“This is unforgivable! Completely unforgivable! I'd never let anyone get away with kidnapping young girls who dream of finding love! But until the day when every family is safe, and love is a universal truth... I am Sailor Moon! And In the Name of the Moon, I'll punish you!”
— Usagi Tsukino
(DiC Episode: "An Uncharmed Life")
Usagi and Ami investigate a series of disappearances that involve vanishing buses and lucky amulets sold at a local shrine. And to their fortune, they gain the assistance of the shrine's cool maiden who is more powerful than what she appears to be.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Adaptation Expansion: The episode adds in a plot point about Jadeite using charms at the Hikawa Shrine to enthrall girls into getting onto the cursed bus. This was not present in the manga.
- Adaptational Context Change: In this episode, the bus kidnappings are another one of Jadeite's plans to gather energy for the Dark Kingdom. In the manga, Jadeite uses the kidnappings as a way to lure out the Sailor Guardians so he can finally kill them (Beryl had put him on notice for his past two failures, and he was trying ot redeem himself). He even explicitly states that instead of draining their energy, the kidnapping victims will be sacrificed to Queen Metalia, along with the Sailor Guardians. Also, instead of posing as someone working at the Hikawa Shrine, Jadeite was the one driving the bus in the manga.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: The DiC and Viz dubs downplay Grandpa Hino's perversions by describing him as overly friendly with everyone around him.
- Raye comes off as slightly nicer and more soft-spoken in the DiC dub. Notably, when Serena asks about the love charms, she calmly tells her that they were Jed's idea, while Rei coldly scolds Usagi, even telling her off after saying she wanted to be friends with her. Of course, Raye's more familiar personality surfaces at the end of the episode.
- Adapted Out: Mii, a girl who hangs around Hikawa Shrine, was one of the bus's first victims in the manga. She is absent in the anime.
- Big Damn Heroes: Along with Ami praying to her Transformation Pen to help the others escape the dimension, Tuxedo Mask also appears and drives the tethered buses with it's passengers into the real world.
- Breaking Old Trends: Sailor Mars becomes the first Guardian other then Moon to destroy a Monster of the Week.
- Crush Blush: Usagi, Naru, and Kuri blush red the moment they set their eyes on the cool beauty that is Rei Hino.
- Dimensional Traveler: The cursed buses are able to venture into another dimension where they store their countless victims so they can be drained of their energy.
- Dirty Old Man: Rei's grandfather is a pathetic pervert who constantly hits on the girls who visit his temple. Rei even states that he hits on boys too.
- Double Entendre: After seeing the shrine maiden for the first time, Usagi eagerly exclaims that she wouldn't mind doing "that" part time.
- Dub Name Change:
- Rei's name and pronunciation is basically unchanged, with the spelling changed to "Raye".
- Sailor Mars' attack "Fire Soul" is "Mars Fire Ignite".
- Foreshadowing: Before leaving Rei for the second time, Luna drops off a red pen for her to pick up. The climax reveals that Luna hypothesized that she was another Guardian and was correct to assume so.
- Get Out!: Rei tells this to a Karen who tries to accuse her grandfather for her own daughter's disappearance.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Jadeite gets himself hired as a shrine assistant and doesn't even need to hide his face or hair.
- Hugh Mann: In the DIC version, Jadeite shortens his fake disguise name by the not very creative or subtle name "Jed".
- Inconsistent Spelling: Rei's name is localized as "Raye" in the DIC episode, but the pronunciation is the exact same.
- Instant Waking Skills: Usagi wakes up inside a temple room the moment Naru mentions a hot guy.
- It Makes Sense in Context: Despite turning into a flight attendant just to board a bus, Usagi exclaims that it's her duty as a flight attendant to ensure the safe voyage of the travelers.
- Lovable Coward: Usagi chickens out of going on the cursed cus as soon as she sees the scary bus driver. This of course foils Ami and Luna's plan of getting on the bus to see its final destination. Though she does get the job done when push comes to shove.Usagi (on the floor crying): I don't wanna live like this anymore! (stands up with gusto) But I'll do it!!
- Magic Feather: Usagi manages to enter the scary bus by using her Disguise Pen to turn herself into a flight attendant.
- Miko: Rei Hino is a dedicated shrine maiden who takes her religious duties serious and helps manage the business affairs between her shrine and the public.
- Missing Child: A majority of the targets are unconscious teenage girls leaving their families worried sick about where they can be.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands:
- Sailor Moon activates her tiara's monster trapper effect to capture the bus driving youma.
- Ami prays to her Transformation Pen which creates a beacon of light that reaches the other dimension so the others can escape.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By burning the youma into smithereens, the portal that was created by the youma begins to disappear which puts everyone at risk of being trapped in the bus dimension.
- Not Helping Your Case: Usagi goes to Rei asking for any information that can help her regarding the disappearing buses. But having dealt with questioning from the police and angry citizens accusing her non-stop, Rei is quick to assume that Usagi is blaming her too and orders her to leave.
- Obnoxious Entitled Housewife: A woman's daughter bought charms at the shrine and went on the bus that disappeared. But instead of going to the bus company to complain, she decided to go to the shrine and blame Rei.
- Paper Talisman: Rei impulsively puts one on Usagi after sending an evil aura in the vicinity.
- Psychic Powers: The shrine maiden admits to having a variety of spiritual powers that she uses on a regular basis. And this is before she's revealed to be the next Sailor Guardian.
- Rule of Funny: When Rei first suspects foul play, she accidentally sticks a talisman on Usagi and knocks her out. It wouldn't have been as funny if it were anyone else.
- She Knows Too Much: Jadeite banishes Rei to the bus dimension after she uses her psychic intuition to learn that he is the source of the disappearances.
- Shrines and Temples: The episode introduces the Hikawa Shrine: Rei's home and the future base for the Sailor Guardians.
- Skewed Priorities: Ami is concerned that a group of brainwashed schoolgirls found the time to get Hikawa Shrine charms instead of studying for their exams.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Jadeite escapes to fight another day, while his monster is destroyed by Sailor Mars. This is different in the manga, where Sailor Mars's first act upon awakening her powers is to use her Fire Soul to burn Jadeite to death.
- Spider-Sense: Rei senses Jadeite's evil energy the moment he activates the charms on a group of girls leaving.
- Urban Legends: In only a short amount of time, the public has learned to beware of "The Cursed 6 o'clock Bus" which disappears upon reaching a bus stop where five streets meet taking its 50 passengers with it.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Rei's first scene has her thinking to herself that something sinister is approaching her home.
- Villain Opening Scene: The first part of the episode has Queen Beryl reminding Jadeite of his mission to collect human energy and find the Legendary Silver Crystal.
- Wham Episode: The hot-headed psychic Rei is revealed to be the third Pretty Guardian: Sailor Mars.
Today on Sailor Moon, we meet a mysterious girl at a mysterious temple where scary things keep happening! Busses full of people keep disappearing! Who could be doing it but the evil Jadeite. Can the Sailor Scouts truly stop him? Stick around! See what happens!
