MURIDO
ムーリド · Mūrido
“Why don’t you have another dream?”
– Murido to Sailors Moon and Mars
Frustrating as they are, I feel sorry for those Sailor Moon fans who decry—and in some cases tell you to skip—the anime’s “filler” parts. Why? Because they don’t know the pure pleasure of episodes like this one! So what if this trip to Dream Land didn’t exactly propel the overarching story? It still leaves a lasting impression. So to disregard this episode is not only robbing yourself of Murido, one of my favorite monsters from Season One, but also the beginnings of Rei and Usagi’s peculiar friendship.
WHEN AND WHERE
In Episode 11, Usagi vs. Rei: Nightmare in Dream Land, the three Sailor Senshi and Luna investigate the mysterious disappearances at an amusement park called Dream Land (Yume Rando). Behind the scenes, Jadeite is collecting energy from the park’s guests and storing their unconscious bodies out of sight. And as the Senshi split up to find answers, they each come across Jadeite’s latest enforcer: Murido, the Yōma who has disguised herself as a princess performer.
ETYMOLOGY
Murido’s name is the reversal of the English word “dream” (ドリーム, dorīmu or doriimu) when it’s written in katakana and done by syllable rather than letter. That backspelling also denotes the Yōma’s visual transformation; she goes from pastel and light to dark and wicked.
Of the few variations of this Yōma’s name found in English, “Murid” sounds the most like an actual person’s name (Enid, Astrid). It also, albeit unrelatedly, connects to mice and rats (muridae) and Sufism (murīd). In addition, some auto-translators have rendered the name as “Mourid.”
Since Murido’s name is just the backwarding of “dream,” it’s amazing how no translator has called her “Maerd.” Again, that sounds closer to a real name than what others have come up with.
Official spellings include “Moolyd” from the A.D. Vision release, and “Moorido” from Viz Media”s release (including the new English dub). The former was A.D.V. translating the monster’s name, although there really is no translation. Viz’s take, though, is plain odd, seeing as how it combines the supposedly inferred meaning of “Mū” (Moo) with the literal “rido” from “Murido.” Why not use the transliteration, then? At least with “Moolyd,” there was some attempt at being creative, or trying to pretty-up the name, even if the result sounds like “mullet.”
Before I move on, let me mention something else. In both Episode 11’s ending credits, plus the first Nakayoshi Anime Album, Murido’s name is spelled in Japanese as “Mūrido” (ムーリド). Yet, many Sailor Moon websites, including WikiMoon, continue to use “Murīdo” (ムリード). Now, I thought this error might have come from, say, Season One’s Memorial Special, but no, it’s also “Mūrido” there as well as in subsequent mentions (Sailor Moon S: Quiz Taiketsu! Sailor Power Ketsushū). The reason must stem from the long vowel sound (chōonpu) for “ri” in “dorīmu.” Rather than staying there, though, it’s been moved over to the “mu” in ‘Murido.”
DESIGN
Murido neither looks nor acts like past Yōma. For starters, she’s not overtly sexy, aggressive or scary, and it’s not clear if she’s even organic. Once Murido does show her true self, she resembles a ball-jointed doll with a movable mouth. That’s pretty new in the Yōma design department. However, what really caught me off guard about Murido’s transformation was the process; she doesn’t instantly go from princess to Yōma, using a flash of light or some quick, real-time change. No, she first withdraws her cherub-faced head like a turtle, then pops out a whole new noggin. At the same time, her floating, headless body has been acting like a slow-spinning music box with an unnerving tune to match. Episode director Kunihiko Ikuhara and animation director Masahiro Andō evidently paid more time and attention to Murido’s reveal, and their effort still pays off to this day.
The monster’s entire demeanor became more subdued and stilted, yet also way creepier. The discomfort we might normally feel about dolls was preyed on, seeing as how Murido’s movements are especially awkward and mechanical. In fact, it’s the Yōma’s slowness that leads to her downfall.
THE BATTLE
This marks the first fight where all three Sailor Senshi (so far) are included. Moon and Mars do the heavy lifting, but at least Mercury isn’t left out again. Before all three heroines can even gather, though, Murido had her fun with Moon and Mars. It’s here where we also see the two girls’ different approaches to fighting, which reflects their personalities. Usagi tends to be trusting and gullible, whereas Rei is always on the alert and is more confident in her responses. Of course, both Senshi fall for Murido’s tricks. Those being the effects of Yōma’s hallucinogenic mist, as opposed to an actual power that can manifest and control dreams.
After the venomous snake she conjured, Murido didn’t exactly use her mind-bending mist to its fullest potential. She made Moon and Mars dream about Tuxedo Mask and ride a carousel with him? Terrifying. Her objective was always to collect her enemies’ energy, so whether or not she was actually interested in killing remains unknown. Come to think of it, Murido was meaner before the switch; that snake incident was vicious.
The highlight of this battle is also a series milestone. As soon as Mercury’s bubbles disorient the target, Mars plants a blessed ofuda on Murido’s forehead, freezing her in place so she and Moon can then deliver the final blow. And what a blow it was; Moon Tiara Action and Fire Soul combined into a fiery discus. Was this combo overkill? Maybe, but it definitely got the job done. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be the last time they pulled out this maneuver.
And while Tokyo Pop/SMILE Books’ novelizations aren’t what I’d consider to be a source of stellar writing, I did enjoy how author Lianne Sentar described Murido’s (or the Dream Dolly) demise in volume four (Mars Attacks).
Raye’s fire shot forward and wrapped around Serena’s flying tiara. The burning disc crashed into the Dream Dolly, knocking her back. The robot’s head popped off as a golden light traveled up her body.
EPILOGUE
Call it a “monster of the day” story, say it doesn’t progress the overall plot, but don’t act like this one episode isn’t fun. Sure, Rei isn’t the stoic, restrained priestess we know from the manga, and her bickering with Usagi causes dissent among fans; however, these changes make for a more engaging experience that, later on, bears fruit as situations become dire and real feelings come to light.
It’ll be a good while before the anime starts to reflect and adapt the manga again. So for now, we have these original stories that flesh out the characters’ personalities and relationships, and introduce unique subplots. 🌙
Tales from the Paulside 
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