Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal Edition, Vol. 4

美少女戦士セーラームーン [Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon] #4

by Naoko Takeuchi

Teenager Usagi is not the best athlete, she's never gotten good grades, and, well, she's a bit of a crybaby. But when she meets a talking cat, she begins a journey that will teach her she has a well of great strength just beneath the surface and the heart to inspire and stand up for her friends as Sailor Moon! Experience the Sailor Moon manga as never before in these extra-long editions (about 300 pages each).

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Romance, Comics, Young Adult, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2013

About the author

Naoko Takeuchi (武内直子) born March 15, 1967, a manga artist (mangaka), lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime/manga fans. She has become a well-known mangaka worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga/anime figures to date.

Takeuchi is married to Yoshihiro Togashi, the author of the YuYu Hakusho series and Hunter × Hunter series.

Please note that anime related books are listed under Kōdansha.

Reviews

[Ren (A Bookish Balance) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

With this volume we wrap up the Black Moon story arc.

I'm pretty disappointed with my reread of Sailor Moon so far. I just find the storytelling and character development extremely lacking. This particular instalment had time travel, something I find is often poorly executed, and unfortunately this instance was no exception. I also have a hard time getting along with Chibi-usa because I find her relationship with Mamoru so off-putting, and it was extremely uncomfortable to find Usagi’s insecurities about Chibi-usa and Mamoru realized in this volume. Another complaint I have is that at some point Usagi realizes she does like having Chibi-usa around, but I felt there was next to no development leading up to that moment. I did like Chibi-usa’s character progression though, but unfortunately I don’t think any of the other characters went through any notable development. What did impress me was the short story included following Rei. I thought it captured the feeling of nostalgia so well, and I liked that we had a whole short devoted to her. It added more dimension to her character.

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[Canette Arille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! I love the cover! Sailor Jupiter looks stunning. Beautiful book for Sailor Moon fans !

[meghann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just... yikes. I really hope this is the end of the creepy incest plot. I was honestly hoping we would get a break from Chibi-Usa after this. The whole thing with Tuxedo mask is so gross and I don't like what she's done to the dynamic of the group. But it looks like she is here to stay. I did like getting to know Rei a bit better in her side story. I have the next two books already checked out from the library, so I will read those. But I will have to see if I continue from there. I'm not feeling it as much as I did in the beginning.

[April (Aprilius Maximus)]

DNF @ 70%

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one shot at the end focusing on Mars was nice, but the rest of the volume was just kinda mid. Chibi-Usa is very annoying and the whole Nemesis plot line just felt meh.

[Tomasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na szczęście to już koniec sagi Black Moon, bo wypada całościowo bardzo kiepsko. Ogólnie jak na razie jest raczej przeciętnie i główną zaletą są przepiękne ilustracje. Na szczęście zaraz zaczyna się najlepsza część tej historii, więc liczę, że się nie zawiodę.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's still a touch of the weird ick-ness with Usagi and Chibi Usa, but it clears up here. It will be interesting to see as well how things develop from here on, and how the stakes get raised.

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[. · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Black Lady did nothing wrong and I, too, would be annoyed to be 900 years old and in a six year old's body. Yes, it got kinda incest-y for a minute but her hatred was in the right place. ETA: "small lady" is an annoying nickname.
2) Usagi is a bird.
3) 1b) Chibiusa being a 900 year old six year old is Claudia IWTV-coded.
4) So Pluto really died like that?
5) Outer Senshi, my beloved, where are you...

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally the end of the drawn out 30th century plot. I remember why people preferred the 90s anime to the Crystal version, even though Crystal was more faithful to the manga. All the episodes and character moments the 90s anime just added in made the character development and progression of relationships make a lot more sense. When characters say they care about each other or that they’ll miss each other in the manga, I just ask why? They haven’t known each other very long and it seems like they call each other friends without having actually become that.

I remembered being annoyed at the jealousy plot with Chibiusa, Usagi and Mamoru in the anime and it was annoying here. Made worse by the unnecessary incest plot where Wicked Lady (Black Lady was uncomfortable to read 😬) thinks she’s in love with her actual father. I don’t get why she didn’t realize that was odd.

What happened to Pluto was a bummer, too 💔 Overall, I found this plot to be too long with unnecessary tropes and I’m glad it’s over.

