19 - Usagi's Joy: A Love Letter from Tuxedo Mask

Nephrite's starting his astrology routine early this episode. In the cathedral of solitude, he asks the stars to reveal the Sailor Guardians' greatest weakness... and the answer is Tuxedo Mask.

That, by itself, is an interesting statement of how this show is different from other shows of its era. I remember watching the original Ninja Turtles cartoon as a kid, and there was a line that stuck in my head. Formulating his latest plan, Shredder tells his underlings, "We'll strike at their weakest point: April O'Neil." Even as a kid who didn't know anything about anything, this line really bugged me. I mean, in the late eighties/early nineties it was hardly unusual for a cartoon to have a sole female character whose job it was to get rescued a lot. But it was also just a little bit embarrassing, the kind of thing you tried to ignore because you otherwise liked the show. For the show to just outright say that this was the case was downright jarring. So yeah, the Tuxedo Mask comment is somewhat cathartic for me.

Once Nephrite's done with his astrology session, Zoisite teleports into his base and says that Queen Beryl wants to see him... kind of right now. You may recall that in our last episode, Nephrite blew her off because he wanted to do things his own way, and ended up screwing up as usual. Nephrite does actually show up for his scheduled bollocking, which shows that he at least isn't a complete idiot.

Oh, okay, looks like I spoke too soon. Nephrite shows less contrition than a teenager caught smoking behind the bike sheds, and says he'll find his own way to defeat Sailor Moon. Beryl is, obviously, enraged by this impertinence.

Oh, okay. So, Beryl isn't enraged. I have a theory that Beryl has an enormous preference for rebellious men who do things their own way and constantly disobey orders. That's the reason Jadeite got iced despite his groveling, while Nephrite is not currently a smoking crater. So Beryl okays Nephrite's plan to... okay, he didn't ever explain what his plan was, but the point is, he's a rebel. And that's something, right?

By the way, I believe this episode is the first time the term Shitennou gets used, and Viz translates it here as Four Kings of Heaven.

Later, Usagi finds a surprise in the mailbox... a love letter from Tuxedo Mask! He really went the extra mile with that pink stationery, got to give him credit for that. Tuxedo Mask confesses his love and says he wants to meet Usagi tomorrow night in the Shinjuku mall. Usagi's ecstatic, though Luna is skeptical, and for once she's not just being a downer for the sake of it. How does Tuxedo Mask know her identity? Can they really trust him anyway? He's helped out in the past, but they don't know who he is. Such details are of no interest to Usagi, of course, who's convinced this is the real deal.

Well, until she gets to school and realizes that every other girl has received an identical letter, claiming to be from Tuxedo Mask. Of course, nobody other than Usagi knows who Tuxedo Mask is, though Naru privately hopes it could be that nice Masato Sanjoin she met a while ago. You know, the one who had absolutely nothing to do with her lifelong friend turning into a psychopath? Ms Haruna enters the classroom and advises the girls not to be tricked by something so suspicious, which is good advice, though she's privately furious that she didn't receive a letter of her own. Meanwhile, Ami and Luna discuss the letters, and decide to consult with Rei.

At the arcade, Mamoru and Motoki discuss the matter too, while we get the first sighting of in-universe Sailor Moon merchandise (leaving aside the special case of Sailor V). Also, the biggest reference to Goldfish Warning so far...

There are no less than four Goldfish Warning characters visible in that image, plus a fifth that's obscured by the Tuxedo Mask doll. If you didn't know, Goldfish Warning was the show that many of the Sailor Moon staff worked on immediately prior to Sailor Moon, and I definitely recommend checking it out: not only is it interesting to see so many of the same artists and voice actors working on something different, it's also a great, albeit weird show in its own right. Any show that can successfully set up the old "rich girl loses everything, is befriended by down-to-earth poor people" chestnut then completely subvert it halfway into the first episode is a show worthy of respect.

Okay, back to the episode, Mamoru and Motoki speculate that this Tuxedo Mask business might be some sort of advertising, then a depressed Usagi enters, prompting the usual taunting from Mamoru. He says she must not have received the love letter, but nope, she's depressed because she thought she was the only one.

Rei, it turns out, is sick. She's got a fever and is stuck in bed, so although she too got the letter from Tuxedo Mask, she won't be going anywhere. Ami says she'll stay and take care of her. D'awww...

At the mall, Nephrite's in Masato Sanjoin mode. Naru sees him, and nervously asks him if he's Tuxedo Mask. He immediately wonders if Naru somehow figured out that he was the one who sent those letters. So he doesn't exactly deny that he's Tuxedo Mask, and starts complimenting Naru. And then...

