Yes, I'm reviewing Sailor Moon. Honestly, if you haven't seen this show, I don't know where've you've been for the past nine years - under a rock? [Editor's note: They probably just don't like mahou shoujo. :P]
Sailor Moon R: The Movie is the first of the three Sailor Moon movies, the next two being of S and Super S season. Taking place in the general time period of R season, but without involving that particular plot, Sailor Moon R is generally the most romantic of all of the seasons. Hence, its movie is also the most lovey-dovey. For people who haven't watched Sailor Moon (...), the 200-episode long anime is about Tsukino Usagi, who is Sailor Moon, and her friends, the rest of the Sailor Senshi. Their mission in the first season is to find the moon princess, along with the ginzuishou [Silver Crystal], as they are her protectors. It goes from there...
The movie begins with a young boy giving a rose to another boy, who vanishes after telling him that 'he'll return with lots of flowers' later. This flashback fades out to the face of Chiba Mamoru [Tuxedo Kamen (Mask)], who is at a greenhouse with his girlfriend, Tsukino Usagi [Sailor Moon]. Eventually a man appears dressed in civilian clothes, who arrives in a shower of flower petals. Possessed by the Kisenian flower, which is a blossom that has been known to destroy whole planets, Fiore, is set on taking Mamoru away from Usagi and the rest of the Sailor Scouts. What will this war entail?
Though this movie does not have the most intricate plot, it is well put-together, especially with the insights of parts of the character's lives. Interestingly enough, they used some other character models and scenes from earlier in the series - for instance, Fiore and the Kisenian are the very picture of Ail and Ann from the first arc in R season - also, the battle scene on Earth looks identical to episode 34, when <SPOILER> Mamoru gets stabbed </SPOILER>. I am assuming they did that on purpose; as for the Ail and Ann part, I found that the voice actor and actress of Ail and Ann were also Fiore and the Kisenian, so they designed it to be similar as an inside joke. However, making Fiore similar to Ail and Ann makes sense anyway (plot-wise, with info from R), so it was a nice touch.
Other than being able to see Sailor Moon's indomitable spirit, there's not really much room for character development. This movie focuses most on the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru, but my favorite scene was actually when it shows scenes between Usagi and the other senshi. It shows a good deal of how strong the bond between Usagi and her senshi are, and is a very eye-watering scene.
The movie especially shows how much Usagi and Mamoru care for each other, pounding all arguments that they don't into the dust. I see nothing wrong with this movie! I would recommend anyone to watch it, as long as they've already seen the first season.
