face to face. It's a pretty short act overall but definitely really good overall. I do think the main thrust of the act could have been intensified, that is Usagi's emotions could have been sharper and her reactions better tied in with the arc's themes, but I understand narratively what it means and the final quarter is exactly what it needs to be, Usagi and Galaxia talking past each other, expressing their divergent beliefs and inability to understand each other. 

6: Act 50: I said that Stars 1 was about average for the arc and I meant. Stars 1 is not just great as an opening, it's great as an act of Sailor Moon which is particularly impressive as I find every piece of Sailor Moon content from acts, to arcs, to the entire story almost always get better as they go along and usually significantly better. So to have such a good start as this is truly impressive. This act has two romantic scenes between Usagi and Mamoru, both exquisite and with the latter being one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series which highlights and contradicts both the eternal-ness of love of Mamoru's love and the temporality of his being, the inherent paradox of this arc. Galaxia before she speaks to a single other character in the series has one of the most memorable villain introductions in the series, simply appearing and killing the male lead out of nowhere. And it's not just a shock death either, this is crucial to the themes of the series and the event ripples across the entire arc. Several scenes are set such that they can be read both by the reader and the characters in multiple lights just by clever framing, which is such a cool trick. This act is such a good introduction and sets the stage for the Stars Arc perfectly.

5: Act 52: Act 52 is another short, comprised of three component parts, all of which I really enjoyed. Shortest of these but definitely not least in importance, this is the first time Galaxia speaks to another character, speaking to her subordinate about her confusion towards the Sol Senshi clinging to their human Star Seeds, giving us the first understanding of Galaxia's worldview and the major theme of this arc. This is contrasted with the second part with Usagi thinking on the same thing from the opposite perspective as she is lost emotionally at the seeming temporality of things, at the way the world can see to fall away out of nowhere. Usagi this act has to be confronted by Seiya by the reality of what's going on. This act marks the midpoint of the first sub-arc of Stars and because of my own life experiences, I find Usagi very relatable this sub-arc, and her emotions this act speak to me extremely strongly. Finally this act has the Minako and Rei subplot which is funny, compelling, and sweet all in short succession with Rei's annoyance at Minako's antics, their utter faith in each other, and the implied emotional bond between them that goes beyond what they'd have with a hypothetical boyfriend. This act is great and is an act I often think of when I think of great Sailor Moon acts, and it's only fifth highest Stars Arc.

4: Act 54: The two acts at the end of the first sub-arc of Stars are both a little exposition-heavy but they really hit me emotionally. This act has multiple scenes that would the best in almost any other Sailor Moon scene. This act has the scene where Seiya asks Usagi if she's always borne such heavy wings on her back, a sentiment about how Usagi's greatest strength can also be her greatest weakness, that the love that gives her wings to fly can also be so heavy to drag her down. There's the immediately following page where Usagi wishes that our bodies were as eternal as our Star Seeds, again reflecting Usagi's opposite nature to Galaxia, you've got Kakyuu's backstory and expressing that coronation at the end of the last arc was a symbol to the whole universe. Even beyond that this act has has tons of tiny cool things such as Chibi-Chibi answering Usagi's question of "Who are you" with "I am me", the callback to Saphir telling Usagi that her Silver Crystal threw the history of humanity off-track when she's feeling guilty, Galaxia's surprise attack on Usagi, the beginning of the holding hands imagery that would repeat across the arc etc.

3: Act 55: I love this act so much, this act is a juxtaposition between my two favorite characters in the series, two of my favorite characters of all time, Sailor Moon and Sailor Galaxia, bringing the first sub-arc to its conclusion. Sailor Moon's journey in this act finishes the emotional journey she's had over the first half of the arc, with her declaration that "every me is me" setting her up as the unity between the temporal self and the eternal self. Just as Usagi this act is the ultimate celebration of the series legacy, Galaxia is the ultimate subversion, inverting the normal narrative rules for a Sailor Moon arc, making the destruction of Usagi's world trivial and done over the first half of the arc, instead of the second, forcing Usagi instead to come to her internal world. This act has Galaxia thinking for the first time, finally making her more a person instead of a conceptual representation of the uncaring eternity of the universe, giving her backstory and showing her philosophy. It contrasts with Usagi finally building up the will to battle Galaxia through the opposite philosophy. There's so many great things I could say about this act.

