Sailor Moon Super S, written by Yoji Enokido et al. Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. Starring Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, and Michie Tomizawa. Toei Animation (–). 39 episodes of 24 minutes (approx. 936 minutes).
Available from Viz Media.
Sailor Moon Super S, the fourth series of the Sailor Moon anime from the Nineties, is probably the weakest entry in the popular franchise. Built loosely on the “Infinity” arc of the manga, it focuses on Sailor Moon’s daughter from the future, Chibi-Usa. A microcosmic coming-of-age story, this arc is arguably important to Sailor Moon’s overall themes, but that doesn’t prevent it from being uneven—the primary reason for which is probably Chibi-Usa herself, whose presence in Sailor Moon is, even at the best of times, redundant.
Chibi-Usa earned a lot of hate from American viewers back in the Nineties due to the DiC dub. She is more popular in Japan, which is unsurprising given that country’s obsession with cuteness, mascot characters, and little girls. She is simultaneously a sidekick to Sailor Moon and a miniature version of her (she is actually called Sailor Chibi Moon), but although she appears best suited to a peripheral role, she has a habit of upstaging the rest of the cast—and in Super S, she takes over.
This is her arc, like it or not.