2026 REREAD:
WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON!
It's short story time!
(With a shorter rereview.)
'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories, Vol. 1' is a collection of incredibly silly and irreverent self-contained side chapters, separate from the main 'Sailor Moon' series. There's the three 'Chibi-Usa's Picture Diaries', Chibi-Usa's first days at school in the twentieth century, vampires, legends (such as 'Tanabata: The Legend of Shokujo and Kengyu'), evil dentists, the three 'Exam Battle Stories', very weird evil spirits, sweets, cakes, teas, tanned "Americanized" valley girl and otaku/cosplayer parodies, and a 'Sailor Moon' merch shop.
We get to know more about Chibi-Usa's schoolfriends, Momoko, Kyusuke and Sorano (who looks exactly like Umino, are they related? Kyusuke is the brother of Rei's friend Kotono, and one of the annoying valley girls in the last story, Naruru, is Naru's little sister). Haruka and Michiru cameo in the 'Tanabata' 'Picture Diary', as schoolgirls, and never transform into Sailor Guardians. Though to be fair, these stories are less about the Guardian stuff, and are more amusing character pieces. And neither Haruka nor Michiru have ever looked more feminine and youthful. Diana is the only cat who appears in any of the stories, which is nearly as bizarre as everything else here. Unazuki cameos, and Naru and Umino still exist. We also learn throughout that Sailor Moon and the Sailor Guardians are well known and famous, and have their own merch in some places in Jūban.
I relate so much to Makoto in her exam studies story. Ami is awesome; intense and hilarious in her own right in her exam story. Minako and Rei are a great pair in their collaborative exam chapter. They are a fine example of opposites attract. Nowadays their relationship would be called textbook queerbaiting. Also, something I forgot to mention in my volume 12 rereview is how close the two are drawn together at the end; at the series' finale. How Takeuchi-sensei constantly draws Minako and Rei like a romantic couple can't be unintentional, even if it is teasing.
Really, the 'Exam Battle Stories' are my favourites of the collection.
There's no way the final story, 'The Secret Hammer Price Hall', is canon. Though I like that Hotaru is in it, and is chums with Chibi-Usa. It contains an abundance of meta humour and self-aware otaku humour; some of the humour overall is pretty funny. Chubster Mask cannot be topped in comedy gold.
Usagi calls Minako "Mina-P" and "V-chan", something I've noticed since volume 11.
In Chibi-Usa's first 'Picture Diary', the one with the vampires, Makoto smokes a cigarette... a chocolate cigarette, thank goodness.
As genuinely funny as some of the short stories are, there are still cringey and problematic elements, that have not aged well. There is a recurring pattern of fatphobia in girls and women throughout, and there are many instances of men perving on young girls - even Chibi-Usa/Sailor Chibi Moon and those of her age range are not safe (they're grade schoolers, which Chibi-Usa looks like and in fact is, despite being 902-years-old). It's disgusting and inappropriate. Oh, and 'Chibi-Usa's Picture Diary''s 'Beware of Tanabata' is mostly misguided, sexist, fat shaming trash. Another problematic aspect: as much as I like Minako and Rei's exam story, it does unfortunately lean towards the predatory lesbian cliché with its evil-spirit-of-the-week.
But everything in 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories, Vol. 1' is obviously not meant to be taken seriously. It's a lot of messing about, and that's okay. The stories are half normal slice-of-life comedy, and half supernatural-monster-and-spirit-of-the-week. It's all a break, a breather, from the high stakes, main canon series; even filling in some of the gaps in character development - as well as ordinary civilian character presence - in that.
The art is still absolutely amazing and expressive. Takeuchi-sensei conveys OTT comedy and absurdity so well. 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories, Vol. 1' has the cutest cover ever, too, though it is misleading - Chibi-Chibi is not in any of the stories.
Honestly, I'd already said all that needs to be said about 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories, Vol. 1' in my original review below, written ten years ago. Not much has changed. Go read that.
On that note, on to 'Short Stories, Vol. 2' next!
Happy September Moon!
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
A collection of seven off-the-wall and funny short stories of 'Sailor Moon' - none of which are actually about Sailor Moon herself, but her Guardian friends.
First off there's 'Chibi-Usa's Picture Diary: Beware the Transfer Student' - About Chibiusa's first days at school, her classmates, and vampires. Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus are idols for Chibiusa as well as for the rest of the kids. They show up to defeat a vampire in a few panels. Cute art, standard story for little-uns, and BTW, I didn't know vampires liked flowers.
The second story is called, 'Chibi-Usa's Picture Diary: Beware of Tanabata', revolving around the Chinese legend of Tanabata: of Shokujo and Kengyu. Haruka and Michiru make a cute cameo appearance, Mamoru is an idiot, the cats’ roles diminish as time goes on, and there's straw feminism mixed with stereotyped assumptions about men as well. Plus, like with the 'Codename: Sailor V' manga, there's the implication that only young, slim, pretty girls can be happy because they'll have handsome men in their lives. I wouldn't call this a subversion or deconstruction of an old legend when it sorely relies on gender stereotypes to get its point across.
Third is 'Chibi-Usa's Picture Diary: Beware of Cavities' - A typical monster-of-the-week story about fearing dentists. Add in a rather weak healthy-eating message and the job’s done; no insight to be found here. At least Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus share in a battle again with Chibiusa (thank heaven this is her last "Picture Diary" entry - she's had enough of the spotlight). And wow these stories are excessively boisterous! I'd even call the artwork for the comedy scenes an eyesore.
Now onto the 'Exam Battle Stories' - exactly what it says on the tin. The Inner Sailor Guardians are at their high school entrance examination period. Ridiculous evil spirits to fight come and go, too. In 'The Melancholy of Mako-Chan', we learn more about everyone's favourite vigorous and feminine "big sister" Guardian, Makoto Kino /Sailor Jupiter, as she procrastinates studying to go bargain-hunting for pretty things, to cook, clean, and drink tea during the girls' study groups.
'Ami-Chan's First Love' - Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury studies hard nearly all the time, and contrary to her usual kind nature, where exams are concerned she is tough on her friends to study as well. She can understand and solve any and every problem. Except for love letters, which make her break out in hives. In this story, she obsessively competes against a rival who keeps getting the same perfect score as her in mock exam results, to the point where she might be falling in love - with someone she only knows by pen name. Of course Ami's ideal man would be Albert Einstein, and with so much emphasis on her being extremely intelligent (300 IQ!), why would she choose her own exam board pen name to be "Mercury"? Isn't that a dead giveaway of her secret identity? Like if Clark Kent were to submit a story to the Daily Planet under the name, “Supes”? Or if Bruce Wayne ran a business called, “Bat Management”? But aside from that, this is a great Ami-centered story. She is drawn with such an array of expressions it's both funny and charming, and boy is she competitive! My favourite line, from Minako, is, ""Rival equals enemy," eh? I think I'll stop trying to improve my grades, then, since I don't wanna get killed by Ami-Chan!" Umino appears! Even Usagi remarks that she forgot about his existence in the past year!
'Rei's and Minako's Girls School Battle?' - An instant favourite if you're a Rei/Minako fan and consider the pairing to be canon, or you think it should be (They always look the perfect match when drawn together). We delve into the hyperactive, boy-crazy, superficial mind of one Minako Aino/Sailor Venus, and what she thinks of each of her friends, including her exact opposite, Rei Hino/Sailor Mars. Despite being jealous of Rei, Minako does admire her more "refined" friend. This could be interpreted as their own special love story - about a love-hate relationship between two teenage girls growing up into high school age, with new, wider experiences ahead of them.
The seventh - and fortunately the last - story is, 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Side Story: The Secret Hammer Price Hall'. It is full of valley girl speak. Oh joy. I hate this sexist stereotype, its overuse in the media in the 1990s-early 2000s, and how it typically has vapid Barbie clones effortlessly butcher the English language merely by opening their mouths. In this case it’s most bizarre because the two valley girls are meant to be speaking Japanese (They are called Ganguro girls here: Culture sharing? Approbation?) My eye twitches just reading the horrendous dialogue, even if it is parody (and I don't blame the translator for the interpretation). One other thing; I do not care about brands, and I never have. Why would Chibiusa be friends with such airheads in the first place? At least Hotaru Tomoe is at hand in her part as the straight man - she is my hero in this. While there are some genuinely funny moments - "Chubster Mask" made me laugh out loud, and the self-aware Sailor Moon laments her lack of presence in these stories, despite being the main character - it is obnoxious and messy overall. There’s too many grown men fetishizing young girls, and apparently 'Sailor Moon' is a franchise in its own universe, with its own cosplay, manga and anime. Whatever, clearly it's not meant to be taken seriously, just like the other stories. And whenever an enemy shows up, why do the Sailor Guardians keep transforming from their civilian identities in public, in front of everyone?
