Following the defeat of the Death Busters, Usagi and Mamoru prepare to send their daughter Chibi-Usa back to the 30th century. When Chibi-Usa's departure is delayed due to a lunar eclipse, the trio decide to view it for themselves and catch a glimpse of something coming out of the eclipse followed by appearances of a talking Pegasus who pleads for their help. The arrival of the mysterious Dead Moon Circus soon brings with it phenomenon based around nightmares and the Sailor Guardians soon find themselves up against a new enemy.
Following Season three of Sailor Moon Crystal which covered the Death Busters arc, it was announced one year afterwards that a fourth season covering the Dream arc would be produced with the announcement later stating the arc would be presented in a two part theatrically released film making it the first such theatrically released Sailor Moon property since 1995's Sailor Moon SuperS: The 9 Sailor Soldiers Unite! Miracle of the Black Dream Hole! (Think there's enough words in that title?). The films were picked up for international distribution by Netflix continuing with the same dub cast as previous Sailor Moon Crystal installments, and most of the characters of the Dream arc voiced by the same dub actors who played them in the redub of Sailor Moon Super S (with the exception of Helios). The series has received mostly positive reviews from both critics and fans, and having watched both the Super S adaptation as well as this adaptation, I can say Sailor Moon Eternal continues Sailor Moon Crystal's streak of taking the foundation arcs and offering a different experience on the material, but at the same time I really have to question why it was necessary to put this arc in two films rather than letting it play in TV format.
Unlike previous Sailor Moon films such as Sailor Moon R: The Promise of a Rose or Sailor Moon S: Hearts in Ice that are designed to be self-contained stories with your "beginning, middle and end", Sailor Moon Eternal are not films for those who haven't seen the previous three seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal as Eternal directly follows on from the cliffhanger ending of Season Three and expects you to be familiar with prior events. While The Promise of a Rose or Hearts in Ice acknowledged developments or characters from the series continuity, the storylines were specifically designed as jumping on points to the series for the uninitiated so it made sense for them to be feature films as they allowed established fans to revisit characters in one off adventures and also served as jumping on points for the those unfamiliar with the franchise. While it's not unheard of for something like a TV series to get a theatrical film treatment, it's rare you have one that's a direct follow on to a series with three seasons worth of material its expecting the audience to be familiar with.
In terms of how Eternal approaches the Dream arc, much like the other three seasons of Crystal it does it well, but it doesn't feel like it's designed in mind for film format and feels like several TV episodes joined end to end and presented as a feature film (sort of like compilation films done for the likes of Guren Lagann or Madoka Magica films). The Dream arc covers 11 chapters in the manga, and Sailor Moon's previous approach to adapting the manga was a ratio of 1 episode for every manga chapter which some had an issue with, but I personally didn't mind it due to the different approach to tone and character. However with the combined run time of both Eternal films clocking in at a collective 160 minutes and accounting for TV standards of opening intro, recap, animation and opening credits giving a generous estimate of 18 minutes of story per episode, Eternals total runtime really only allows by the standards of the established ratio 8 chapters maybe 9 if you want to be extra generous and stretch. Eternal feels like its trying to keep the same structure as the events in the manga, but because it has less time to space out these events like it did in Sailor Moon Crystal you're getting the plot details but they don't resonate as well because it keeps moving without allowing moments to sink in.
Sailor Moon Eternal still boasts the strong animation and music of Sailor Moon Crystal, and the dub cast does as good a job as ever bringing their characters to life. I did like the addition of a ticking clock element for both Mamoru and Usagi that added some desperation to the stakes, and I also enjoyed following up with the characters of the Outer Guardians following the departure at the end of Season Three, but the way in which the story rushes through every point didn't allow me to enjoy these elements to the extent I wanted and I really feel this goes back to the underlying issue of cramming this story arc into two feature films rather than allowing it to be a TV show as it clearly wants to be.
Sailor Moon Eternal has all the elements you've come to expect from the Sailor Moon Crystal series with gorgeous animation, engaging action, lovable characters, and strong relationships both romantic and platonic, but they're not giving the breathing room needed to get the full impact of the story. As is, Sailor Moon Eternal is fine, and if you're invested in the Sailor Moon Crystal continuity (as I am) you'll find all that you've come to love from this incarnation of the series, but it really wasn't designed to be told in feature films. There is talk that the Stars arc will be adapted next and when it is I'll gladly see it, but I really hope they return to TV in the next incarnation rather than creating a feature film gauntlet.
