Gaiden: Dark Kingdom Fukkatsu Hen Review
This was the third myu I saw, after the Death Vulcan myu and Eien Densetsu Kaiteiban: The Final First Stage. I randomly decided to watch it on YouTube one day. It was hard to watch in parts, but such are YouTube rules.
Luna and Artemis were, I think, the best part of this myu. Ishimura-san nailed the feminine, yet nagging Luna we all love from the anime. Himeno-san, while not exactly like the anime Artemis, is a good match for the later PGSM Artemis (a plushie voiced by Yamaguchi Kappei) in personality. It’s a pity Luna and Artemis never show up on video again after this myu (they are in Gaiden Kaiteiban, but that myu was never released on video).
The thing I didn’t like about this myu was the costumes. If you ever hear myu fans joking about “farmer Makoto” or “Christmas tree Beryl,” this is the myu they’re referring to. The Inners spend most of the myu dressed in silly-looking casual clothes, like overalls for Anza-san. Kanoko-san (Makoto) looks like a farmer, as aforesaid. But the worst is Nishina Yuri as Beryl, who appears during “Yami Koso Utsukushii” wearing a ludicrous outfit covered in silver tinsel (hence the “Christmas tree” reference).
As for the songs, I said in the guide that “Onnanoko no Shinshou” is my favorite in this myu, and I stand by that. The first “La Soldier” was ok, but having it appear again as a service number – and a third time if you watch the omake – might seem like overkill, especially to the long-time fan that has seen the song performed a gazillion times, after every myu and at almost every fan event. I like “Sailor War” in this myu too, though the Inners’ costumes kind of ruin it for me (later performances of “Sailor War” were generally done by the girls in their senshi fukus).
As for the acting, it redeems the musical. Watching the omake, which includes rehearsal footage, shows how much the director pushed the cast to get things right (Anza-san in particular gets corrected by him a lot, which is saying something considering how adamant she is in the Eien Densetsu Fankan and the Memorial Talk Show about having never made any mistakes while performing). This myu’s storyline isn’t as epic as those of the other First Stage myus, so the girls don’t shine here as much as in the more epic SuperS and Stars-based myus. Suzuki Nana (Venus) and Mochizuki Yuuta (Saitou Kun/Kunzite) get the most stage time, I think, though Anza-san gets her fair share, as she should. She doesn’t get to be the strong, determined Sailor Moon here as much as in later myus, though.
In short, this isn’t the best myu I’ve seen or even the best myu of its stage, but it does have its merits and anyone wanting to get into the myus should give it a shot.