Another thing, isn't the cover of this volume the cutest, most precious thing ever? Takeuchi-san's art continues to amaze me.
My final 'Sailor Moon' manga review is coming up: with the second short stories volume, containing, in my opinion, much better and more sophisticated storytelling; the best the franchise has to offer.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Sunday, 24 January 2016
Friday, 22 January 2016
Manga Review - 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 12' by Naoko Takeuchi, William Flanagan (Translator)
2026 REREAD:
WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON!
"The incredible amount of power that the hands, bodies, and words of one's comrades and loved ones possess! That I've been able to get this far, keep on living, and continue fighting as a Sailor Guardian, is all thanks to my comrades and loved ones! That's what a Sailor Guardian is!"
I'll try to keep it brief this time, in spite of 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 12' being the final volume of 'Sailor Moon', and therefore it should be blown up and celebrated like a fireworks display. But sometimes less is more, and simpler is better.
Rereview:
The art - top-notch, beautiful, emotional and heartrending as ever.
Sailor Galaxia, the Guardian of Destruction, first received info about the Sagittarius Zero Star and the Galaxy Cauldron, at the heart of the Milky Way (aka Sagittarius Alpha Star), and about heavenly bodies (or stars, or star seeds), from someone on a faraway planet who looks suspiciously like Wiseman.
It was Chaos. Everything and everyone comes from Chaos, and the Galaxy Cauldron. All of Sailor Moon's previous villains originated from him (or her? Or do they even have a gender?).
Every villain, every enemy, was attracted to the Silver Sailor Crystal because of its light, warmth, and power, and feeling of togetherness and not being alone; linking to every star seed coming from Chaos and the Galaxy Cauldron, the birthplace of heavenly bodies. Everyone with star seeds - souls, hearts - are siblings, basically. Everyone is connected.
Chaos is "One who failed to become a heavenly body, and the ruler of the dark heavenly bodies of this Cauldron." Sailor Galaxia is an entitled, narcissistic Guardian, who came from "filth" and "scum" on a "scum-like planet", and who hates "scum" (she says that word a lot in the last quarter of the volume - she's a true fascist politician, equipped with buzzwords). She murders Sailor Guardians for their Sailor Crystals, for power over the galaxy. Her end goal is to use Chaos and the Galaxy Cauldron as a means to her own ends... but Chaos bests her first. They both want to start a new universe, and new history of the Milky Way.
Galaxia has her own Galactica Castle, and her own Sapphire Crystal (this doesn't lead to anything), and a giant Garden Crystal for storing Sailor Crystals.
The Sailor Star Lights and Princess Kakyu don't end up doing much before they are "killed". Not even when Kakyu transforms into Sailor Kakyu (why didn't she do so before...?)... which barely lasts for two pages before she is fatally stabbed by Sailor Chi. We don't even see these Guardians at the end; as they are not solar system Sailor Guardians. Did they get revived/reborn? Kakyu, in her death scene, says she hopes to be reborn together with her loved ones (I assume that includes her "one true love" who Galaxia killed, who isn't mentioned in this volume and who we never see; we literally know nothing about them), so hopefully that happens?
A similar fate befalls Luna, Artemis and Diana, who are injured and unable to talk, and despite being dropped off by Usagi at her house for her mother Ikuko to look after, the cats somehow get killed off-panel. And they don't show up in the final chapter, Act 60; not in the final scene, on Usagi and Mamoru's wedding day, surrounded by the solar system Sailor Guardians. I hope they were reborn as well.
I mean, Chibi-Usa's main motivation for going back to the past, aside from helping Sailor Moon battle Galaxia and save the universe, is to search for Diana, who left for the past initially. She tearfully comes to the conclusion that the cats had been wiped out on Earth. So it's really bizarre for her not to mention her dear little friend Diana again afterwards.
Sailor Chibi Moon's comrades - the Sailors Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta - show up in the thirtieth century (have they been sleeping in the Amazon rainforest up until then?) after Chibi-Usa stands her ground in wanting to go help Sailor Moon in the past. Her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, finally relents and lets them travel across space-time, and to the Milky Way (Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon pulls them there herself). Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta are there near the end when Eternal Sailor Moon sacrifices herself inside the Galaxy Cauldron to absorb and defeat Chaos, and when Sailor Cosmos reveals herself (this is also when Chibi Moon had temporarily disappeared from existence).
As Usagi leaves to go to the Milky Way with Chibi-Chibi, the Sailor Star Lights and Kakyu, Ikuko, holding the cats, and still oblivious to her daughter's other life, starts crying. She says she has a feeling her daughter will never come back home again. Usagi's father Kenji is barely present on the side of a panel. Does Usagi ever see her family again? Surely she isn't reborn into a new one? How much time has passed between leaving the Milky Way, and her wedding? She'll be in her early twenties then, like twenty-two, when Chibi-Usa is conceived and born.
It's a bit of a shame how many characters are sidelined at the end of the 'Sailor Moon' manga, with no mention at all.
This marks the third time in the main series that Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru is brainwashed into being an evil woman's property, and practically her love slave, in which he tries to violently murder Sailor Moon. The power of their love - and their Crystals - is the strongest light in the universe, indeed.
Mamoru's Golden Crystal is not mentioned once in this volume. I guess it was never as important as the Silver Crystal. Wait, where is Helios, and Elysion, in all of this?
I can't believe this only now occurred to me: When Sailor Galaxia took Mamoru's star seed and Golden Crystal at the beginning of the previous volume, why didn't she also take Usagi's star seed and Silver Crystal? What exactly is stopping her from taking it at any time? Is the Silver Crystal just that special and powerful? In protecting Usagi, along with her Sailor Guardian friends and other loved ones?
According to Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter, because Usagi/Sailor Moon is a princess, even the most powerful in the universe, "...You don't have to try so hard. [...] It's all right to be protected by others. For princesses... get stronger by being protected." I choose to interpret this as everyone needing help, guidance and support in times of crisis and chaos. No Sailor Guardian is an island. Or a lone star, without fellow heavenly bodies.
The fight between Sailor Moon and Sailor Galaxia is even more epic than Sailor Moon's fight with her "reborn" Sailor Guardian friends, with their Sailor Crystals, and new forms manipulated by Galaxia, like Tuxedo Mask.
Sailor Moon truly is the strongest and most powerful Sailor Guardian in the universe, with her bravery, empathy and heart, and endless capacity to hope in the face of utter darkness, despair, war, and evil. It's not just her Silver Sailor Crystal.
Sailor Moon can "embrace anything and everything"; even the bad things in life, for light cannot exist without darkness, and vice versa. She strongly, steadfastly believes in peace, and in everybody's happiness. The self-sacrificing Guardian won't give up on hope, no matter what.
The adorable Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon is revealed to be Sailor Moon's "future ultimate form", Sailor Cosmos. In her future, another evil Sailor Guardian, Sailor Chaos, appeared, and destroyed everything, and Sailor Cosmos felt it was her fault, for not completely destroying Chaos, and the Galaxy Cauldron, in the past. She went back in order to see to it that her past self obliterates the Cauldron for good, even if it means no heavenly bodies will ever be born and reborn again... but she ends up reminding dear Sailor Moon to never give up - or rather, Sailor Moon reminded her; to never give up on everything, for everything comes from the universe, and the Galaxy Cauldron, and while there may always be conflict, due to the Cauldron and heavenly bodies existing, there is also hope. And the chance of another Galaxy Cauldron existing somewhere else anyway. This is a very truncated version of events.
There's a mini Guardian Cosmos, the "guardian star spirit of cosmos seeds" in the Galaxy Cauldron, as well.
There's something about "the Cosmos Crystal's ultimate Lambda Power, which restores everything to the static "cosmos"", according to Sailor Cosmos.
Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne, two of Galaxia's desperate and misled minions/victims at Sagittarius Zero Star, are clearly a lesbian couple. Among my many hopes is they got their happily ever after.
Then there's the one-dimensionally evil Sailor Phi and Sailor Chi, Galaxia's "Star Gardeners".
So Chaos - or rather, the Galaxy Cauldron - is Princess Serenity's father? Does this explain the existence of the Silver Sailor Crystal, and why it's the most powerful source of light ever (as where there is light, there is darkness attracted to it)? Usagi/Sailor Moon/Serenity always existed as a symbol of hope, change and rebirth? That's my interpretation.
War and conflict may be endless, but so are love and hope. Light and dark must coexist. So must everybody.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I'm done for now.
The Sailor Stars arc - the 'Sailor Moon' finale - ends in a white light bang, across the galaxy, the cosmos, the universe, full of heart, love, and hope.
