SAILOR MOON S: THE MOVIE-- HEARTS OF ICE (1994)

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *cosmological, metaphysical, psychological*


I've never been a big fan of the manga/anime franchise SAILOR MOON, though I must admit it's one of the few Japanese properties that's enjoyed high visibility in the U.S. Still, this stand-alone movie has the advantage of being based on a manga-tale by the creator of the Sailor Scouts, so at least it has the necessary blend of sentiment and silliness.

Since the movie appeared around the same time as the third season of the animated TV show, the script makes no attempt to provide new viewers with the histories of the main character, middle-school girl Usagi (a.k.a. Sailor Moon), or any of her ensemble-mates, most of whom are named against planets in the solar system. (One exception is a pint-sized kid, "Sailor Chibi Moon," meaning "child moon," who has her own complicated arc in the TV series.) To be sure, the rest of the Sailor Scouts don't have much personality, so their primary contribution is to bring all sorts of cosmic powers to bear on the threat du jure. Sailor Moon's civilian ID pretty much sells the rest of them, since young Usagi has all the faults impossible for most heroes, in that she's conceited, flighty, ditzy and occasionally chicken-hearted. The appeal of the series focuses on Usagi's consistent ability to get over her weaknesses and metamorphose into her "higher self," Sailor Moon.

One regular character-- albeit not a member of the hero-ensemble-- is Luna, one of two intelligent cats who hang around with the Scouts and give advice. (Luna is female, the other cat, Artemis, is male.) As the primary threat approaches Earth-- an evil "snow fairy," Princess Kaguya (named after a character in Japanese folklore)-- Luna becomes the fulcrum of the "B-story." After suffering an injury, Luna is taken in by an astonomer named Kakeru. This fellow doesn't have any idea that Luna is an intelligent alien cat, but Luna falls in love with him despite the biological impossibility. Kakeru has an astronaut-girlfriend, Himeko, but the two of them have had a falling-out. Kakeru, despite being a scientist, is obsessed with the legends of Japanese snow-fairies, and he becomes involved with the evil Kaguya when she and her "snow dancers" arrive on Earth, planning to freeze the planet for no particular reason.

The best action occurs at the climax, as all of the cosmically powered Scouts take on the ice-queen, but Luna gets the emotional crux of the story. Given that she already knows her love for the human Kakeru is impossible, she gets Sailor Moon's help so that Luna can take the form of the folkloric Kaguya in order to get him free of the evil ice-queen's thrall.

The potential conflict between practical, scientific Himeko and the overly dreamy-minded Kakeru is one that might have been better developed-- but since SAILOR MOON was focused on adolescent audiences, this particular psychological conundrum remains unsolved.