ADV Films presents

Sailor Moon (DiC) #7: Fight to the Finish (1995)

"You picked the wrong enemy."- Sailor Moon (Tracey Moore)

Stars: Terri Hawkes, Jill Frappier, Karen Bernstein, Susan Roman, Katie Griffin, Stephanie Morganstern, Ron Rubin, Tony Daniels, Naz Edwards
Other Stars: Colin O'Meara, Mary Long, Roland Parliament, Nadine Rabinovitch, Toby Proctor, Tracey Moore, Julie Lemieux, Terri Hawkes, Tracey Hoyt, Vince Corazza, Sabrina Grdevich
Director: Junichi Sato

MPAA Rating: GRun Time: 02h:10m:52s
Release Date: 2002-09-03
Genre: anime

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B	B	B+	B+	D+

 

DVD Review

The seventh entry in the English Sailor Moon saga completes the original 1992 first season, and opens its successor, Sailor Moon R. The action here certainly picks up, as the ultimate showdown between the evil Queen Beryl and our five Sailor Scouts comes to a head. As things move on, things will get a little weird in the Sailor Scout world once again.

Fed up with her lackies failing to complete their nefarious business, Beryl sends Darien to Earth to round up the former bearers of the Moon Crystals, as she continues her plot to take over the universe. Of course, the Sailor Scouts aren't going to let Darien succeed in his plan, and Serena is still holding out hope he can be rescued from the Negaverse.

At the end of her rope, Beryl unleashes more nasties to undo the Sailor Scouts, who are having their own share of interpersonal battles, with Serena being the center of attention. As Beryl looks to seize on the rift that has been created, the girls have their own plans, part of which requires facing up to their responsibilities for each other.

Then, it's flashback time, as the final confrontation progresses, the origins of the conflict between Beryl and the Moon Princess is brought to light. It's a do or die situation for both sides, as Beryl sets up to invade Earth with her Negaforces. As the battle gets underway, the Sailor Scouts each have to stand up for their friends, and Serena has to fulfill her destiny as the Moon Princess. In the final episode of the first season, love, courage, and determination will have to find a way to save the day.

In a rather unusual twist, the second season opens with the girls having lost their memory of everything that happened previously. With Beryl defeated, there is no more threat from the Negaverse, or is there? Since the two guiding cats, Artemis and Luna, know everything, they have to decide whether they can let the girls live their lives normally, or whether they need to reengage them as Sailor Scouts. Serena is the first to be reawakened, and things are pretty strange for a while with all her allies not even knowing who she is, but when Anne and Alan, a pair of aliens, arrive with their energy hungry Doom Tree, the Scouts will once more have to face the forces of the Negaverse.

After the fairly routine run of episodes that padded the first season, its conclusion crams a ton of storyline into the final episodes. While it does shed light on everything that had come before, the pacing felt a bit awkward, though was probably simpler in this form than protracting the exposition along the way. The resetting of the characters provides a great plot device, but also necessitates some of the introductions from the first season, though this is done pretty quickly. The set up for the next story arc is in place, as the Scouts once again battle the forces of evil, and kick some Negabutt.

Rating for Style: B
Rating for Substance: B

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Image quality remains consistent with previous volumes, looking quite good considering the age of the show. Colors are solid and black levels respectable. There is some shimmer and jitter in outlines, and the image does contain a mild amount of grain. The intros get a bit red at times, but nothing extreme.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: English audio remains pretty good, with a clean, well balanced soundtrack. There is no excess sibilance, and the low end has a nice presence. No dropouts or other technical problems were encountered.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 6 cues and remote access
6 Other Trailer(s) featuring Princess Nine, Queen Emeraldas, Sakura Wars 2, Medabots, Dai-Guard, All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
Packaging: Alpha
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: Extras are limited to previews for Princess Nine, Queen Emeraldas, Sakura Wars 2, Medabots, Dai-Guard, and All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku.

Extras Grade: D+
 

Final Comments

It's out with the old and in with the new, as Sailor Moon concludes its first season and launches into the second with a clean start. There's lots of action, and the girls have to learn their true power as friends as a new threat calls their attention. Fans of the show should be pleased with this collection of six more episodes.

Jeff Ulmer 2002-12-18