Evanescence and transcendence!
Yes, the ending is a little rushed, with loads of details and character arcs left unresolved (was Takeuchi-sensei given a limited number of pages and panels to use up, or was it deadline issues?). But you know what? I love it. I love 'Sailor Moon', always have, always will. It's so emotional and dramatic, and I mean that in the best, most positive way.
Have hope and faith in yourself, and in your loved ones. And in the future, which is always changing, and always capable of shining brighter and brighter. No matter how bad and hopeless everything seems, with evil winning at every turn.
It's a great and important lesson to take to heart in modern times.
Happy September Moon.
Happy Sailor Year, every year.
Now it's onto the two 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories' collected volumes. These are more lighthearted and silly, and I'm sure we'll have extra fun, with not-so serious, high stakes climactic battles deciding the fate of the universe; and with less existential crises, and deaths and rebirths.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Original Review:
There are so many great quotes in this volume, I won't number them all.
Just... wow. Everything - how it all could and should end - is here.
Chaos! Cosmos! Heavenly bodies! Evil Sailor Guardians! I enjoyed every ounce of it. Why did it take me so long to express it until now?
It has always been about Sailor Moon, the Pretty Guardian in a sailor suit. She is the star. She is the hero. The manga finale reaffirms this: She alone can save the universe, and this time without her loved ones and companions, whom she had depended on for so long, and were the sole reason for her fighting up until now. Sailor Moon is Eternal, is Cosmos, a mother, a queen. The most beautiful, shining, luminescent star - Sailor Crystal - of all time. Her hope is truly immortal.
In ‘Volume 12’ we learn that Sailor Galaxia has delusions of grandeur and a god complex. She had wanted to escape her own dull planet, and collect more power from other Sailor Crystals in order to gain a mother planet of her own, and rule over the Milky Way. She learned about the birthplace of the Milky Way from Wiseman, oddly enough. Though as it turns out, Wiseman, along with all of Sailor Moon's past enemies, is a manifestation of Chaos, a failed heavenly body who controls the Galaxy Cauldron at Sagittarius Zero Star, the centre of the Milky Way. Galaxia constantly calls things she considers beneath her "scum".
Usagi firmly believes that Sailor Guardians are worth more than just the sum of their Crystals - she wants to restore her dear friends' bodies, somehow. She, Chibi-Chibi, the Sailor Star Lights, and Princess Kakyu travel to Sagittarius Zero Star for the final showdown with Galaxia; after leaving the injured Luna, Artemis and Diana with Usagi’s mother, who has a strange feeling that her daughter will never come home again...
Sailor Moon will learn the positives and negatives of both being protected and being independent. Elements from Greek mythology meet the Guardians at Sagittarius Zero Star - and Galaxia's castle. There's a tragic story of a lesbian Guardian couple; following Sailor Moon's declaration that she would willingly die if it meant that no war or conflict will cause any more suffering due to her Silver Crystal existing. The Star Lights perish easily, and Sailor Chibi-Moon and her Sailor Quartet Guardians arrive from the 30th century to save the past; thus saving their future. (There's a really funny, cathartic moment of Chibi-Chibi being introduced to Chibi-Moon). Princess Kakyu reveals herself as a Sailor Guardian (Well obviously. And couldn't she have transformed before? Like, when her Star Light protectors were killed?). She dies also, in Sailor Moon's arms.
All her Sailor Guardian friends, and Tuxedo Mask, appear... but as Galaxia's reincarnated slaves. Chibi-Moon and Chibi-Chibi use their power to protect Sailor Moon, but only she can fight - this is her solitary battle, even when her wings are torn off by those she once loved. By never giving up, and by using the Silver Crystal's fathomless power, she defeats the imposters.
Now the fight is on: Sailor Moon versus Sailor Galaxia. Galaxia mocks her opponent's trust and faith in others and their power, for one's strength can only come from oneself. Sailor Moon fights for the belief that having comrades in arms - physically and spiritually - is what it means to be a Sailor Guardian to begin with.
Galaxia leads Moon to the sanctuary and source of star seeds/heavenly bodies, the Galaxy Cauldron, which is also the home of Chaos, a Metalia/Wiseman enemy father. Galaxia throws all the Sailor Guardian Crystals into the cauldron, obliterating any chance of restoring their physical forms. With Tuxedo Mask gone, Sailor Chibi-Moon fades from existence. Things have never been so intense for Sailor Moon; Galaxia wants to get her angry, desperate and hopeless enough to pour out her maximum Silver Crystal power into the cauldron, and destroy Chaos. Galaxia plans to become the cauldron's new ruler - a god who controls life, death and rebirth.
A beaten-yet-still-loving Sailor Moon ends up saving Galaxia from Chaos, for she sees her enemy's loneliness reflected in herself. She also realises and understands all her previous foes’ wish to obtain her Silver Crystal light - to embrace it, to seek companionship in a big, dark, lonely universe. Chaos fully merges with the Galaxy Cauldron. Suspense mounts to the brim: Will Sailor Moon, the epitome of love and hope, have to take up Sailor Saturn's torch and bring death to the cauldron, and therefore all heavenly bodies, and the Milky Way?
Pointless, because conflict can never cease. Light cannot exist without darkness, and vice versa. The Galaxy Cauldron must live on, for rebirth - and therefore, hope - to carry on forever.
Sailor Moon is a hero of the universe who continues to have faith, to believe in a better future, to embrace anything, everything and everyone. Even when she says she has nothing to fight for anymore. A brave warrior, and shining star; living and struggling on in war, to no end.
"Together as one". Eternal Sailor Moon will not abandon hope for the future. Alone she enters the Galaxy Cauldron and embraces Chaos, and uses the power of all the Sailor Guardian Crystals inside - and across the Milky Way - to defeat the enemy, sacrificing herself in the process. Everyone is "regenerated" back into their heavenly bodies.
Chibi-Chibi, inspired by Sailor Moon to never give up no matter what, reveals her true form at last: She is Sailor Moon's ultimate future self, Sailor Cosmos. The Sailor Quartet acts as the audience’s stand-in as she explains her purpose. In Cosmos's future she did abandon hope, when battling the never-ending threat of Sailor Chaos. She ran away, and then revisited the past in order to fix her mistakes and stop Sailor Chaos from existing. Sailor Cosmos wanted the Galaxy Cauldron destroyed so as to prevent future conflict. But, thanks to her past self, she remembers hope, her reasons for fighting, and the Silver Crystal's good light.
Usagi, Mamoru, Chibiusa, and everyone else (I assume the cats are alive and well, as are Kakyu and the Star Lights) are together again. What a happy reunion! There is a Guardian Cosmos in the Galaxy Cauldron as well, who returns them to their old lives on earth.
The series draws to a close with Usagi and Mamoru getting married, and the conception of the future small princess of Crystal Tokyo.
The End.
Phew! Epic all around.
Other characters don't get much attention, except for Chibiusa. Old minor characters barely appear at all (Helios doesn’t show up at all, for example). But, as I've said at the start of this review, this manga has always been about Sailor Moon and the power she possesses - not just with her MacGuffin/slight deux ex machina Silver Crystal, but with her heart, her ferocious dedication to protect others, and limitless amount of hope in her battles with darkness from all across the universe. To be lent support from her loving friends and comrades. ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon’ has always been an emotional journey more than anything, and the ending delivers in swirling, twinkling, teary galaxy loads!
There are two more of Naoko Takeuchi's phenomenal manga volumes left for me to review, containing short stories which don't connect to the main plots of any the series' arcs. As well as telling more fun adventures for 'Sailor Moon' fans, the stories are character studies which should make up for this finale's lack of panel time with fan favourites.
One quick note before I sign off for now: At the end, Guardian Cosmos tells Usagi that her past self, Princess Serenity, and the Silver Crystal were conceived when Queen Serenity once entered the Galaxy Cauldron with a "small heavenly body cradled to her chest". And Chaos calls Sailor Moon "my child" at one point. So it is implied that Chaos - or at least the cauldron itself with its billions of star seeds - is Princess Serenity's father. That... explains a lot, actually. It should begin many interesting reader interpretations and theories.
I love this manga/anime series, and will keep on loving it forever. As well as love, hope is the key to a brighter future.
Final Score: 5/5
WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON!
"The incredible amount of power that the hands, bodies, and words of one's comrades and loved ones possess! That I've been able to get this far, keep on living, and continue fighting as a Sailor Guardian, is all thanks to my comrades and loved ones! That's what a Sailor Guardian is!"
I'll try to keep it brief this time, in spite of 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 12' being the final volume of 'Sailor Moon', and therefore it should be blown up and celebrated like a fireworks display. But sometimes less is more, and simpler is better.
