heavenly_pearl | Sailor Moon Crystal Episode 31, plus other stuff (Reply)

Another fantastic episode of Crystal this week, with the debut of a new version of the OP song, a brand new ED song, and new transformations for Uranus and Neptune! I'm still not totally in love with the OP, but I gotta say the new singer is a lot better than the person who sang it before. Now I kinda like it. The new ED is sung by Chibi-Usa and is SUPER CUTE, although I can't help but feel that it seems really out of place when this season is so dark. The Haruka/Michiru duet worked better as an ending. As for the new transformations, they basically kept the same exact choreography as from the original anime, which is kinda disappointing, but they look really gorgeous otherwise. Moving on to the episode itself, the second half was actually really quite exciting. I think that was about the best battle of the series so far!And Pluto's back! I can't wait for next week's episode when Setsuna reawakens and joins Uranus and Neptune.

In other news, I did something a little -- okay, a lot -- nuts yesterday. There was a listing on eBay for this very rare Crystal Carillon plush that can transform into Pegasus when you turn it inside out, which I've been wanting ever since I first came across a picture of it on one of my favorite Sailor Moon collectibles sites. The seller was asking $299 for it, but was also accepting Best Offers. Well, about five or six hours before the listing was set to end, I decided to throw caution to the wind and send in an offer of $100, never expecting it to be accepted but figuring it wouldn't hurt to at least try. The listing ended without me hearing anything back about my offer, so I assumed that was it. However, a few hours later, I got a message from the seller asking if I would be willing to go up to $130. I didn't really want to pay that much to be honest, but there was no telling when or if I would ever get another opportunity like that again. I mean, it was still new in the box and the only one I've ever seen offered up for sale. Based on its apparent rarity, plus knowing what other Pegasus items tend to go for (A LOT), I wouldn't be surprised if it was really worth $200-plus, so how could I possibly pass up the chance to buy it for that price? (Plus, I was still disappointed about losing out on that other Pegasus plush I mentioned a few entries back which ended up selling for $172.) So...I did! It's pretty much the most expensive single item I've ever bought for myself, but I'm calling it my reward for finally finishing Melting Ice. (Speaking of which, the last chapter has been posted at FF.net, AO3, and