Once upon a time, a long time ago, I sat down to start a long running, much beloved anime series. I was impressed by the initial season of the show, how it managed to sort of play with old timey Super Robot concepts and the basic Monster of the Week formula in a way that was relevant, refreshing and engaging. It had characters who were flawed, human, and yet entertaining, dramatic and dynamic. Every battle was a curious case of seeing what the red, white, blue and yellow hero would have to fight next.
The season finale captivated and moved me, and the final showdown left me on the edge of my seat.
Then came the much lauded darker, grim, more serious act. The hero was faced with allies of negligible trustworthiness and questionable allegiance. A short-haired bitch caused infinite irritation. Ultimately the entire dour work left me a little less than impressed, even if some of the villains would be my favorites forever after.
Dread filled me, then, going into 'That' season. You know the one. The one nobody in the fandom likes. The one old hands on the forums on the internets will always so jadedly taunt neophytes with by saying 'good lucking getting through x.'
At first I felt this was wholly justified, as the season was off to an extremely off-beat, off-putting start. The focus on the new protagonist wasn't welcome, the absence of series favorites was a brown note, and the villains, once proud, majestic and terrifying were now little more than rapists and whackjob thugs.
But somewhere along the way I couldn't help but be endeared to the series. Sure, the sexual subtext left much to be asked about the writer, and sure, the scope and scheme seemed to be different from the preceding seasons, and undeniably the series was a slow burn, but something just clicked?
Whether or not it was quirky cast, the unexpected tightness of the themes or the remarkable amount of emotion conveyed through the most unlikely of cartoon characters, I couldn't help but root for the little show that everyone else seemed to hate.
I'm just not sure if I'm talking about ZZ Gundam or Sailor Moon SS anymore.
Super S is perhaps the most awkward moment for me as a fan of Sailor Moon, because I all but hated Super at times, yet I'm coming out of a season far more panned and, well, liking it infinitely more? Don't get me wrong, the series is extremely fetishistic, and the Amazon Trio's rapeyness grates the nerves, and the Amazonesses themselves aren't anywhere near as good as the Bitches 5 and Sailor Saturn, but like, it speaks to how much better Super S is that it has so much less going for it than S conceptually and still manages to be the better show?
It's no secret I don't like S very much. Haruka was overbearingly antagonistic, Michiru and Pluto were pointless cardboard characters who served no purpose at any point, aside from being enormous hypocrites. Sailor Saturn is the greatest disappointment in the series because god damn Hotaru had so much potential, and I can't even remember if one of the Witches was a secret twin or not anymore. The constant back and forth about the Messiah and Holy Grail never really seemed to coalesce into anything but a foregone conclusion, too.
Super S, on the other hand, manages to quickly establish that Chibi Usa is the focal character of the season, that her arc is about wanting to grow up and exploring the relationship with that desire and the concept of dreams. Dreams are a constant factor in the week-to-week of the show, and Chibiusa's chats with Pegasus help to keep their relevance to growing up on point. It helps to have a child wanting to learn more about her mother/sister/cousin/whatever's world, and it expands one of the characters most in need without fully shunting the scouts to the side the way S did.
Pegasus, awkward as he is, works best as Chibiusa's foil. In some ways he is wiser and more mature than her, but in others he is less aware, more childish, and their interplay helps to add some strength to their unusual relationship.
Above all I love how the show finally brings everything together in the final acts. The Amazonesses wanting to be children foreshadowing Neherenia herself wanting to never grow old. This hearkening back to the episode where Chibiusa and Usagi swap ages for a short while, tying the central heroines that much more closely to the villains they oppose.
Hell, I was even impressed at the reasoning for Mamoru being a useless piece of trash in the last act for a change.
At its heart I think SS is very much a coming of age story for Chibiusa. Its sort of awkward and uncomfortable to watch at times, but since those are both intimately part of growing up I feel compelled to accept them as a necessary part of the whole. The weird sexual subtext almost seems parcel to those hormone charged, mistake laden years as a kid blundering into adolescence.
I really didn't expect to like SS as much as I did, but like, as someone whose only memory of Sailor Moon coming into the franchise was hating Chibiusa, I can't really hate on a season that puts so much effort into developing her character.
