New Intro!... sort of. The only part that really changes is when it begins to show the villains. We see a shot of the main Black Moon Clan (Prince Demande, Saphir, Esmeraulde, Rubeus, and Wiseman), and then we see Chibi-Usa and Sailor Pluto.
The episode starts where we left off, with Chibi-Usa holding Usagi at gunpoint, demanding the Silver Crystal. And once again, like in the original manga and the anime, it's actually a toy gun, and when Mamoru tries to grab her, she escapes. Usagi and Mamoru go to find her, and find her sitting all alone. Mamoru approaches her, and when he touches her hand, he gets a vision of Crystal Tokyo. She trusts him, and whispers that it's all her fault. They don't know what she means yet. They take her to Luna, who doesn't bother to hide that she's a talking cat. Things play out pretty much as they have in all the other source material, where in Chibi-Usa uses Luna-P to brainwash everyone. (And the animation of it is kind of hilarious). Luna saves Mamoru and Usagi from being brainwashed, but agrees that Chibi-Usa should stay so they can find out more about why she's there.
We also get our first look at the Black Moon clan in the episode. They're all toasting over how great the Black Moon Clan is, and that they need to find the Silver Crystal. This is where things begin to diverge from the anime that we're all familiar with. The Specter Sisters are there, but don't get too attached to them. There's no redemption arc this time around. Rei's school is having a festival, and she's fortune telling for a paranormal group that has seen UFO activity and spontaneous combustion. Plus, now they have a brand new paranormal club to deal with, where Koan is the fortune teller. Of course Rei senses evil from her, and goes to tell one of the sisters (I don't believe that it was ever confirmed in the previous anime that she goes to a Catholic school), but all the nuns have the black crescent on their forehead, and then they spontaneously combust.
I love that the girl who WROTE THE PAPER about spontaneous combustion faints at the first sight of it. Didn't she, you know... do any *research*? Chibi-Usa is also hanging around, and she witnesses the whole thing. She also has another Silver Crystal around her neck, unlike in the other anime. Anyway, the nuns turn into droids (which look way creepier than the droid of the week from the first anime), and Koan shows up and reveals herself. Earlier in the episode, the girls got their new communicator watches and transformation pens. Their transformations don't change, but they now feel like they have more power, and we get to see Burning Mandala for the first time. It's pretty awesome and powerful, but Koan gets Mars into a blue fire force field. Mercury tries to use Shine Aqua Illusion, but it doesn't do crap. Neither does Moon Tiara Boomerang, and Tuxedo Mask has to show up so Usagi doesn't get fried from her own attack.
When Usagi and Mamoru touch hands when all seems helpless, a light glows and the moon rod appears. Phallic or what? Anyway, we get to see Moon Princess Halation for the first time, and Koan is promptly destroyed without much fanfare. But it doesn't free Mars. Rubeus shows up and takes Mars away with him. Dun dun dunnnnnnn!
The Black Moon Arc is off to a pretty roaring start. There were some strange animation moments, which have plagued this show so far, but I'm still enjoying it enough to not really give a shit.
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