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The core of my soul will be your grave."

once again, this reread of the original manga, in this stunningly repackaged form, reminds me of how dark and insane some of these storylines are. seriously.

I get a little uncomfortable with Chibi Usa's crush on her, uh, own dad, though. I know this is a Freudian thing but does she have to kiss him like that? Ugh.

[Vail Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chibi-Usa! Stop being a menace to society by being the herald of an evil planet AND seducing your dad from the past!
...
Yeah, the DARK LADY part of this arc has begun and it gives all the ew factor.
Thankfully evil is vanquished, all the good girls get upgrades, and the threat from the future is no more so lil bunny can go home hahaha no. She's staying.!

Also included are 2 more little side stories. One involves a supernatural entity kidnapping little boys (Nice that Venus can go back to her Sailor V colors for a little bit), and the other is a bit more deep with Rei having to grapple with her daddy issues & destroy the Negaverse's evil melancholy-making music box (yeah, somehow they're still relevant this far into the story!).

[Amy Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not stoked that it got slightly incestuous for a short bit 😂🤢 but overall a wild & fun entry into the series! Very sci-fi.

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you thought the plot of the Black Moon arc would slow down and take time to breathe…bawahaha!!!!

In other words, no.

After reading a review written by my friend about a completely different manga series though it hit me that what she said about the characters not pushing the plot is exactly what happened in this arc—the characters are just reacting for the most part to what’s happening rather then driving the story forward by their choices like they did in the first two volumes, and that seriously hurt this arc in pacing as well as impact on both the characters and their lack of growth and on the reader. The climax though was SOOOO intense and gripping, so I applaud it for that, as it still grips and hits me each time I read it.

I did forget to mention in the last volume that I love the addition of Sailor Pluto! Pluto was always my favorite planet (don’t ask me why, I have no idea, and yes, Pluto IS a planet, stupid scientists *glares at anyone who dares to say otherwise*) so having such a cool and lovely Pluto as a character really made me happy, not to mention I really love her character design and how she was ultimately the one to reach Chibi Usa in the end.

Speaking of Chibi Usa…girl, what we’re you thinking?! On a number of levels but mostly in the realm of BRAINWASHING YOUR FUTURE DAD AND THEN KISSING HIM TWICE WHAT THE HECK?!?! So much for consent. Boy, did those two panels make me cringe, but again the mangaka never paints this is a good thing nor glorifies Chibi Usa’s choices on this matter, not to mention Mamoru never treats her any more then as his daughter, so there’s that. Even Usagi tells her that’s not the way to love him, so at least everyone was on the same page with that.

There were also two bonus short stories at the end of this volume, the first one following Chibi Usa and some of her classmates coming across vampires and needing the help of Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus to escape alive; it was funny, especially when people starting going on about the ways to kill a vampire, haha! The second was a background story about Rei, aka Sailor Mars, and I liked how we got to delve more into her character and understand her better as I really enjoyed seeing a different side of her.

This series has flaws and moral things I don’t agree with at times (don’t have a romantic crush on your future parent…just, ew), but it also has strong messages of staying true to your friends and yourself, loving fiercely, and good triumphing over evil. So I will be continuing this series and fervently hope that the next arc (which I…don’t know the name of, oops) goes back to the way the first two were written rather then how three and four were.


‼️Content‼️

Language: what the; hell house

Violence: fighting with magic, weapons, and hand to hand (PG); a guy chokes a girl; a man is choked and burned to death (PG)

Sexual: a girl kisses her brainwashed future dad (twice); kissing; a vague form of a naked woman (not detailed beyond an outline); a girl wears a bikini

Drugs/Alcohol: a girl pretends to smoke on a candy cigarette; a man smokes

Other: magic; magical abilities/objects/creatures; people are possessed by a dark power; a guy is brainwashed; death and grief; time travel; vampires; kids go missing

[Andromeda M31 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's at this point Sailor Moon gets a little weird.

These issues lean fully into Chibiusa's Electra Complex. Wiseman exploits her anxieties of an un-wanted daughter of the moon and earth, and the small girl child is transformed into the Black Lady, an adult femme fatale sporting long hair and a slit up to her waist, out to destroy any version of her mother. Black Lady manages to hypnotize Mamoru and make him her slave, planting a kiss on his mindless lips. It's... Greek tragedy level stuff, and I think very off putting to a large group of readers. What I do appreciate is the trigger for Chibiusa's awakening as a senshi is not her family, nor a love interest, but the sacrifice of her dear friend Sailor Pluto.

