"Usagi’s Disaster: Beware of the Clock of Confusion" is the 9th episode of the 1st season of the Sailor Moon anime and the 9th episode overall. It aired in Japan on May 9, 1992. The DiC English dub title for this episode is "Time Bomb" and it aired in North America in Canada on September 1, 1995, and then in the US on September 15, 1995.
Summary[]
Usagi and Ami go to the city to enjoy some shopping, where they find a clock store selling a clock that resembles Luna. Later that day, Usagi is happy to learn that her mother bought the exact same clock as a gift. But that night, the clocks from the store emit a strange light, making Usagi and the rest of Tokyo very impatient.
Plot[]
Jadeite tells Queen Beryl that people expend a lot of energy while under stress or pressed for time, and uses this to gather energy by speeding up time.
While going window shopping, Usagi and Ami check out a clock store which is having a big sale. Usagi wants to buy a clock that resembles Luna but doesn't have enough money for it since she spent most of it at the arcade. Ami says she can pick up Usagi and take her to school since she’s stressing about being late. When Usagi gets home, her mother has bought her the clock that looks like Luna, though Luna says it looks nothing like her. She also got one for Usagi's father to get him to work on time.
At nighttime, the clocks activate, as they have been charged with dark energy as part of Jadeite's plan. Luna discovers this as she’s awakened by the strange activity. The next day, when Ami comes to pick up Usagi, she discovers that Usagi has already gone to school even though it’s 7:00 AM. Usagi's father rushes off to work.
In class, Ms. Haruna, Naru and Usagi and Umino are stressing over how long it’s taking for everyone to get to class, even though it’s 8:00 AM, they seem to think it’s already past lunch. Insisting they all have plans, the classroom packs up and gets ready to go home.
Luna races up to Ami with the alarm clock strapped to her back, and creates a Mini-Supercomputer for her. As they open up the clock, Ami barely misses a beam of dark energy that shoots out, looking back inside, there seems to be no batteries. Luna points out this isn’t a normal clock, and that everyone acting irrationally has just brought a clock from the new store. In the meantime, cars are crashing into each other and people are getting injured, as Jadeite collects a heap of energy. The woman who sells the clocks is actually Jadeite's Youma, Ramua.
After a bus driver crashes a bus that Usagi is on, Ami and Luna tell Usagi about what the Dark Kingdom is doing. Usagi, still being influenced by time starts to plan her mission erratically to save time, as Luna tries to calm her down. Usagi makes a hurried transformation into Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury following afterwards. Sailor Moon uses Moon Tiara Action to create a hole in the door, then she and Sailor Mercury make a hasty entrance. Unfortunately. the opening closes before Luna can pursue them. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury confront Ramua, following her into a time warp. As Sailor Moon wanders around aimlessly, Sailor Mercury encourages her to take a moments pause, using the Supercomputer from earlier.
Ramua temporarily ages Sailor Moon backwards as she shrinks down to a child. Sailor Mercury cautions her as time is very unstable inside where they’re being held. Sailor Mercury finally locates Ramua using the computer’s calculations and heads towards the direction. Once they find Ramua, she freezes them in time before they can stop her plot. Just then, Tuxedo Mask, who has already entered the clock store, throws a rose at the main clock that is the entrance to the time warp, damaging it and causing the spell to wear off. Sailor Mercury uses Bubble Spray and Sailor Moon destroys Ramua with Moon Tiara Action. The entire clock store disappears, and Usagi and Ami appear where it was. Later, Usagi and Naru head for a bakery that’s offering free cakes to the fastest eater, Usagi trips and begins to cry.
International Dub Titles[]
- Brazilian Portuguese: O desastre de Serena – Cuidado com o relógio! ("Serena's Disaster - Beware of the Clock!")
- European Portuguese: Cuidado com os relógios ("Watch out for the Clocks")
- European Spanish: Relojes en Rebajas ("Watches for Sale")
- French: Problèmes de temps ("Time Problems")
- German: Keine Zeit ("No Time")
- Hungarian: Időzavar (Time Pressure)
- Latin America Spanish: El desastre de Serena: Cuidado con el reloj ("Serena's Misfortune: Watch out for the Clocks")
- Polish: Uwaga na zegary! ("Watch Out for Clocks!")
Changes[]
Dub Changes[]
- The shot where Usagi's cheek is cut by the youma is edited out of the DiC dub.
First Appearances[]
- Sailor Mercury's Mercury Goggle and Super Computer
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is one of two episodes to only feature Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. The other being the prior episode where Sailor Mercury is introduced.
- Error: When Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury enter the second dimension (the one with static in the background), Usagi says "Not here!" As she says this, Ami's voice can be seen moving as though she is speaking, but she says nothing during the scene. This occurs at 17 minutes, 16 seconds in.
- When inside the time warp, Ami's computer screen displays the text "Arrest mode" and "1. Serve the public trust; 2. Protect the innocent; 3. Uphold the law" which is a tribute to RoboCop. This occurs at 17:20 in the English version and at 18:40 in the Japanese version.
- However, on Ami's computer screen, "Innocent" is spelled as "Innolent."
- When Usagi is on the bus, a Minako look-alike can be seen.
- In this episode, Usagi and Ami were shopping in Tokyo's Harajuku district, a place known for its trendy shops and flamboyant fashions.