I think it's fair to say that
Sailor Stars (90s) did a solid job wrapping up Usagi's character arc as the final season (and I really enjoyed reading your analysis on it,
@Al Evans!). Even the subtle callbacks to the Dark Kingdom finale do a great job of highlighting Usagi's growth throughout the '90s anime—setting
SuperS aside
However, for fans like me who feel like
Sailor Stars doesn’t quite land as a “final season,” a lot of it comes down to how low-stakes much of the season feels. The Monster of the Day formula was inevitable, but the issue isn’t the formula itself—it’s the way it was executed, particularly in relation to the season’s MacGuffin.
The cycle of a star seed going blank, turning into a Phage, and then Eternal Sailor Moon healing them works on a thematic level, especially because it ties into her eventual healing of Galaxia in the finale. But the problem is, it comes at the cost of any real tension. Compare that to
Sailor Moon S. In hindsight, it’s easy to point out that the introduction of Pure Heart Crystals marked the start of the anime leaning more heavily into a formula. I’d even argue that the first two seasons, with their focus on energy collection, had more variety in their plotlines. But when I first watched
S, the Pure Heart Crystal concept felt fresh. The tension stemmed from the fact that extracting a Pure Heart Crystal visibly put people in danger—characters literally turned pale.
Even though the Daimons introduced some goofier monster designs, they still felt like they posed some kind of threat. Most of them were responsible for extracting Pure Heart Crystals, and the show didn’t shy away from the fact that this could easily result in someone’s death. Eudial’s Daimons were an exception to the formula, but Eudial herself was one of the most memorable villains in
Sailor Moon. The stakes felt high, and the potential for real harm was always hanging over the characters. Contrast that with the earlier seasons, where the focus on collecting energy was less dire. While energy-draining sometimes implied the risk of death, more often than not, the characters just fainted after their energy was stolen.
In
Sailor Stars, that kind of tension is completely missing the moment a human turns into a Phage after their star seed is extracted. The only real sense of danger comes when the Sailor Starlights threaten to kill the Phage and its logical implication... But even that felt so forced, especially after the first episode when they realize Eternal Sailor Moon can easily heal the Phages. It’s clear they were trying to give the Starlights the same morally ambiguous vibe as the Outers, but it doesn’t quite work. The Outers’ moral ambiguity in
S made sense because when a Pure Heart Crystal became a Talisman, it meant the person would die. The Starlights, on the other hand, are more focused on their princess, which doesn’t translate well into the episodic structure of
Stars.
This brings up the biggest issue with
Sailor Stars: the overuse of the Starlights. In
S, Haruka and Michiru were nowhere near shoved down our throats. When one of the Inners had a focus episode, the Outers mostly took a back seat, and when they were involved, they were actually likable (at least as civilians). Even when Haruka and Michiru acted like jerks toward Usagi and the others, it was directly tied to the overarching plot of
S. Their coldness and morally gray actions served to highlight the larger conflict between their mission and the Inners' more optimistic approach.
S did a great job connecting multiple plot threads, like Rei’s visions of destruction, the looming threat of the Outers killing innocent people to achieve their goals, and the tension surrounding Hotaru’s identities as Sailor Saturn and Mistress 9—all of which built up to an incredible climax.
In
Stars, by comparison, things only really pick up in the final stretch of episodes, and even then, it feels disconnected from the rest of the season because:
A) Sailor Galaxia never intended for her underlings to be an actual threat, and at any point, she could have just ripped everyone’s star seeds from their bodies—just like in the manga.
B) Many of the Starlights b-plots revolved heavily around them being idols and Seiya's one-way romance with Usagi... In fact, the Starlights' search for their princess barely factors into the plot
at all which is funny because Kakyuu's death is what essentially triggers the last couple of episodes.
For all its flaws (and there are many), the manga—and
Cosmos as its faithful adaptation—never had trouble selling the idea that this was the highest-stakes battle of all, even if the storytelling wasn’t always as coherent as the original anime.
