So book 9 is where each senshi ends up going off against enemies individually. While the chibi versions of themselves still throw me off a bit-I know it's supposed to be a manifestation of their soldier instincts (at least that's how I've seen it) I did like how they each had to overcome something. It was like, the little bit of character development and main focus on them alone for a bit-stuff like that should have been there throughout the entire series. I always felt like the other senshi were really shoved aside (with the exception of minako-she didn't get shoved aside until the death buster arc.)The way the art is for the backgrounds, showing the entire light/serene atmosphere when each of them discover their new powers are some of my favorite panels in the entire series. Though I do feel bad that Mercury, Mars and Jupiter all had to focus on romance-the entire "Oh, you're not complete 'till you have a man" message was not only out of character for them to even accept, but it was just outright random-at least to me. It was clear that they weren't looking for romance (especially mars), so why give that message in the first place? I know it was to try to throw off their morale, but jeez. 

At least their own personal battles were brutal in their own ways. Jupiter getting shocked to death? Mercury nearly drowning? Venus' was my personal favorite-the entire tricking her to be alone to save kids-while being frustrated at not being able to transform but WHO CARES THERE ARE KIDS TO SAVE only to find out SURPRISE THEY'RE NOT KIDS! Also-artemis's human form was great. The very short development and interactions between venus and atremis in this arc was reminiscent of how they were in Sailor V-I really wish there was more of that. I Also love how phobos and deimos get their own senshi forms and we hear a bit about how their mars' guardians-again, I wish this was present throughout the series, or at least earlier. 

I loved seeing what chibiusa would have looked like had she actually grown-even though we get a look at that beforehand with dark lady-and the conflict the poor kid felt when it turns out helios was looking for sailor moon instead well not entirely, but that's for a different volume discussion was well, paced. Also, was helios astral-projecting himself the entire time since his body was actually held captive? I don't remember if we get a clear answer or not. 

Also the entire "dark rose in the lung" thing that mamoru has to deal with is just so dang creepy-I love it. I love it to pieces-even the black blood thing. It was my first encounter with a spooky supernatural and serious illness being deliberately cast as a curse on a protagonist in any franchise-I first read this when I was 10 or so-and it blew my little mind. When most heroes get cursed in some way or another, they find a way to shake it off fairly quickly and it didn't even impact them that much. But this was different-it seriously impacted mamoru to the point he's bedridden. It's just so outright diabolical-Like THIS is how an enemy is supposed to act-even when not outright hunting the protagonists, doing little yet incredibly effective things to constantly make the heroes journey worse.  

It felt like the dark moon circus as a whole were far more diabolical in their quest to make the senshi fall and take the crystal, and the entire arc seems more intense in that regard then the previous ones. Like other chapters were intense in other arcs, sure-but there were breaks. Here, there are no breaks. Just Wham, wham, wham-one serious thing after another that they rarely cover up with carefree and comedic scenes. The only exception I can think of is the body switching thing-but even then the comedy is thrown aside to use this change to have the characters-mostly chibiusa-dramatically reflect on themselves. It's like you can tell naoko's improved in her writing and pacing and plot points at this point in the series.

The volume starts with Usagi and Chibi-Usa having switched ages. This is one of my favorite gags in the series, because not only do we get to see what Usagi would've looked like as a kid, but also what a real grown-up Chibi-Usa would look like. The older Chibi-Usa that we see here is very different from Black Lady. Black Lady had glass like eyes (which was a point Naoko Takeuchi made the in Black Moon arc artbook, IIRC) but the older Chibs in this volume has the body she'd always dreamed of, but also the determination we've come to know is a part of Chibi-Usa's character when she volunteers to go home first.

Another interesting thing that came up as I reread this volume was a question of who exactly was the maiden Helios looking for? He tells Chibi-Usa after she got magically aged up that she really is the maiden he's looking for. But later on, after Fish Eye is defeated, he asks Sailor Moon if she is Princess Serenity, implying that Princess Serenity is the maiden he seeks. This would lead one to assume Helios had confused the maiden in his vision (which is revealed in the next volume), Princess Lady Serenity, with Princess Serenity. After all, the two of them do look alike and are related. But in the next volume, after Chibi Moon awakens him with a kiss, he thinks to himself that she really is the maiden he'd been looking for. This made me wonder if maybe Helios knew very well that Princess Serenity and Princess Lady Serenity are two individuals, and he is really looking for two separate maidens: one is Princess Serenity, the person described to him by a vision he had; the other is Princess Lady Serenity, the woman who delivered those prophecies to him. Openly, the maiden he was looking for was Princess Serenity/Sailor Moon, who could help find the Golden Crystal to lift the curse on the Earth and Elysion. But secretly, I think he was also trying to find Lady Serenity, likely because he'd fallen for her after their fleeting meeting. That's why when he sees Chibi-Usa's grown up form he was so happy that she was indeed the maiden he sought; he had found one of the two maidens he was looking for. But with Elysion, the Earth, and Endymion in peril, Helios had to focus on finding the maiden who would help him lift the curse, even if his heart is searching for someone else.

Shifting gears a bit, we come to the Outer family chapter where we see that Hotaru has been growing like a weed after the eclipse, leaving her parents on edge by its implications. Compounded by the fact that none of them could transform, and thus feel powerless, made the scene where a fully grown up Hotaru comes into the room and reveals to them what has been happening to the others while they were gone. Hotaru then gives all of them their sailor crystal, which I thought was a bit too quick and neat compared to the trials and tribulations the Inners had to go through. Whereas Ami, Rei, Mako, and Minako all had to face some form of personal doubt, the Outers were quite literately handed their crystal XD;; But beyond that, it's interesting that Hotaru seems to be the one most knowledgeable about senshi lore, and knew they would need the power of their sailor crystal for the battle ahead. Realistically, I don't think Naoko Takeuchi planned for each senshi to have a sailor crystal when she first started writing Sailor Moon, and so there are noticeable plot holes on we progress from arc to arc. Still, given how much awakening of one's inherent power there is in this arc, it makes me wonder what sort of power the senshi had been tapping into before hand. Were they drawing on just a small fraction of their sailor crystal's power, with the rest being dormant?

The volume ends with Chibi-Usa looking up at an ominous sky, and thinking about Helios, who had been cursed to take the form of a Pegasus and imprisoned, and how she wants to help him. This reminds me of a scene earlier in the book, after Helios finally reveals the curse and the intent of the Dead Moon Circus to Usagi and the others. When Helios' strength wanes, we see that the curse he's under takes the form of wings sprouting painfully from his back as his human form fades back into that of a Pegasus. This scene stood out to me, because so often in shoujo manga, and Sailor Moon in particular, wings have been associated with the light, goodness, and righteousness. But here wings are a manifestation of a terrible curse, and I find it fascinating that in this instance Naoko had inverted a trope she had used repeatedly in her own story.

Snow white did become queen and all, and she didn't let the evil woman off the hook. One of her first orders was to place the woman in iron shoes and have her dance on hot coals until she died. Gruesome, yes, but fitting since poor snow white had been through so much. Another major difference is that there was a different assassination attempt before the poison apple-she appears as that old woman not once, but twice-and gave her a magical comb that made a strand of snow-white's hair once she combed it-turned it alive like a snake and had it nearly strangle her. Then the entire poison apple thing happened.