Usagi - Ai no Senshi e no Michi Guide
Name Translation: Usagi - The Road to Becoming a Soldier of Love
Stage: First (fan) / First (producers)
Play rundates: 7/26 – 8/25/94
Released on video?: Yes
Released on: VHS, DVD
Omake Footage?: No
Available subtitled?: Yes, from Cruel Angel Productions
CAST:
Heroes
Ooyama Anza – Usagi/Sailor Moon
Morino Ayako – Ami/Sailor Mercury
Kotoni Misako – Rei/Sailor Mars
Kanoko – Makoto/Sailor Jupiter
Suzuki Nana – Minako/Sailor Venus
Kimura Sanae – Haruka/Sailor Uranus
Sakamto Kahoru – Michiru/Sailor Neptune
Miyakawa Ai – Chibiusa
Kawasaki Mao - Sailor Chibi-Moon
Mochizuki Yuuta – Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen
Villains
Yajima Shunsaku – Professor Tomoe
Hanayama Keiko – Kaolinite
Kasahara Ryuuji - Death Ra
Idono Masakazu - Death Ri
Ozaki Masayuki - Death Ru
Kowada Kouhei - Death Debu Re
Ishikawa Kaori - Death Nightmare I
Endou Ado - Death Nightmare II
Matsumoto Yuuko - Death Nightmare III
Ikemoto Eri - Death Nightmare IV
SUMMARY:
Just when Usagi is hoping for romance with Mamoru and Ami is about to pursue her dream of being a doctor by studying in Germany, the evil Death Busters make their move, launching their Daimon Eggs in order to find the sacred Talismans hidden inside pure hearts. Meanwhile, Chibiusa returns for senshi training and two new senshi, Sailors Uranus and Neptune, appear, also looking for the Talismans. The enemy threat is as real as ever - but with Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako all desiring to pursue their long-awaited dreams, will they stick by Usagi, or will she have to find the strength inside to face the Death Busters alone?
SONGS:
- "Overture kara King - Endymion no Theme": This musical is the first musical to feature an overture. The overture here plays as Usagi hears King Endymion's words of warning in her head.
- “Solar Miracle Make Up!”: Following the prologue, Sailor Moon and the rest of the senshi sing this fun song, and the flies (the wires that allow you to "fly" onstage) get their first workout of the musical. Like "Mystery Sagashii" in the last musical, this song is somewhat disconnected from the main musical.
- “Talisman wo Sagase” (“Searching for the Talisman”): This song introduces us to the Death Busters, as well as the rivalry between Tomoe's minions, the Death Mannetjes, and Kaolinite's minions, the Death Nightmares. "Isei Nottori Keikaku," the first Death Busters song from Mugen Gakuen, shares the same melody but has different lyrics.
- “Gondola no Koibito-tachi" ("Lovers in the Gondola"): A lovely duet between Usagi and Mamoru as they float on the lake in a gondola. This is also, like the later "It's My Jewelry," a popular Duet Corner song for fankans.
- “Mata Mata Chibiusa Desu” (“Once Again It's Chibiusa”): Ah yes, the infectious Chibiusa theme song. This has been sung by pretty much every Chibiusa actress there has ever been, including a bunch of times at fankans. Since this is the first musical in which Chibiusa appears, the inclusion of the song helps to set up her character.
- “Chou Bi! Uranus to Neptune” ("Super Beauty! Uranus and Neptune"): This musical is also our introduction to Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, and this song shows them off very well. Also, this myu is the debut of Kimura Sanae, the 2nd-longest-running Uranus, and my fave after Nao.
- “Dream Yume wo Ookiku” ("Dream - Dreams are Huge"): This is a fun song by the Inner Senshi (minus Moon) where they sing about their dreams. Good performances all around; Morino, Misako, Kanoko, and Nana all seem stronger here. It's during this song that we learn Ami's leaving for Germany in a week.
- “Chouhatsu” ("Provocation"): This is basically a song where Kaolinite tries to lure Chibiusa to the Death Busters lair so she can use her as bait to capture the other Senshi (not unlike the plot behind the senshi/villain confrontation in Kirari Super Live, actually). Chibiusa resists initially, and then finally succumbs.
- “Muma no Odori" ("Nightmares' Dance"): A very creepy song sung by the Death Nightmares. It also appears in Shin Densetsu Kourin and Last Dracul Jokyoku, where it is sung by Beryl, the Amazon Trio, and some minions and Death Lamia and the Death Nightmares respectively.
