Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 5 (click for source)
by Gemma Williams
Sailor Venus is the host of volume 5 with her long blonde hair and large blue eyes. The colour scheme is bright, cheerful and has a double rainbow! This, however, does not reflect on the internal content of the book.
Much of the story takes place in the Moon Kingdom and on Nemesis. The innocent and annoying Chibi-Usa is no longer quite so innocent, Neo-Queen Serenity is still in a cursed sleep, Endymion is still in his spectral form and the scouts are geared for battle.
Sailor Venus is the host of volume 5 with her long blonde hair and large blue eyes. The colour scheme is bright, cheerful and has a double rainbow! This, however, does not reflect on the internal content of the book.
Much of the story takes place in the Moon Kingdom and on Nemesis. The innocent and annoying Chibi-Usa is no longer quite so innocent, Neo-Queen Serenity is still in a cursed sleep, Endymion is still in his spectral form and the scouts are geared for battle.
The Black Lady (click for source)
This whole volume gears around a battle with a few different enemies: The Black Lady and the Wiseman being the worst of the two. The Black Lady seemingly had nothing to lose and in her quest for power, chose the wrong path. She was a weird character, as she was romantically attracted to her father which led to some uncomfortable dialogue and images. There does not appear to be much reason for this development, unless it is because of desperation to emulate her mother. Then you can bring Freud’s theory of the Oedipus Complex into play.
There was a pleasant twist on the tried and twisted tale of Sleeping Beauty. Instead of the Prince kissing the Princess to awaken her with true love’s kiss, after the Princess discovered true love, the Queen awoke and then woke her King with true love’s kiss. This is definitely a series about female power and love.
The scouts are once again fairly useless, to say that they are Usagi’s protectors, they get defeated pretty easily and then surrender their power for Sailor Moon to utilise. Then Sailor Moon discovers that her power is strongest when with Mamoru! The idea of a couple being strongest and at their best when they are together, able to defeat any challenge, is wonderful and something more people need to be aware of. However, despite Usagi’s title and supposed power, she’s pretty useless on her own. It turns out her protectors are mostly there for when she cannot transform when she gets older, and then someone else will take the reins of Sailor Moon! It’s clear the Venus was the original inspiration for the series as more thought needs to be put in to all of the other characters.
There was a pleasant twist on the tried and twisted tale of Sleeping Beauty. Instead of the Prince kissing the Princess to awaken her with true love’s kiss, after the Princess discovered true love, the Queen awoke and then woke her King with true love’s kiss. This is definitely a series about female power and love.
The scouts are once again fairly useless, to say that they are Usagi’s protectors, they get defeated pretty easily and then surrender their power for Sailor Moon to utilise. Then Sailor Moon discovers that her power is strongest when with Mamoru! The idea of a couple being strongest and at their best when they are together, able to defeat any challenge, is wonderful and something more people need to be aware of. However, despite Usagi’s title and supposed power, she’s pretty useless on her own. It turns out her protectors are mostly there for when she cannot transform when she gets older, and then someone else will take the reins of Sailor Moon! It’s clear the Venus was the original inspiration for the series as more thought needs to be put in to all of the other characters.
Mamoru (click for source)
The reader is thrown right in to the middle of the action from page one, so this is a fast paced book action wise, but story wise, it drags. The biggest disappointment is that, despite a great, tense build up, the final battle against Nemesis was a repeat of the way Queen Metalia was vanquished. With the Legendary Silver Crystal, they really should have been able to be more imaginative, instead of having the scout off to one side, and Mamoru and Usagi using the sceptre together yet again.
There was a large portion devoted to space and time, which sci-fi enthusiasts would enjoy. The group are currently in the future to help Chibi-Usa save the Kingdom; but what happens when two highly magical crystals touch, one from the past and one of the future? What happens when past and future characters meet themselves? Or when a character dies in the future?
The art work was pretty, though colour really would liven up the story despite the genre, and there were some pretty creepy panels. The majority of negatives in Volume 5 have stayed consistent with the previous books. The character development needs working on and Usagi’s angst over Mamoru is really frustrating. One moment Usagi will have an epiphany and grow up mentally to where she is a likeable, realistic character, and then a few pages later she’s the spoilt brat again. It could be linked to her two personas but it would be great if she could grow up a little faster! The story arch was tied up nicely at the end with little clues as to what will happen next.
Fan of Sailor Venus? Sick and tired of Usagi's irritating ways? Let us know what you think below!
There was a large portion devoted to space and time, which sci-fi enthusiasts would enjoy. The group are currently in the future to help Chibi-Usa save the Kingdom; but what happens when two highly magical crystals touch, one from the past and one of the future? What happens when past and future characters meet themselves? Or when a character dies in the future?
The art work was pretty, though colour really would liven up the story despite the genre, and there were some pretty creepy panels. The majority of negatives in Volume 5 have stayed consistent with the previous books. The character development needs working on and Usagi’s angst over Mamoru is really frustrating. One moment Usagi will have an epiphany and grow up mentally to where she is a likeable, realistic character, and then a few pages later she’s the spoilt brat again. It could be linked to her two personas but it would be great if she could grow up a little faster! The story arch was tied up nicely at the end with little clues as to what will happen next.
Fan of Sailor Venus? Sick and tired of Usagi's irritating ways? Let us know what you think below!
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