Stars just lacked that same level of consistent tension and emotional weight throughout most of the season for
me.
I am afraid I disagree on various points.
Let's talk about the low stakes situation. Yes, in S there were major stakes at play since if the Pure Heart Crystals were not returned, the owner would die. However, I'd argue that the stakes were equally high and in fact more potent in both Stars and its proto-type arc, the Rainbow Crystals arc. This is because:
a) the innocent victims were themselves the villains, so our heroes had to make a choice about whether (and to what extent) they hurt the villain as it would mean hurting an innocent life
b) The Starlights' POV early on was very much that killing the was only option, which is MORE high stakes than the Outers being willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a greater good, after all they always returned the Pure Heart Crystals once they had checked them over. Once the Outers chcecked over a Crystal they either left or helped beat the villain. The Starlights by contrast were reluctanly out for blood and took awhile to be convinced that Sailor Moon's power meant there was an alternative. This in turn played into their own arcs of believing in Usagi, which paid off when they 'adopted' her as their protectee after Kakuyuu died. As for it being forced after their debut episode, I do not agree with this because they simply do not trust Sailor Moon yet. Once can be a fluke and they don't know much about her. Being foreign to Earth and embroiled in this Sailor War, they are inevitably going to be wary of the other Senshi and keep to themselves. Moreover, there were instances in the early Stars episodes where Usagi was not on the scene when they were fighting the Phages, so the Starlights would have had no option except to kill them. It wasn't as if they consistently were gunning for the kill shot throughout the season. There came a point where they had grown to know better and trust Sailor moon would heal them up. So I don't really see how this was forced.*
c) Often, the Senshi would have some kind of fondness for the victim of the day, for example Rei being cousins with the Phage in the lake episode, or Ami respecting Sailor Teacher. So, much like the Rainbow Crystals arc, the stakes were not simply the lives of whatever the victim of the day was, but a personal stake for characters we ourselves are invested in. It is more engaging drama when the hero is fighting not simply to save someone because it is the morally right thing to do, or even because an innocent person we are familiar ith might die, but because it matters to
them personally. Consider, would the second Act low point in the Dark Knight have hit as hard if Batman had failed to save a random woman rather than him failing to save the woman he was in love with?
So, I'd argue the execution in this arc is at least of equally high stakes as S and moreover has a stronger payoff as it naturally builds up the Starlights' relationships with Usagi, thematically builds up Usagi as a Healer Goddess and also lent itself to strong character exploration as the villain and victim were the same character, an by extension the Senshi fighting them tested them more than a Daimon stealing hearts could.
I'd agree that by Stars we were firmly in formula territory, but it is hardly fair to place that on Stars when that had been something solidified by S. That was simply the standard operating procedure for the show, but the specific variation Stars went to hadn't been done since season 1 and it was the most dramatic.
I agree that the Daimons were more threatening than the Phage's, but I don't think more threatening = better, nor more fitting for a finale. To me, the fact that the villains were warped Senshi not only leant themselves to interesting designs but raised the stakes unto themselves because, now the finale villains are evil Senshi. There mere existence signified that something terrible was happening for Senshi to go bad and thereby built up the main villains. I'd also add that thematically this was appropriate because, just as the Phages were people who had their Star Seeds removed and became warped versions of themselves, the same was true of Galaxia, at least in a sense. This then justifies their goofiness. They are goofy but Galaxia, who is in a not dissimilar boat to them, is decidedly
not. This is illustrated when Usagi does her finishing move on her and it
doesn't work.
As for Eudial, yes she is great, very memorable indeed. I'd argue the same of Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow. Their double act was funny and in its own way sweet, whether you read them as friends, friendly rivals, or lovers. Now, I would say, as much as I love them, Mimet and Kaolinite are also more memorable than the other Animamates were. But I don't think that is a slant against Stars or undermines it as the grand finale season. For starters, not every single aspect of the grand finale needs to be peak to be worthy of being the finale. More poignantly, as memorable as the S villains may have been they frankly pale in comparison to the Shitennou and the Black Moon Clan. This isn't even accounting for how Nehalennia and Galaxia are extremely memorable and gripping villains, but I think its fair to say at the moment we are not talking about the Big Bads but the sub-bosses.
