Illustrated outline: The Masquerade
An illustrated outline from an episode of the first season of the anime. Although most of the anime episodes were "filler", with a simple "conflict is set up, monster appears, monster is defeated, conflict is solved" setup, this one was drawn directly from the manga.
For the record, it's a takeoff on Act 4 of the Sailor Moon manga, which became Episode 22 of the anime. The action was triggered by the visit to Japan of Princess Dia (usually translated as Princess D) of D Kingdom. As D Kingdom was reputedly the world's largest exporter of jewels and the search for the Silver Crystal was still going on, Sailors Moon, Mercury, and Mars - as well as Tuxedo Kamen - investigated to see if the D Kingdom's exhibition might include the Crystal.
So my train of thought went thus:
Princess D of D Kingdom...
Leader of a country, who came to visit the country of our heroes...
Name and country have the same letter...
No way.
Yes way.
And this was the origin of Princess P of P Republic, based on our own Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.
Manga act title:
The Masquerade
Anime episode title:
Romance Under The Moon! Jon's First Kiss
Dub episode title:
Mess O'P Republic
The story opens with Jon preparing for the big interview that they've been promoting all week. There's a visiting delegation from P Republic, and Princess P himself (the concept of male princesses is apparently a common one in this universe) is going to be a guest on the Daily Show.
(In real life this interview happened after Stephen had begun TCR, which means it would be at least the second season, if not the third. I'm placing it in the first anyway. You can imagine pretty much the same interview, just no toss.)
As if this weren't nerve-wracking enough, what with the heightened security and shiny new bulletproof glass on the desk, he learns that P Republic is the world's largest exhibition of jewels, and the embassy in New York City is having a masquerade ball at which the delegation will unveil a selection of especially fine treasures. Could the Satire Crystal be among them?
Jon actually learns about the masquerade and the treasures through the geeking out of friends Amy and Bobby ( counterparts to Naru and Umino). But it's Junior who points out that this might be where they find the Satire Crystal - and indeed that Princess P might be the very princess for whom they are searching.
Princess P of P Republic.
The two meet briefly in the green room before the show, and Jon tentatively broaches the idea of getting an invitation to this masquerade. He's nervous; it gets awkward; he backs off.
The interview goes well. Nobody gets shot. (Actually, I've just realized - in the Sailor Jon timeline, this is pre-9/11. So the tensions are not nearly as high as they might have been, and you can forget the Seat of Heat question.)
Afterwards, Junior chides Jon for not being more aggressive, and says he'll just have to get into the masquerade by using the Disguise Pen to turn himself into something convincing enough to get in.
During the post-show wrap-up, Jon considers his options: diplomat? Senator? Lobbyist? But when he finally arrives at the embassy, he gets nervous and says the first thing that comes to mind: "Transform me into ... a princess!"
It works. A little too well.
(We've seen this dress before.)
Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert wakes up from a dream in which he is Tuxedo Stephen, and a woman (or so it appears) with a star on her forehead is telling him to find the Satire Crystal.
Meanwhile again, in the Dark Kingdom, Brian Williamsite has had the same idea of finding the Satire Crystal at the masquerade. He mixes up a monster, puts on a nice tux, and uses his Newsman Voice to charm security into letting him in.
At the ball, Jon figures out that the unveiling of the mysterious treasures isn't going to happen right away. Unfortunately, this means he's all alone on the dance floor.
Poor Jon, eh?
And then - all of a sudden, and completely out of nowhere!
The mysterious masked man in the tux appears!
They dance a bit. Jon isn't a very good dancer, but it turns out that Tuxedo Stephen is, so they spend a waltz together. Jon's heart pounds. It's all very sweet.
Tuxedo Stephen, meanwhile, notes the stars on the beautiful girl's tiara, and wonders, "Could she be the one from my dream...?"
He dismisses the idea after "she" steps on his feet a couple of times.
The dance ends, and they break apart, somewhat to Jon's disappointment. Still, he feels warm and comfortable for the first time all day. That won't last long, because who should he run into but...
Ed and Steve!
His erstwhile colleagues, also known as Sailor Ed and Sailor Steve. And both in conventional tuxes. They are, of course, a little shocked to see how Jon appears.
