"Guess what?! Guess what?! My birthday is here! And that means cake and presents! I wonder what Mamo-chan is getting me? I would really love a pair of glass slippers so I can feel like a fairy tale princess. But there's a Daimon who wants to ruin my special day in a big way! I am Sailor Moon! In the Name of the Moon, I'll punish you!”
— Usagi Tsukino
(CWi Episode: "Birthday Blues: Part 1")
Usagi is in tears when it looks like everyone, especially Mamoru, forgot about her birthday. But she'll soon have bigger reasons to cry when Mamoru's birthday present for her, a pair of glass slippers, come infused with a Daimon egg making her the next target. Things only go downhill from there...
Tropes in this episode include:
- Alliterative Title: "Birthday Blues" in the Cloverway version.
- Amazonian Beauty: Many of the Daimons could fit this trope since they're all strong monster women of their own right. But Cenicienta fits the trope perfectly given her muscular physique and gladiator attire.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Being born on June 30th does not excuse Usagi from suffering the wrath of Kaolinite and Cenicienta.
- Birthday Episode: It's Usagi's 15th birthday and she goes through a roller coaster of emotions based on the events that occur throughout her special day.
- Bitch Slap: Usagi slaps Mamoru after realizing that he forgot it was her birthday.
- Black Comedy: After hearing that it's Usagi's birthday, Minako casually tells her that she's one step closer to death.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Cenicienta can morph her right arm into a long blade to attack.
- Brought Down to Normal: Thanks to the Daimon knocking aside her Cosmic Heart Compact, Usagi is unable to transform for the entire episode.
- Cliffhanger: The last scene has Usagi holding onto Tuxedo Mask who's imprisoned in glass while Kaolinite and her Daimon share an Evil Laugh over their upcoming victory.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Michiru admits that she would have dumped her boyfriend on the spot if he forgot her day of birth like Mamoru did.
- Dramatic Irony: Kaolinite comes into possession of the Silver Crystal, a legendary artifact of absolute power that was sought after by villains from the past and future. And what does she do with it? Step on it with her heel with the intention of breaking it.
- Dude in Distress: Tuxedo Mask ends up imprisoned in a block of glass by Cenicienta.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Michiru isn't amused when Haruka offers to be Usagi's new lover after she considers dumping Mamoru.
- Everyone Has Standards: Michiru sounds legitimately disappointed in Mamoru when Usagi declares he forgot her birthday, and is none too pleased with Haruka flirting with Usagi while she's upset.
- Fairy Tale Motifs: Usagi's wish is for a pair of glass slippers so she can feel like a true princess, like Cinderella.
- The Gadfly: While contemplating on whether Usagi has a Talisman or not, Neptune teases Uranus saying that it would be difficult for her given how much she likes Usagi.
- The Cloverway dub turns Amara into one, by having her threaten to start dating Darien if Serena doesn’t patch things up with him.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Played With. Mamoru doesn't even notice Kaolinite while she's pretending to be a shop clerk. Though Michiru and Haruka see through her disguise when they catch her spying on Mamoru as he's leaving.
- Hypocritical Humor: When Usagi raises her brooch up to transform, Cenicienta swats it away stating the following:Cenicienta (as she holds Usagi down with her bare hands and plans to remove her pure heart): Were you going to hit me with that?! You're a very dangerous person-cienta!
- Imagine Spot: After seeing the glass shoes on a window display, Usagi imagines herself as Cinderella leaving the ball only to have her lost slipper returned to her by Mamoru as her prince.
- Innocently Insensitive: Mamoru strikes a nerve with Usagi as he had zero idea it was her birthday today, making her feel worse as her friends "blew her off" earlier when she told them.
- It's All My Fault: Tuxedo Mask blames himself for letting Usagi be targeted after he bought the slippers without realizing they were tampered with.
- Jerkass Realization: While walking to Rei's place, Usagi accepts that she went too far with striking Mamoru and the action was completely uncalled for.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Inner girls share this reaction after Usagi confesses to physically abusing her boyfriend in public.
- Mood Whiplash: The mood is dreamy and soft as Usagi reunites with Mamoru on the streets, apologizes for hurting him, and is then gifted her glass slippers just like she wanted. But then the scene turns into a nightmare as Cenicienta emerges from the slipper ready to reap Usagi's Pure Heart.
- Not-So-Forgotten Birthday: The Inner girls act nonchalant after Usagi declares that it's her day of birth. They just acted that way so they could keep her upcoming Surprise Party a secret.
- Oh, Crap!: Usagi gets this when she realizes that she never told Mamoru when her birthday was. She gets another one when Cenicienta tosses aside her Cosmic Heart Compact before she can transform.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Kaolinite orders Usagi to surrender her Pure Heart otherwise she'll crush her brooch in front of her.
- Petal Power: Tuxedo Mask launches a pocket full of roses at Cenicienta that emit bursts of petals to distract her long enough to rescue his princess.
- Poor Communication Kills: Had Usagi informed Mamoru early on about when her birthday was, he would have actually remembered it like her friends and possibly could have bought a pair of glass slippers that weren't tampered by Kaolinite.
- The Power of Glass: Born from a glass slipper, Cenicienta can trap people in different forms of glass.
- Roofhopping: Tuxedo Mask escorts Usagi through the rooftops of Tokyo to escape from Cenicienta.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Cenicienta shares many characteristics with the Glass Youma Derella given that they're both blue skinned monster women who can trap people in glass and are named after the fairy tale princess.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Neptune reminds Uranus that by taking Usagi's Pure Heart if it's revealed to be a Talisman, then she will have to die and the two of them will have to bear the fallout.
- To Be Continued: A "To be continued..." subtitle is added at the end of Cloverway's dub of the episode (only the edited version which aired on Cartoon Network and was released on VHS).
- Villain Opening Scene: The episode begins with Kaolinite informing Professor Tomoe that she's found what she believes is someone with the Purest of Hearts. Professor Tomoe gives her his blessing to proceed, stating that she's the only one he can count on.
- Wham Shot: Usagi's Pure Heart is unveiled and emits bright white light.
- Wheel o' Feet: Usagi summons this ability as she leaves her party so she can find Mamoru and apologize to him.
