Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Stars
(Season 4)
Shown in the USA?: No
Episodes: 33
Original Air Dates (Japan): March 9, 1996 - February 8, 1997
My thoughts:
Out of all five seasons, Sailor Stars is my ultimately favorite season. This season made me laugh the hardest and cry the hardest. Usagi has become a young lady, and the Starlights are absolutely fantastic. I actually found myself wishing that Seiya and Usagi would end up together! However, the outer senshi become rather annoying when they try to prevent Usagi from seeing Seiya. All in all, this season, in my opinion, is by far the best of the five. This was a strong ending for the series! A must see for fans and newbies alike.
Summary:
The Sailor Moon Sailor Stars series is thought by some to be broken up into two sections. The first section is the conclusion to the Sailor Moon SuperS series while the second section involves the Starlights.
Sailor Moon SuperS Series Conclusion
The final series begins with the girls preparing to enter high school; all of them have completed their entrance exams and have passed (including Usagi and Minako). Also at this time, Chibi-Usa and Diana (daughter of Luna and Artemis) are preparing to leave for the future and are saying good bye to Mamoru and the Inner Senshi.
During this exact time, a mysterious figure (later revealed to be Sailor Galaxia) releases Neherenia from her mirror prison. The figure shows Neherenia the senshi in civilian form which angers Neherenia greatly. She forms her own heart mirror and due to the advice the mysterious figure gives, breaks the mirror causing shards to fall to Earth. One of the shards falls into one of Mamoru's eyes shining a strange yellow color.
Another one of the shards hits Haruka, who is walking in a park with Michiru. Michiru kisses Haruka and sucks out the shard. Other shards surround them and these shards then form into monsters; Haruka and Michiru transform and try to fight them. However, the monsters reform themselves. Sailor Pluto appears with Hotaru and aids Haruka and Michiru; however, all three senshi are soon overpowered. Hotaru then releases a beam of energy that allows Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna to become their "Super" form. In the "Super" form, the Outer Senshi are able to easily defeat the monsters while Hotaru begins to grow up from her baby form.
Glass shards also surround the inner senshi, who are all gathered together, capturing all but Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon. The outer senshi arrive and Super Sailor Saturn (whose appearance surprises the inner senshi) tells them that they need to combine their power to awaken the "real Princess" of the moon. Through this energy, Sailor Moon is able to take her very powerful "Eternal" form and defeat the enemies.
Some time later, people in Tokyo are acting strangely; they are all staring into mirrors. This applies to Mamoru to a greater extent due to the fact that he has one of the shards of Neherenia's soul mirror in his eye. Soon, the senshi realize that Neherenia is involved and quickly rush to Mamoru's apartment. After a brief struggle, Neherenia successfully captures Mamoru and transports him into a mirror.
Some discussion follows about the importance of Mamoru after Chibi-Usa grows weak. Without Mamoru, Chibi-Usa obviously cannot exist. Affected by this information, Usagi runs out of the apartment crying. One of her tears hits her broach which enables her to transform into Eternal Sailor Moon. She does so and flies after Neherenia.
The rest of the Senshi follow Sailor Moon and teleports after her. After the teleport, all of the senshi find themselves in a void separated into five pairs: Mars and Neptune, Venus and Pluto, Chibi-Usa and Saturn, Mercury with Uranus and Jupiter with Moon.
Each group of senshi is tested via obstacles set up by illusions created by Neherenia. Each pair succeeds but is trapped into different mirrors. In the struggle between Neherenia and Jupiter and Moon, Jupiter saves Moon by taking several attacks. Jupiter is finally dragged into a mirror but in the process, loses a earring.
When Usagi, who is currently hypnotized by Neherenia, sees the earring, she remembers Tuxedo Kamen. Usagi struggles towards Neherenia and begs Neherenia to kill her (Usagi) in exchange for her friends' lives. Neherenia is very surprised at this and lets her guard down. The senshi escape from the mirrors and Mamoru regains his senses. Sailor Moon transforms to her "Eternal" form and destroys Neherenia's soul mirror. Neherenia then reverts to being a little girl and awakens from a bad dream.
Starlights Story arc
This story arc begins with the arrival of the rock group the "Three Lights" in Tokyo. The group, consisting of Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki are very popular; the Inner Senshi are all infatuated with them save for Usagi who is still in love with Mamoru. Helping to increase the level of infatuation in the Inner Senshi is the fact that the "Three Lights" transfer to the inner's (save for Mars') high school.
Near the beginning of the season, Mamoru leaves for America to attend a university and is not scheduled to return for a year. Before he leaves, he gives Usagi a ring which could be interpreted as an engagement ring. En route though, the plane Mamoru is in is captured, and it is later revealed that this is Sailor Galaxia's doing.
Sailor Galaxia is the villainess of the Starlights Story arc. She is trying to find the true star seeds found in individuals. These true star seeds are the star seeds of sailor senshi. To find them, she sends out the Sailor Animamates, who are former sailor senshi who have had their star seeds stolen by Galaxia and have agreed to work for her. Sailor Iron Mouse is the first Animamate sent to find star seeds. To find a star seed, Sailor Iron Mouse shoots a beam at suspected carriers. A flower comes out revealing a small crystal that remains pure (if they are carriers) or the crystal turns black and the individual becomes a monster (if they are not carriers).
In Sailor Moon's first fight against Sailor Iron Mouse, Sailor Iron Mouse is able to escape. However, while Sailor Moon is fighting the monster that Sailor Iron Mouse leaves behind, three women in leather outfits show up calling themselves the Sailor Starlights: Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer and Sailor Star Maker. Usagi defeats the monster and asks the Starlights to help her fight; the Starlights say they do not care about this world and walk away.