- “Tabidachi” (“Departing on a Journey”): Perhaps one of the most touching songs in all of SeraMyu. Fans generally agree that this is one of Anza and Morino's best moments. The song, sung by Usagi and Ami as Ami is about to board her plane, is jampacked with emotion. Quite a bit has happened before this song - the Death Busters have gone after them twice; Chibiusa's been captured; Usagi's just found out Ami is leaving; and Rei, Makoto, and Minako have just told Usagi that THEY'RE leaving too. The word "hitobocchi" from Usagi says it all - it's some variant of "hitoribochi," a word which communicates a deep sense of loneliness, as if one is truly alone in the world.
- “Tuxedo Mission”: This is the most confusing "Tuxedo Mission" ever, since it's sung by the regular Tuxedo Kamen plus the four Death Mannetjes also dressed as Tuxedo Kamen. Poor Usagi.
- “Sailor War '94”: This is the battle song for this myu, sung by the Inners as they prepare to attack Tomoe in retaliation for what he and Kaolinite have done to Chibimoon. It has the same tune as the original "Sailor War," but with completely different lyrics. This version also appeared in Mugen Gakuen, also in a battle situation where Chibimoon was unconscious.
- “L'Amour D'Amour Moonlight” (“The Love of Love Moonlight”): This is the final song in the myu, the usual post-battle reflection song. It's also the first myu song to feature any French.
The “service” (encore) numbers for this myu are "La Soldier" and "L'amour D'Amour Moonlight."
TRIVIA:
- This musical is based on the S arc, which was airing on TV at the time this musical ran. Technically, the Black Moon arc should've followed Gaiden, but to keep up with the run of the anime, it was skipped for the time being. The plot takes elements from the anime and the manga, with manga elements being that the Inners use their Planet Power attacks, Chibiusa is a primary target, and Uranus and Neptune already know they have two of the Talismans. There are however, elements of the Black Moon arc, like Ami leaving for Germany, the similarity of Chibiusa's arrival to her arrival in R, and the use of Sailor Pluto and King Endymion.
- This is the first musical to feature Chibiusa/Sailor Chibi-Moon, Haruka/Sailor Uranus, and Michiru/Sailor Neptune. Haruka and Michiru themselves only appear briefly though; Uranus and Neptune are transformed for the majority of the musical.
- This musical was the debut myu for Kimura Sanae (2nd-longest-running Uranus) and popular Chibimoon actress Kawasaki Mao. Also making their debut here are: Kotani Misako as Mars, Sakamoto Kahoru as Neptune, Miyakawa Ai as Chibiusa, and all the villain cast except Death Ra, Death Ri, and Death Nightmare I (Kasahara Ryuuji, Idono Masakazu, and Ishikawa Kaori) who all made their debut the previous winter in the unreleased Gaiden: Dark Kingdom Fukkatsu Hen (Kaiteiban). Most significant of the villain debuts is Ado Endou as Death Nightmare II - Ado-san would later go on to be in every myu until the hiatus in 2005 and become the longest-running SeraMyu performer of all time. She also later acted as a dance instructor and choreographer for the musicals.
- Many of the characters in this myu - the majority of the villains as well as Miyakawa Ai (Chibiusa) - never appear in another released myu after this, since they only did this myu and the unreleased 1995 Spring and Summer myus.
- This seems to be the only musical in which Luna-P actually exists. Here it's represented by a lone mylar balloon.
- We learn that, in this canon anyway, Rei's dream is to fine-tune her meditation skills/be a singer, Makoto's dream is to learn new cuisine in China, and Minako's dream is to travel with the national volleyball team and go to the Olympics. The only canon where Rei actually gets to go fine-tune her meditation skills is the live-action series, where after the defeat of Beryl, Rei goes to Kyoto to train her skills as a miko. Her dream of being a singer is from the anime, which is also the basis for Makoto and Minako's dreams (though Minako's love of volleyball was present in the Sailor V manga too).
- This musical had the same number of performances as Gaiden K, but with far less attendees - all the attendance numbers for this musical are under 10,000 except for the 10 performances done at the Yuupouto Kanihoken Hall in Tokyo (which had an attendance of 12,760), compared to 25k+ for Gaiden K. Had the novelty started to fade already?
- This is the only released musical in which Daimon Eggs are seen - though they were mentioned in Mugen Gakuen, they are never shown.