2: Act 60: The final act of the series was everything it needed to be, and included four different sections all of which were great to fantastic. We've got Sailor Cosmos' ruminations and proclamation that Usagi's true power that allowed her to beat Chaos is the "courage to allow one to throw it away and take it all in", the power that makes one the true Sailor Cosmos. We've got the Cauldron Scene where Usagi finally reunites with everyone and where the coming of age theme is finally completed with Usagi reaching the place Queen Serenity did along with Usagi choosing this world with all its struggles and strains because it's the world she found her friends. We've got the extremely emotional marriage scene of Usagi and Mamoru which pairs a perfect resolution to this arc's themes with the culmination of the romance that has been a centerpoint to this entire series. And we've got Usagi beating Chaos not by attacking her but sheerly by the force of her love, an inspiring, beautiful praise of the loving heart and its ability to overcome anything, even the conceptual weight of everything that could ever happen.

1: Act 59: My favorite act in the entire series. The culmination of Galaxia and Usagi as characters. Galaxia's end is heart-wrenching every time I read it and Usagi's love is the pathway I want to walk everyday of my life. This is an act that connects to the greatest artistic and philosophical traditions we've had as a species, commenting on them confidently and cleverly. I love every page, every panel of this act. Usagi and Galaxia's every interaction in this act speak to me on so many levels both literally as a narrative and emotionally as representatives of impulses in my heart, the Gnostic Impulse to reject the imperfect and the Impulse of Love to embrace things. My favorite thing about art is its ability to communicate emotionally something so much more powerful than just saying it would be outright. This act to me shows that so clearly, the way it expresses why one should act in love, how it connects oneself to the eternal even through such flawed conduits as things in this universe we inhabit. I love how Usagi admits she's a creature of that material flawed reality, not a better spirit from an eternal perfect reality with her admission that she can't fight just for peace and justice, that she's only ever fought for her friends and loved ones. I love the tragic beauty of Galaxia finally seeing the eternal form of being in Usagi when Usagi expresses that she will love the universe, no matter what sufferings it submits her to, but can't reach that light, it ever out of reach of her. I love how with a single simple sentence "My hand reached out because I saw my own lonely self in you" we see the victory of Usagi's ideal over Galaxia's, the victory of the impulse of Love within us over Gnosticism and why, because Gnosticism can't understand Love but Love can understand Gnosticism. I love Chaos and Sailor Cosmos and the surprises they add to the act and how it adds a Nihilistic Extreme opposite polarity to Galaxia's, which is defeated for exactly the same reason that Love beats Gnosticism, because Nihilism cannot account for Love but Love accounts for all else. I love how this act is Usagi somehow both broken down as a character and yet also taken to her ultimate extreme, somehow still the scared girl from Act 1 and the ultimate light of the universe, just as she is material and metaphysical at the same time. 

Sub-Arc Ranking:

2: Solar System Invasion/Animamates Sub-Arc (Acts 50-55): This sub-arc starts out with a bang and gets better overtime. It's an an arc where the universe at large forces itself upon the small little Solar System, connecting and expanding the lore from the local microcosm of Usagi's personal concerns to the greater overarching concerns of the macrocosm, with numerous lore elements prior being recontextualized such as the Mautions, Phobos and Deimos, The Power Guardians, the Planetary Castles, etc. and introducing Senshi from outside the Sol System, the Starlights and their princess. At this same time this introduces the point of the temporality and smallness of Usagi's worlds, a traumatic overwhelming reality represented in Galaxia that Usagi spends the sub-arc developing to face. By the end of the sub-arc, Usagi has developed and matured internally as she comes to grips with the scope of the outer universe, and through the emotional strength and worldview she's cultivated over the series prepares her to face it head on, all the while slowly introducing and expressing the worldview of Galaxia, the anti-Usagi, a character literally made to rival Usagi and break down her worldview, setting the stage for their battle.

1: Galaxy Cauldron/Chaos Sub-Arc (Act 56-60): This sub-arc only gets better as it goes, as the fated battle with Galaxia and Usagi comes closer. Galaxia does everything she can for the majority of the sub-arc to strip Usagi of all the temporalities keeping her from understanding Galaxia, trying to bring her hatred to her zenith, yet the thing she could never anticipate was that Usagi was not acting in the same hatred Galaxia was, but had already found the thing Galaxia had always searched for, the answer to that emptiness. This sub-arc takes Sailor Moon as a concept, the entire universe and its themes to their utmost, to their breaking point, until the themes of the series congeal and conflict unto one comes out triumphant. The final two acts are full of some of my favorite moments in fiction. Everything from the lore to the plot to the characterization to the imagery to the aesthetics to the atmosphere of this sub-arc are spot on and exactly what I love.