Two for the show...

Hey, why not?

"Punish Them! The House of Fortune is the Youma Mansion!

Pre-eyecatcher
-I do find it interesting to point out that the villian's plot is already unfolding in the first few minutes. Definitively a change of pace from the first episode.
-Again, who are those evil background characters? I know they're searching for the crystal, but what are they? Youmas?
-If it wasn't for the facial expression, I would get annoyed of Usagi's being late pretty quickly.
-While the expression's of Usagi's class noticing her is funny, I'm surprised no one spotted the voice acting mistake in that scene.
-Umino is still cracking me up. I'm starting to think it's his personality and the energy his voice actor, Keiichi Nanba, is bringing to this "werdio".
-Although the staging of the "someone you will meet" scene is kind of confusing, I laughed when Umino's face showed up and when he walked to the building. Must be the timing again...
-Eh, not a fan of Motoki. He's too uninteresting/pretty bland for a recurring character in this series.
-Oh, I've been in Usagi's position before. I can totally relate to screaming at a game and whatnot.
-You know, the production guys got the Sailor V game pretty well. It looks pretty straightforward (easy learning curve), but darn it, you can't help but enjoy the choppiness of it and laugh when the player dies.
-Okay, Usagi's love with Motoki came out of nowhere. I think I like to know how this love began.
-However, I do enjoy that heart visual. Never saw it like that before.
-I did like that "what are you doing here" gag. I'm sure it's been done to death, but again, Usagi's facial expression made the scene.
-You know, it's such a waste that the Fortune Teller only purpose of the show was progressing the plot of this episode. I know future episodes do this too, but wouldn't it kill the writers to make a half-ass reason for why we never see him again?
-The timing of Usagi's shoe hitting Mamoru head sure was funny.
-I must say, Balm's disguise has a good design on her. The eyes especially.
Post-eyecatcher
-It's rather ironic that later on, Usagi's dad would become more like Unimo later on when we see him.
-Right now, yeah, I can see the connection between Usagi's dad and Motoki. They were both introduced in this episode and there's bland characters that I have no interest in. So far.
-I don't care how inappropriate it is, but Umino flipping the skirt is HILARIOUS. The smiley and Haruna's moment after it is icing of that cake.

-Again, Umino is pretty much becoming the highlight of these episodes so far. That laughter when he reads the manga helps support that theory.
-I should feel scared/worried on Unimo now, but I don't know, it's not really coming across during the rock throwing scene.
-While I found Usagi's outburst on Umino funny, again, I can't wait when Usagi's character develops. However, that use of a abstract background during that scene was nicely funny.
-Eh, Usagi personality throughout this last half just kinda doesn't work. While I feel for Usagi, at this point, I'm not really feelin' for her so far. I think it's because it's being rushed, I'm not sure.
-Yet, lines like "Give me a new item!" and "I forgot what I'm supposed to say!" reminds me that I like the stupid oof I like in Usagi. Sure, she's not the brightest of the bunch, but her oofish charm is what I'm liking on her so far.
-I'm not sure what Balm was accomplishing with the kids screwing around in school. Other than some weird thing that they must do evil things to suck the energy out of them, I don't get it. Doesn't come across very well.
-Good to know that Sailor Moon is getting a little stronger already in the second episode. I'm sure I'll get tired if she acts like what she acted like in episode 1 for a few more episodes. That'll get annoying fast.
-The last shot feels a little sitcomish to me for some reason.
Overall: Yeah, not much to report on this episode. Other than a few funny moments (mostly coming from Unimo and the animation's facial expressions), the episode was pretty much unremarkable. Plot wasn't really memorable, characterizations was pretty much uninteresting, and above all, the dramatic tension in this one wasn't really fulfilling. Other then introducing new characters and locations (and moments), nothing special."

All images are from "the orcle". I own and claim nothing.