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naruseii · 4 years

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Myu review 7: 1997 Eien Densetsu

Before continuing further, I’d just like to mention this. This review is purely based off of my personal opinion. I personally am not that fond of SenShi and since this Myu contains that ship, my comments/views differ from the majority, which is okay! Whether we agree or disagree, let’s keep the discussion civil and let’s also respect each other! Thank you and enjoy this (long) review!

First impression: I was actually pretty excited for this Myu!! With Stars K being so amazing and this being the second to the last Myu of the First Stage, I really expected a lot!

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Impressions: Actors/Actresses

Anza Ooyama (Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon)- OH YES QUEEN ANZA!! She was so good in this, it’s like she saved the Myu. I really liked how she portrayed Usagi in this Myu. Sad/Mature Usagi is so essential to the Stars arc and I think Anza pulled it off pretty well especially during I Miss You and her talk with Setsuna about Mamoru. She had her fun, silly Usagi moments but I think her more sad/mature/serious moments were the highlights of her character. Her Super Sailor Moon was pretty okay!! She had the mix of funny and serious Moon which created a good balance. Her Eternal Sailor Moon is obviously my favorite. I have to say I wasn’t as impacted as I was in Stars/Stars K but her Eternal Moon was still pretty good!! She makes her so strong/powerful and also really mature and lady-like which is why I love her as that version of Moon so much. Of course, she did well in all aspects and I just really really enjoy Anza-Moon a lot!! 💕

Ayako Morino (Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury)- Ah s***, here we go again. I really can’t stress enough how much I don’t like boy crazy Ami. I’m not a fan of the SenShi pairings so automatically I didn’t enjoy the ZoiAmi bits. This is not Ayako’s fault of course (it’s First Stage/general Myu writing) but seeing her act it out really didn’t settle with me. Ayako’s pre-Zoisite Ami wasn’t too bad?? She kinda overdid the “innocent Ami” but that’s nothing new. I quite enjoyed her Mercury though, because she really did break out of her “innocent Ami” character and showed her true strength as Mercury. Normally with these reviews I always prefer her Mercury over Ami and it’s the same with this one. She’s either lacking or too much, really.

Misako Kotani (Rei Hino/Sailor Mars)- MISAKO WAS SO GOOD IN THIS MYU!! I love her strong and sassy Rei and all her Rei scenes were so fun and interesting to watch! I really like how her relationship with the cast is shown through certain scenes (like the teacher-director switch scene) because it really added to her charm. Just like Ayako, she was given many scenes to showcase her character/character development and I think she gave off an amazing Rei and Mars. I love her voice and her acting so much here!! I’m sad Eien K is her last Myu because I’m really starting to like her a lot :^( .

Akari Tonegawa (Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter)- Akari wasn’t too bad of a Makoto/Jupiter! I really love her little movements and her facial expressions because they add more to her character. Her Makoto was more on the masculine side although she had moments which showed her girly side. Her Jupiter was lacking but, it’s more on the writing than her acting. I can’t really judge her voice on the singing aspect since she didn’t have a solo but, I do have to say her voice is quite powerful. Her dancing was okay and overall, I think she did pretty well despite not having much to do!

Akiko Miyazawa (Minako Aino/Sailor Venus)- Akiko was sooo cute!! I super love her Minako!! She portrayed the perfect fangirly Stars Minako and you can definitely tell from her gestures and how her voice becomes higher than usual (which was a nice touch)! Just like Akari, her senshi counterpart was lacking due to the writing. I think she had the potential to show a really great leader Venus! As mentioned before, her Minako was amazing and I think she touched on every aspect of the character pretty well!! I’m really excited for her next performance (and future ones)!!

Yuuta Mochizuki (Tuxedo Mask/Prince Endymion/King Endymion)- Just like in the previous Stars musicals, Tuxedo Mask/Endymion was hardly present. And when he was, he was typically walking around, getting attacked, kneeling and having few lines of dialogue. Even though he didn’t do much, I still think he did well in what he was able to do!! I hope they give him much more to do in Eien K since it’ll be his last Myu as Tux!!

Sanae Kimura (Haruka Tenoh/Sailor Uranus)- Oh yes!! Sanae was pretty good in this Myu!! She’s had really good scenes especially with Hiroko because their dynamic is just that great. Her Haruka really got to shine when she was with Hiroko. Their scene in Kick Out A Bloody Mystery and Orurean no Sei Senshi really showed off Haruka’s humorous and serious/dedicated side well. Her Uranus is still pretty strong. Her scenes with Moon, the Starlights and Galaxia really highlights her strength as Uranus (especially during the betrayal). Although Uranus (and Neptune) weren’t too memorable in this Myu, I think Sanae did a pretty good job in all aspects and got to portray her character pretty decently!!