Ladies, gentlemen and none of the above, this story arc just got creepy, and not in the wholesome Youma way. While I realize that Nephrite's interest in Naru is feigned, it's no less manipulative. Naru goes through a lot of crap in this arc. Nephrite says he'll see her tonight, leading Naru to conclude that he really is Tuxedo Mask... er, whatever that means. Oh, and just in case we're not yet sufficiently creeped out...

Brrrrrr....

In her room, Usagi wonders why Tuxedo Mask would have sent love letters to literally every teenage girl in town. There's only one thing to do: ask him in person! At the mall, tonight, where she was planning to go anyway. But this is for investigative purposes only and is absolutely not a date.

Okay, carry on then.

Er... Usagi, what? I mean, that's not bad advice, but why is that your first rule? What are you expecting to do on this, your first ever date?

And I'm not going to comment on Usagi's choice of underwear beyond wondering if Goldfish Warning-themed panties were ever actually a thing. They probably were a thing.

While Usagi gets ready for her not-date, Naru shows up at the designated place, and is greeted by none other than... Tuxedo Mask!

Dude, the hair. You might want to... oh, never mind.

Anyway, Naru instantly recognizes him as Masato Sanjoin, which surprises Nephrite. She says it's his voice and presence, but I think the hair probably helped. Also, you already said you'd meet her tonight, you dope.

Naru is now head-over-heels for Nephrite/Sanjoin, after what he said to her earlier that day. Nephrite doesn't seem too interested in that, though, and leaps at Naru, demanding she show her true identity: Sailor Moon.

Speak of the devil, Usagi's on her way to the mall, when she's contacted by Ami. Once Rei discovers that Usagi's trying to meet with Tuxedo Mask without her, she struggles out of bed, determined not to be left out. Meanwhile, Nephrite continues to demand that Naru transform into Sailor Moon, while Naru doesn't know what the hell is going on. I guess maybe out of force of habit, Nephrite starts to drain Naru's energy, leading to what must be the saddest image in this episode.

Naru starts to lose consciousness, while Nephrite is amazed at the energy he's taking from her. Usagi enters, sees a guy in a Tuxedo Mask costume assaulting her best friend, and freaks out. She too sees pretty quickly that it isn't Tuxedo Mask. I say once more: the hair. Tie it back or put it under the hat or something. Show some initiative! Usagi transforms, and somewhere nearby, a curious thing is happening.

I'd have included more of this sequence, but it's evident that whatever compression Hulu uses really didn't like the colorful background, and hence the screencaps are artifacted to hell and back. Anyway, for those of you who haven't been reading the credits, or listening to his voice, or noticing any of the increasingly blatant hints the show's dropped recently, Mamoru is Tuxedo Mask! Only it seems he doesn't realize this, and his transformation seems to be an instinctive thing triggered by Usagi's transformation into Sailor Moon...

Nephrite seems to have finally figured out that the unconscious girl he's now holding isn't really Sailor Moon, just in time for the real Sailor Moon to show up and challenge him. She's pissed off tonight, and with good reason. Nephrite tosses Naru to her, and removes his disguise. Sailor Moon recognizes him as Sanjoin, but he finally introduces himself as Nephrite. Yeah, I hadn't realized it up until now, but Nephrite's so hands-off that this is the first time any of the main characters have seen him out of his disguise.

Nephrite uses his star powers to summon a blue lion from the constellation Leo. Fun fact: this pseudo-Youma was known by fans as Leo for a long time, for obvious reasons, but its name is actually Regulus (the brightest star in Leo, which gets mentioned a few times this episode).  Regulus chases Sailor Moon, but is smacked in the head by - you guessed it - a rose.

Accept no imitations! It's the real Tuxedo Mask, who's either modeling for a menswear catalog or has discovered a stylish new way to hold the elevator. He's annoyed at Nephrite's plot, and confronts him, telling Sailor Moon to run. As she does, he blocks Regulus's path, and...

Oh my god, I'm not the biggest fan of the art in this episode, but these poses are just the best. Regulus charges at Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Moon uses the tiara on it. It's knocked back, but doesn't turn to dust like usual. Tuxedo Mask tells Sailor Moon to run for the elevator because everyone knows that's the safest place in an emergency. They make it inside, the doors close behind them, and of course it was a trap. Nephrite plans to bring it up to the top floor, then let it drop.

Alright, Nephrite, nobody likes a smartarse. As the elevator panics, Tuxedo Mask considers the situation, and Sailor Moon has to hold herself back from latching on.

