In the manga, after the eclipse, and the Dead Moon Circus arrives, things in the general public seem normal, with exception of this new circus that arrives in town. Other than a tiger being released, the public seems to be ignorant of the dangers of this new enemy (with the DMC's focus on attacking the Sailor Senshi rather than the people directly).

But as trash is piling in the streets, people fail to notice Lemures lurking in the waste; the tent performances are so enthralling, they don't see exits vanish; and it is not until the circus tent is destroyed, where the real danger is revealed: the eclipse never ended and the Dark Moon was looming over Earth the entire time, corrupting the planet, while the public remained ignorant.

Yeah, I feel like this is a sub-theme of the whole first half of the arc. The Inner's distractions before they power up as they handle their feelings on their dreams goes right along with the example you gave above.

Though maybe in some respects, in the whole manga the people seem oblivious to all these attacks at times xD

This really struck me in our conversation during this year's manga club as well!

The girls seem like they're all in their own little worlds a bit... So much so that the Amazoness Quartet can throw a rock at them and they just kinda go "Ouch. Ok, whatever..."

It's interesting that waking up from their dazes or the dream-like quality of their day-to-day life reveals a nightmare. I think the whole arc is a nice way to highlight the difference between actual dreams/ambitions and daydreams/distractions that way.

I never realized this until now. Brings a whole new meaning to the term "Bread and Circuses".

SpikeDevilman wrote:

I never realized this until now. Brings a whole new meaning to the term "Bread and Circuses".

Omg, I have never heard of that phrase before, but that is just perfect.

And I do think that this is a very clever view on the villains.