Yes, the Starlights are more focussed upon their Princess. And on paper this means it is harder to make that work episodically vs the 2 Senshi teams in a sense being after the same thing. But on paper is one thing and in execution is another. The reality is the Starlights method for finding their Princess was to become successful celebrities. Therefore they were constantly pursuing their goal in the background of the show and on an episodic basis this meant the plots could revolve around the main cast interacting with them both as characters unto themselves but also in the context of their celebrity status. This worked wonders with Minako who also wanted to be a celebrity, but also makoto's cooking skills getting to shine on TV, on Luna getting to see the real Yaten, the scandal of the Three Lights staying at Usagi's house, their interacting with Michiru at the concert and to an extent the lake episode. It was a dynamic we hadn't seen before, with celebrity characters in the show not getting the same degree of exploration. Moreover, their arc across the season was gradually getting them to the point where they viewed Usagi in the same light as their own princess, ultimately stepping up to protect her when Usagi's own protectors had died, each party fulfilling a need the other had. So, in terms of plot generation, perhaps it was not as elegant as S (though it worked fine, the reduced episode count perhaps helping with this) but in terms of character exploration it delivered strong material.
I honestly cannot agree at all when it comes to the use of the Starlights vs the Outers. I was utterly frustrated that S over prioritised the Outers over the Inners. It really felt like the Inners were being sidelined for them. Whilst there are Inner Senshi focus episodes wherein the Outers took a backseat, I'd argue that's kind of
worse than weaving the two groups together within the context of the plot. Imo, Stars did this more consistently successfully than S did, although in fairness there was a smaller episode count to begin with. The Sailor teacher episode weaves the Ami and Taiki's roles together well. The episode where Minako tries to be an idol organically integrates both Yaten and Tin-Nyanko. The cooking show episode organically integrates Makoto and Taiki. The concert episode organically weaves Haruka and Michiru in with the Starlights. Even Luna got a strong focus episode involving Yaten, Luna's best focus story since the S movie frankly. Rei is something of an exception here. She gets 1 focus episode (the lake episode) that a rewrite could have easily omitted the Starlights from, but it wasn't as if their inclusion hurt the episode either. She is however used organically to facilitate a Seiya focus story in the dance teacher episode. However, I think this is excused somewhat when one considers that Rei got 2 impactful scenes in the season. The first being her fortuneteller role for Usagi and Seiya and the latter being her confronting Usagi about Mamoru's absence. Another example of Stars paying tribute to the roots of the series wherein Rei was clearly Usagi's closest friend in season 1. (Yes, Setsuna and Hotaru got sort shrift, but that is their lot in this franchise it seems. Esp Setsuna. Girl got the most memorable Image Song from the Musicals and that's it.) Additionally, the Inners and Outers got a lot of love in the first 6 episodes of the season. Makoto didn't get a full on focus episode per se, but she also got the ICONIC scene where she went 1 v1 with Nehalennia. It was a scene I inevitably revisited upon learning of her VA's passing. Rest in Power Emi.
I guess to me, if you are going to have a season (with a more limited episode count no less) that expands the scope of the world by saying there are in fact Sailor Senshi beyond the Solar System then the best thing to do is OPTIMISE that set up and USE those other Senshi.
"Their coldness and morally gray actions served to highlight the larger conflict between their mission and the Inners' more optimistic approach."
Please see below as I discussed this point a lot. Basically, the Outer Senshi's approach and the ideological conflict in S was forced and didn't make sense. I personally find that frustrating, but I also am not going to write off the season because of that since, let us be honest, 90% of Sailor Moon doesn't make sense and never did. Nor did its major source of inspiration, Super Sentai, for the record. In my eyes (as a Sentai fan who then became a fan of SM) that is possibly a feature, not a bug.