Hiroko Tahara (Michiru Kaioh/Sailor Neptune)- Hiroko is just so so good. She makes me enjoy Michiru/Neptune so much!! I really do love her dynamic with Sanae because she actually gets to shine more/take the lead at times and she isn’t just Haruka’s femme gf on the side. As mentioned before, the mystery scene and Orurean no Sei Senshi were probably her best scenes as Michiru. As for her Neptune, she had much more of an impact that before. Especially during the betrayal scene where she said she’d follow Haruka anywhere she goes (she’s basically just re-enacting the scene from Act 1), it really felt genuine and I felt like she encapsulated Neptune and her emotions very well. She’s pretty great in all aspects and again, Uranus and Neptune weren’t too memorable in the Myu but she got to pull of her character pretty well!!

Rei Saitou (Setsuna Meioh/Sailor Pluto)- Oh my gosh I love Rei!! I really loved her scenes where she talked about spending her entire life alone yet still believing in love (or something like that). She really encapsulated Pluto’s loneliness and strength as a person and a soldier. She’s also had her funny moments which gave her a good balance of being humorous and serious. Her voice is amazing and she still dances pretty well!! Overall she did really great!! I super duper love her Pluto!

Chihiro Imai (Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn)- I think Chihiro did okay for her first and last role!! But I do think she could’ve done better. She captures child Hotaru a bit better than Keiko since she’s younger although, her delivery wasn’t too good at times. There were some points where she would sound emotionless and her movements were also kinda stiff. She has a good voice (especially for her character) but the way she says “Saturn” in To A Brand New World bothered me just a tiny bit. But otherwise, I think she was pretty okay!!

Mao Kawasaki (Chibi Chibi/Sailor Chibi Chibi)- I’m so glad Mao returned for this Myu although, her role as Chibi Chibi was very minor. Since Mao had exposure playing a child role in the past (Chibiusa), I think she was able to keep her acting pretty child-like. She didn’t have as much freedom as she did as Chibiusa but her monologue as Sailor Chibi Chibi and her song “Mou ii no” really amazed me!! She was really good!!

Sayuri Katayama (Seiya Kou/Sailor Star Fighter)- Oh my gosh can I just yell about how charming Sayuri’s Seiya is?? She got a good balance of leader Seiya/Fighter and soft/caring and charming Seiya/Fighter. I think her best moments were with Usagi (I Miss You) the other Starlights (Kick Out A Bloody Mystery) and Kakyuu (Kakyuu Ouhi to Three Lights). I think she captured more of the manga Seiya while having some bits of anime Seiya as well. To be honest, her strongest character is Seiya. Her Fighter had the leadership and care/concern but honestly, it doesn’t strike as much presence as her Seiya does. She has such an amazing singing voice and she dances pretty well so yeah!! I loved Sayuri!!

Hikari Ono (Taiki Kou/Sailor Star Maker)- Um...😔👉👈...I REALLY LOVE MY GIRL A LOT. She was so good okay. Honestly, she makes me less annoyed at Taiki altogether. She’s had her moments as the know-it-all (a.k.a ((sorry, language)) smartass) Taiki but she also had her funny/laid back moments too. I loved her scenes with Momoko or the Kinmoku gang because we really get to see the true character of Taiki/Maker which Hikari portrayed very well. I was surprised she had such a strong Maker because she didn’t really do much as her for the past 2 Myus!! She has the dedication (to mostly) Kakyuu and a strong will. Her singing is great and so was her dancing!! So yes 8/8 my girl did great!!

Momoko Okuyama (Yaten Kou/Sailor Star Healer)- Momoko is the CUTEST Yaten and you can’t convince me otherwise. I was watching the Stars anime when I watched this Myu and her Yaten was a breath of fresh air from her anime counterpart. She’s had her sassy moments but she was such a goof ball in almost all her scenes!! From solving mysteries to deciding on who the next leader of the Three Lights is, she was just so fun to watch! Her Star Healer was very strong and caring! I think she did pretty well in all aspects and I just love her!!

Sakoto Yoshioka (Princess Kakyuu)- YES FINALLY A KAKYUU!! I loved Sakoto!! She has such an amazing voice and I’m so glad they gave her more than one song to sing in this Myu! She really has the “other worldly” presence that Kakyuu has when she makes her first appearance. She was also very kind and motherly but in a different kind of way than Setsuna. She portrays Kakyuu’s emotions so well and she moves so gracefully which really made her capture Kakyuu’s character!! I’m looking forward to seeing her again in Eien K!

Tamami Matsumoto (Sailor Galaxia)- She's definitely different from Saori!! She has a lot more power and a lot more stage presence. She shows off Galaxia's dominant and villainous side really well. Although, I think she’s too mature for Galaxia. I see Galaxia as an intelligent kid but with lack of experience. Tamami’s Galaxia seemed like a queen figure (like Beryl or Nehelenia) who’s seeking revenge when she’s really just someone new to the scene. Nonetheless, I think she portrayed Galaxia well especially with her movement and her voice! And her reformed Galaxia was just as great!

Shadow Galatica (as a whole)- I’m surprised they didn’t include Iron Mouse in this one but even Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow considering that the Stars anime already ended by then and people should know Shadow Galactica but oh well I guess. They removed Pewter Fox as well for some reason but they made up for these losses with Tin Nyanko and Mitis (formerly known as Titanium) Keroko! Both Toni and Megumi did such amazing jobs portraying their characters in all aspects. Sailor Chi, Phi and Theta were amazing dancers and complimented scenes really well. I enjoyed them a lot!