"It's the power of the disguise pen," whispers Jon furtively. "I'm supposed to be a princess - listen, how did you two get in here?"
"...press passes," replies Steve. Ed nods.
Jon blinks. "But ... you're not press. You're fake press."
Ed and Steve look at each other.
"He has a point," says Steve.
"That he does," agrees Ed. "Oh - sorry - is it 'he' or 'she'?"
Jon sighs. "Better make it 'she'. You don't want to blow my cover."
"Sure thing," agrees Steve briskly. "Your 'cover'. Exactly."
They end up splitting up, to more effectively cover the entire ball; but Brian Williamsite's demon manages to posess Princess P anyway, and he takes off with the box containing the jewels. Very soon, three sailors and a dude in a tux are in hot pursuit.
A pretty standard battle ensues outside: the speeches, the exchange of attacks, the sticky situation, the last-minute rescue via flag thrown by Tuxedo Stephen, and finally the finishing move of Moon Yarmulke Action. And it turns out that the treasures in the box, while decidedly gorgeous, are none of them the Satire Crystal. All parties withdraw at that point.
One little twist. During the battle, Princess P's glasses are knocked off. Nobody pays him much attention until the demon is defeated, but when they do:
"Do you see my glasses? I can't see a thing without them!"
The man who had previously looked so unappealing is revealed to be a total bishounen. Sparkles fill the air.
Sailor Jon returns the glasses, then takes off quickly before Princess P can make a guess as to his identity. Reconvening with Sailor Ed and Sailor Steve afterwards, they all three ponder if Bobby might be a similar sexbomb without the glasses.
(But glasses by themselves aren't bad, Sailor Jon says to himself, and then wonders why he's thinking of Stephen at a time like this.)
Ed and Steve take off, but Jon decides he wants to stay at the party and mingle a little longer. (And maybe he's secretly hoping for another dance.) He ends up getting tipsy, and inadvertently stumbles straight into Tuxedo Stephen's arms.
If he had been more sober, Jon might have wondered why Tuxedo Stephen had also stayed around; but as it was, he was just sober enough to hit the target when he gave the masked man a kiss - and to think that it seemed familiar, somehow...
For the record, it's a takeoff on Act 4 of the Sailor Moon manga, which became Episode 22 of the anime. The action was triggered by the visit to Japan of Princess Dia (usually translated as Princess D) of D Kingdom. As D Kingdom was reputedly the world's largest exporter of jewels and the search for the Silver Crystal was still going on, Sailors Moon, Mercury, and Mars - as well as Tuxedo Kamen - investigated to see if the D Kingdom's exhibition might include the Crystal.
So my train of thought went thus:
Princess D of D Kingdom...
Leader of a country, who came to visit the country of our heroes...
Name and country have the same letter...
No way.
Yes way.
And this was the origin of Princess P of P Republic, based on our own Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.
Manga act title:
The Masquerade
Anime episode title:
Romance Under The Moon! Jon's First Kiss
Dub episode title:
Mess O'P Republic
The story opens with Jon preparing for the big interview that they've been promoting all week. There's a visiting delegation from P Republic, and Princess P himself (the concept of male princesses is apparently a common one in this universe) is going to be a guest on the Daily Show.
(In real life this interview happened after Stephen had begun TCR, which means it would be at least the second season, if not the third. I'm placing it in the first anyway. You can imagine pretty much the same interview, just no toss.)
As if this weren't nerve-wracking enough, what with the heightened security and shiny new bulletproof glass on the desk, he learns that P Republic is the world's largest exhibition of jewels, and the embassy in New York City is having a masquerade ball at which the delegation will unveil a selection of especially fine treasures. Could the Satire Crystal be among them?
Jon actually learns about the masquerade and the treasures through the geeking out of friends Amy and Bobby ( counterparts to Naru and Umino). But it's Junior who points out that this might be where they find the Satire Crystal - and indeed that Princess P might be the very princess for whom they are searching.
Princess P of P Republic.
The two meet briefly in the green room before the show, and Jon tentatively broaches the idea of getting an invitation to this masquerade. He's nervous; it gets awkward; he backs off.