"
S did a great job connecting multiple plot threads, like Rei’s visions of destruction, the looming threat of the Outers killing innocent people to achieve their goals, and the tension surrounding Hotaru’s identities as Sailor Saturn and Mistress 9—all of which built up to an incredible climax."
I won't deny that (although, again, I find it forced and unbelievble for the Outers to have that POV in the first place, hence I prefer the Manga's version where they are far more reasonable). But I don't see why this makes Stars' finale bad, let alone unworthy as the Grand Finale to the show.
For starters, I'd argue Stars does a decent job of having the narrative threads converge together (although not
as effective as S). But I also don't think the criteria for whether a finale is successful or not = did the plot threads across the season converge or not. In season 1, Ami's character arc paid off several episodes prior to the finale, for example. The Shitennou's storyline was wrapped up before then as well. The season 1 finale pays off plot points for sure, but it isn't weaving a tapestry like S was. But did that make mean it was dramatically ineffective? No. Does that mean it was not, if we are honest, THE most iconic finale of the whole show? No.
The Stars finale is much the same, and not just because it is actively bringing things full circle by recreating some elements of the Season 1 finale (the Senshi dead, fighting evil versions of friends, Princess Serenity vs the Big Bad who has transformed into her upgraded form). It pays off the character arcs of the Starlights and of their relationship with Usagi by having them fulfill the void Galaxia has created in them both. Usagi is bereft of her protectors. The Starlights are bereft of their Princess.
But, more than this, the Stars finale utterly succeeds because it places the emphasis squarely on Usagi herself, something that in truth NONE of the Finales since Season 1 had done. R (a great finale in its own right) evolves around the family, Usagi, Mamoru and Chibi-Usa. S is Usagi and Hotaru, all in service of resolving an ideological schism between the Inners and Outers. SuperS was Chibi-Usa stealing the spotlight in the penultimate episode and Usagi then showing fortitude to save her, the villain meanwhile (who in truth was really Chibi-Usa's adversary) had already been beaten. Pegasus ultimately saves them both.
In Stars and Season 1 though USAGI saves the day. In season 1 she steps up and embraces her role as Princess, becoming the vanquisher of the Dark Kingdom like her Mother before her (very Star Wars, no?). In Stars she engages in a natural evolution of this. She doesn't simply defeat or destroy the villain, she
saves them, and in doing so saves not just the Earth but the whole galaxy. She becomes the Healer Goddess she always was deep down but at the absolute pinnacle of her powers, the person who all too believably could become Neo-Queen Serenity tomorrow. Which, in essence ties into Season 1 as well. She has even more, become like her Mother, except she has surpassed her Mother too, saving the villains, fixing everything, rather than simply offering the chance to start over.** And she does this whilst confronting the most powerful villain in the Galaxy possessing the most powerful Senshi ever.
In the same way Usagi is literally stripped down, the Stars finale strips the story down to its essence. Usagi the Sailor Senshi, whose true power is love/empathy. She doesn't do this with assistance. She doesn't do this by adopting a new more powerful form, indeed she loses all exterior trappings. This is our girl saving the villain from themselves, saving her friends for herself, saving everyone across the galaxy, and proving definitively that she is THE greatest Sailor Senshi of all. And all of it topped off with a reaffirmation of the Miracle Romance, Usagi's self-descriptor monologue and Moonlight Densetsu; all 3 things that started it all.
S does a great job of weaving together the threads for that season. Stars wove together the
fundamental threads that ran from episode 1 until the very end.
And considering, this was all after 2 seasons that frankly, de-emphasised the main character (the Outers are very prominent in the first half of S, Chibi-Usa and Hotaru much moreso in the second half, and Chibi-Usa is THE lead in SuperS), I'd say that is a rousing touchdown. This show was about Usagi fundamentally and the Stars finale is the greatest demonstration of why she rocks!
