Sailormoon Live Action: Finale

All’s well in Usagi-world… This series is an adaptation of Sailormoon after all, so a happy ending is a must. After forty-nine cheese-tastic installments, PGSM Live Action comes to a close (permanently, I hope). Out of all the shows I’ve watched this past year, the series proved to be the most delightful guilty-pleasure one can both mock and enjoy.

The initial interest for the said program started out of curiosity for it brought back memories of Sailormoon Classic and R (a past addiction I shamefully admit) during my HS years. The writers’ decision to tweak the original plot helped keeping the story somewhat fresh, which in turn led me into a full blown fascination with the ‘new twists’.

In all honesty, I have a love-hate relationship with the actors, most of whom borderlined between inept and barely competent. With the five female leads’ limited range, the series seemed doomed for major suckage. But they compensated their paltry acting by pulling off a mix of cuteness, charm, and individuality (sort-of). And to give them credit, their skills considerably improved over the course of two seasons.

As for the ones playing Queen Beryl and her semi-subordinates…where do I begin? With the exception of Kunzeite, the performances were mostly a variety of overacting. The movements, voice projection, facial expressions, and character interplay almost became too unbearable. The director probably never bothered to explain the concept of subtlety. I suppose when one’s forced to wear badly fitted wigs and embarrassingly gaudy costumes, one shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. Also, when one compares them to Kuriko Mio and Senshi!Luna, their transgressions seems quite forgivable.

Speaking of Mio and Senshi!Luna, they proved to be two of the most annoying characters I’ve seen any media, may it be television, stage, or the big screen. Kuriko Mio’s personality was downright bitchy and irritating so my reaction should be thus. But with Senshi!Luna…Unspeakable!! As Reika mentioned, the young lass managed to exceed ChibiUsa’s irritating factor. Ugh, I still cringe at the thought of her introductory episode.

As for character favorites, I take turtle dude Motoki as my pick. Aside from the fact that his character had the superior sense of courting Mako, his quirky personality and dorky obsession makes him oddly adorable. It’s probably me and my partiality with geeky-types.

If I were to be asked for a recommendation, I’d say go for it. But only if you’re ready to accept this as a parody of a usually maligned series. For allits faults and limitations, it was an interesting and fairly enjoyable experience.