The interview goes well. Nobody gets shot. (Actually, I've just realized - in the Sailor Jon timeline, this is pre-9/11. So the tensions are not nearly as high as they might have been, and you can forget the Seat of Heat question.)
Afterwards, Junior chides Jon for not being more aggressive, and says he'll just have to get into the masquerade by using the Disguise Pen to turn himself into something convincing enough to get in.
During the post-show wrap-up, Jon considers his options: diplomat? Senator? Lobbyist? But when he finally arrives at the embassy, he gets nervous and says the first thing that comes to mind: "Transform me into ... a princess!"
It works. A little too well.
(We've seen this dress before.)
Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert wakes up from a dream in which he is Tuxedo Stephen, and a woman (or so it appears) with a star on her forehead is telling him to find the Satire Crystal.
Meanwhile again, in the Dark Kingdom, Brian Williamsite has had the same idea of finding the Satire Crystal at the masquerade. He mixes up a monster, puts on a nice tux, and uses his Newsman Voice to charm security into letting him in.
At the ball, Jon figures out that the unveiling of the mysterious treasures isn't going to happen right away. Unfortunately, this means he's all alone on the dance floor.
Poor Jon, eh?
And then - all of a sudden, and completely out of nowhere!
The mysterious masked man in the tux appears!
They dance a bit. Jon isn't a very good dancer, but it turns out that Tuxedo Stephen is, so they spend a waltz together. Jon's heart pounds. It's all very sweet.
Tuxedo Stephen, meanwhile, notes the stars on the beautiful girl's tiara, and wonders, "Could she be the one from my dream...?"
He dismisses the idea after "she" steps on his feet a couple of times.
The dance ends, and they break apart, somewhat to Jon's disappointment. Still, he feels warm and comfortable for the first time all day. That won't last long, because who should he run into but...
Ed and Steve!
His erstwhile colleagues, also known as Sailor Ed and Sailor Steve. And both in conventional tuxes. They are, of course, a little shocked to see how Jon appears.
"It's the power of the disguise pen," whispers Jon furtively. "I'm supposed to be a princess - listen, how did you two get in here?"
"...press passes," replies Steve. Ed nods.
Jon blinks. "But ... you're not press. You're fake press."
Ed and Steve look at each other.
"He has a point," says Steve.
"That he does," agrees Ed. "Oh - sorry - is it 'he' or 'she'?"
Jon sighs. "Better make it 'she'. You don't want to blow my cover."
"Sure thing," agrees Steve briskly. "Your 'cover'. Exactly."
They end up splitting up, to more effectively cover the entire ball; but Brian Williamsite's demon manages to posess Princess P anyway, and he takes off with the box containing the jewels. Very soon, three sailors and a dude in a tux are in hot pursuit.
A pretty standard battle ensues outside: the speeches, the exchange of attacks, the sticky situation, the last-minute rescue via flag thrown by Tuxedo Stephen, and finally the finishing move of Moon Yarmulke Action. And it turns out that the treasures in the box, while decidedly gorgeous, are none of them the Satire Crystal. All parties withdraw at that point.
One little twist. During the battle, Princess P's glasses are knocked off. Nobody pays him much attention until the demon is defeated, but when they do:
"Do you see my glasses? I can't see a thing without them!"
The man who had previously looked so unappealing is revealed to be a total bishounen. Sparkles fill the air.
Sailor Jon returns the glasses, then takes off quickly before Princess P can make a guess as to his identity. Reconvening with Sailor Ed and Sailor Steve afterwards, they all three ponder if Bobby might be a similar sexbomb without the glasses.
(But glasses by themselves aren't bad, Sailor Jon says to himself, and then wonders why he's thinking of Stephen at a time like this.)
Ed and Steve take off, but Jon decides he wants to stay at the party and mingle a little longer. (And maybe he's secretly hoping for another dance.) He ends up getting tipsy, and inadvertently stumbles straight into Tuxedo Stephen's arms.
If he had been more sober, Jon might have wondered why Tuxedo Stephen had also stayed around; but as it was, he was just sober enough to hit the target when he gave the masked man a kiss - and to think that it seemed familiar, somehow...