Waking up in the dark, dingy ruins of Elysium, they are guided by Helios to his imprisoned, physical body, where he proceeds to explain Mamoru’s history as bearer of the Golden Crystal. Dream 8: Elysium Dream:’ Usagi has a dream where she is married to Mamoru, but they are both preteen children. Zirconia prevents the Quartet’s betrayal by transforming them into baubles, and then turns the two youngest Guardians into shards of glass, that she bestows as gifts to her master. Unlike the anime, the manga has been largely reluctant to give villains redemption arcs, even establishing the Witches 5 were soulless, genetically engineered monsters, so the show’s creators would be prevented from going against that. Saturn pursues the Quartet with Chibiusa into the Circus, where she tells them they are not their selves, and that they have been manipulated. Frustrated with how long her girls are taking to subdue the Guardians, Zirconia appears and proves she’s no slouch, casting a spell on Usagi and Mamoru that deages them until they become infants, forcing Helios to intervene and spirit them away to Elysium. Dream 7: Mirror Dream:’ Both sets of Sailor Guardians do battle with the Quartet, while Chibiusa, Usagi, and Mamoru eventually overcome their sickness to join the fray. (She feels more like a Jim Henson character than a Takeuchi one.) She also has the shapeshifting outline of a malevolent face on her robes, which is quite creepy and fun to look at.

Lettered by Lys Blakesleeīefore we begin: Zirconia is a really underappreciated villain, possibly for reasons we’ll go into later, but she’s a wonderfully designed vizier, distinct from many “Sailor Moon” villains because of her wizened appearance, which automatically gives her so much character. Translated by Alethea Nibley & Athena Nibley

Helios sailor moon black and white