Sailor Moon chapter 12 -"Enemy-Queen Metallia"

[nevermore999]

The penultimate chapter of the first arc. Actually no it's not. It's...the penultimate and a half chapter? The first arc has one more chapter and then there's the chapter after that, which is half the conclusion to this arc and half the beginnining of the R arc. Or something.

Anyway, most of the awesome and weird and bad shit goes down in this chapter, plus we have color pages and all kinds of nifty extras, so you'd best read it.

Color page!



YEAH WE GOT TO SEE THE COWPRINT VEST IN FULLCOLOR GLORY. Lookin' better than ever

As an extra, we also have this nifty character sheet, for the purpose of voting for your fave char! To make things extra complicated, apparently you vote on civilian IDs, superhero IDs and evil brainwashed ID's too, What's your vote? I'm torn, Jupiter would be my fave based on all canon, but Venus would be fave based on just the manga (and you'll soon see why. Also "Endou" because he is hilarious



"I'M ENDOU". See? Hilarious. I am also amused/awesomed by Sailor Jupiter randomly shouting GUTS and Venus's BANG dagger thing. And for the record, the random guy saying "I'm Amano" is from the Sailor V manga. He was basically Mina's Umino...they are clones. I have no idea who the hell Kuri and Yumi are and Kenji and Shingo got their names mixed up. OH AND the art on Beryl and the Shittenou amuses the hell out of me.



Yeah, so Beryl straight up DID melt Mamoru to death and now he's basically a walking corpse powered by evil and the crystal. HOW SCREWED UP IS THAT. Poor Mamoru.

MAMORU ATTACKS and they can't return it lest they blow up the arcade!



Poor Motoki will be confused for the rest of his life over what the hell just happened (Not really, to clarify. He will say it was bad for his heart though).And Mercury...can apparently manipulate dimensions and shit if she feels like it. She's just too awesome for rules!

Meanwhile Usagi is getting strangled by Beryl's hair...apparently Beryl was Medusa in a former life or something:






So yeah, VENUS STABBED BERYL TO DEATH in the past life in revenge for Beryl killing Endymion (and trying to kill Serenity/causing her suicide). Which explains why Beryl freaked out when she saw Venus come back to life. DO NOT SCREW WITH VENUS.



Hey, we all know that attack! Only in the manga, it's the actual chain belt she carries. Minako's not done being badass yet.



YOU'VE MADE HER ANGRY. YOU WON'T LIKE HER WHEN SHE'S ANGRY. AND HAS A SWORD.





Yep, in the manga it was Venus that killed Beryl. By stabbing her in the gut in a truly epic case of history repeating itself. Screw the Hulk, I definitely don't want to piss off Minako. Also, ze jealousy backstory! "I had finally found you my love, by killing you and then brainwashing you, the best way to win guys!"

What's interesting about Beryl is that  while Usagi represents honest love, pure love that is used to help and heal and save the day, and Beryl represents that obsessive, dark manipulative love. Usagi is always honest about her feelings, forms a partnership with Mamoru, accepts him as is and strives to protect him as well as her friends- but Beryl skulks behind pillars spying, resents it when he chooses someone else despite the fact she obviously was never able to approach him and thinks the ideal relationship with him is kidnapping him and making him her puppet- a desire to control, rather than a desire to protect. And this is not just how she treats Mamoru, but the Shittenou as well. A lot of the Sailor Moon villians are of the "dark mirror" variety (clearly the Shittenou are dark mirrors of the Senshi in this arc), and for this arc, Usagi and Beryl are sort of the dual sides of the forms love can take.

Anyway, Venus sort of goes into a trance.




Then she passes out and....



Mamoru snatches her up like a creeper and kidnaps her while she's unconcious (pretty much the only way he COULD manage to kidnap her!) and Usagi jumps in the portal after them. The other Senshi use Luna's mad computer skills to follow (and the poor thing is still suffering from being pulped against a wall. GEEZ MAMORU)

Usagi tries to get through to Mamo-chan.





