This volume begins the "Death Busters" story arc, or the Sailor Moon S series for those watching at home. A new enemy is on the horizon, which means the hard-fought peace after dealing with Black Moon is over. The enemy seems to be centered around the Mugen Academy built upon a triangle of reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay. At the center of it all is an elite private school that attracts talented students, like violin virtuoso Michiru Kaiō, or the star race car driver, Haruka Tenō (spelled Ten'ô in this translation). Both have frequent run ins with Usagi and Mamoru, and seem to know more about the new enemy than they let on. Chibi-Usa makes a new friend, Hotaru, whose father runs the Mugen Academy and has been known to conduct questionable genetic experiments. Later, the Outer Sailor Guardians make their first appearance, but it's not the happy team-building moment that Usagi wishes it was!
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Volume four gives us the resolution of the Black Moon story arc and introduces us to a pretty interesting character: Black Lady, the awakened adult form of Chibi Usa. Black Lady is the Queen of Darkness, one of Wiseman's most precious warriors, and she is determined to steal the Mystical Silver Crystal of the past and present from Sailor Moon and Neo Queen Serenity. She plans on doing this by launching several more monoliths of Black Beguiling Crystal into the planet's surface, something Prince Demand warms could destroy the Earth. Black Lady also captures Tuxedo Mask and makes him fight against Sailor Moon, something that nearly causes Sailor Moon to give up. But the power of the Mystical Silver Crystal protects the Earth and the Crystal Palace with the slumbering Neo Queen Serenity and the other Moon Kingdom warriors inside. It takes all that Sailor Moon has, and some sacrifices from other Sailor Soldiers, to bring Wiseman to task.
Effie is dropped on her aunt's doorstep in the middle of the night after her mother passes away, and at first, the two can't stand each other. Selimene believes there has to be some sort of mistake, that an old lady like her can't possibly look after a young child. Selimene's housemate, Carlota, warms to Effie instantly, and tries to make her comfortable. Effie starts school and makes some new friends, and eventually she and Selimene begin to get along. There is something strange about Selimene and Carlota, who claim to be herbalists and acupuncturists. Effie finally gets the full picture about her aunt's strange life when her magical powers begin to awaken, and Selimene and Carlota reveal they are witches! The three must cure a mysterious curse that is affecting one of Effie's idols, singer Tily Shoo, who is nothing like Effie imagined!
Volume three is the start of the next story arc. In this portion of the story, the members of the Black Moon are trying to steal the Mystical Silver Crystal, and they’re after Chibi-usa, a strange girl who literally fell out of the sky and demanded Usagi’s Crystal. Chibi-usa pledges not to let Usagi out of her sight until she has the crystal, so she casts a spell over Usagi's family and moves in as a "cousin" of the family. The Black Moon pick off the Sailor Scouts one by one and weaken Usagi’s confidence in herself and her team. Towards the end, Chibi-usa finally opens up and reveals who she is, where her "home" is, and why the Black Moon is after her.
The five sailor scouts are finally all together, just in time for the Dark Kingdom, headed by the evil Queen Metalia and Queen Beryl, to start tearing them apart. Kunzite steals Tuxedo Mask away from them just as they all regain their memories of their past lives in the Moon Kingdom. The group finally finds their lost Moon Princess, and they must protect her from the Dark Kingdom. A trip to the moon helps shed some light on who the enemy is and how it impacted their former lives.
This review series will focus on the newly published Eternal Editions of Sailor Moon. I have also reviewed the entire series previously.
Usagi Tsukino is a 14-year-old 2nd-year middle school student who wants nothing more than to play games, sleep all the time, and eat delicious foods. She's not a great student, and she's not sure about what high school she wants to go to. One day, she meets a talking cat with a crescent moon spot on her forehead, and the cat, Luna, reveals that Usagi is a legendary guardian, Sailor Moon! Together, Luna and Sailor Moon must track down the rest of the guardians and protect the Princess of the Moon Kingdom. Along the way, they meet a strange figure named Tuxedo Mask, and it's not abundantly clear if he's an enemy or not. Sailor Moon and her Guardian friends must fight against the sinister Dark Kingdom and keep the Mystical Silver Crystal from falling into their hands.
The final volume in part 1 of this series, and it's quite a whirlwind! This entire story seems like it happens over the course of one day, and moves extremely quickly. In this volume, our heroines find all three Rune Gods and have to prove themselves worthy of their power. Each one has a showdown with another Zagato minion, and has to outsmart them as well as out-fight them. Through it all, the adorable Mokona guides them to every temple and conveniently hides during every battle. Then, it's time for the final showdown with Zagato, and a twist ending you most likely will not see coming!
In the Forest of Silence, where magic doesn't work, the girls meet a mysterious swordsman named Ferio, who seems to also want to become a Magic Knight. Fuu strikes a bargain with him that forces him to escort the ladies to the Spring of Eterna in order to obtain the legendary mineral, Escudo. The Spring is nothing like they all imagined, and the trial to obtain Escudo is more challenging than they were expecting. Ferio lets it slip that only those close to the princess know of the legend of the Magic Knights, but he fails to say how he came across this information before he disappears into the wild blue yonder.
As with many series of my childhood, Rayearth has been republished in a hardback anniversary edition with enlarged pages and beautiful covers. In honor of the 25th Anniversary, I will be providing reviews of every volume. I have also reviewed this 6-volume series previously in one review.
Rayearth begins with a mysterious young girl praying for the Magic Knights to save her world. We then join several schools on a field trip to Tokyo Tower. Three girls - Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi - from separate schools are singled out and pulled into a magical realm known as Cefiro (previously published as Cephiro). These three ladies careen through the sky of a land that is very clearly not Japan. They are rescued by a sorcerer, Guru Clef, who explains to them that the Pillar of Cefiro, the kidnapped Princess Emeraude, has summoned them to the world to become the legendary Magic Knights and save them all. Clef bestows upon them magical armor and points them in the direction of a weapon-maker, just before he is overtaken by evil minions. The three find out from Presea, the weapon maker, that they will need to adventure to obtain materials for their individual weapons, and all of this will culminate in awakening the Rune Gods in order to save Emeraude and Cefiro.
Agott tries to find a way to reverse the spell cast on Euini, while Richeh leads the animal charges to safety through the maze. Meanwhile, Master Qifrey fights valiantly against the reanimated Romonons, but he’s been badly injured. Coco shows her cleverness in solving the riddle of the Romonons, but then they are attacked by a Brimmed Cap. Captive Master Alaria is revealed, and Coco and Tetia work together to try to save her. Then, the apprentices come together and try an idea on Euini, all for another brimmed cap to show up and divulge some of their plan to Coco. Richeh continues to wrestle between her need to remain her own witch and learning the spells she's supposed to learn, and we get a glimpse of her past where this issue really came to a head. We see more Knights of Moralis and the inside of the Great Hall of Witches that we’ve only heard about before.
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About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this siteRatings, Audience, and Subject Tags
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