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PGSM - Act Eight
Before the opening song, Usagi recalls how V told her to think of Tuxedo Kamen as her enemy, but she decides she just can't do that. They already have enough bad guys to fight without adding Tux to the list.
After the opening song, Makoto, Rei and Ami sit in Crown, waiting for Usagi, who is far too late.
Makoto decides to go look for her, but Rei basically tells her that Usagi should be able to take care of herself. So, Makoto sits back down.
Motoki is taking pictures of himself and his turtle when Usagi rushes in. He tries to apologize for the way he acted at the amusement park - getting all claustrophobic - but she just rushes past.
When Usagi gets downstairs, we learn that she called this meeting... and then was late for it.
The reason she called the meeting was to announce an important development: a "Be like Anio Minako's Mascot Contest" the winner gets a signed stuffed animal of Minako's mascot: "Nako Nako"
Rei is less than impressed. This isn't official senshi business.
Usagi asks them to help her. It seems that she's been having a really bad day. She did the wrong homework, she has a test tomorrow, and the contest is tomorrow. So she has to redo her homework, study and make a costume... she needs help.
Makoto sighs, but says that Usagi has gotten herself into a mess, and between the four of them, they should be able to work things out.
Rei disagrees, she thinks that Usagi needs to learn to solve her own problems, without turning to others for help.
So this leads to a big fight. Rei and Makoto don't see eye to eye on a lot of things.
Zoisite is playing the piano... which is not a big surprise. Although the music that he's playing off of is really rainbowy and pretty. He's using his music to search for Sailor V.
The door to his room opens and he stops playing as Jadiete walks in. He needs help to defeat the senshi, and he can't ask Nephrite. (Obviously ^_^)
Meanwhile, Nephrite tattles to Beryl. Jadiete is a failure, she should give up on him.
But, according to Beryl, Jadiete is *trying* which is just as important. And from her tone, she seems to imply that Nephrite isn't. So Jadiete still wins.
Usagi writes her wish to win the contest on a sheet of cardboard and asks Makoto to take it to the temple to hang it up. This is not weird. It's a real thing people do there.
Makoto is reluctant to go, considering that in her last scene she fought with Rei, but she's agrees to go. Usagi also asks her to try to make up with Rei.
When she reaches the temple, Rei is having a rather emotional telephone conversation. She doesn't want to see "Him".
Makoto asks what's wrong, but Rei yells at her for eavesdropping and says that she will not be friends with her. This seems a little harsh to me, but they have been fighting a lot lately.
Makoto shrugs it off and leaves, without hanging up Usagi's card.
Back at the Tsukino residence, Usagi is working hard. She figures that if she gets everything done, Makoto and Rei won't have any reason to fight anymore.
Her brother and mother are shocked by this new development in Usagi. Her mom thinks it's a good thing, but her brother worries that she might snap.
After she finishes her homework, Usagi works on her costume, and practices posing in the mirror.... just as her mom comes in with a snack for her...
Her mother thinks that Shingo (Usagi's brother) was right. Usagi has snapped. She tells her daughter that it's alright, she doesn't need to study anymore.
At school the next day, Usagi and her friends wear their costumes and practice for the contest, but Usagi is so sleepy. Still, Ami and Makoto are proud of her.
But Makoto feels a little bad for not hanging up Usagi's wish.
Back in the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite explains that he will send Jadiete's spirit to Sailor Moon, wherever she is. Jadiete agrees, and Zoisite starts to play. Playing the piano with gloves on is impressive.
Makoto heads back to the shrine. This time she will hang up Usagi's wish. A sound makes her turn and she sees Rei being forced into a black car.
Thinking that the priestess is being kidnapped, Makoto runs after her. I guess she thinks that by running she can catch up.
They take Rei to a hotel, and park in an underground lot.
