Welcome back to the Summer Comics Binge of the “Sailor Moon” manga, continuing with the back half of the ‘Dream’ arc. As we pick up, both Usagi and Mamoru have been infected by a lung virus from the Dead Moon Circus, while the Inner Guardians have been captured by the Amazoness Quartet — cue a rescue from the Outer Guardians, a counterattack from Queen Nehelenia’s enforcer Zirconia, and the arrival of the shadowy queen herself.
Created by Naoko TakeuchiPictured: Chibiusa
Art by Naoko Takeuchi
Translated by Alethea Nibley & Athena Nibley
Lettered by Lys Blakeslee[Official blurb is the same as the previous volumes. (“Teenager Usagi is not the best athlete, she’s never gotten good grades, and, well, she’s a bit of a crybaby…”) This volume also contains ‘Chibiusa’s Picture Diary’ #3, and ‘The Entrance Exam Wars,’ which we’ll cover at a later date.]
Before we begin: Zirconia is a really underappreciated villain, possibly for reasons we’ll go into later, but she’s a wonderfully designed vizier, distinct from many “Sailor Moon” villains because of her wizened appearance, which automatically gives her so much character. (She feels more like a Jim Henson character than a Takeuchi one.) She also has the shapeshifting outline of a malevolent face on her robes, which is quite creepy and fun to look at.
‘Act 45. Dream 7: Mirror Dream:’ Both sets of Sailor Guardians do battle with the Quartet, while Chibiusa, Usagi, and Mamoru eventually overcome their sickness to join the fray. Frustrated with how long her girls are taking to subdue the Guardians, Zirconia appears and proves she’s no slouch, casting a spell on Usagi and Mamoru that deages them until they become infants, forcing Helios to intervene and spirit them away to Elysium.
Saturn pursues the Quartet with Chibiusa into the Circus, where she tells them they are not their selves, and that they have been manipulated. Unlike the anime, the manga has been largely reluctant to give villains redemption arcs, even establishing the Witches 5 were soulless, genetically engineered monsters, so the show’s creators would be prevented from going against that. Zirconia prevents the Quartet’s betrayal by transforming them into baubles, and then turns the two youngest Guardians into shards of glass, that she bestows as gifts to her master.
‘Act 46. Dream 8: Elysium Dream:’ Usagi has a dream where she is married to Mamoru, but they are both preteen children. Waking up in the dark, dingy ruins of Elysium, they are guided by Helios to his imprisoned, physical body, where he proceeds to explain Mamoru’s history as bearer of the Golden Crystal. Usagi, rather brilliantly for her, realizes he still bears its power, because of how he has always strengthened and empowered her, and accept her destiny is not her literally childish dream of a normal, married life, but to make the world a better place together, as King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Nehelenia appears, emerging from a mirror for the first time, and attacks, forcing them to return to the surface, but there they are once again outmatched by Zirconia.
‘Act 47. Dream 9: Dead Moon Dream:’ However, it turns out Zirconia is only casting nightmarish illusions, and the Guardians manage to overcome them, forcing her to flee. Usagi pursues her through a mirror, that transports her to Nehelenia’s throne room, and locks out her friends. However, the light of her power overwhelms Nehelenia, freeing Saturn and Chibiusa, and the queen disappears after Mercury and Jupiter break the mirror, allowing the trio to escape with the Quartet’s souls. The Circus vanishes, and — together — everyone teleports to Elysium to confront them. The Circus’s shark-like ship appears, and Nehelenia steps out of the mirror once again.
It’s here we finally see the queen’s cat-like pupils for the first time, which until now had been a blank reflection (no pun intended) of her spectral nature. On that note, Nehelenia has easily the most captivating design of any overarching “Sailor Moon” villain so far: she is genuinely beautiful, with her long black hair and dress, but sinister too thanks to her predatory feline eyes, and pointed ears — by comparison, Metalia, Death Phantom, and Pharaoh 90 were truly just smudge monsters. The buns on top of her hair also hammer home the notion of her as a demonic mirror of Usagi and her mother, Queen Serenity, which brings us to…
Continued below‘Act 48. Dream 10: Princess Dream:’ The epic final battle begins with a lengthy vision of the past, where it is revealed Nehelenia was an unwelcome intruder at the celebration of Princess Serenity’s birth: Queen Serenity cast her back into the shadows, but not before she placed a curse on the newborn child, making her responsible for everything that has ever transpired. It’s a tantalizing reveal, instantly making Nehelenia comparable to another legendary fairy tale villain, namely the wicked fairy godmother from Sleeping Beauty — I’ve no doubt Disney’s version of the character, Maleficent, was lurking somewhere in the back of Takeuchi’s mind.
Nehelenia reawakens the infection Usagi received to try to claim the Silver Crystal, but her defiance, and Mamoru’s love, begins a new transformation. Sailor Power Guardians, the mental representations of the Guardians seen in Mercury and Jupiter’s dreams, appear to reveal something only previously implied, which is that all of the Guardians were princesses of their own planets, and that they possess castles which can pour even greater power into Usagi’s Holy Grail. All of the girls invoke the names of their castles, which are shared with the moons of those worlds, turning Usagi into Eternal Sailor Moon.
Now I must admit: the angelic wings Usagi gains, and the bubble-like sleeves and frilly skirts she and the rest of the Guardians receive? Not my favorite Sailor Guardian redesign — oh well.
‘Act 49. Dream 11: Earth and Moon Dream:’ Everyone — including Mamoru — lends Usagi the power of their heart crystals, giving her the strength to vanquish Nehellenia once and for all. Before Nehellenia is finally swept away, it is shown, though not explicitly said, that she was Zirconia the whole time: it’s a fascinating twist, one playing on the Wicked Queen’s transformation into the Witch in Snow White, that makes you consider just how vain she was — perhaps she would’ve won, much sooner, if she hadn’t prioritized giving her beautiful self-image the power to emerge from the mirror realm?
The battle won, Chibiusa wakes up Helios (in another sweet spin on fairy tales) with a kiss. Helios then uses the unsealed Golden Crystal to transform Usagi and Mamoru into their future selves, Queen Neo-Serenity and King Endymion, and they cleanse Elysium of any remaining darkness — as Artemis remarks, it could very well be their coronation. At Saturn’s request, Serenity revives the Quartet, who are revealed to be Chibiusa’s future Guardians, Sailor Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, who were supposed to be awoken in the future, before being found and corrupted by Nehellenia instead. As they resume their slumber, Helios returns everyone to the surface, while expressing hope he’ll see Chibiusa again someday. Back home, Usagi ponders everyone she loves, and how her true dream is to keep them all safe — what a lovely ending.
Wait, there’s one more arc isn’t there? Yes: we’ll begin discussing it, next week.