After slightly embarrassing herself with her fantasies, Sailor Moon is brought back to reality by Tuxedo Mask, who has a plan. He forces a panel at the top of the elevator open, and the two climb out onto the top. As it reaches the top floor, they jump. Tuxedo Mask grabs onto a ledge and Sailor Moon misses, but grabs his hand. The elevator plunges to the ground beneath them.

Now dangling above a very big drop, Tuxedo Mask suggests they talk as he tries to gain a footing. Sailor Moon asks why he always comes to help her, and he says that he doesn't know: something in his blood tells him to do it. She asks who he is, wondering if he's Motoki, but Tuxedo Mask just says that he feels that he and Sailor Moon had a connection in the distant past, one that he can feel but can't remember. Just as they're about to fall, the door above them opens, and they're pulled to safety by Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars (who's wearing a face mask because of her cold). While Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars bicker over Tuxedo Mask, Mercury seems to be the only one to remember Naru, who's unconscious and needs to get to the hospital. Tuxedo Mask bids the girls farewell, and tells them to get along. Tuxedo Mask gets stressed when girls fight.

In the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite points out to Queen Beryl that Nephrite has failed in his mission. He suggests Eternal Sleep. However, Beryl is impressed with the energy that Nephrite brought back, so he's off the hook. Back in the cathedral of solitude, Nephrite observes that the same energy he's been trying to collect from others is now being produced by Naru, as a product of her obsession with him. Oh dear.

Monster of the day: No Youma this time, but we did get the Youma substitute Regulus. What is there to say about him? He's a blue lion made of stars, he's tiara-resistant, and he's the first monster not to end up dead.

Most valuable person: It's Tuxedo Mask's episode, and time for him to finally get some recognition in this section. This is the most we've seen of him so far, and there's no argument that he was pretty useful this episode. He deserves this award for the poses alone.

Least valuable person: Nephrite, for a few reasons. Number one: he's a dick. Now, I know that's sort of the job description for enemies, but this marks the start of his manipulation of Naru, which is super low and creepy no matter how you look at it. Also, his plan was absurd and only succeeded in drawing Sailor Moon out in spite of itself. You think Sailor Moon's not going to notice that Tuxedo Mask sent letters to every teenage girl in town? And how was it that only Sailor Moon and Naru showed up? At least when Jadeite pulled a similar stunt in episode thirteen, the cops were on hand to keep curious citizens away from the airport.

This is an important episode, officially revealing Tuxedo Mask's identity to the viewer for the first time. And while it's not like it was a huge mystery, we have the added detail that Mamoru doesn't know he's Tuxedo Mask, and it's implied Tuxedo Mask doesn't know he's Mamoru either. We also get - and I say this with a heavy sigh - the beginning of the Naru/Nephrite thing. This plot element never sat well with me. I just can't enjoy watching emotional abuse of a character who's unable to fight back. I'll talk more about this later... unfortunately.

This episode does a few things that bug me, but it's solid enough that they don't ruin it, meaning the episode evens out at three stars out of five.

15 - Usagi's Panic: Rei's First Date

For the most part, I've enjoyed Viz's approach to translating so far. It's less doggedly literal than subtitles often are, and makes for more natural-seeming dialogue, which is good. In this episode, though, one of the downsides of this approach becomes apparent.

The episode starts off with Ami showing Usagi and Rei a park that she visits often. She says hello to the groundsman, and this is the source of the translation problem.

See, in the original Japanese, Ami calls the groundsman "ojisan". This literally means "uncle", but is also an informal, friendly way of addressing an older man. This sounds odd in English, so the translators had Ami use his name, which sounds a lot more natural. But wait... where does the name come from? Neither Ami nor anyone in this episode actually speaks this character's name.

Well, his name is in the credits, and I assume in the scripts too. The problem with Japanese names, though, is that they can be read different ways, and without hearing the name, or seeing it written phonetically, you have no way of knowing for sure how to pronounce most Japanese names just by seeing them. You can make an educated guess, but that's it. And that's what the translators did here: they looked at the kanji for the groundman's name, which is 国立, and made a best guess, coming up with Kokuritsu.

Except they got it wrong. Thanks to the various Japanese guidebooks, which included a lot of production notes and materials, we know that the correct reading for this character's name is actually Kunitachi. Here's a scan from the first Nakayoshi Anime Album, complete with furigana showing the pronunciation of the name.

I mean, as errors go, this seems minor. It's not like the name is ever even spoken in the original episode. But having known this character's name for a long time, it's downright weird to see him referred to by a different name. And because of how Viz have chosen to translate this episode, with the name replacing "ojisan", this name shows up a lot. It bugs me.