Rereview:
The art - top-notch, beautiful, emotional and heartrending as ever.
Sailor Galaxia, the Guardian of Destruction, first received info about the Sagittarius Zero Star and the Galaxy Cauldron, at the heart of the Milky Way (aka Sagittarius Alpha Star), and about heavenly bodies (or stars, or star seeds), from someone on a faraway planet who looks suspiciously like Wiseman.
It was Chaos. Everything and everyone comes from Chaos, and the Galaxy Cauldron. All of Sailor Moon's previous villains originated from him (or her? Or do they even have a gender?).
Every villain, every enemy, was attracted to the Silver Sailor Crystal because of its light, warmth, and power, and feeling of togetherness and not being alone; linking to every star seed coming from Chaos and the Galaxy Cauldron, the birthplace of heavenly bodies. Everyone with star seeds - souls, hearts - are siblings, basically. Everyone is connected.
Chaos is "One who failed to become a heavenly body, and the ruler of the dark heavenly bodies of this Cauldron." Sailor Galaxia is an entitled, narcissistic Guardian, who came from "filth" and "scum" on a "scum-like planet", and who hates "scum" (she says that word a lot in the last quarter of the volume - she's a true fascist politician, equipped with buzzwords). She murders Sailor Guardians for their Sailor Crystals, for power over the galaxy. Her end goal is to use Chaos and the Galaxy Cauldron as a means to her own ends... but Chaos bests her first. They both want to start a new universe, and new history of the Milky Way.
Galaxia has her own Galactica Castle, and her own Sapphire Crystal (this doesn't lead to anything), and a giant Garden Crystal for storing Sailor Crystals.
The Sailor Star Lights and Princess Kakyu don't end up doing much before they are "killed". Not even when Kakyu transforms into Sailor Kakyu (why didn't she do so before...?)... which barely lasts for two pages before she is fatally stabbed by Sailor Chi. We don't even see these Guardians at the end; as they are not solar system Sailor Guardians. Did they get revived/reborn? Kakyu, in her death scene, says she hopes to be reborn together with her loved ones (I assume that includes her "one true love" who Galaxia killed, who isn't mentioned in this volume and who we never see; we literally know nothing about them), so hopefully that happens?
A similar fate befalls Luna, Artemis and Diana, who are injured and unable to talk, and despite being dropped off by Usagi at her house for her mother Ikuko to look after, the cats somehow get killed off-panel. And they don't show up in the final chapter, Act 60; not in the final scene, on Usagi and Mamoru's wedding day, surrounded by the solar system Sailor Guardians. I hope they were reborn as well.
I mean, Chibi-Usa's main motivation for going back to the past, aside from helping Sailor Moon battle Galaxia and save the universe, is to search for Diana, who left for the past initially. She tearfully comes to the conclusion that the cats had been wiped out on Earth. So it's really bizarre for her not to mention her dear little friend Diana again afterwards.
Sailor Chibi Moon's comrades - the Sailors Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta - show up in the thirtieth century (have they been sleeping in the Amazon rainforest up until then?) after Chibi-Usa stands her ground in wanting to go help Sailor Moon in the past. Her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, finally relents and lets them travel across space-time, and to the Milky Way (Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon pulls them there herself). Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta are there near the end when Eternal Sailor Moon sacrifices herself inside the Galaxy Cauldron to absorb and defeat Chaos, and when Sailor Cosmos reveals herself (this is also when Chibi Moon had temporarily disappeared from existence).
As Usagi leaves to go to the Milky Way with Chibi-Chibi, the Sailor Star Lights and Kakyu, Ikuko, holding the cats, and still oblivious to her daughter's other life, starts crying. She says she has a feeling her daughter will never come back home again. Usagi's father Kenji is barely present on the side of a panel. Does Usagi ever see her family again? Surely she isn't reborn into a new one? How much time has passed between leaving the Milky Way, and her wedding? She'll be in her early twenties then, like twenty-two, when Chibi-Usa is conceived and born.
It's a bit of a shame how many characters are sidelined at the end of the 'Sailor Moon' manga, with no mention at all.
This marks the third time in the main series that Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru is brainwashed into being an evil woman's property, and practically her love slave, in which he tries to violently murder Sailor Moon. The power of their love - and their Crystals - is the strongest light in the universe, indeed.
Mamoru's Golden Crystal is not mentioned once in this volume. I guess it was never as important as the Silver Crystal. Wait, where is Helios, and Elysion, in all of this?
I can't believe this only now occurred to me: When Sailor Galaxia took Mamoru's star seed and Golden Crystal at the beginning of the previous volume, why didn't she also take Usagi's star seed and Silver Crystal? What exactly is stopping her from taking it at any time? Is the Silver Crystal just that special and powerful? In protecting Usagi, along with her Sailor Guardian friends and other loved ones?
According to Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter, because Usagi/Sailor Moon is a princess, even the most powerful in the universe, "...You don't have to try so hard. [...] It's all right to be protected by others. For princesses... get stronger by being protected." I choose to interpret this as everyone needing help, guidance and support in times of crisis and chaos. No Sailor Guardian is an island. Or a lone star, without fellow heavenly bodies.
The fight between Sailor Moon and Sailor Galaxia is even more epic than Sailor Moon's fight with her "reborn" Sailor Guardian friends, with their Sailor Crystals, and new forms manipulated by Galaxia, like Tuxedo Mask.
Sailor Moon truly is the strongest and most powerful Sailor Guardian in the universe, with her bravery, empathy and heart, and endless capacity to hope in the face of utter darkness, despair, war, and evil. It's not just her Silver Sailor Crystal.
Sailor Moon can "embrace anything and everything"; even the bad things in life, for light cannot exist without darkness, and vice versa. She strongly, steadfastly believes in peace, and in everybody's happiness. The self-sacrificing Guardian won't give up on hope, no matter what.
The adorable Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon is revealed to be Sailor Moon's "future ultimate form", Sailor Cosmos. In her future, another evil Sailor Guardian, Sailor Chaos, appeared, and destroyed everything, and Sailor Cosmos felt it was her fault, for not completely destroying Chaos, and the Galaxy Cauldron, in the past. She went back in order to see to it that her past self obliterates the Cauldron for good, even if it means no heavenly bodies will ever be born and reborn again... but she ends up reminding dear Sailor Moon to never give up - or rather, Sailor Moon reminded her; to never give up on everything, for everything comes from the universe, and the Galaxy Cauldron, and while there may always be conflict, due to the Cauldron and heavenly bodies existing, there is also hope. And the chance of another Galaxy Cauldron existing somewhere else anyway. This is a very truncated version of events.
There's a mini Guardian Cosmos, the "guardian star spirit of cosmos seeds" in the Galaxy Cauldron, as well.
There's something about "the Cosmos Crystal's ultimate Lambda Power, which restores everything to the static "cosmos"", according to Sailor Cosmos.
Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne, two of Galaxia's desperate and misled minions/victims at Sagittarius Zero Star, are clearly a lesbian couple. Among my many hopes is they got their happily ever after.
Then there's the one-dimensionally evil Sailor Phi and Sailor Chi, Galaxia's "Star Gardeners".
So Chaos - or rather, the Galaxy Cauldron - is Princess Serenity's father? Does this explain the existence of the Silver Sailor Crystal, and why it's the most powerful source of light ever (as where there is light, there is darkness attracted to it)? Usagi/Sailor Moon/Serenity always existed as a symbol of hope, change and rebirth? That's my interpretation.
War and conflict may be endless, but so are love and hope. Light and dark must coexist. So must everybody.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd I'm done for now.
The Sailor Stars arc - the 'Sailor Moon' finale - ends in a white light bang, across the galaxy, the cosmos, the universe, full of heart, love, and hope.
Evanescence and transcendence!
Yes, the ending is a little rushed, with loads of details and character arcs left unresolved (was Takeuchi-sensei given a limited number of pages and panels to use up, or was it deadline issues?). But you know what? I love it. I love 'Sailor Moon', always have, always will. It's so emotional and dramatic, and I mean that in the best, most positive way.
Have hope and faith in yourself, and in your loved ones. And in the future, which is always changing, and always capable of shining brighter and brighter. No matter how bad and hopeless everything seems, with evil winning at every turn.
It's a great and important lesson to take to heart in modern times.
Happy September Moon.
Happy Sailor Year, every year.
Now it's onto the two 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories' collected volumes. These are more lighthearted and silly, and I'm sure we'll have extra fun, with not-so serious, high stakes climactic battles deciding the fate of the universe; and with less existential crises, and deaths and rebirths.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Original Review:
There are so many great quotes in this volume, I won't number them all.
Just... wow. Everything - how it all could and should end - is here.
Chaos! Cosmos! Heavenly bodies! Evil Sailor Guardians! I enjoyed every ounce of it. Why did it take me so long to express it until now?