Throughout the series, Seiya makes advances on Usagi; Usagi rejects these advances for the most part. Usagi does eventually go on a date with Seiya and has a very good time; however, she still loves Mamoru very strongly and is quite upset when her letters don't get answered (due to Galaxia's capturing of Mamoru's plane, although Usagi does not know this).
After numerous failures on the part of Sailor Iron Mouse, Galaxia decides to eliminate her; she does so by taking Iron Mouse's bracelets thus causing her to vanish.
One day, a little girl with red hair styled in the fashion of Usagi's odangos appears out of nowhere and meets Usagi and Luna in a park. Usagi finds the girl cute and then walks home. The little girl follows them leading Luna to ask who she is; the only words she says are "Chibi Chibi". Usagi looks behind later and sees the girl has disappeared. At home, Usagi is surprised to have her mother chastise her for not taking her little sister, Chibi Chibi out. This little sister is the same girl that Usagi met in the park.
Some time later, the Inner Senshi are looking at Chibi Chibi and speculating on who she is. Ami suggests that it is Chibi-Usa's sister but Setsuna says that Neo-Queen Serenity has only one child.
After Sailor Iron Mouse's death, Galaxia then calls on the next Animamate to find the rest of the star seeds; with the star seeds, she will be able to control the galaxy. The next Animamate is Sailor Aluminum Siren. Also appearing is Sailor Lead Crow.
Eventually, it is revealed that the Sailor Starlights are in fact the "Three Lights" with Seiya as Sailor Star Fighter, Taiki as Sailor Star Maker and Yaten as Sailor Star Healer. The outer senshi try to get the senshi to stay away from Seiya because of his unknown motives and because he is an intruder into the solar system. Nonetheless, she still continues to see Seiya. Eventually, Seiya tells about his past and that his planet was destroyed by Galaxia and that they have come to Earth to find their princess, who escaped.
Due to Sailor Aluminum Siren's failures, Sailor Tin Nyanko decides to search for star seeds as well. In one of the attempts to find the star seed, Sailor Lead Crow attacks an individual at Usagi's high school. Usagi transforms, but Sailor Aluminum Siren sees the glitter of the transformation pendant and thinks it is a star seed. Thus, in an attempt for redemption in Galaxia's eyes, Sailor Aluminum Siren attacks Usagi. In the battle, Chibi Chibi enters and touches Sailor Moon's tiara. After a brief sequence, Sailor Moon is given the new power "Silver Moon Crystal Kiss" to heal the monster.
After yet a failure to defeat Usagi, Sailor Aluminum Siren is killed by Sailor Galaxia and Sailor Lead Crow is left on her own to find star seeds.. After examining Siren's old information, Sailor Lead Crow learns that Usagi is Sailor Moon. This leads to a major battle between Sailor Lead Crow and the Senshi. In this battle, Sailor Lead Crow is able to hold the Senshi at bay through a black hole controlled by a crystal. However, Sailor Tin Nyanko enters and breaks the crystal containing the black hold causing Sailor Lead Crow to be killed. At the end of this struggle, it is revealed that Chibi Chibi has the Starlights' Princess in her incense holder; Princess Kakyuu.
Princess Kakyuu explains the struggle against Galaxia to Usagi. Princess Kakyuu says that there is a holy war, known as the Sailor Wars, in which the Sailor Senshi are on the side of good opposing Galaxia. Chaos was, in the action preceding the story, sealed by the legendary strongest sailor senshi but now, it has escaped. Princess Kakyuu continues and says that Galaxia wants to get the star seeds in order to return the galaxy to a state of chaos and finishes by asking for Sailor Moon's help. After some intervention from Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, Princess Kakyuu leaves with the Starlights saying that she believes in Sailor Moon.
After a few more battles, in which Galaxia kills all of her servants and Princess Kakyuu, the final battle begins. First, the star seeds of the Inner Senshi are taken thus killing them; they fade away greatly affecting Usagi. Galaxia then flaunts the fact that she has Mamoru's star seed, in representation of the Earth.
Next, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus give their star seeds to Galaxia in exchange for the bracelets that keep her servants, in the action preceding, alive. While they are under Galaxia's control, they kill Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn (by taking their star seeds). Finally, they attempt to attack Galaxia and steal her star seed via the bracelets but fail because Galaxia seemingly does not have one. Galaxia then kills them (by taking their bracelets).
Sailor Galaxia summons the Black Sword and wounds the Sailor Starlights. Galaxia also attacks Eternal Sailor Moon and takes her star seed. However, Chibi Chibi intervenes and gives Usagi power; it is revealed that Chibi Chibi is the manifestation of Galaxia's star seed. Galaxia was the legendary strongest sailor senshi, and sealed Chaos within herself in order to defeat it. However, Chaos slowly began to possess Galaxia, and when Galaxia realized this sent her star seed far away hoping it would find help. Finally, in the final battle, Sailor Moon converts Galaxia to her good form again and sends Chaos back where it came from: in the hearts and minds of people.
Sailor Galaxia, now healed, promises to return the stolen star seeds, and leaves. All of the senshi, Starlights, Princess Kakyuu and Mamoru are revived. The Starlights and Princess Kakyuu leave for their home planet. The Outer Senshi share a touching moment watching the Starlights leave while Usagi and Mamoru express their love for each other.
Thus ends Sailor Stars, and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.
-portions of summary from BSSM for Neophytes-
[Back]