It's clearly problematic Mamoru/Endymion is the only male in these stories, leaving him the only object of female heterosexual desire. Although Sailor Pluto's gentle longing for King Endymion is very sweet, it's becoming a well worn path for both the Senshi and their villains.

Sadly, this final battle leaves our Sailor Guardians in the background once again. Sailor Moon and her newly sailor suited daughter, Sailor Chibi-Moon blast away Nemesis with their identical moon rods while Mamoru watches on, being the ever supportive partner. Meanwhile, the inner Senshi are just hanging out with Neo-Queen Serenity.

This volume ends the second Sailor Moon story Arc, Sailor Moon R. The Black Moon Clan and Nemesis are vanquished. Despite my issues with this story arc, I think this is the most successful story arc Naoko produced. Even if the mythology doesn't hold together upon close inspection, the lonely watch of Sailor Pluto, the future of Crystal Tokyo, the two Silver Crystals, The 10th planet, and Sailor Moon being a warrior goddess make these issues action packed and the volume hard to put down.

I'm excited for the next arc, but am still concerned my inner senshi will remain in the background, especially with Uranus and Nepture thundering in.

[Kat Galvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was definitely an interesting read. Got weird in some places but Rei’s back story was the best part of this book! Hands down!

[kaitlphere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chibi Usa as the Dark Lady felt kind of out of nowhere, then the use of a "sexy" outfit to show a woman as evil was a trope I didn't need. I did appreciate the nearly immediate acceptance by Usagi to accept Dark Lady's new name, even if Usagi disagreed with her motivations. The weird Freudian jealousy Chili Usa felt for Tuxedo Mask, her future father, was pretty uncomfortable.

The bad guys seemed to just be doing stuff. It felt like the creator understood their goals and relationships, but their depth was only hinted at in the book. Wiseman's goal was unclear, other than his desire for power. While I didn't understand anyone's motivations, the battle still made for compelling reading.

I did really enjoy Sailor Moon and Neo Queen Serenity's desire to see each other at the end. While they're the same person, they felt more like peers with huge respect for one another. I also really enjoyed the stand-alone stories at the end that center around one character.

[KarolBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wygrywasz czy przegrywasz?

Rozwinięcie konfliktu jest coraz bardziej trudne, zdrady i plany, mogą zwyciężyć miłości i przyjaźni. Po wydarzeniach z ostatniego tomu, nic nie jest już pewne, Nemezis zyskał potężnego sojusznika, a wewnętrzne rozterki Sailor Moon stają się silniejsze. Czy i tym razem uda im się uratować świat?

Chibiusa dalej moim skromnym zdaniem jest nieznośna, cieszę się ze mimo to trochę zmądrzała od poprzednich zdarzeń. Bitwa, która czeka za rogiem nie jest łatwa, ale kiedy ktoś powiedziała że to wszystko będzie łatwe. Kocham sposób przedstawienia siłę Sailor - którą wszyscy wiemy pochodzi od miłości i przyjaźni - bo dzięki temu widzimy jak nasze bohaterki dorastają stając się najlepszą wersją siebie.

Teraz tylko czekać na nowy tom, kto wie może to będą nowe wyzwania ?

4⭐️

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

i have so many questions re chibiusa and how messed up that poor kid is (900 years old and she hasn’t aged since she was like 10????) but the main thing i want to know is why she’s smooching tuxedo mask aka her literal and actual father????

[Austine · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes it should be ok to tell a child to stfu. this is one of those times.

[beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I wanted power so I could be like you.”

(Here be spoilers).

I gasped as I tore through the last two chapters of this, because I realised this might be a five-star volume of Sailor Moon, and probably the most I’ve enjoyed this series so far—and also because I checked the reviews for this instalment earlier, and I knew I’d be somewhat standing alone on this.

No matter. For Love and Justice (for Chibi-Usa!) I am here to tell you all that this volume is where Sailor Moon gets truly thematically interesting. It’s also where it gets most Freudian and incestuous but— Okay. Hold my crystal staff for a minute.