It has always been about Sailor Moon, the Pretty Guardian in a sailor suit. She is the star. She is the hero. The manga finale reaffirms this: She alone can save the universe, and this time without her loved ones and companions, whom she had depended on for so long, and were the sole reason for her fighting up until now. Sailor Moon is Eternal, is Cosmos, a mother, a queen. The most beautiful, shining, luminescent star - Sailor Crystal - of all time. Her hope is truly immortal.
In ‘Volume 12’ we learn that Sailor Galaxia has delusions of grandeur and a god complex. She had wanted to escape her own dull planet, and collect more power from other Sailor Crystals in order to gain a mother planet of her own, and rule over the Milky Way. She learned about the birthplace of the Milky Way from Wiseman, oddly enough. Though as it turns out, Wiseman, along with all of Sailor Moon's past enemies, is a manifestation of Chaos, a failed heavenly body who controls the Galaxy Cauldron at Sagittarius Zero Star, the centre of the Milky Way. Galaxia constantly calls things she considers beneath her "scum".
Usagi firmly believes that Sailor Guardians are worth more than just the sum of their Crystals - she wants to restore her dear friends' bodies, somehow. She, Chibi-Chibi, the Sailor Star Lights, and Princess Kakyu travel to Sagittarius Zero Star for the final showdown with Galaxia; after leaving the injured Luna, Artemis and Diana with Usagi’s mother, who has a strange feeling that her daughter will never come home again...
Sailor Moon will learn the positives and negatives of both being protected and being independent. Elements from Greek mythology meet the Guardians at Sagittarius Zero Star - and Galaxia's castle. There's a tragic story of a lesbian Guardian couple; following Sailor Moon's declaration that she would willingly die if it meant that no war or conflict will cause any more suffering due to her Silver Crystal existing. The Star Lights perish easily, and Sailor Chibi-Moon and her Sailor Quartet Guardians arrive from the 30th century to save the past; thus saving their future. (There's a really funny, cathartic moment of Chibi-Chibi being introduced to Chibi-Moon). Princess Kakyu reveals herself as a Sailor Guardian (Well obviously. And couldn't she have transformed before? Like, when her Star Light protectors were killed?). She dies also, in Sailor Moon's arms.
All her Sailor Guardian friends, and Tuxedo Mask, appear... but as Galaxia's reincarnated slaves. Chibi-Moon and Chibi-Chibi use their power to protect Sailor Moon, but only she can fight - this is her solitary battle, even when her wings are torn off by those she once loved. By never giving up, and by using the Silver Crystal's fathomless power, she defeats the imposters.
Now the fight is on: Sailor Moon versus Sailor Galaxia. Galaxia mocks her opponent's trust and faith in others and their power, for one's strength can only come from oneself. Sailor Moon fights for the belief that having comrades in arms - physically and spiritually - is what it means to be a Sailor Guardian to begin with.
Galaxia leads Moon to the sanctuary and source of star seeds/heavenly bodies, the Galaxy Cauldron, which is also the home of Chaos, a Metalia/Wiseman enemy father. Galaxia throws all the Sailor Guardian Crystals into the cauldron, obliterating any chance of restoring their physical forms. With Tuxedo Mask gone, Sailor Chibi-Moon fades from existence. Things have never been so intense for Sailor Moon; Galaxia wants to get her angry, desperate and hopeless enough to pour out her maximum Silver Crystal power into the cauldron, and destroy Chaos. Galaxia plans to become the cauldron's new ruler - a god who controls life, death and rebirth.
A beaten-yet-still-loving Sailor Moon ends up saving Galaxia from Chaos, for she sees her enemy's loneliness reflected in herself. She also realises and understands all her previous foes’ wish to obtain her Silver Crystal light - to embrace it, to seek companionship in a big, dark, lonely universe. Chaos fully merges with the Galaxy Cauldron. Suspense mounts to the brim: Will Sailor Moon, the epitome of love and hope, have to take up Sailor Saturn's torch and bring death to the cauldron, and therefore all heavenly bodies, and the Milky Way?
Pointless, because conflict can never cease. Light cannot exist without darkness, and vice versa. The Galaxy Cauldron must live on, for rebirth - and therefore, hope - to carry on forever.
Sailor Moon is a hero of the universe who continues to have faith, to believe in a better future, to embrace anything, everything and everyone. Even when she says she has nothing to fight for anymore. A brave warrior, and shining star; living and struggling on in war, to no end.
"Together as one". Eternal Sailor Moon will not abandon hope for the future. Alone she enters the Galaxy Cauldron and embraces Chaos, and uses the power of all the Sailor Guardian Crystals inside - and across the Milky Way - to defeat the enemy, sacrificing herself in the process. Everyone is "regenerated" back into their heavenly bodies.
Chibi-Chibi, inspired by Sailor Moon to never give up no matter what, reveals her true form at last: She is Sailor Moon's ultimate future self, Sailor Cosmos. The Sailor Quartet acts as the audience’s stand-in as she explains her purpose. In Cosmos's future she did abandon hope, when battling the never-ending threat of Sailor Chaos. She ran away, and then revisited the past in order to fix her mistakes and stop Sailor Chaos from existing. Sailor Cosmos wanted the Galaxy Cauldron destroyed so as to prevent future conflict. But, thanks to her past self, she remembers hope, her reasons for fighting, and the Silver Crystal's good light.
Usagi, Mamoru, Chibiusa, and everyone else (I assume the cats are alive and well, as are Kakyu and the Star Lights) are together again. What a happy reunion! There is a Guardian Cosmos in the Galaxy Cauldron as well, who returns them to their old lives on earth.
The series draws to a close with Usagi and Mamoru getting married, and the conception of the future small princess of Crystal Tokyo.
The End.
Phew! Epic all around.
Other characters don't get much attention, except for Chibiusa. Old minor characters barely appear at all (Helios doesn’t show up at all, for example). But, as I've said at the start of this review, this manga has always been about Sailor Moon and the power she possesses - not just with her MacGuffin/slight deux ex machina Silver Crystal, but with her heart, her ferocious dedication to protect others, and limitless amount of hope in her battles with darkness from all across the universe. To be lent support from her loving friends and comrades. ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon’ has always been an emotional journey more than anything, and the ending delivers in swirling, twinkling, teary galaxy loads!
There are two more of Naoko Takeuchi's phenomenal manga volumes left for me to review, containing short stories which don't connect to the main plots of any the series' arcs. As well as telling more fun adventures for 'Sailor Moon' fans, the stories are character studies which should make up for this finale's lack of panel time with fan favourites.
One quick note before I sign off for now: At the end, Guardian Cosmos tells Usagi that her past self, Princess Serenity, and the Silver Crystal were conceived when Queen Serenity once entered the Galaxy Cauldron with a "small heavenly body cradled to her chest". And Chaos calls Sailor Moon "my child" at one point. So it is implied that Chaos - or at least the cauldron itself with its billions of star seeds - is Princess Serenity's father. That... explains a lot, actually. It should begin many interesting reader interpretations and theories.
I love this manga/anime series, and will keep on loving it forever. As well as love, hope is the key to a brighter future.
Final Score: 5/5
Thursday, 21 January 2016
Manga Review - 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 11' by Naoko Takeuchi, William Flanagan (Translator)
2026 REREAD:
WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON!
The cover of 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 11' features Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon, the most innocent of all the Sailor Guardians. It could not be more misleading.
The final arc, starting from Act 50, does not mess around. Usagi/Sailor Moon ends up losing, well, everyone. She is in the deepest depths of despair, and barely processing and recovering from all the trauma she has suddenly suffered.
But by the end, with Sailor Guardians she hardly knows from outside the solar system, from the far reaches of the Milky Way, she is determined to find and fight Sailor Galaxia, the evil Guardian of destruction responsible for so much loss and calamity in the galaxy.
And maybe, just maybe, she can save her loved ones, who were taken from her by Galaxia.
The battle to save the galaxy - the universe - is on, at the center of the Milky Way itself.
It's Sailor Guardians vs Sailor Guardians.
Rereview proper:
'Everyone, no matter who... has a world within their heart.'
And a star seed, which for a chosen Sailor Guardian also contains a Sailor Crystal.
Sailor Galaxia, with her Shadow Galaxia empire, wants to take all the star seeds and Sailor Crystals for herself, and become the ruler of the entire galaxy.
All the Sailor girls of the solar system are attending school, living their normal lives, earned after battling the Dead Moon for peace on Earth.
