IGUARA
イグアーラ · Iguāra
“Distribute these Chanela throughout the city.”
– Iguara to Shingo and her other minions
For a filler episode of Sailor Moon, Scent of a Yōma: Chanela Will Steal Your Love is teeming with modest yet notable milestones — and not just on screen. The fifth episode marked the introduction of director Yūji Endō, who stayed with the series until nearly its end. This was also the first time that Ikuko Itō, later the character designer for both Sailor Moon S and SuperS, was in charge of the animation. These are only a few of the standout moments in an otherwise standard “monster of the week” story.
WHEN AND WHERE
Pet Shop Perfume springs up overnight in Azabu-Jūban, however, the only animal it sells is something called the Chanela. The store’s sole employee, a nameless woman, offers unsuspecting customers these unique pets for little money, even going so far as accepting rainchecks. Soon enough, every patron, including Usagi and her younger brother Shingo, becomes dangerously obsessed with their Chanela.
ETYMOLOGY
Iguara’s name, a small twist on “iguana”, reflects her reptilian qualities. The “-na” to “-ra” suffix change, though, has two possible explanations. Firstly, this is how Japan names its monsters; as with famous kaijū like Godzilla (Gojira), Mothra (Mosura) and Gamera, ending names with “-ra” is normal practice, not to mention pleasing to the ear. The second and more specific theory has to do with Iguara’s inspiration (see the next section).
As for the aromatic Chanela (シャネーラ, Shanēra), they’re obviously named after the Chanel brand, but does this episode, the fifth overall in the series, have anything to do with the Chanel No. 5 perfume?
DESIGN
The first season is a sea of subtle and not-so-subtle easter eggs for fans of Goldfish Warning! (1991), another Toei-produced and TV Asahi-aired anime whose timeslot was taken over by Sailor Moon. The two series were helmed by Junichi Satō, and much of Goldfish’s staff actually proceeded to work on Sailor Moon. Yet, this episode went farther back in the annals of anime for its visual reference, particularly for Iguara. Evidently, this Yōma’s design was based on the monster form of Bela, a character from Humanoid Monster Bem (1968).
So far in the series, every Yōma has been clothed, whether or not she’s disguised or unconcealed, but Iguara has absolutely no shred of fabric on her body once she drops the charade. This sense of undress plays well into her animalistic nature and makes her seem far less human than her predecessors. She looks plain beastly when juxtaposed with Morga and Balm.
Ikuko Itō was still in the infancy of her career, so don’t expect to see her peak Sailor Moon style here. Then again, this precursor to her signature aesthetic lends itself to Iguara’s grotesque appearance. There is also the matter of Masahiro Andō, perhaps the anime’s most divisive animation director, who contributed to this episode’s genga (key art). It’s easy to tell which frames are his, and fans may be surprised to see how much his and Itō’s styles influenced one another.
Circling back to the name business from earlier, the “-ra” in “Iguara” might be another connection to Humanoid Monster Bem’s Bela (ベラ, Bera). If that were the case, then calling this Yōma “Iguala” would make more sense.
THE BATTLE
For such a ferocious and detailed-looking Yōma, Iguara doesn’t get a lot of screen-time once she assumes her true form, however, her last minutes on Earth are spent strangling Sailor Moon with her tail. This would be the first time a Dark Kingdom monster made direct physical contact with Sailor Moon. How that fatal entanglement resolved is even more exciting; Sailor Moon destroyed the Yōma in real time.
Giving Iguara a tangible weakness makes sense; having her practically announce it to her enemies doesn’t. If the Yōma’s skin was too thick to penetrate with Moon Tiara Action, then we can accept that a vulnerability was crucial to Sailor Moon’s success. Yet, to have that very spot glow so visibly is an odd choice. At least in subsequent episodes, that plot convenience would have come from Sailor Mercury detecting the monster’s Achilles’ heel with her tech. Here Luna just saw it with her naked eye.
As to why Iguara’s fatal flaw was found in her tail, we have to remember she’s a lizard — the first Nakayoshi Anime Album refers to her as “トカゲタイプの妖魔” (lizard-type Yōma) — and an especially vulnerable part of many smaller lizards is their tail. Iguara, on the other hand, lacked the ability to detach her own tail to avoid greater harm. Imagine if Sailor Moon had included it, though…
It’s unclear if Iguara created the Chanela herself, or if she simply commanded them. The fact that the Chanela (Chanelas? Chanelae?) immediately disintegrated upon Iguara’s death points to the former notion. Nevertheless, Iguara was the first Yōma to have two sets of underlings: first these wickedly cute chinchilla knockoffs, then Perfume’s bewitched customers.
Although Sailor Moon is a ways off from acquiring Moon Healing Escalation, she found similar results with the single-use Moon Tiara Stardust. There was no logical need for this technique once the Moon Stick and Silver Crystal both entered the story, but even still, it’s a nifty offshoot.
EPILOGUE
This may be considered pure filler, but it has plenty of firsts and remarkable moments to make it less skippable. On top of Luna’s adoption being made official, Shingo’s best friend Mika Kayama is introduced, and the first original Yōma — at least not one from the manga or conceived and designed by Naoko Takeuchi — was produced.
The DiC batch omitted this episode, probably for time, yet I have to wonder if Iguara as well as the degree of violence were also factors. On top of a naked and extra-fierce Yōma running amok and tail-choking Sailor Moon, there’s Shingo kicking Luna, Usagi and Miss Haruna both being shoved to the floor, Luna suspiciously disposing of a Chanela off screen, and Shingo getting a hard face-slap from his sister. Leaving all these parts on the cutting room floor would have made for a pretty short episode. 🌙
Tales from the Paulside 
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