Quick cut to the contest, where girls dressed in various blue costume are lining up, then back to the hotel. Makoto spots the woman who took Rei and follows her. She gets into a fight with the security guards, and wins. (They aren't all that effective). The woman comes out again and is about to call for help when Rei interrupts, saying that Makoto is a friend of hers. Makoto barges in a little smugly to see... a very different looking Rei. She's not wearing her gray uniform, nor is she wearing her priestess robes. Instead, her hair is done, and she's dressed in a soft pink and white dress.
Rei's father wants to meet with her. He is a busy politician, but once a month he has dinner with Rei. Makoto feels silly, she thought Rei was being kidnaped and she came to rescue her. That earns a smile from Rei, and she tells Makoto that it was a sort of kidnaping. She didn't want to go.
Zoisite is still playing the piano as he searches for Sailor Moon.
The radio in the hall where the contest is being held switches to d59 and his music blares through the speakers. Only Usagi seems to notice it though.
Rei realizes, based on what her Keeper says, that dinner with her father is just a publicity stunt so he can appear to be the "Ideal Parent" for the next election. She loses it. How can he pretend to be the ideal parent when he abandoned her at the temple after her mother died?
Makoto, who is a bit stronger, helps Rei eject the other woman, giving the two girls some privacy.
Rei tells Makoto that her father hates her, that he left her alone, which is why she always does things on her own. She can't stand to pretend anymore.
Makoto suggests that she run away.
Somehow, Makoto gets out of the room, finds a bellhop uniform and cart and makes her way to Rei's room, passing by the guards at the door. It is not explained how she does this.
A few minutes later she emerges again, pushing the guards out of her way.
When they get a bit away from the room, Rei peeks out from under the table cloth. She's safe.
Makoto runs down the hall, pushing Rei (back in her usual red and white now) along and they end up in the parking lot, giggling the whole way.
As she picks up her bag to leave, Makoto accidentally dumps it out. Rei helps her pick up, surprised by all of the cute girl-ish stuff that she finds in the bag.
Somehow, in the course of running through the hotel on a cart, the two girls have become friends.
Just in time too. Luna calls them to report trouble.
All of the competitors are passed out on the floor. All except Usagi.
Zoisite sends Jadiete's spirit flying to where Sailor Moon is.
He rightly assumes that the only girl still awake is Sailor Moon, and he runs at her.
She dodges and Makes Up... only to have Jadiete grab her from behind right after she finishes her transformation... which I think is a pretty slick move on his part.
And a fight scene commences.
Outside, Minako arrives at the hall, only to have the radio in her car switch to that strange station and she hears Zoisite's music... and then she sees him lurking about.
But as soon as she switches the radio off, he's gone.
Jadiete seems to be winning against Moon. He throws a snazzy purple attack at her which knows her off her feet.
But then, in come Mars and Jupiter to save the day. As always, they cartwheel in. (If it was me, I'd just walk... but that's less dramatic). So there's a fight scene, Jadiete vs Mars and Jupiter. I dunno, I think this one looks silly. Camera angles aren't the best, because you can tell that they aren't connecting half the time.
Jupiter gets a new attack: Flower Hurricane and Mars does her usual one, but they attack without the usual backgrounds.
Jadiete absorbs their attacks in a green swirling bubble of doom, which he's about to throw at them, when suddenly he glows red and vanishes. Whatever it was looked painful.
Mars voices everybody's question at that point: "What happened?"
They hurry over to Usagi who is not hurt, but very tired. Bad guy defeated, Mars and Jupiter are friends, homework done, contest entered. Time for a nap.
Since she's asleep, she misses the contest, so Makoto and Rei decide to pull together their own costumes and enter.
So, they each dress up and strike poses on the stage, but... they come away with participation prizes.
As they leave, they both agree never to tell anyone about this.
Jadiete has collapsed on Zoisite's floor. Soul Flight took a lot out of him. Zoisite is a bit amused, but he tells Jadiete that that wasn't bad for his first time.
He sits back down at the piano. Even though Sailor V got away, he did find her.
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