Usagi sees Mamoru off on a flight to America to attend Harvard University. He gives her a ring, they kiss, Mamoru promises to return... and Sailor Galaxia takes his star seed/Golden Crystal, obliterating his body, right before Usagi's eyes. The new and mysterious idol group, Three Lights, are there, and they take the fainted Usagi, and give her a lift to town. Traumatised, she suppresses the memory, and goes on saying that Mamoru is in America (so no one else noticed him disintegrating/disappearing at the airport...?). She receives postcards with only pictures of environments and galaxies on them at intervals, supposedly from Mamoru.
Chibi-Usa goes back to the thirtieth century with little fanfare. Usagi isn't even present for it.
Schoolgirls, but especially Minako, are obsessed with Three Lights, who are the boys Seiya, Taiki and Yaten (Usagi even has a poster of them in her bedroom). Inexplicably, they come to Usagi and Co's school as students. They are actually Sailor Guardians in disguise - the Sailor Star Lights - Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer, and Sailor Star Maker - from the Kinmoku planetary system. They are on Earth searching for their Crown Princess Kakyu of Tankei Kingdom on Planet Kinmoku, which Sailor Galaxia attacked.
Galaxia's fake Sailor Guardians who attack the solar system Guardians (and their mother planet proxies) are the Sailors Iron Mouse, Aluminium Siren, Lead Crow and Tin Nyanko, the "Sailor Anima Mates". They each represent a mother planet, like Coronis, where Lead Crow, Phobos and Deimos are from, and Mau, where Tin Nyanko, Luna, Artemis and Diana are originally from.
Amid the ceaseless danger and devastating loss, the mysterious child, Chibi-Chibi, shows up with an umbrella from the sky, and just like Chibi-Usa before her, she infiltrates Usagi's home life, this time brainwashing her family into thinking she is Usagi's little sister. Is Chibi-Chibi Usagi's future second child? Chibi-Usa's future child? In her own sweet, cute, innocent way, Chibi-Chibi helps bring Usagi out of darkness and despair, by just being there, and reminding her she is not alone.
The future timeline is also being altered by the present day's events and tragedies. Space-time is distorting. Chibi-Usa, whose training as a full-fledged Guardian is "complete", feels it, but her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, won't let her to go back to the past.
The Sailor Star Lights get Usagi/Sailor Moon to accept the truth of what happened to Mamoru, after she sees the Sailors Mercury and Jupiter, and then Venus and Mars, perish at the hands of Galaxia and the Sailor Anima Mates. By the end of the volume, the Star Lights and Princess Kakyu explain everything about Sailor Galaxia and the Shadow Galaxia to Usagi. It turns out that when Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask combined their Silver and Golden Crystals at the end of the Dead Moon arc, it put out such a powerful, beautiful, radiant light, that it attracted Sailor Galaxia to Earth in the first place. Even through her trauma and depression, and loneliness - she is at the lowest she has ever been in her life - Usagi is Sailor Moon, and she will not give up. She will fight Galaxia. Possessing her Silver Crystal, she is the most powerful Sailor Guardian in the Milky Way galaxy, and she will not allow Galaxia to get her hands on it, like she has the Sailor Crystals and star seeds of her loved ones, and everyone else in the Milky Way.
Chibi-Chibi, who had been protecting Kakyu until now while the princess was healing in a sweet osmanthus incense burner (it's a long story), and who has been revealed to be a Sailor Guardian too, is with poor Usagi.
They are in a park, on a swing, at night, when Galaxia shows up, and the evil Sailor is on the brink of destroying Jūban, right where Usagi is...
Really, I think my original review below already does a good enough job of summarising what happens in volume 11, as well as the characters and what their deals are at the present time.
But this is a special month of celebrating the 'Sailor Moon' manga, in current year 2026, so here are my newfound observations anyway:
At the beginning of the volume, Hotaru and Chibi-Usa are schoolfriends, holding hands as they skip to school. Aww!
The Sailor girls act like normal high schoolers. Including Haruka and Michiru, who are the most laidback and amusing they've ever been here. For some reason, they are attending the same high school as the others, despite being a world famous race car driver and violinist respectively (and the girls think that
WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER MOON!
The cover of 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 11' features Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon, the most innocent of all the Sailor Guardians. It could not be more misleading.
The final arc, starting from Act 50, does not mess around. Usagi/Sailor Moon ends up losing, well, everyone. She is in the deepest depths of despair, and barely processing and recovering from all the trauma she has suddenly suffered.
But by the end, with Sailor Guardians she hardly knows from outside the solar system, from the far reaches of the Milky Way, she is determined to find and fight Sailor Galaxia, the evil Guardian of destruction responsible for so much loss and calamity in the galaxy.
And maybe, just maybe, she can save her loved ones, who were taken from her by Galaxia.
The battle to save the galaxy - the universe - is on, at the center of the Milky Way itself.
It's Sailor Guardians vs Sailor Guardians.
Rereview proper:
'Everyone, no matter who... has a world within their heart.'
And a star seed, which for a chosen Sailor Guardian also contains a Sailor Crystal.
Sailor Galaxia, with her Shadow Galaxia empire, wants to take all the star seeds and Sailor Crystals for herself, and become the ruler of the entire galaxy.
All the Sailor girls of the solar system are attending school, living their normal lives, earned after battling the Dead Moon for peace on Earth.
Usagi sees Mamoru off on a flight to America to attend Harvard University. He gives her a ring, they kiss, Mamoru promises to return... and Sailor Galaxia takes his star seed/Golden Crystal, obliterating his body, right before Usagi's eyes. The new and mysterious idol group, Three Lights, are there, and they take the fainted Usagi, and give her a lift to town. Traumatised, she suppresses the memory, and goes on saying that Mamoru is in America (so no one else noticed him disintegrating/disappearing at the airport...?). She receives postcards with only pictures of environments and galaxies on them at intervals, supposedly from Mamoru.
Chibi-Usa goes back to the thirtieth century with little fanfare. Usagi isn't even present for it.
Schoolgirls, but especially Minako, are obsessed with Three Lights, who are the boys Seiya, Taiki and Yaten (Usagi even has a poster of them in her bedroom). Inexplicably, they come to Usagi and Co's school as students. They are actually Sailor Guardians in disguise - the Sailor Star Lights - Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer, and Sailor Star Maker - from the Kinmoku planetary system. They are on Earth searching for their Crown Princess Kakyu of Tankei Kingdom on Planet Kinmoku, which Sailor Galaxia attacked.
Galaxia's fake Sailor Guardians who attack the solar system Guardians (and their mother planet proxies) are the Sailors Iron Mouse, Aluminium Siren, Lead Crow and Tin Nyanko, the "Sailor Anima Mates". They each represent a mother planet, like Coronis, where Lead Crow, Phobos and Deimos are from, and Mau, where Tin Nyanko, Luna, Artemis and Diana are originally from.
Amid the ceaseless danger and devastating loss, the mysterious child, Chibi-Chibi, shows up with an umbrella from the sky, and just like Chibi-Usa before her, she infiltrates Usagi's home life, this time brainwashing her family into thinking she is Usagi's little sister. Is Chibi-Chibi Usagi's future second child? Chibi-Usa's future child? In her own sweet, cute, innocent way, Chibi-Chibi helps bring Usagi out of darkness and despair, by just being there, and reminding her she is not alone.
The future timeline is also being altered by the present day's events and tragedies. Space-time is distorting. Chibi-Usa, whose training as a full-fledged Guardian is "complete", feels it, but her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, won't let her to go back to the past.
The Sailor Star Lights get Usagi/Sailor Moon to accept the truth of what happened to Mamoru, after she sees the Sailors Mercury and Jupiter, and then Venus and Mars, perish at the hands of Galaxia and the Sailor Anima Mates. By the end of the volume, the Star Lights and Princess Kakyu explain everything about Sailor Galaxia and the Shadow Galaxia to Usagi. It turns out that when Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask combined their Silver and Golden Crystals at the end of the Dead Moon arc, it put out such a powerful, beautiful, radiant light, that it attracted Sailor Galaxia to Earth in the first place. Even through her trauma and depression, and loneliness - she is at the lowest she has ever been in her life - Usagi is Sailor Moon, and she will not give up. She will fight Galaxia. Possessing her Silver Crystal, she is the most powerful Sailor Guardian in the Milky Way galaxy, and she will not allow Galaxia to get her hands on it, like she has the Sailor Crystals and star seeds of her loved ones, and everyone else in the Milky Way.
Chibi-Chibi, who had been protecting Kakyu until now while the princess was healing in a sweet osmanthus incense burner (it's a long story), and who has been revealed to be a Sailor Guardian too, is with poor Usagi.
They are in a park, on a swing, at night, when Galaxia shows up, and the evil Sailor is on the brink of destroying Jūban, right where Usagi is...
Really, I think my original review below already does a good enough job of summarising what happens in volume 11, as well as the characters and what their deals are at the present time.
