Sailor Moon Crystal Episode 2, or should I say Act II, aired this morning on CrunchyRoll at 5 am. Two weeks ago I gave the first episode an A-/B+ mainly because of the music.

I still haven’t changed my mind on the music (it could use some work) but they get a solid A this week for having a good enough story that I didn’t notice (as much) the lack of good background tunes. Is it a coincidence that the first A episode is Ami-chan’s? I don’t think so.

The episode was a refreshing remake of episode 8 of the original Sailor Moon. I appreciate them introducing all the Sailor Senshi sooner in the season rather than later. I am a bit sad that we may not get a “Protect the Melody of Love: Usagi Plays Cupid” episode remake, but let’s hope they don’t remake the “Slim City” episode!

The plot in “Act II: Ami” is the same, but the character development has changed for the better. The end result is a much richer story.

**SPOILER ALERT**

I’m delighted with the ever so slightly different bent of Ami’s story. In the original anime Ami seems to be feeling sorry for herself, and she is weepy when she overhears people gossiping about her. In this episode we see Ami overhear people gossiping, but she does not cry about it. She stays focused. We get the message that she might be lonely, but she has pride in who she is.

Later on in the arcade Ami plays the Sailor V game so well it draws a crowd. In the original anime she get’s upset and is embarrassed at how well she has done. In the new version, Ami is proud of herself, but humble.

In addition, in this new version Ami’s getting the high score is how she gets her transformation pen. Usagi, jealous of her friend’s winnings, beats the machine up until her own transformation pen pops out.

The only real disappointment with this episode is when Usagi uses her transformation pen to disguise herself. There was no cool transformation scene! I used to love the old one, but oh well…

Ami’s transformation on the other hand, is bad ass, and she has much more spunk than before.

So overall, I’m impatient for the next episode to see how Sailor Mars will be handled. If you have thoughts on the episode, please share them in the comments!

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