"In
Stars, by comparison, things only really pick up in the final stretch of episodes, and even then, it feels disconnected from the rest of the season because:
A) Sailor Galaxia never intended for her underlings to be an actual threat, and at any point, she could have just ripped everyone’s star seeds from their bodies—just like in the manga.
B) Many of the Starlights b-plots revolved heavily around them being idols and Seiya's one-way romance with Usagi... In fact, the Starlights' search for their princess barely factors into the plot
at all which is funny because Kakyuu's death is what essentially triggers the last couple of episodes."
I couldn't disagree more. Basically everything from the Plane episode where Aluminum Siren dies onwards is unmissable. It is all chain linking towards the grand climax. The core of the narrative is Usagi's development, her relationship with Seiya and the relationship between the two Senshi teams as a whole, not an ideological debate like in S. The relationship threads were done well and paid off. For me, that's more relevant because I'm in this for the characters first and foremost.
I will agree that Galaxia's plan is rather questionable...but...I think this is a dangerous criticism to level against Stars considering 90% of everyone's plans in this show from day one are illogical. This includes in S. Why didn't Haruka and Michiru entertain the idea they might possess the Talismans? Was their plan honestly to just wait for a Daimon to steal a heart and then steal it from the Daimon? That's extremely risky. Why not tell the Inners the whole truth from the outset, or at least enough of the truth to get their help but not tell them about the leangths they were willing to go. In R, the Black Moon Clan never used their time travel to its full effect. Why take over the future when you can simply go back to a more vulnerable point in time and tae over from there? Then you've got the endless wacky schemes of the Shitennou to discover Sailor Moon's secret identity, many of which work purely due to toon logic. And of course, the Dead Moon Circus purposefully didn't tell the Trio that Pegasus would be in a very particular type of Dream Mirror and their seduction schemes never served a point in the first place. Usagi's plan to get recruited by the Dark Kingdom in season 1, whilst demonstrating her being proactive which was nice, was inevitably doomed to fail. King Endymion's plan to save the future via giving Mamoru and Usagi bad dreams requires a lot of reflection to make sense and at face value, it just doesn't.
And, of course, the classic...The Sailor Team are looking for the MOON Princess and at no point consider that
maybe Sailor MOON, who's real name means 'Rabbit of the MOON'
might be the MOON Princess?
Again, this is very much Super Sentai levels of illogical. For example, in Power Rangers (not Sentai, but close enough) Rita Repulsa knows who the Power Rangers are, where they live, but she doesn't attack them in their sleep or anything like that. In Miraculous Ladybug, a show heavily inspired by Sailor Moon, the main villain can create super villains with essentially any powers he wants, but he always fails. He can even recreate them. He could very easily just try the same scheme again, but account for what went wrong the first time, or give a villain powers that could just turn back time or something. He never does.
That all being said, IIRC I don't think Galaxia can rip out the Star Seeds of Sailor Senshi on a whim. She needs to do that in person. So from her POV, she harvests everyone's Star Seeds and now she is scouring a hole planet for like 10 people. Bear in mind, the Starlights and Kakuyuu fled their own planet so for all she knows, going in that hard, that fast is going to make her job harder. She only does it in the finale because she has essentially egged them (especially the Starlights) into fighting her. She knows they want the showdown, so they are going to come to her and fight on her home turf. Prior to that, having her Animamates target people they think might hold True Star Seeds, whilst slower, is likely more effective as it doesn't spook the Senshi into running, especially since none of them (not even the Starlights) know that only Sailor Senshi can have True Star Seeds. In fact, and maybe I am wrong about this, I'm not even sure galaxia knows for certain that only Senshi can have true Star Seeds, given how Tuxedo Mask is NOT a Sailor Senshi. But, I can accept it doesn't make sense...at which point it would be consistent with most of the show.
"B) Many of the Starlights b-plots revolved heavily around them being idols and Seiya's one-way romance with Usagi... In fact, the Starlights' search for their princess barely factors into the plot
at all which is funny because Kakyuu's death is what essentially triggers the last couple of episodes."
