KYURENE
キュレネ · Kyurene
“Give me the tape, now!”
– Kyurene to Usagi
We’re one step closer to the end of Sailor Moon’s solo section, but not before witnessing one of the best-directed and most stylish episodes of, well, maybe the entire season. It’s another self-contained entry that neither adds anything to the overall plot, nor does it have a major series milestone to help it stand out, however, the sixth episode is not one to be missed.
In another timeline, there would have been more episodes with just Sailor Moon and Luna on their own, but the fact that we got seven is surprising. The manga went straight into the gathering of the other Sailor Senshi, whereas the anime was buying time, so to speak. Still and all, some wonderful bits of creativity and experimentation can be found in these initial outings.
WHEN AND WHERE
In Protect the Melody of Love: Usagi Plays Cupid, Usagi’s introduction to the smooth music of jazz musician Yūsuke Amade includes a chance encounter with the piano man himself. Out on the streets of Azabu-Jūban, and during a stormy night, Usagi literally runs into Amade. To keep him safe and to thwart whatever new plan Jadeite and his latest minion have hatched, Usagi and Luna then trail the pianist that evening.
ETYMOLOGY
The Sailor Moon staff was not above making puns, especially when one is as good as Kyurene’s name. First off, “Kyurene” is how “Cyrene” is rendered in katakana. Cyrene/Kyrene, of course, is the Anglicized name of the Ancient Greek colony, which itself comes from the Greek mythological figure. That Cyrene/Kyrene is said to be a huntress, which is in line with Yōma Kyurene’s role.
Additionally, the “kyu” in Kyurene must also relate to the Japanese word for a vampire: kyūketsuki (吸血鬼). This monster’s motif is, needless to say, rather vampiric.
DESIGN
The animation director for this episode, Kazuko Tadano, must have been a Cutie Honey fan, because Kyurene feels like a gushing love letter to Panther Claw’s own army of weird monsters. It helps that this Yōma has a very tangible and faunal theme to her design; that inherent vampire element is manifested by a flagrant bat aesthetic.
What’s most interesting about Kyurene, apart from her being one of the show’s few bestial Yōma, and the fact that she’s voiced by Sailor Jupiter’s actor Emi Shinohara, is how much more intimidating she is in her disguised form. Once she switches over, the monster Kyurene is cartoonish. It’s a clear divide between the real and unreal for her, and the humanlike Kyurene is far more likely to give you chills. She’s stalking, eerily taciturn and oozing sex appeal.
THE BATTLE
A unique aspect of this episode is that it’s essentially one long chase scene once Usagi meets Amade. In a way, it’s a reversal of the standard horror movie scenario; instead, a beautiful, unfearful woman pursues and terrorizes the feckless man. And quite openly, I should add. From Kyurene first skulking in the shadows around Amade’s love interest, Akiko Yanagi, to her hounding the frightened musician for the remainder of her brief existence, this monster is both daunting and unyielding.
The story also hinges on its less routine format. Kyurene doesn’t even get to do any of the typical energy-sapping en masse like her predecessors because her scheme has already been foiled, or at the very least, delayed. For once we’re privy to the inception of one of Jadeite’s plans, as opposed to showing up during the execution.
Kyurene is menacing and powerful, yet she doesn’t like wasting any more time than she has to; she could’ve easily killed Akiko and Amade on several occasions, however, she was always interrupted, either by a random coworker of Akiko or by Usagi. Kyurene then flees out of convenience, not cowardice.
Once Usagi does confront Kyurene head on, the fight is indeed short. As a reminder, though, Usagi has been dogging Amade and the Yōma for half this episode, so a quick victory isn’t out of order. How exactly Sailor Moon reached that amphitheater so fast, I won’t bother to question, but the way she turns her foe’s ultimate weapon against her — ultrasonic waves — is exciting and perhaps the most clever thing she’s done thus far in the anime. The logistics of using a mere mic to amplify and return the sound attack? Again, I’m not going to dissect things.
As an aside, Sailor Moon has those Supersonic Waves she can emit from her odango jewels. Imagine if she had used them on Kyurene!
EPILOGUE
What this episode lacks in watershed moments, it makes up for in style. Truly, future showrunner Kunihiko Ikuhara turned in a magnificent directorial debut that, sadly, was omitted from the DiC batch. So perhaps casual Western fans don’t have as much fondness for it.
Filler material, especially in Sailor Moon, gets a bad rap, but most often I realize these side and in-between stories find other ways to make themselves matter and stand out. And in cases like this, the whole episode is a masterstroke.🌙
Tales from the Paulside 
Leave a comment