So yesterday I finally got together with my mom to show her the first Crystal ep, and watching with her was such a fun experience because she’s only seen three musicals, some dub stuff, and two of my favorite PGSM episodes. She has a little background, but not much. 

And her reactions just renewed my feelings that the episode did a really good job on a lot of things. She’s already invested in Serenity/Endymion and Usagi/Mamoru (although La Reconquista did some of that for her. It’s hilarious to me how much she likes Tani’s Mamoru). And she thinks everything is so gorgeous. She wants to read the manga now (she borrowed it from me a while ago, but hasn’t gotten into it yet).

But more importantly, this episode really sold her on Usagi. It had her laughing when Usagi fell down the stairs and tripped over Luna and made every wish about not having to go to school. But it also made her feel Usagi’s fear and sympathize with her desires and care about what comes next for Usagi. And really, that’s the most important thing the first episode could do.