Ryuji Kasahara (Kyaos/Chaos)- Don’t get me wrong, I love Ryuji as an actor and I did enjoy him in this role! But I really didn’t like the build/the writing for Chaos. In the manga he’s just like any other final boss at the end of each arc and since Chaos is the very last villain, he should be portrayed as the most evil creature to exist. Ryuji usually plays playful villains which is probably why they had to rewrite Chaos’ character. The teacher/director Kyaos was really fun to watch and he really played the two really well!! I just wish we could’ve gotten more of a serious/powerful Chaos from him.

Yuri Nishina (Queen Beryl)- So glad they brought her back from Gaiden! She makes an excellent Beryl!! Her voice is really suited for her character and she really shows the evilness of Beryl so well. She doesn’t do much dancing so her only movements are just swaying her arms when she attacks. That aspect kind of bothers me a bit in some scenes because it looks so lazily done even if her lines/scenes hold so much emotion. Regardless, I enjoyed her evil Queen Beryl as much as her reformed Beryl! She did well in both!!

Hidetaka Asano (Kunzite) & Akira Tomemori (Zoisite)- OH YES MY SHITENNOU BOYS!! I mean this time we only have half of them, but it kinda works! Zoisite had more of a role than Kunzite since he somewhat pursued a relationship with Ami. Due to that, Zoisite showed more of his masculine side than feminine side which really changed the atmosphere around his character. Kunzite on the other hand, was less of a leader and more of a casual person. Despite these, I think both Akira and Hidetaka were able to carry on their characters very well! They delivered their lines confidently and they have good singing and movement! I really enjoyed their performance!!

The story: I’m gonna change this part up! Normally I’d tell the story while inserting my opinions in at certain points but since Eien is longer than previous Myus (I think this one’s 2 hours?), I’ll just give my opinions on the story instead.

It was SO MESSY. This is like the first Stars Myu but even messier. The best way I can describe this story is that they fused both interpretations (anime and manga) of the Dark Kingdom and Stars Arc but also kinda tried to revise Stars K? There was just so much going on in general. Some parts can be understood if you’ve seen the anime or read the manga (or both) but if you’re a Myu-only person then maybe those things may seem unclear/unnoticeable.

[ACT 1]

I’m assuming this is because of the 2 hour time mark but Act 1 was super long. It kinda felt dragging at times. They also inserted a scene that wasn’t really necessary which was the “Little Match Girl” scene with (who I’m assuming is) Chihiro. It was just her talking to this entity (I think it’s Beryl?) while lighting her last match. The entity was talking about how darkness is gonna swallow up the world and how that last match won’t help her (which it didn’t) and through that, Queen Beryl got resurrected. Do you get what I mean??

But aside from that, the rest of Act 1 was just okay. It was a super long act and since there was so much in it, I didn’t find the transitions from scene to scene to be well executed. I think each Senshi/character got a fair amount of screen time although some didn’t really do much. All the musical numbers and scenes were great!! It’s just that there’s too much, really.

[ACT 2]

Act 2 was way shorter. By this point you should be getting the story but I still didn’t understand what I was watching. There was definitely a shift in atmosphere between the acts as Act 1 was more lively and fun (although it had a few serious moments) while Act 2 was more heavy and probably tried to focus on the story more. Most characters were well developed by then until we discover that some of them get redeemed or some of them are actually evil (or maybe they were pretending to be evil but were just good all along). I’d have to say that I preferred this section of the story more than the first. It just seems more well put together although it still hardly makes any sense. The unexpected shift of stance from the villains (evil to good or “good” to (very) evil) was a nice touch on their part. All in all, I think Act 2 or just the ending of the Myu really wrapped up everything pretty well. Despite all the many ups and downs, the ending was actually quite decent.

If you want to know about the story, I suggest you read the ‘97 Eien page on the SM Wiki: https://sailormoon.fandom.com/wiki/Pretty_Soldier_Sailor_Moon_%7E_Eternal_Legend

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Overall opinion: As much as I really wanted to like this Myu, I can't. I had a hard time understanding what was going on & I had to watch this a second time just to make this review. The actors and actresses weren't bad, they all did such an amazing job; the story is just terrible. The concept they went for is good, it's just that the execution wasn't. I'm really hoping for the best for Eien K especially since it's the last Myu of the First Stage.

FINALLY!! GOSH THIS TOOK A WHILE. I actually watched this Myu with @missemperor back in May and we DID NOT enjoy it. I had to watch it again because the story never stuck to me and I forgot what everyone did in the Myu. To be honest, there were moments that are likable but the problem really is just the story. I’m really crossing my fingers for Eien K!! How about you? Did you like ’97 Eien? Did we agree on things? Feel free to leave your thoughts!!

((Character profiles are from @myu-resource , CD cover is from @galaxycosmos))

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