Sailor Moon Crystal: Act 11 - Reunion, Endymion - Review 

Sailor Moon Crystal: "Act 11 - Reunion, Endymion" Review

After Act 10\'s thrilling conclusion, I had high hopes that Act 11 would deliver something spectacular. Especially since the promise of an evil Tuxedo Mask fighting the Sailor Guardians was such an exciting one.  Unfortunately, Act 11 never quite delivered on that promise. Though I liked the (brief) fight sequence, and the growing friendship between Luna and Usagi, the sluggish pacing and frustrating gaps in logic made it hard for me to enjoy this episode.

I’m usually able to suspend my disbelief for the sake of having fun, but something didn’t quite click for me this week. It started when Queen Beryl sent a brainwashed Mamoru to Tokyo in order to learn the location of the Guardian’s central command center. Immediately I had a question: how did Mamoru know that the command center was somewhere in the game arcade? I kept racking my brain over that one, but nothing I can remember from the manga or previous episodes explains it. (You could argue Mamoru overhead Usagi promise to meet Luna at the command center in the beginning, but she didn’t say

of the Sailor Guardians to recognize Mamoru. Yes, he was sporting red eyes and calling himself “Endo,” but

.  Did the Guardians think Mamoru had an evil twin? A maleficent doppelganger? Did they forget that the Four Heavenly Kings were brainwashed by Queen Beryl, and thus it only follows that Mamoru would be as well? Like I said, I’m usually able to roll with whatever this show throws as me, but the girls should have put two and two together at some point.

have forgiven this logistical faux pas in exchange for some good old fashioned drama, but most of Act 11 was “Endo” unsuccessfully trying to coax Usagi into giving up the Guardians’ secrets. If she had struggled just a bit more against Mamoru’s new hypnotic powers, this might have made for suspenseful viewing. But other than being allured by his je ne sais quoi, Usagi didn’t seem to buy whatever he was selling. The end result is that their scenes together felt long and drawn out.

Speaking of long and drawn out, I still have no idea what the point of that meeting at Ami’s apartment complex was.  All it established is that Usagi can’t stay awake for five seconds and that Sailor Venus has been dragging around a poisonous sword. A sword she didn’t even use in battle, even after Mamoru hypnotized Makoto and got into the command center. By the way, I felt really bad for Makoto. First she was hypnotized by Furuhata, then Mamoru. The poor girl just can’t win!

I thought things picked up once once Mamoru changed into evil Tuxedo Mask and nabbed the Silver Crystal, though the ensuing fight scene felt way too short. Ninety percent of it was the girls transforming, with only about a minute or so of actual fighting. That said, I did like how Sailor Venus used her love chain as a lasso

a whip; she’s definitely the most competent Guardian in a fight! I also liked how Queen Beryl showed up at the end and took the Silver Crystal for herself. It really ratcheted up the stakes for Act 12.

Sailor Moon Crystal: English Subtitled Trailer

There was one other bright spot in Act 11: the growing friendship between Luna and Usagi. Watching Usagi cuddle with Luna in the beginning, then watching Sailor Moon go full-on berserk when Tuxedo Mask hurt her cat at the end, really highlighted how close they\'ve become. If there\'s one thing I\'ve learned about Usagi, it\'s that friendship always comes first.

I\'d be remiss if I didn\'t mention the animation quality, which was all over the map this week. It started off with gorgeous shots of the moon and Usagi\'s bedroom, then quickly slid into bizarre territory. Faces started to look out of alignment, limbs became increasingly stretched, and movements looked janky. It\'s clear that Toei cut corners, which detracted from the episode\'s overall quality.

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After going from strength to strength, I was really hoping the series would continue to blow me away with Act 11. Unfortunately, uneven pacing and head-scratching logic made it hard for me to enjoy this episode. Hopefully next week things will get back on track.

Meghan Sullivan loves Sailor Moon, wrestling, pizza, and RPGs. You can follow her on Twitter at @Meghan_IGN and IGN at Meghan-IGN.

Tuxedo Mask fails to hypnotize in this underwhelming episode of Sailor Moon Crystal.  RT

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