-Episode 183 - The Screaming Dead: Terror of the Camp Monster -
So in this episode, Rei's cousin gets zapped. Kind of interesting that they took care of that part at the beginning and spent more time on developing her backstory with him. I can appreciate the effort, but it still boils down to - who? We've never heard of this guy before, the whole story with her pendant has never been mentioned before nor has it even been shown in the show prior to this episode. I think I can see why Stars was supposed to be a 'soft reboot' because it's like it's abandoned most of what happened with the characters prior to the season. Surely Mars has enough established story to base something off of an existing character...
Well, that aside.
It looks like this was animated by the same thirsty director as the last episode I mentioned. The girls all seem to have much more elongated torsos, the sexualized vertical-slit-navel, Rei's flashing midrif prior to them even getting into swimsuits, and Siren's first appearance has her nipples bleeding through her top. Amusing, considering there's none to be found on fully-nude characters in the series. o_O
They're in the lake, something dangerous is approaching, and Ami... points and jogs at it. Senshi of water. C'mon. At least show off your impeccable swimming skills from S... They really dumbed her down in this season.
Fate just keeps bringing the Inners and the Starlights together, huh. Seriously, what are the odds?
It's actually kind of cute that the Starlights thought to prank the other girls. There's a Scooby-Doo feeling to the episode today.
I don't like Kengo (Rei's cousin). The idea of being an eccentric artist that smashes everything and anything one considers a failure is valid, but JFC, why are you doing that in front of a tiny kid? Great job terrorizing your little cousin. Save the personal destructive drama for when she's not visiting, ya creep.
Episode score: 5.5/10. Animation looked good for the most part, and some of it was funny, but ultimately it's a super-fluff episode with not-great writing.
-Episode 184 - A Night Alone Together - Usagi in Danger -
In this episode, fear over a burglar leads to Seiya staying at Usagi's house as a 'bodyguard'. Ok...
Man, Usagi's place really is huge. I've seen it discussed before, but her Dad must be doing QUITE well for his family to be living this nicely. It's like they're still in an 80s bubble.
Y'know, I don't tend to like those meme images that rewrite what the characters say to prove a point, like "Boys are the enemy" (at least, I'm fairly confident that's not an actual line from the show) but when Luna's saying stuff like "At the end of the day, men are just animals that run on instinct." maybe the fan-misandry isn't that far off
Ooh, it's the legendary putting the photo down scene. So many people get heated about this shot.
Aww, poor Fighter. They want to be honest with Usagi about their true identity... And here's Chibi-Chibi to ruin it.
Chibi-Chibi: "Mamo + Usa is a CANON event, must protect timeline!"
So the girls see Seiya in a towel and automatically assume Usagi's down to bone, huh? Get y'alls mind out of the gutter. Especially Ami. What a rude assumption for them all to make. I can sort of expect it from Minako and maybe Rei or Mako, but Ami? C'mon...
Seiya, moments ago: "I got cake on my face and clothes! Better take a bath!" But Usagi and the Inners magically recover from being covered in the mess they made in the kitchen, I guess...
If Taiki weren't so insufferable, the academic rivalry between Ami and Taiki would be cute.
Why is Seiya so much shorter than Haruka in this episode? They were practically eye-to-eye when Michiru was being a flirt.
Why did the girls hide alongside the Starlights? It would have been perfectly fine to have a group of girlfriends hanging out on a school night. I get the Starlights hiding, but... well, it seems like another poor writing excuse to try and deliver some fanservice. Or just bad writing. lol.
Ok, following the Outers' usual cool intro with criticizing them for standing on the table with their senshi shoes was pretty funny.
How, exactly, is Minako stuck in place by the window? There's no physical restraint visible and it happened before the guy transformed, so... what exactly is keeping her there?
YES IT'S MOON PIZZA ACTION! I've been waiting for that legendary scene! And knocking over things with her wings... Fantastic. The fact that the crashing noises continue while she's doing her posing cracked me up.
Why are the Starlights joining in? They clearly have this under control! Aw well. Just adding to the funny, I guess.
LMAO. Not letting Maker get her attack off, but also cutting her off before she can shout "UTERUS" in Usagi's home is great.
Episode rating: 7.5/10. There's still some stupid writing in this one, but overall it's a funny episode that goes over the top and was enjoyable to watch.
lol