But this is a special month of celebrating the 'Sailor Moon' manga, in current year 2026, so here are my newfound observations anyway:
At the beginning of the volume, Hotaru and Chibi-Usa are schoolfriends, holding hands as they skip to school. Aww!
The Sailor girls act like normal high schoolers. Including Haruka and Michiru, who are the most laidback and amusing they've ever been here. For some reason, they are attending the same high school as the others, despite being a world famous race car driver and violinist respectively (and the girls think that
Three Lights going to a normal high school is weird!).
Haruka is female-presenting full time now, I guess, with everyone referring to her by female pronouns. She wears feminine clothing for the majority of the volume, and seems to switch between girls' and boys' school uniform. This volume also marks the first instance we see Haruka play the piano, accompanying Michiru on her violin.
Setsuna is also at the school, as an infirmary nurse. I wonder how she obtained that qualification.
By the end, Usagi is alone, with her loved ones seemingly dead or in the future... except for her forever oblivious and constantly brainwashed mother, Ikuko. Her father Kenji and her brother Shingo don't appear at all.
On that note, despite Chibi-Chibi's dodginess in how she infiltrates Usagi's life, similar to Chibi-Usa, I like her a lot more than Chibi-Usa. She is so cute and cheerful, she doesn't talk much, and she is actually nice, comforting and supportive to Usagi, when she needs it the most. Chibi-Chibi keeps her grounded; keeps her from spiralling in confusion and despair, and from having a breakdown. In light of tiny girl's true identity - foreshadowed ingeniously near the end, where Usagi seriously yet tenderly asks the playful Chibi-Chibi who she is, and she answers, "I'm me!" - the two's connection is beautiful, life-affirming, encouraging and hopeful symbolism.
Chibi-Chibi/Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon looks and acts like a toddler, and I think she is the cutest fictional character ever created.
How does Hotaru die/have her Sailor Crystal stolen? When the Sailors Uranus, Neptune and Pluto go off to their respective planets to erect a shield around the solar system, and they are attacked by Galaxia, Hotaru suddenly disappears in front of Chibi-Chibi, Luna and Artemis. Why, exactly? We don't even see her transform in this volume.
Speaking of Sailor Pluto, are there two of them? One is in the thirtieth century, serving Neo Queen Serenity, and one is in the present, as Setsuna, and a Guardian and Princess of Pluto. Or is this just time travel, space-time-and-plane confusion? It seems she is still friends with Chibi-Usa/Small Lady, according to the latter, though we don't see them interact.
Seiya, who disguises herself as a male idol/high schooler on Earth, but is no less a woman and Sailor Guardian, displays romantic feelings towards Usagi. It is explicitly stated near the end. She kisses Usagi more than once, too. It's a very similar to how the Usagi and Haruka relationship plays out back in the Death Busters arc. Arguably, it's creepier and more morally wrong here, as it looks like Seiya might be taking advantage of Usagi in her trauma and grief over losing Mamoru.
Lines summing up Usagi's existential crisis: 'Another enemy has shown up. Even though Mamo-chan and Chibi-Usa aren't around, we still haven't achieved true peace.' (This is after she suppresses the memory of Mamoru's demise, and before she loses her Sailor friends), '...I'm scared that if I start walking... everything's going to disappear...', 'Why does death come calling so suddenly and quickly?', 'Everything that makes them Sailor Guardians exists within their Sailor Crystals [...] ...So our physical bodies aren't essential to us?', 'Everything... is always my fault. Everyone gets dragged into my messes... because of the power I hold. And battles occur.', 'If... I weren't a Sailor Guardian, would I ever have met such comrades, much less have them extend me a helping hand? [...] If the Silver Moon Crystal didn't exist, would I never have been born [...]?', and '...It'd be nice if our bodies could never be erased, too.'
Usagi, untransformed, grows her Eternal Sailor Moon wings upon deciding to take on the mission to battle against Sailor Galaxia, with chains on her wrists, in front of Seiya. Or is it symbolic? Or Seiya envisioning her inner torment, with her 'borne [...] heavy wings upon [her] back'.
The Three Lights/ Sailor Star Lights have distinct personalities, and hobbies and clubs at the high school. Each high school Sailor Guardian/Soldier is either jealous, annoyed or infatuated with them, depending on their club and field of interest. Haruka and Michiru are especially, comically angry at the Three Lights, based on sports one-upmanship and petty insults.
In Act 51, when the nine solar system Sailor Guardians discuss the Three lights/Sailor Star Lights and whether they are friend or foe, Minako drops this bombshell: "Oh, come on, we're famous these days! It's the people who don't know who we are that are the weirdoes!" So their existence is public knowledge, then? And it extends further than plushies and video games? Even if their secret identities are undisclosed. I kind of wish this aspect was explored more, or showcased at all.
It makes no sense that, in the thirtieth century, Neo Queen Serenity would not allow Chibi-Usa to go back to the past, or do anything as a Sailor Guardian, when something is clearly wrong in Crystal Tokyo/Silver Millennium, and in space-time (according to a time-displaced Sailor Pluto), what with dark storms and other distortions. Chibi-Usa is a full-fledged Guardian now - let her be one! With the responsibilities it brings.
I still ship Minako and Rei. Their pose together on page 132, with the speech bubble, "You have a problem with that?", is iconic. I'm surprised it isn't a meme, actually. Plus it's in the panel that follows the one where Rei states they "have no need of menfolk." The duo definitely share a deep connection - spiritual, emotional, and platonic...?
Pages 150-151, where Sailor Moon runs to embrace Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars after she rescues them from Sailor Lead Crow, only for Galaxia to appear and perish the latter two's bodies and steal their Sailor Crystals, is absolutely heartbreaking. There is more buildup there than the sudden deaths of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter in Act 51.
We don't see Artemis grieve over Sailor Venus/Minako's loss, which is a huge oversight. They've been together since the very beginning, before the 'Sailor Moon' series even. Usagi shouldn't be the only character shown to be openly devastated by the loss of her friends, just because she's the protagonist.
There is one moment of acknowledgment of Mina's absence from school - at which Usagi barely holds it together - but none of the other Guardians are missed, it seems. What about their families?
Asanuma has a cameo, and so does Naru!.. in one tiny panel, used to establish Usagi putting on a front and living her normal life despite everything. Poor Naru. And Umino, who's been shipped off the series for good, along with Furuhata.
Sailor Tin Nyanko is introduced in Act 53, as a "transfer student" at Usagi and Co's high school. She does a terrible job blending in, and she immediately tries to "befriend" Usagi, and reveals she knows her name... which goes unquestioned.
Tin Nyanko is a "Mautian", and so are Luna, Artemis and Diana; the cat people are from their mother planet Mau, which had its own Sailor Mau - but all was erased by Galaxia, like Sailor Coronis and her planet Coronis, where Phobos, Deimos and Sailor Lead Crow originated. Additional info: Sailor Iron Mouse is from the mother planet Chû, and Aluminium Siren is from the mother planet Mermaid.
Sailor Galaxia's Amina Mates of Shadow Galaxia - the Sailors Iron Mouse, Aluminium Siren, Lead Crow and Tin Nyanko - are "not true Sailor Guardians", but are innocents/misled traitors of their respective mother planets that were destroyed by Galaxia in her search for star seeds and Sailor Crystals, who were promised power by her via bracelets. These bracelets control them; they are their chains, and death sentences.
For all its drama, intensity, and wonderfully written character moments, volume 11 is far from perfectly executed, and there are plot holes. So my four out of five star rating hasn't changed.
However, it remains an excellent penultimate volume to the 'Sailor Moon' manga series.
I can't wait to reread and reexperience the ending. The emotional, universe-and-heart-shattering ending.
Happy September Moon, everyone.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
"Everyone, no matter who, has a world within their heart."
"Everything is always my fault. Everyone gets dragged into my messes because of the power I hold. And battles occur."
"If the Silver Moon Crystal didn't exist, would I never have been born, either?"
Whoa! ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 11’ begins and ends with a bang. A big bang, if you will. Though I'll knock off a star for the story starting off a bit uneven (the comedy bits are awkward as opposed to cathartic), the end of the volume makes up for it. On the whole, this narrative is so bleak and pessimistic.
The stakes have never been higher. There's no holding back in the Sailor Stars arc, the fifth and final chapter in the shimmering, wonderful saga of the 'Sailor Moon' manga. Main characters die; and the depression and PTSD that Usagi/Sailor Moon goes through is depicted in grave and haunting imagery, reflecting real pain and suffering. As it turns out, the entire galaxy is dying around her as well!