You know when I said in last volume’s review that Usagi was weirdly jealous of Chibi-Usa for mostly absurd reasons? Well, that pretty much remains the same, but it’s relevant information that Chibi-Usa is from the distant future, is actually Usagi and Mamoru’s future daughter, takes everyone back to her future in fact—threatened by a man/dark force (Dark Phantom) who is also somehow now a planet called Nemesis—and at one point falls to his influence, transforming from a little girl into a kind of gothic femme fatale who seduces past-Mamoru (so, the one we know and hate) and says she’s always wanted to take him for herself.

So… as I previously said, Freud is happy, Usagi was partially correct to be jealous, but, most importantly: how are we to unpack this?

Our answers—of course!—lie in the future, and it’s a storyline that introduces some very interesting themes of romanticised male violence against women and girls. This idea was partially introduced last volume, when a male villain, upon abducting Usagi, forces a kiss on her, to her disgust. At the time I thought it was an unfortunate relic of fairytale-inspired stories which are full of this kind of stuff, but when Dark Phantom manipulates Chibi-Usa, transforming her into his vision of an adult woman (and a woman who plays upon Usagi’s jealousies of having her boyfriend stolen) my curiosity and incessant need to overanalyse everything took hold.

In Chibi-Usa’s timeline, she is alone and powerless. Somewhat literally—her mother (future!Usagi) has been encased in a crystal cage, unconscious, and thus out of reach—, but even before this we see that their relationship is strained. Her mother is the Queen, and as the Princess the Queen is her ultimate vision of who she must become, someone powerful and ethereal, but also distant and perhaps unrelatable. We learn that Chibi-Usa has actually been a child for 900 years now (don’t worry, in the future the Queen’s people are almost immortal, though they are meant to stop aging upon reaching adulthood), and is unable to both grow into adulthood and earn the magical powers she will inherit upon getting there. So she has been in this permanent state of semi-childhood for 900 years, devoid of a sense of purpose and growth, both physically and mentally, but also emotionally; she is never able to grow in her relationships and face her parents as an adult. She is in stasis.

Her mother is protective, perhaps overly so, treating her as a child, and controlling her movements; even when Chibi-Usa tells her she is only visiting her sole friend, Sailor Pluto (keeper of time and the underworld), who is an adult—notably, Chibi-Usa has no peers her own age. And now her mother is frozen, inaccessible, and her world is in peril. So off she goes to the past to seek help and guidance from her role model Usagi, herself only fourteen and still learning, but also more relatable and emotionally understandable now that they are on more even footing.

It’s no wonder then that she’s desperate, possessive (especially of Mamoru), and ultimately vulnerable to a vicious, patriarchal force that has been festering just beyond the borders of her home.

The idea of a little girl being turned into a sort of monstrous femme fatale by a cruel man’s hatred and resentment—a resentment that goes on to power an entire planet and overcome the wills of other humans (both male and female) that it comes into contact with, making it a frankly clever metaphor for patriarchal conditioning alongside being a misogynistic vision of women that our protagonists must fight against—is certainly uncomfortable! And I can appreciate that this volume and this arc overall is very disliked by many. But I think I’ve got to give it to Takeuchi here; I think this storyline is sharper than she’s being given credit for. It’s truly this sort of storytelling I was looking for from Sailor Moon, and her extreme boldness in moving into incredibly uncomfortable territory pays off well in my books.

Notable is how, in the final chapter, Chibi-Usa doesn’t seem to physically grow—into a teenager/adolescent—once she’s freed from Dark Phantom’s influence, but she is able to transform and embody her own power, and this emotional growth is recognised and championed by her mother (Future!Usagi). She is then, finally, granted responsibility, told that only she can find (past) Usagi/Sailor Moon (caught in a time warp, because of course). It was a lovely moment.

And at the end, when everyone has been rescued, Usagi is given the opportunity to face her future self (though she’s not supposed to, for time and causality reasons etc), which she does, and they share a warm moment of recognition, with Usagi revealing similar doubts to Chibi-Usa regarding her power, purpose, and future, reminding us that she is also still an adolescent, even if a magical one… very sweet.

Anyway, maybe I’m just crazy, but I loved this one. And I haven’t even talked about the stunning use of textures here! Everyone else is wrong about this volume!!

I hear volume 5 is where our lesbians are introduced—on to the next ☆

”And Usagi… I loved you the very best of all!”

