Sailor Chibi-Moon graces the front and back cover of volume six in a candy coloured pink and white theme. But don’t let the cover fool you. The story within is anything but bright and cheerful…
Volume six marks the start of a new story arc and introduces new faces and returns a few old ones to us. A new group are harvesting energy from the humans to revive their master and some new, mysterious Sailor Guardians have emerged; but are they friend or foe?
There was one alteration to the minions this time, which makes little sense. They have levels. How do you level a person? They range from level 40 to 999, and whereas this makes sense in a game, how does it work in Manga? Sure, it can refer to their power or experience, but how can that be categorised? This series is bordering on ridiculous…
The new characters are interesting and are being explored more than the original Sailor Guardians were, though their personalities are beginning to shine through now. Hotaru only made a couple of appearances but we already know what her biggest issue is and have an insight into her family life. We know what Michiru and Haruka do as jobs or hobbies and have a sense of them as characters, mysterious as they are. So why do the original Guardians still feel so flat?
The artwork was again highly confusing in the action scenes and they would transition with no hint at what had actually happened, so the pages would have to be read multiple times to understand what was going on. They would be in a fight one moment, and suddenly Usagi is waking up at home; neither Usagi nor the reader gets any information as to how she ended up safe at home.
The story is still entertaining and fun, but I took a break from reading this book because of the repetitive story lines. I’m hoping the new characters will help mix things up a bit, as they already appear to be doing, and adding new layers to the story, but the side stories are what keep me coming back currently.
More characters, but more or less the same stories - what's your take on Sailor Moon? Let us know below!