Moon Power of Love: The Nightmare Ends

Moon Power of Love: The Nightmare Ends
愛のムーンパワー！ 悪夢の終わる時
Airing Information
Episode	EP 172, Season 5
Air Date (JP)	May 4, 1996
Written by	Ryota Yamaguchi
Directed by	Junichi Satou
Episode Guide
Previous	For Love: the Endless Battle in the Dark World
Next	Farewells and Encounters: the Transitioning Stars of Destiny

"Moon Power of Love: The Nightmare Ends" is the sixth episode of season five of Sailor Moon, and the 172nd of the overall Sailor Moon series. This episode concludes the season's first part, the Nehellenia arc. It first aired in Japan on May 4, 1996.

Summary

An injured and weary Usagi finally reaches Nehellenia's castle. Once there she realizes that all of her best and closest friends have been defeated by the Queen, however she is told more of Nehellenia's past and decides that the Queen deserves a second opportunity to fulfill her own lovely dreams as a child again.

Plot

As Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Saturn face off Queen Nehellenia (anime)Nehellenia, Chibi Moon clings onto a mesmerized Mamoru while desperately calling for him. Nehellenia continues to taunt them as well as attacking Saturn. As Saturn looks on to Chibi Moon desperately calling out for Mamoru, she remembers what Sailor Pluto told her about Chibi Moon's existence from a time paradox. Meanwhile, back at Hikawa Shrine, Artemis returns to Luna and Diana telling them that the people that are mesmerized by the mirrors are now trapped inside of them and that Nehellenia's curse is probably behind it all. The three cats still have faith that the Sailor Guardians can stop Nehellenia.

Usagi is then shown limping her way to Nehellenia's castle through the thorns and still holding on to Sailor Jupiter's rose earring that she lost from the previous episode. As Nehellenia continues to taunt the two Guardians, Chibi Moon begins to fade more as she continues desperately to call out for Mamoru. Mamoru somehow begins to twitch as Sailor Saturn urges Chibi Moon to keep calling out until Nehellenia uses her evil magic to make Mamoru shove Chibi Moon severely away from him. Saturn then uses Silence Wall to defend herself, Mamoru and Chibi Moon. Angry at Nehellenia for doing this, Sailor Saturn holds up her Silence Glaive and threatens to destroy her. Nehellenia laughs mockingly at this, but then realizes that Sailor Saturn is serious as she plans to die along with her. Saturn replies that she still has faith in Sailor Moon as she eyes on Nehellenia, who later becomes agitated from her eyes along with the seven other Guardians she captured.

As she attacks Sailor Saturn, her agitation peaks as she is haunted from Sailor Jupiter's voice asking her if she ever had a friend from the previous episode. As the attack continues, Sailor Saturn begs on Usagi to protect the future and Chibiusa then unleashes her Silence Glaive Surprise attack. The attack causes a rumbles which makes Usagi trip and see this, but the attack somehow missed Nehellenia as Chibi Moon is shown restraining Sailor Staurn from sacrificing herself. Chibi Moon then tells Saturn not to use that power or she'll die and reminded her about having faith in the Prince and Princess before collapsing. Nehellenia then blows Saturn's glaive away then traps her in the mirror.

Nehellenia then summons the sever other Guardians from the mirrors for them to watch Usagi's suffering. Usagi then makes it to the castle all injured from the painful road. Nehellenia tells Usagi that she is too late as Usagi sees that Chibi Moon is still fading from existence, Usagi runs to Chibi Moon and holds her as Chibi Moon tells Usagi that she failed to save Mamoru but tells her that she has faith in her. She then cuddles to Usagi before vanishing leaving Usagi crying and grieving over her. Nehellenia then taunts Sailor Moon over her loss, which made Usagi's anger grow. Nehellenia then shows the eight Sailor Guardians trapped within the mirrors remarking that she did all this to make her experience the same loneliness she felt. Nehellenia then tells her story that she experiences a lonely childhood. Despite being worshiped by her royal retainers, she had no one to share her feelings and that she endured loneliness for a long time until she saw the mirror, which freed her from loneliness and promised her eternal beauty. Manipulated by the evil mirror, she became her own friend without any others and remained young and beautiful forever in order to never experience her horrible feelings again.