Back to the episode - because I had more planned than complaining about a single botched name translation - the groundsman tells them that the park has been sold, and work crews are already starting to bulldoze it in preparation for a new office complex. Rei's reaction to the news is to realize she needs to quickly acquire a boyfriend in order to have a date in the park before it closes. I love her logic here, it says so much about her character's priorities. For most people, it's "boyfriend acquired, must find date spot", whereas in Rei's case it's "date spot acquired, must find boyfriend." Rei is the most ambitious of the main cast; she wants to experience as much as possible from life, and if some of that requires a boyfriend, then fine, she'll find one, but the boyfriend part isn't an end in and of itself.

That evening, Luna is walking the streets, and stops to wonder where everyone went today. Unfortunately, she stopped to wonder this in the middle of a busy road. She's almost hit by a truck, but someone makes a daring last-minute save!

Mamoru is out... uh, I'm gonna assume jogging; my nineties fashion-fu is weak... and darts across the street to rescue Luna. As the internet has proven, even the most irredeemably awful people still love cats.

Usagi, Ami and Rei show up a few moments later, and Usagi freaks out that Mamoru is messing with her cat. Everyone else sides with Mamoru, possibly because he's in the right for once, possibly because everyone other than Usagi always sides with Mamoru. Then Motoki appears. Hey, Motoki will stick up for Usagi, right? He's always been there to defend her. Oops! Turns out Motoki and Mamoru are friends, and go the same college.

In his personal creepy church in his personal creepy forest, Nephrite does his astrology act and identifies the groundsman as his next target. Meanwhile, Usagi and friends are at the arcade. While Usagi fails at the Sailor V game, Rei pumps Motoki for information about Mamoru. It turns out he's super rich, lives by himself in an expensive condo, and goes to a good college. Rei thinks this makes him perfect boyfriend material. Rei is also fourteen years old, so... well, yeah, there's that. Incidentally, though he's been around from the beginning, this is the first time we've actually heard Mamoru's real name. It's been in the credits since episode one, admittedly, but as we've discovered, that's no guarantee of knowing what his name actually is...

In the park, the groundsman watches the destruction, and wonders if there's any way to save the wildlife. Enter Nephrite as Masato Sanjoin, millionaire playboy and environmentalist, who announces, that, yes, the groundsman can save the animals. Save them with the power of evil. And you've just got to love a show that gives you lines like this:

With the power of a possessed hat, the groundsman summons the forces of nature to do his bidding and rise up against their human enemies. Unfortunately, a park in the middle of Tokyo doesn't have a lot of large animals, but damn it, he makes it work with what's available.

Watch out or they'll flap near you! Actually, these butterflies are pretty friggin' dangerous, as they can apparently destroy electrical equipment just by, uh, flapping near it. There's some poetic justice in seeing a butterfly destroy a lightbulb. While you could argue it's the Youma's essence giving them superpowers, I like to think that butterflies are actually this strong all the time. They just choose not to show it because they're pacifists.

The next day, Rei is engineering the perfect chance encounter with Mamoru. She's plotted out his route back from college, and is timing it so she will turn the corner and gently bump into him, which will of course prompt him to ask her on a date by way of apology. Rei has yet to realize that causing Mamoru even the slightest amount of pain or inconvenience will result in a stern lecture on what a terrible waste of a human being you are.

Rei puts her plan into action, but the goddesses of shoujo drama are fickle, and she trips on a loose paving stone, resulting in, well, this.

Rei says she's fine, and Mamoru, being Mamoru, hears this and just decides to keep on walking. Well, it was either going to be that or a fifteen minute lecture on clumsiness. Rei, undeterred, runs after Mamoru and latches onto him, proposing she make it up to him with a cup of coffee. Make what up to him? Why, making him step on her head. Well, if there's one thing Mamoru likes in a woman, it's apologizing for things that weren't her fault, so he accepts!

(Yes, I know I'm mean to Mamoru. I know he becomes a much more pleasant character later on. But at this point in the show, he's shown no indication of being anything other than a huge jerk.)

Usagi sees all of this unfold, and is shocked, shocked to see Rei walking off arm-in-arm with an attractive older guy. It's immoral! It's inappropriate! Where's her attractive older guy? She runs off after them to throw a spanner in the works. Strictly for Rei's own well-being, of course.

Rei and Mamoru are in a cafe, where Rei is trying to make smalltalk and generally behaving like a huge dork. Usagi spies on them, but can't go inside because she doesn't have any money. She could always use the disguise pen to pose as a waitress... But then another opportunity arises. Umino sees Usagi and wonders what she's up to, crouched down outside a cafe. Hey, wait, doesn't Umino have a crush on Usagi? Hmmmm.