For starters, I don't think the romance was strictly one way. Usagi's heart belongs to Mamoru, but she did have feelings for Seiya. That romance was compelling soap opera drama for me. The latter factors into the finale to some degree (when the Starlights adopt Usagi), but even if you argue it doesn't, again, lots of plot threads in various seasons resolved before the finale. Ami's relationship with Ryo, Kunzite's fate, Usagi and Mamoru's breakup (although that eventually became relevant in the finale I admit), the mystery of who Chibi-Usa was, etc. I'd however argue that the SeiUsa drama in a sense reinforced the Miracle Romance via its absence and the temptation presented by Seiya to Usagi. The heartbreak of us viewers knowing Mamoru is dead but Usagi not knowing, waiting for that time bomb to go off, which it did in the finale. Much like the break up arc, whilst the specific story resolved before the finale, the ramifications of it having happened still factored into the finale.
As for their searching for their Princess, they are continuously fuelling their search by being celebrities. That is their entire plan. Not only are there a few episode where this is central to the narrative (Taiki's crisis of faith being an example), but more poignantly the point is the Starlights more and more are growing to view Usagi in a similar light to their Princess, which
does pay off in the climax. The plot threads are actually reflecting one another. Sans mamoru, Usagi is growing closer to Seiya. Sans their Princess, the Starlights are starting to see Sailor Moon in the same light, with Seiya being the more obvious example of this. I'd also add that by having their celebrity status fuel their search for the Princess, it basically means you can do fun scenarios utilising their celebrity status without having to focus upon that search in this or that filler episode you are writing. Want to have a fun summer lake episode. Or a sleepover? Or a video game contest? or a concert? or an episode about antiques? Your options are open, its all on the table. Therefore, Sailor Stars could engage in the fun slice of life sitcom-esque filler episodes that were in truth Sailor Moon's bread and butter. Across the 200 episodes, most of the show is similar to the sitcom Friends in that an episode could be described as 'The One with/where'. The One with the skiing. The One where Ami goes to Germany. The One where the girls learn about lesbians. The One where everyone wants to know who Chibi-Usa is dating. The Sailor Stars filler episodes imo where a triumphant return to form in this regard, the sleepover episode being my personal favourite of the ep of the entire show, and imo the funniest too.
"For all its flaws (and there are many), the manga—and
Cosmos as its faithful adaptation—never had trouble selling the idea that this was the highest-stakes battle of all, even if the storytelling wasn’t always as coherent as the original anime.
Stars just lacked that same level of consistent tension and emotional weight throughout most of the season for
me."
"Let's compare the anime to the anime for a minute. You spoke a lot about S, but if S had a consistent level of underlying tension it was only because of the prophecy in the literal first minutes of the first episode of the season. Which was effective, but in my view a tiny bit of a cheat as it gives you as a writer licence to do any number of goofy filler episodes so long as every few episodes you do a flashback to the prophecy. Like if you showed someone random S episodes for the very first time and they never mention the prophecy, they aren't going to feel that tension. By the time you get to the climax episodes of Stars though, that tension is absolutely there.
Maybe the S finale is more tense, but only because there is a ticking clock involved too. With the Stars finale you lack the ticking clock, but instead you have a situation where
everyone is either down for the count or dead. It is
just Usagi and the most powerful villain of all fighting 1v1 for the fate of the whole galaxy. Galaxia has functionally already won, it isn't a case of if Usagi or anyone else can do anything in time they can win. It is absolutely over. The only glimmer of hope is ChibiChibi...and then
she fails too. And prior to her, everyone else had pulled out all the stops against Galaxia and she'd walked through them. There is no ticking clock, but that doesn't mean it wasn't effective drama, nor worthy of being the Grand Finale. Because at face value there was NO way Galaxia could be overpowered. Which is why the finale was so perfect. Usagi defeated every other villain before Galaxia by overpowering them. But in the case of Galaxia, she won by
saving her. It was a solution in plain sight. "
Finally, I don't think comparing the manga and the anime on this front is fair. This is because EVERY arc in the anime is lacking in tension compared to its Manga counterpart, including S. This is because the Manga doesn't have filler epiodes to space events out. It is over all less comedic to diffuse tension. And because it has a shorter we get to the point much faster. In the latest English translation of the Manga each arc has 2 volumes dedicated to it and if you notice, the second of those volumes (volume 2, volume 4, volume 6, volume 8 and volume 10) are a pretty ruthless in how each chapter is distinctly part of the finale for that arc, not simply building towards the finale. Each chapter cliffhangers into the next until we hit the final showdown with the Big Bad.
