“Preying on poor young girls who dream about becoming fit is just about the most evil thing you can do! It's unforgivable! I am Sailor Moon! And In the Name of the Moon, I'll punish you!”
— Usagi Tsukino
(DiC Episode: "Slim City")
Usagi freaks out when she gains weight, according to the bathroom scale. Her family mentions that it's not a big deal, but she could eat less junk food and exercise more; Luna doesn't help by drawing Usagi with a ballooning figure and saying she'll look like that in six months. Usagi and her friends decide to attend their teacher's gym. Unknown to them, it's another Dark Kingdom plot.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed. The DiC dub has Serena's parents trying to convince her that gaining one pound isn't a big deal, whereas Usagi's parents in the original gently chide her about her bad eating habits and lack of exercise.
- The Bad Guy Wins: This is one of the few episodes where Jadeite manages to run away with the energy that he stole. Usagi reveals that Ms. Haruna needed to recover for a week.
- Bowdlerized: A scene with Usagi in the bath at the gym was edited in the DiC dub to raise the water level in order to hide "Serena's" cleavage.
- Brick Joke: Usagi binging on pork buns results in her gaining a little weight by the end.
- Chubby Chaser: Motoki confesses that he finds people with curves and pounds to be more attractive.
- Covert Pervert: Umino took photos of Miss Haruna when she was working out.
- Crush Blush: Usagi and her friends get like this when they see Jadeite in his flamboyant trainer disguise.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Usagi was not impressed by Luna's "fat" drawing of her.
- Hardwork Montage: Usagi and her friends are shown working out alongside Jadeite's brainwashed trainers.
- Jerkass Ball: Luna is even more a jerk than usual, belittling Usagi about her eating habits and even making an inappropriate drawing of her.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shingo looked concerned for Usagi when the latter thinks she's gained weight. At the end, when Usagi is back to her old self (at least mostly), he's relieved to have her back.
- Kick the Dog: Luna decides that drawing a picture of Sailor Moon as fatter is the best action to help a self-conscious middle school girl.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Jadeite sends three brainwashed bodybuilders after Sailor Moon. Though scared at first, when Luna points out that fighting will help her lose weight, she beats them up with her bare hands and without Tuxedo Mask showing up to save her.
- No Name Given: Usagi's other two friends in the episode (who continued to make sporadic appearances in the season) never received official names in the original. The DiC dub named the taller girl "Brandy" and in a different episode named the chubbier girl "Loraine".
- Pragmatic Adaptation: Both the DiC dub and the Viz dub have this, by referencing fad diets and unrealistic expectations for girls when Usagi has a Weight Woe. Jadeite says he's exploiting women that are seeking shortcuts and will treat their bodies as fat reservoirs, rather than those who want to become healthier. The DiC dub goes further by pointing out that technically teenagers shouldn't diet because it's a good way to wreck your health and develop eating disorders.
- The Prankster: In the DiC dub, Sammy messes with the scale so that Serena thinks she gained 1000 pounds.*
- Reused Character Design: The actress in the Shapelin commercial could pass for Naru's sister.
- Skewed Priorities: Rather then being concerned that their nerdy friend was stalking their homeroom teacher and took pictures of her without consent, the girls are more interested in learning where he saw her working out.
- Stupid Evil: Jadeite's latest scheme does gather energy, but the "stupid" part is that he will kill women in several days, rather than siphon it gradually so that they're just mildly exhausted. Luna notes that it's weird how the women who attend become sickly thin, including Ms. Haruna.
- Sword Pointing: In order to get her point across, Luna holds her claws near to Usagi's face after pouncing on her.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Usagi's two unnamed friends make some snippy remarks about each other.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Luna leaps on Usagi and sternly warns her of the Dark Kingdom's latest plot, all while holding her claw near to her face.
Today on Sailor Moon, The evil masters of the Negaverse steal into our dreams, making us believe that only the very thin can be beautiful. An extremely dangerous notion! Watch and see! Sailor Moon will be right back!
