Sailor Moon: Scent of a Monster: Chanela Will Steal Your Love review

Usagi’s brother, Shingo, gets a strange but irresistible pet, a creature called a Chanela that apparently smells like heroin feels. Three guesses as to who’s behind it all! Yup, it’s Jadeite’s latest scheme. While Usagi is pretty much convinced her brother is the most annoying creature on the face of the planet, she doesn’t want to see him die, so Sailor Moon lays the smackdown, careful not to reveal her face to Shingo in the process.

It’s interesting how in a bunch of these early episodes, Usagi’s cry-whining has some kind of nearly superhuman power to repel people. I wonder if this is a line of foreshadowing that simply never went anywhere. In the premiere episode, Sailor Moon’s odango caps magnified her crying, which stunned the youma Morga. In the anime, this power is never seen again, but in the manga, when she is legitimately crying over the death of Tuxedo Mask at the end of the Dark Kingdom arc, her tears save the day.

I’m sure I’m reading too far into this, but Shingo’s whole predicament in this episode bears a striking resemblance to what happens when a fad sweeps through the youth culture. Look at something like Tamagotchi or Pokemon, or even the reviled Furby. It’s like this fad sweeps the nation, turning everyone it touches into junkies that can’t think about anything else.

Jesus, Haruna-sensei takes even more abuse! How many of her students now have fat disciplinary files? Sure, we know their behavior is being affected by outside forces, but the school administration doesn’t.

On a scale 1 to Burning in Hell, how evil am I for laughing every time that little girl falls off her tricycle? Also, is it just me or did Luna totally kill that Chanela offscreen? Think about it. She’s a cat. She’s got two weapons, claws and teeth, which means that to take that motherfucker out, she either had to slash or bite it to death. Fuck! Luna is hardcore!

Moon Tiara Stardust is kind of an ass-pull and deus ex machina here, but it’s early enough in the series, when everything is still being established, that I’ll allow it. It would be nice if it were used ever again, but then again, once Sailor Moon gets the Moon Stick, there is a stardust-like effect when she uses it to heal, so it could be the same magic at play. But hey…if Luna knew about Moon Tiara Stardust, why didn’t she just mention that first? Yeah, Shingo’s been an ass to her, but come on!

It is interesting that, while the Sailor Senshi’s lack of masks has led to the general acceptance of a “glamour” to conceal their identities, on both occasions Sailor Moon encounters Shingo, she hides from him to avoid being recognized. Why Naru-chan, who is Usagi’s best friend, never recognizes her despite meeting Sailor Moon multiple times is a pretty glaring inconsistency. Also, the less said about Shingo transferring his crush from Sailor V to his own sister, the better. Props on Usagi for totally manipulating her brother into being nice to Luna. That was some crafty shit.

Like the episode prior, this one is comfortably mediocre. It doesn’t do anything new, though it does get points for addressing Luna’s residence in the Tsukino household. One could argue there’s some minor development for Shingo, but…eh, it’s weak at best. Alas, this is the curse of Sailor Moon, and that curse be named filler.

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