The Stars arc more specifically is tension riddled because a character dies in almost every chapter of the thing. This is because the Stars arc was essentially a deconstruction of both Sailor Moon and arguably the magical girl genre as a whole. The Stars anime arc however wasn't doing that, it was instead
rebuilding the show after the blunder of SuperS had lost viewers, hence so many subtle call backs to the older seasons. So I'd say the emotional weight was simply different between the two, neither better nor worse. Obviously for Seiya and the Inners the anime had more for them to do so there was more weight for them. Meanwhile, for Usagi the emotional weight was at face value less in the anime because you had filler episodes to break things up, but then, Usagi in the anime is dealing with her feelings for Seiya and the absence of Mamoru. Loneliness because he is ghosting you vs lonliness because you are in denial are different things, I'd not say one is weightier than the other. Both hit hard when things come to a head in both versions
*Also, if we are making comparisons to S, S was MUCH more forced when it came to the Inner and Outer Senshi tensions. There is literally no logical reason for the Outers to have isolated themselves from the Inners besides them being prideful jerks. Like, there was no disadvantage in trusting them. They were objectively on the same team it was just that the Outers magically
knew that the Inners wouldn't agree with their methods. But the fact that they were utterly dead-set on their methods itself was forced.
The Inners were more experienced and had, as essentially a matter of public record, saved the world multiple times. The Silver Crystal had managed to reincrnate the entire Silver Millennium, hence they themselves were alive int he 20th century. And yet, they were unwilling to entertain the idea that Usagi might find an alternative to sacrificing innocent lives. They didn't even have that faith when she saved them after they lost their own pure heart crystals. Hell, they needed to go 2 v 1 against her after she had SAVED THE WORLD and fulfilled the prophecy, proving herself the Messiah. And she did it WITHOUT sacrificing an innocent life. It was only after she beat them that they were willing to have faith in her. And this is aside from the fact that
she is their Princess, she is literally their boss!
Throughout the season, the set-up was akin to not having faith in your teammate to win the game for you when your teammate it literally Jesus. Like fine, if they were anyone else that scepticism might be justified, but Usagi
literally has OP miracle generating powers that, thus far, have had a 100% success rate. This includes the ability to just respawn everyone on Earth even if you fail. What do you lose
really by bringing her into your confidence, working with her and entertaining the idea of trying things her way. Especially since her way is going to build a crystalline utopia in the future, which surely Setsuna would have informed them about???????
The Starlights being wary and not having faith in Usagi, not working with the Inners makes sense. They are from another Solar System. They don't know her. They do not know what she can do or what she has done. It makes sense they would keep their distance, and even then early on they were willing to form bonds with Usagi in the Sailor Musician episode...until Haruka and Michiru acted like xenophobic jerks.
So the Starlight/Sailor Team tensions actually made sense and was a lot more organic than the tensions between the Inners and Outers in S.
**For the record, in the Radio Drama for Return of the Jedi, when Darth Vader is dying he tells Luke that he is the man he always wanted to be. Ironically, Sailor Moon again recalls Star Wars, another space fuelled fairy tale
P.S. The Outer Senshi need to fight Usagi after she already saved the world to have faith in her. Meanwhile the Inner Senshi give their lives for Usagi at D-Point because they have faith that she
will save the world, even though this means confronting her boyfriend. The Inners are the real homies.