Epic here as epic comes: New mythologies and philosophies are introduced; multiple Sailor Guardians (possessing their own "Sailor Crystals") throughout the Milky Way exist; every living being in the 'Sailor Moon' universe has a soul equivalent of a "star seed"; and the symbolism in the story and themes are more overt than ever.
All the Guardians of the Solar System go to school, join clubs and hold jobs at school (it's endearing to see the not-so-stoic Haruka and Michiru attempting to live as normal high school girls). Usagi gets lonely as more of her friends and loved ones leave her side for various reasons - reasons that come with the emotional baggage of growing up. For once, ever since becoming the Soldier of Love and Justice Sailor Moon, she will learn that she cannot be dependent on other people forever, and her friends ought to enjoy their young lives in high school while they still can...
Fights, battles... the finale will definitely not be safe and conventional, and the heroes of this journey can't go on continuing like they typically did before, no matter how hard they try...
New characters are the Three Lights, aka the Sailor Star Lights, who are Guardians from a planet named Kinmoku, searching for their missing princess Kakyu. The three disguise themselves as a male pop idol group on earth. Then there's Chibi-Chibi, the next mystery child after Chibiusa leaves for the 30th century, who brainwashes Usagi's mother into thinking she is family (which she actually is, but that's spoiler territory). Chibi-Chibi is also the most adorable, cheerful thing ever, more likeable than Chibiusa was in her debut. It's nice that Usagi gets along with her right away, when the poor not-yet-woman needs the most comforting, and we'll see why later (at the moment, it’s only revealed that Chibi-Chibi is connected to Princess Kakyu in some way...)
The final enemy is Sailor Galaxia of the empire called Shadow Galactica. She is a Sailor Guardian of destruction - destroying planets and killing Guardians and harvesting their Sailor Crystals all across the Milky Way. Galaxia’s design is unique for a 'Sailor Moon' villain - she is meant to be different from the foes of the past; ruthless, bloodthirsty, and doesn’t waste much time with the monster-of-the-week formula. She appears fully in action whenever she confronts Usagi - showing she is a true threat. Sailor Galaxia means business, and as the (sort-of) last nemesis of Sailor Moon, she could be the best.
Nobody is left out in the final arc, either. Naru, Asanuma, Phobos and Deimos the crows, and Chibiusa in the 30th century; they all make appearances. The events of the past herald devastating havoc in the future of Crystal Tokyo. Luna, Artemis and Diana are as important as ever. They’re even given an origin story: They come from their own mother planet of Mau. The planetary castles of the Solar System are also shown and explained to the reader.
As a side-note, I absolutely love the moment when Minako (Usagi calls her "Mina-P", how sweet) and Rei declare they don't need menfolk, for they have devoted their lives to one girl, Usagi, their princess and future queen of earth. As they say this, they are drawn together - literally and figuratively. They've never looked so serious, and I am officially a Minako/Rei shipper. It's also a tragedy, in light of everything that happens...
Usagi, owner of the most powerful Sailor Crystal in the universe, and preyed upon by the most powerful monster in the universe, is also a human teenage girl. The eleventh volume of 'Sailor Moon' is the saddest, in my opinion, for it shows just how much she goes through - the loneliness, the heartache, the grief, the self-blame for bringing people in danger. No emotional and mental scars are untouched upon. No stone is left unturned.
But I'm glad for it, because I want to see my heroes at their lowest point, and pushed to their limits. I want to cheer as they learn how to overcome the worst obstacles of their lives, to be ever stronger and emerge triumphant, their happy ending earned. In the end, Usagi won't give up still. She won't cry anymore, for hope may be fleeting, but a little of it is there nonetheless. Sailor Moon must save the galaxy, and she has new allies - new comrades she'll have to put her trust in.
Where will this all lead her towards? The end of the universe.
Find out to what end this will come to - a fairy tale? a tragedy? both? - in the twelfth and final volume of the journey of 'Sailor Moon'.
Final Score: 4/5
However, it remains an excellent penultimate volume to the 'Sailor Moon' manga series.
I can't wait to reread and reexperience the ending. The emotional, universe-and-heart-shattering ending.
Happy September Moon, everyone.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
"Everyone, no matter who, has a world within their heart."
"Everything is always my fault. Everyone gets dragged into my messes because of the power I hold. And battles occur."
"If the Silver Moon Crystal didn't exist, would I never have been born, either?"
Whoa! ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 11’ begins and ends with a bang. A big bang, if you will. Though I'll knock off a star for the story starting off a bit uneven (the comedy bits are awkward as opposed to cathartic), the end of the volume makes up for it. On the whole, this narrative is so bleak and pessimistic.
The stakes have never been higher. There's no holding back in the Sailor Stars arc, the fifth and final chapter in the shimmering, wonderful saga of the 'Sailor Moon' manga. Main characters die; and the depression and PTSD that Usagi/Sailor Moon goes through is depicted in grave and haunting imagery, reflecting real pain and suffering. As it turns out, the entire galaxy is dying around her as well!
Epic here as epic comes: New mythologies and philosophies are introduced; multiple Sailor Guardians (possessing their own "Sailor Crystals") throughout the Milky Way exist; every living being in the 'Sailor Moon' universe has a soul equivalent of a "star seed"; and the symbolism in the story and themes are more overt than ever.
All the Guardians of the Solar System go to school, join clubs and hold jobs at school (it's endearing to see the not-so-stoic Haruka and Michiru attempting to live as normal high school girls). Usagi gets lonely as more of her friends and loved ones leave her side for various reasons - reasons that come with the emotional baggage of growing up. For once, ever since becoming the Soldier of Love and Justice Sailor Moon, she will learn that she cannot be dependent on other people forever, and her friends ought to enjoy their young lives in high school while they still can...
Fights, battles... the finale will definitely not be safe and conventional, and the heroes of this journey can't go on continuing like they typically did before, no matter how hard they try...
New characters are the Three Lights, aka the Sailor Star Lights, who are Guardians from a planet named Kinmoku, searching for their missing princess Kakyu. The three disguise themselves as a male pop idol group on earth. Then there's Chibi-Chibi, the next mystery child after Chibiusa leaves for the 30th century, who brainwashes Usagi's mother into thinking she is family (which she actually is, but that's spoiler territory). Chibi-Chibi is also the most adorable, cheerful thing ever, more likeable than Chibiusa was in her debut. It's nice that Usagi gets along with her right away, when the poor not-yet-woman needs the most comforting, and we'll see why later (at the moment, it’s only revealed that Chibi-Chibi is connected to Princess Kakyu in some way...)
The final enemy is Sailor Galaxia of the empire called Shadow Galactica. She is a Sailor Guardian of destruction - destroying planets and killing Guardians and harvesting their Sailor Crystals all across the Milky Way. Galaxia’s design is unique for a 'Sailor Moon' villain - she is meant to be different from the foes of the past; ruthless, bloodthirsty, and doesn’t waste much time with the monster-of-the-week formula. She appears fully in action whenever she confronts Usagi - showing she is a true threat. Sailor Galaxia means business, and as the (sort-of) last nemesis of Sailor Moon, she could be the best.
Nobody is left out in the final arc, either. Naru, Asanuma, Phobos and Deimos the crows, and Chibiusa in the 30th century; they all make appearances. The events of the past herald devastating havoc in the future of Crystal Tokyo. Luna, Artemis and Diana are as important as ever. They’re even given an origin story: They come from their own mother planet of Mau. The planetary castles of the Solar System are also shown and explained to the reader.
As a side-note, I absolutely love the moment when Minako (Usagi calls her "Mina-P", how sweet) and Rei declare they don't need menfolk, for they have devoted their lives to one girl, Usagi, their princess and future queen of earth. As they say this, they are drawn together - literally and figuratively. They've never looked so serious, and I am officially a Minako/Rei shipper. It's also a tragedy, in light of everything that happens...
Usagi, owner of the most powerful Sailor Crystal in the universe, and preyed upon by the most powerful monster in the universe, is also a human teenage girl. The eleventh volume of 'Sailor Moon' is the saddest, in my opinion, for it shows just how much she goes through - the loneliness, the heartache, the grief, the self-blame for bringing people in danger. No emotional and mental scars are untouched upon. No stone is left unturned.
But I'm glad for it, because I want to see my heroes at their lowest point, and pushed to their limits. I want to cheer as they learn how to overcome the worst obstacles of their lives, to be ever stronger and emerge triumphant, their happy ending earned. In the end, Usagi won't give up still. She won't cry anymore, for hope may be fleeting, but a little of it is there nonetheless. Sailor Moon must save the galaxy, and she has new allies - new comrades she'll have to put her trust in.
Where will this all lead her towards? The end of the universe.
Find out to what end this will come to - a fairy tale? a tragedy? both? - in the twelfth and final volume of the journey of 'Sailor Moon'.
Final Score: 4/5
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