Pluto’s revival in the anime

[Seen2]

Apparently he referred to the Sailor Moon R movie as a "renewal" (written in katakana) of the Ail and En arc. Source.

What he actually meant of course is vague in typical Ikuhara fashion, but you do get the sense that the movie is meant to encapsulate not only that arc, but a lot of the themes from the first season. Also Fiore and the Xenian flower share the same voice actors as Ail and En to drive the parallels even more.

Interesting, but I don't think it literally means "a retelling of the Makai Tree arc" in this case.

I do remember a quote from Ikuhara saying that the movie was meant to encapsulate the themes of season 2 in general, though. Sadly I can't seem to find it.

When you think about it, "love and the relationships between people" is sort of the general concept connecting everything together in R. Usagi's relationship with Mamoru, Ail and An's relationship, all four Specter Sisters, Saphir with Demande, and Chibiusa with both her parents and the Inners all play important roles in the story. The R movie is all about this sort of thing. It wasn't made with the main series's canon in mind, but it did make sure to fit in with the theming.

Here's a (different) quote from Ikuhara about it from the 2017 event:

Sailor Moon R The Movie (which aired after the event) focuses on flowers as the main theme. When asked why he made flowers the main theme, Director Ikuhara said, ‘In the TV series, flowers were often scattered all around the screen. While pondering the reason for that, I thought, “I wonder if I can make a movie out of this.” When I asked myself “What are flowers?”, the conclusion I came to is that flowers are “love”.’
With regards to the alien, Fiore, who was friends with Mamoru from childhood, Director Ikuhara said, ‘Fiore once received a flower from Mamoru. Fiore is a person who doesn’t understand what love is. Fiore received love from Mamoru and thought that Mamoru was in love with him but in reality it wasn’t so. He found out that Mamoru loved someone else and got upset. He thought that love would come back as passionate as his. However, that is not love, that is attachment. Love is something that is given but Fiore thinks that love is something that you take away or look for. The base of the story is him learning what love is.’

Sailor Moon R The Movie: Talk with Director Ikuhara and Cast | MANGA.TOKYO

 

[Seira Hazuki]

Wow, I've never seen that quote but I love it so much.

(And it's nice to have confirmation that Fiore was actually in LOVE with Mamoru because I seem to remember this being a point of contention for the fandom despite that conclusion being obvious.)

 

[Frenchfries&AChocolateMalt]

Wow, I've never seen that quote but I love it so much.

(And it's nice to have confirmation that Fiore was actually in LOVE with Mamoru because I seem to remember this being a point of contention for the fandom despite that conclusion being obvious.)

He saw Usagi as a threat. If Fiore was a woman nobody would be arguing against the idea of Fiore being in love with Mamoru.

 

[MementoNepenthe]

Wow, I've never seen that quote but I love it so much.

(And it's nice to have confirmation that Fiore was actually in LOVE with Mamoru because I seem to remember this being a point of contention for the fandom despite that conclusion being obvious.)

That's not what he's saying though? He's saying that Fiore was attached to Mamoru and misinterpreted those feelings as love, but he didn't really understand the true meaning of love. At best, Fiore's true feelings for Mamoru are still ambiguous.

 

[Seira Hazuki]

That's not what he's saying though? He's saying that Fiore was attached to Mamoru and misinterpreted those feelings as love, but he didn't really understand the true meaning of love. At best, Fiore's true feelings for Mamoru are still ambiguous.

You’re right. I hastily read that quote. However, it still sounds like Ikuhara is basically saying that Fiore had some type of romantic feelings for Mamoru even if those feelings were ultimately just selfish or built from confusion.