Okay wow, that didn't work.

Fortunately for all, Usagi is the only one cool enough to use the crystal:







Luna comes to help!




Mars tries to attack, and it just gives her more energy. Venus declares that they have to get the crystal out of Mamoru and attacks too, but Mamoru boings it back at her. Usagi desperately tries to use "Moon Healing Escalation" on him, to no effect.












...well, damn.

:(

(I wonder if this is where Buffy got the idea...)

Okay, so, as you can see I screwed up. Usagi slashes Mamoru, kisses him, and then stabs herself, as you can see by how her hands are posistioned. I'd ORIGINALLY thought this was how it went down, but then changed my mind for some reason (I think the sword reversed itself in my braaain I'm going crazy)

So anyway. Yes. Very sad. I KNOW KILLING YOUR BF SUCKS BUT DON'T DO THAT USAGI OKAY. Ah but instinctively reliving past lives, such fun.

Anyway, tune in next week- just a heads-up, I'll be switch scanlations because this is where the one I've been using stopped updating- fortunately, there's another currently updating one that will release chapter 13 next week so I can post it! But yes, you'll probably be able to tell the switch from the difference in font and the fact the new scanlation will leave out honorifics and translate "silver crystal" properly (which will make ONE of you jump for joy judging from the epic debate of last post)

(however, I'm glad I was able to use this scanlation up til now because I went back to read how they handled the scene where Usagi and Mamoru decide to call each other "Usako" and "Mamo chan" and SO AWKWARD. "Maybe I should call him Mamoru from now on!" Whoa, calling him by his first name, don't move too fast in this relationship, dear....it just pretty much ruined the feeling the scene was supposed to convey, which is why I feel honorifics should be left in- it's often directly important to the plot or content and awkward dialogue just ruins it. An entire episode in the Sailor Moon live action (PGSM) revolved around character's use of honorifics, after all. Plus, cute nicknames are cute. BUT OH WELL, the point is we'll be using a different scanlation from now on, is what I'm saying)

HOW CAN WE STILL HAVE A MANGA IF OUR HERO HAS STABBED HERSELF IN THE HEART? AND ALSO KILLED HER BOYFRIEND? HOW WILL THEY DEFEAT THE WORLD DESTROYING VILLIAN? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!
 

Comments

[majingojira]

(I wonder if this is where Buffy got the idea...)

Damn, that was my first thought too.

[goggle_kid]

You know now that I think about it. The introduction of Dawn really does resemble the coming of Chibi-Usa in R a lot.

[shadowpsykie]

oooh lets make more connections!

[nevermore999]

Dawn fell out of the sky? :)

I think I read somewhere Whedon was a fan of Sailor Moon. Though I could have been hallucinating that.

Google reveals that...there was one a rumor of Whedon directing a Sailor Moon live action.

That would have certainly been...interesting.

[sailorlibra]

Poor Motoki will be confused for the rest of his life over what the hell just happened.

Wait, have you read the entire series yet? Cause the Motoki issue is actually addressed. And then promptly dropped and he only appears one other time, but still.

[nevermore999]

I have read the entire series. I was just being silly!

[nevermore999]

I did forget about that one page tho.

[icon_uk]

Sigh, always the same in these things, the cute blond gets sidelined... :(

[nevermore999]

He actually does appear more than twice after this, looking at R. They're just really quick appearances where he gives Chibiusa a Sailor V doll etc. Also his sister is there!

[cygna_hime]

I had forgotten how FUCKING AWESOMELY TRAGIC AND BADASS this whole bit is in the manga. Damn. (I love the manga better in so many, many ways. Including lack of filler. But I have enough love for everyone! Even the dub, because I am FULL OF LOVE you don't even know.)

Oh god, the Shitennou in that picture are like three lines away from being emoticons with hair. Socute.

