It was a pretty decent start. The music was good, I really liked the piece that played when Sailor Moon was introducing herself and reciting her iconic pre-battle speech. I thought the music was a highlight and everything about it seemed balanced and fit the situation well. I also really liked the "Tsukini Kawatte Oshioki Yo" scene and scenery, it looked cool.
The animation, unfortunately, is still problematic for me. It looks incredibly plastic and a number of off-model shots. The eyes look too synthetic for my taste and they don't really convey emotion in the same way the manga does, if that's what they're aiming for in this reboot I think they could have done better. Tsukino's manga really did the job better and felt more klutzy and silly without being too over-the-top, hence why some scenes felt better in expression. Everyone looks so inexpressive and the way the faces and eyes appear seems to be a shot at really portraying the "beauty" aspect of the show but they come off as having the expression of a children's Barbie Doll. Like they look so "dazed."
The anime did its own thing and well...it's not bad, their efforts are admirable but the animation and art was just not my cup of tea 100%.
Manga vs. the
Anime.
Anyway, another critique I have about this episode was the pacing. It moved too fast, they had everything set-up nicely with introducing the first member of the Dark Kingdom, Luna, Naru, Umino and the others and showing off Usagi's trademarked personalities traits well. But they just sped through the last part, the fight went over my head too quickly, the Youma posed not that much of a threat, I felt like not enough intensity was built up before the finish and even Luna's introduction formally and helping Sailor Moon use her first attack was too quick. Just moved insanely fast toward the end and that makes me think this would have benefited from having another six or seven minutes to really flesh out the first battle. The original's battle definitely seemed to have more intensity about it.
Mamoru's introduction was okay, it was amusing seeing him taunt Usagi and his first in-fight intro was as useless as ever. I almost forgot he supposedly never used roses in the manga so yeah. Hopefully that means they'll retain some of his powers in the anime that he has, he is supposedly the sailor soldier of Earth itself. Ami's intro next time, hopefully that episode is paced better than the one today. I really grew to like the coloring of Usagi's hair and I liked her pendant she used to transform and I liked how they retained her angelic feather-looking hairpieces.
I didn't like the transformation, a CGI-fest and "what is anatomy" moment for the anime record book. The CGI was ugly. They seemed to have Usagi's characterization down well and I found her amusing, they really do seem to be sticking closer to the manga with this adaptation. I do feel like they gave up some of Usagi's more clumsy-comedic expressions and behavior for the sake of her role as a bishoujo. I think they could have struck a strong balance of other without sacrificing either. Especially since Usagi isn't really that heavy a "bishoujo" and I would say is more one in name than in her actions and appearances.
I don't have a strong opinion of the ending but "Moon Pride" was a great opening. Visuals were nice, lyrics were nice and carried a strong aura about it. The eyecatches and title card were stunning too.
