Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, episode 2.
I'm not sure this belongs here, what with it being a live action show, but... man, I don't know what to say. This waffles between being hilariously overacted (Queen Beryl is a joy to behold) and curiously restrained, the costumes are terribly campy and Tuxedo Mask and his mullet are hard to believe without being seen.
Skeletor from the Masters of the Universe film has nothing on her. Nothing.
The jokes are delivered in such an earnest way it's hard not to burst out laughing, even if they're really old and tired, like Usagi going into the arcade with a faked one year membership pass with a doodle of Luna on it to drive home how ridiculous it is, and Motoki going "since when do we sell one year memberships?" just a second after she goes inside. The special "effects" are terrible, the CGI is hilarious and the acting is, uh... honestly, it's so bad it's...
Dunno where this is going as I haven't spoiled myself yet outside of knowhing that we'll get a DARK MERCURY at some point.
I wonder how often these 'swords' broke during filming.
Anyway. Luna changing between horrible CGI, a plus toy and a plush puppet where you can see the hand of the puppeteer going into it at times round everything out. Make no mistake though, when Luna is the plush toy Luna, Luna actually is a plush toy.
Look at this intro:
❤️
So, anyway, episode two is more or less predictably about Usagi befriending Ami and her awakening. Usagi giving Ami a mini-disc copy of Minako's new album is a really curious sight too. These things never got to be popular here at all, at first I thought she was handing Ami a tape, but... well, a sign of the time when this got made. Too late for tapes, too early for widespread MP3-players.
Usagi is as silly as in the anime and Luna is as snarky as in the anime. It feels kinda weird to say this, but if one can deal with the campy side, this is actually - so far - a real joy to watch. If there's a downside, then that it cannot truly stand on its own. Ami's and Usagi's interactions in this episode make sense for someone who has watched the original anime or read certain parts of the manga, but on their own? I don't know.
Funny how the transformation sequences begin with the girls already wearing their body suits. I wonder why? Having choreographed fighting scenes in mini-skirts is a lot more revealing than the anime was, obviously, so you win some, you lose some, I guess. Ami has a damaging attack. Cheaper than a fog machine. Heh.