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun volume, with plenty of the wild cosmic battles that have become the norm for concluding story arcs in the Sailor Moon series. This particular tale makes it a spacetime journey. It’s rare to find a time-travel story that doesn’t quickly get into paradoxes, but one just has to go with the flow and embrace the fantasy of it all. This edition also contains two bonus stories, which are in the slice-of-life vein and add some nice touches of characterization to balance out the frenzied action of the main story’s climax.

This edition of the Eternal Edition includes chapters 22-26 of the original manga, as well as the stories "Chibi Usa’s Picture Diary, Chapter 1: Beware of the Transfer Student!" and "Casablanca Memory."

[Mélaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freud aurait adoré ce tome.

J'ai jamais été très fan du personnage de Chibi-Usa, mais sa relation avec Mamoru est vraiment.... Ew?
D'un côté, je comprends l'idée de montrer que toutes les petites filles adulent leur papa, mais là c'est étrangement fait
Je comprends aussi l'insécurité qu'on veut montrer d'Usagi, mais c'est fait de manière étrange
Bon, ça reste que quelques pages du livre, globalement on a beaucoup de lore sur Neo Queen Serenity, le 30e siecle et Sailor Pluton
Je trouve toujours que le méchant de cet arc est nul

Point bonus pour le chapitre de fin sur Rei. On a aucune info sur sa vie perso dans l'anime, donc là j'ai été très agréablement surprise, surtout que c'est pas un personnage que j'aimais beaucoup dans l'anime. Mais pour l'instant, je suis plutôt convaincue.

Bref, je mets 3 étoiles car c'est dur de passer après les tomes précédents et que je crois savoir que la suite est bien meilleure.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart hurt so much for Chibiusa in this volume. She's literally a child who feels deeply unlikeable and annoying and hated by her parents. Add to that that she feels insecure over the fact that she's so small and I think this made her an easy target for Wiseman to manipulate her. It was so disgusting how he took her silly childhood feelings and twisted them into something evil and perverted. I just want to give her a hug.

Also, Sailor Pluto is my favorite and this volume hit me so hard. 💔

[Giniaris✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So your daughter from the future comes to the past to ask for help because future Tokyo and future you are in trouble. But in the process she gets manipulated and turns into an evil teen that steals your man, aka her father and brainwashes him into doing her bidding (TO KISS HER?!) but at the end everything is ok because of beautiful magic and she transforms back into a little girl.

Weird. But we’re still vibing.
Loved the extra chapters of chibi usa at school
And sailor mars tiny back story.

[LogFanJams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolute BANGER of a volume - Naoko Takeuchi you’ve done it again!

This was so fun, I love Chibi-Usa and her Black Lady design is just so cool and fun. I love that after she decides to be evil she immediately goes and yells at her dad about it. #justgirlythings

I also love the little short stories we got at the end, Chibi-Usa fights random vampires in an abandoned United Nations house is just the most insane concept after the absolute whirlwind of emotions from the main story.

[Ikayuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrapping up the dark moon arc and I am forever in awe just how much I love this story, and how much I will always love it. The manga is so much more raw than the anime ever was, and it shows through the pages in this volume. I can't wait to jump into #5!

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last two short stories were pretty good. The actual plot line of the majority of the book was not it for me. Why exactly did she want to date her dad? It was so unnecessary and I hope it’s never brought up again.

[Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Girl this arc was wild lol. Loved the character designs per usual, but evil puberty and Nemesis? Headscratchingly WILD. The panels became a bit hard to follow, as well. Hoping the next arc is more grounded and has better character work.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for pure nostalgia, cute kick-ass girly art, etc. I'm sorry, I'm easy to please when it comes to magical girls.

In the previous volumes I was left wishing I could know the characters better, besides just Usagi. Interestingly, I found the one-shot side stories at the end of the novel the highlights of this volume, not the main storyline. Getting to know Chibi-usa and Rei better and see their lives beyond just revolving around Usagi (and anyway, don't the planets revolve around the sun, NOT the moon?), was much needed!

And I say this as a diehard Rei stan, but her side story was EVERYTHING. My strong, beautiful, aro-ace icon <3

[Clau MZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Black Moon arc is just not my fave from all of them, I guess. But the next volume starts with Mugen arc! 😍