I never really absorbed the whole "dark mirror" aspect before. It's really strong in this bit particularly. And OH GOD NO BERYL THAT IS NOT LOVE. LOVE IS GENTLE AND LOVE IS KIND AND LOVE DOES NOT MAKE ZOMBIES.

[sethgray]

Seriously, the manga is basically better in every way, although I do still like the anime.

The Dub can suck it though, and not just out of queer solidarity.

[nevermore999]

I don't think it's better in EVERY way- The inner senshi besides Usagi get more screeentime in the anime, it added a lot of humor and color and nifty music and a lot of the filler is fun. Certain plot elements I prefer in the anime as well- Senshi deaths in the anime as opposed to what we see next chapter for example.

But the manga had a tighter and more coherent plot with some really neat elements that didn't make it in the anime (all the moon kingdom backstory and tragedy in this arc for instance), more consistent/ less regressive/deeper characterization of Usagi, Mamoru and Chibiusa, some undeniably better thematic elements and basically just a lot of cool stuff. I adore them both about equally, for different reasons.

[shadowpsykie]

also Mamo chan had better powers not just "Magic FLower" and "Look pretty Pose" :D

i thought the addition of music and the like made it much more dramatic at times (I cried during My Only Love and Carry On, as well as She's got the Power <though that one also got me fist pumping) the anime was not too shabby as far as dramatic moments

[shadowpsykie]

feel! feel I say! mwahahahahahahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vdm9OCNFN0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvWX24ctTj4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI4r2wtUXYc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKKHX1r5uJk&NR=1

*sigh* so many miss types sorry for the post and deletes... LOL

[majingojira]

AND LOVE DOES NOT MAKE ZOMBIES.

...Well, not unless you do it right!

or

Sure it does, just wait till they're teenagers.

or

Of course Love doesn't make zombies. Love makes Kaiju!

[sethgray]

Buffy got what idea? Kissing your lover after stabbing him? (Although, technically, Buffy stabbed Angel after kissing him.)

[nevermore999]

SM kissed him and then stabbed him too. She slashed him up a little first (unlike Buffy) and yeah, that was what I was referring to.

[sethgray]

Oooh, I see. To me, the speedlines made it look like she was stabbing herself and with the panels before I thought she'd already done him in.

[akodo_rokku]

But which is better: The idea of *Buffy* reading Sailor Moon or the idea of *Joss Whedon* reading Sailor Moon?

[shadowpsykie]

Dari... erm MAMO CHAN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

heehee, i loved the way they did it in the Anime, it was sooo dramatic... also how did Serena get the Sword? wasn;t it Venus?

[nevermore999]

Venus dropped it when Mamoru smashed her into the wall. NOT SEEN. So Usagi grabbed it from the ground.

[shadowpsykie]

Mars: Okay, she died the first time because her boy friend died and she took the giant stone sword and stabbed herself with it...

Venus: yeah....

Mars: You drop your sword, he dies again in front of her, and you DIDNT see this happening?

Venus:....

[shadowpsykie]

also isn't this the only time she has killed?

she had a choice to kill Metallia, but chose not to, had a choice to kill Saturn and chose not to, kill boyfriend... OKAY! :D

i keed i keed

[nevermore999]

Actually, in the manga, she dies in Stars...very briefly. And possibly in S, because everyone THOUGHT she was dead when she went in after Saturn, until Saturn bought her back.

Also in the anime, there's the R movie.

And she had to kill Mamoru SO she could kill Metallia! :D She never chose not to.

(in the manga, she kills a lot more villians in general as well)

[shadowpsykie]

oh they all die a lot, its what they do LOL

And she had to kill Mamoru SO she could kill Metallia! :D She never chose not to.

i mean in stars is what i mean,she is supposed to kill metallia but instead chooses to destroy the cauldron doesn't she (honestly i liked the Anime version of stars soo much better just because the Manga seemed SOOO convoluted by that point)

does she actually kill human/humanoid villains? i thought she only "killed" the constructs...