Upon hearing this, Usagi's angered look turns to pity, but Nehellenia still blames Usagi for sealing away into darkness, in which she began suffering loneliness without her mirror. Nehellenia then violently assaults Usagi then walks over to try and choke her to death until Usagi begans looking at her with tears in her eyes making Nehellenia cower before violently tossing Usagi away from her. Nehellenia yells at Usagi to continue hating her, but a tearful Usagi refuses stating that she would never do the same thing Nehellenia did and that nothing will change if she continues taking revenge. Usagi then takes a stand and begs Nehellenia to let her friends go and to take revenge on her before stating that everyone understands her pain and that they would accept her to be her friend. Nehellenia goes angry as the eight Guardians watched all of this and go to tears. As Nehellenia begins to attack, she then realizes Mamoru going to tears as well and the Dark Mirror shard finally coming out of his right eye and getting destroyed. As a result, the eight Guardians are also freed from the mirrors and Chibi Moon's existence is restored.

With the nine Guardians and Mamoru together again and dawn almost approaching, Usagi believes as long as they put their powers together, they can still help Nehellenia. Suddenly, the New Moon appears above Nehellenia, who then sees Mamoru and the nine Guardians putting their powers together as the castle begins to light up. Nehellenia, both livid and afraid at this, begins to attack everyone until Mamoru turns to Prince Endymion making Nehellenia more afraid then ever. Everyone puts their powers together as the nine Guardians look at Nehellenia with forgiveness. Usagi then become Eternal Sailor Moon for good and with her Eternal Tiare, she uses her new powers to cleanse away the New Moon and help Nehellenia remember her biggest dream as a child. Relaxed by the warmth of the light, Nehellenia goes to tears and remembers her dream, to have friends, and begs for redemption. With the New Moon turning yellow, the evil mirror that has manipulated Nehellenia begins to shatter thus ending Nehellenia's own nightmare before Nehellenia fades away and her castle begins to crumble.

Meanwhile, Nehellenia finds herself back in the throne room with many of her retainers back as humans before they became the Lemures and back as a child. As she goes to take a nap, Nehellenia then asks her retainers to sing her a lullaby, which they accept. Nehellenia smiles at this as her new life was beginning. As Mamoru and the ten Guardians celebrate at a new morning, Sailor Moon returns the earring back to Sailor Jupiter and thanks her. Luna and Artemis are happy that they made it and that dreams bring out a new morning after all. On the final scene, somewhere in outer space, an evil female laughter from the same voice that released Nehellenia is heard echoing over Earth. A new threat is about to begin.

Changes

Changes From the Manga

• Nehellenia is never redeemed, due to being an incarnation of Chaos.
• The final battle with Nehelenia took place on Elysion.
• Nehellenia's mirror was originally Queen Serenity's. Nehellenia appeared in the Queen's room when Princess Serenity was born, and threatened them both. Then the Moon Queen sealed her inside it using the combined energies of the Silver Crystal and the Moon Stick.
• Chibiusa ceased to temporarily exist when Tuxedo Mask was killed by Galaxia when she tossed him into the Galaxy Cauldron

First Appearances

• Characters
• Items
• Transformation phrases
• Attacks

• Silence Wall
• Silence Glaive Surprise

Trivia

• Super Sailor Saturn did not appear again until twenty-four episodes later; Episode 196.  
• All the Sailor Guardians except Super Sailor Saturn trapped in mirrors have different body positions than those they had they were originally caught. 
• This is the only episode in that Silence Glaive Surprise is used (although it isn't fully executed).
• This is the last episode that shows the ten Sailor Guardians together.
• Queen Nehellenia makes her final appearance in the anime in this episode.
• Usagi is shown to be wounded in her confrontation with Queen Nehelenia as her uniform are in tatters and is barefoot (her socks and shoes are destroyed due to walking in thorns).
• The Crisis Moon Compact is officially evolved and magnified into the Eternal Moon Article, which makes this episode the last one that shows the Dream compact. 
• Prince Endymion reappears in the anime when Mamoru quickly transforms into him to save Chibiusa from Nehelenia's attack.
• This is the last episode in which Chibiusa Tsukino / Super Sailor Chibi Moon and her cat, Diana, appear.

Gallery

Chibi Moon stops Super Sailor Saturn from using her full destructive powers

Nehellenia knocks the Silence Glaive away from Super Sailor Saturn

Saturn trapped inside a mirror

Chibi Moon slowly fades away in Usagi's arms

A younger Nehellenia

Super Sailor Guardians' power helps to vanish darkness on the moon

The ten Super Sailor Guardians contemplate Nehellenia after she is given a second chance