Usagi asks if Umino has any money. He does! Usagi asks if Umino would like to go on a date. He... wait, what? Yes, yes he would. They get into the cafe, where Usagi spies on Rei and Mamoru while Umino behaves like a boy from the 1950s.

In the park, it seems that the construction crew all suddenly quit. The owner explains to the uncharacteristically surly groundsman that with nobody prepared to do the work, the planned construction has been cancelled, and they'll be keeping the park the way it is. Meanwhile, Ami explains to Luna how she noticed the groundsman's odd behavior, and they head to the park to investigate. After meeting with the groundsmsan, the owner mutters about those construction workers expecting him to believe they were attacked by butterflies, and tosses a cigarette butt on the ground, attracting the attention of a squirrel. Man, that is one pissed-off looking squirrel. Moments later, Ami and Luna are drawn to the cries of a man experiencing the full-on terrifying wrath of squirrels.

This might look strange, but in fact, squirrels are widely known to be badasses. I mean, just ask Doctor Doom.

While the owner flees, begging forgiveness and promising never to bother the park again, Ami and Luna take a look at the horde of possessed evil squirrels and wonder if something evil might be afoot.

In a different, less evil part of the park, Rei has taken Mamoru out on a boat. He expresses sadness that the park is going to be closed, saying that people should take better care of nature. A wind blows to signify Mamoru having said something non-jerkish for the first time ever. Usagi watches them from a secluded spot, wondering what they're talking about. And Umino, having been raised by dating sims, thinks Usagi must be totally serious about this relationship if she's taken him to this private place already, and, well, since she's going to be so insistent, he'll agree to a kiss. By the time he's done saying this, Usagi has already run off somewhere else.

Usagi meets up with Ami and Luna, who tell her about the weird things happening in the park. The groundsman sees them, and says that the penalty for trespassing in this haven of nature is death! Then his energy peaks, and is drained by the Youma in his hat.The Youma takes humanoid form, and her name is... Petasos.

This Youma apparently gets her name from a Greek term for a sun hat, that I think also refers to some kind of leaf. But it's just too perfect that a Youma created from the fervor of eco-terrorism has "Peta" in her name. Petasos commands the park's animals to attack, prompting Usagi and Ami to transform.

On the boat, Mamoru suddenly experiences a weird seizure. Hmm, where have we seen that before? Then he and Rei are attacked by birds, and end up tipping their boat over. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury are being menaced by butterflies, and Luna has a squirrel problem. Mercury casts Bubble Spray, and... this has an effect, somehow. It slows the butterflies and squirrels down somehow. I don't really get it, but hey, Bubble Spray did something useful so I'm fine with it. Petasos counterattacks, wrapping both Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury in vines.

Rei and Mamoru made it out of the water okay, but Rei detects the evil aura nearby, and runs off to investigate. Not a moment too soon! Sailor Mars uses Fire Soul to destroy the vines trapping her allies. Mercury's pissed off that the Youma took advantage of the groundsman, Mars is pissed off that her date was interrupted, and they both tell off the Youma, stealing Sailor Moon's thunder a bit. The Youma goes to attack again, but a rose thrown by Tuxedo Mask distracts her. Wait, would a rose even work on a nature-based creature? Anyway, this gives Sailor Moon a chance to use the tiara, and Petasos is destroyed.

As the groundsman recovers, a wet and confused Mamoru joins Usagi, Rei and Ami. Rei suggests that Mamoru could be Tuxedo Mask, an idea that Usagi finds horrifying. Mamoru overhears, and has apparently never heard of Tuxedo Mask, but Rei is convinced it must be him. Then Umino shows up, having apparently escaped the wrath of nature entirely, and embarrasses Usagi by asking if she wants to continue their date. The end.

Monster of the day: Petasos is pretty strong, but as a grass type she has an obvious fire weakness. She also likes to name her attacks, though the names aren't very good: "Petasos Rope" and "Hand Flower" show a distinct lack of imagination. This is why you can't be a magical girl, Petasos. That and the being evil thing.

Most valuable person: Even though a lot of time was spent with Usagi and Rei, it seems like this was really Ami's episode, and indeed, she was the first to notice that something was going on.

Least valuable person: It's a tough one to call, but Usagi spent a lot of the episode being petty and conniving, so I think she gets the award this time.

My complaints about the translation aside, this is an episode that falls pretty clearly in average territory for the show. The "victim of the week who's an unlikely friend of one of the main characters who we've never seen before and will never see again" format seems a bit more blatant than last week, but there's enough going on that it doesn't drag the episode down too much. Plus, you know, any episode with possessed evil squirrels has to be doing something right. Three stars out of five.