“Oh please God. Please. Can you help mend a sweet young girl's broken heart? Zoisite! You committed evil on sacred ground! You're not gonna get away with it. I am Sailor Moon! And in the Name of God, I'll punish you!”
— Usagi Tsukino
(DiC Episode: "The Power Of Friendship")
Usagi decides to spend the day with Naru who's going through a depressed state after the death of Nephrite. As she does so, Luna and the girls have a serious discussion on whether Usagi is fit for the role of leading the Sailor Guardians.
Tropes for this include:
- Adaptational Jerkass: In the original episode, Ami and Rei are nowhere near the fight and are thus unable to attend. In the DIC dub, Amy and Raye are perfectly capable of reaching the fight, but are deliberately striking to protest Serena having the Moon Sceptre.
- Boxing Battler: Boxy's theme involves being a boxer who loves a good fight.
- Call-Back: The episode focuses on Naru as she's still in mourning of Nephrite, the man she loved. She even recognizes Zoisite for being responsible for his death.
- Creepy Cemetery: Averted. The cemetery that Usagi and her friends visit is quite peaceful and is inhabited by a gentle priest.
- Continuity Nod: The princess in Mamoru's dream is wearing Usagi's princess disguise dress.
- Didn't See That Coming: Zoisite is admittedly surprised to have bumped into Naru, of all people, when trying to claim a Rainbow Crystal.
- Dub Name Change: Boxy is named "Bobo The Vulture" in the DIC Episode.
- Excessive Mourning: Naru has been melancholic since Nephrite's death that she spends her time in her room while missing several schooldays.
- Five Stages of Grief: Naru has been stuck on depression since we saw her last, as (for all her attempts of putting on a brave face) she refuses to go to school, closes herself off from others, and feels she has no one to turn to. Umino getting injured trying to help her shakes her of this. Her using Nephrite's makeshift bandage to patch up Umino's wound symbolizes her reaching the acceptance stage.
- Fluffy the Terrible: At least for his dub name. "Bobo" isn't a particularly impressive name for a youma.
- Friendship Moment: Usagi spends the entire episode trying to comfort a friend struggling with grief. Seeing that's why she skipped out on a team meeting, Makoto feels that proves her true character.
- Good Costume Switch: The father wears a snow white robe after being purified by the power of God and Sailor Moon.
- Good Shepherd: The Catholic priest is a kind man who listens to Naru's tale of despair and assures her that Nephrite‘s soul is in heaven and that there will always be love in her life.
- Happy Ending: Naru is able to overcome her grief and is in a much better mood thanks to Usagi and Umino. Even promising to go back to school tomorrow. And Luna is able to convince Makoto about Usagi's worth as a leader by seeing how much she values her friends.
- Heroic Bystander: Umino manages to save Naru from one of Boxy's punches.
- Innocently Insensitive: ALOT of Umino's comments towards Naru hit many of sore subjects that relate to her tragedy with Nephrite.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: The priest assures Naru that she's surrounded by love and need only turn around to embrace. Unfortunately, the moment she does turn around is the moment that Zoisite picked to appear.
- Internal Reveal:
- Luna tells Ami, Rei and Makoto the story of the Seven Great Youma and how they were imprisoned in the shards of the Silver Crystal.
- Mamoru learns and accepts that he is Tuxedo Mask.
- Jesus Taboo: The DIC dub avoids all mention of religion by referring to the priest as “a kindly man”.
- Jerkass Ball: While normally having respect and boundaries towards Ami, Rei resorts to quietly pinching her into submission so the genius can agree with her stance on Usagi using the Moon Stick.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Usagi immediately transforms to save Naru instead of waiting for Makoto to show up.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Umino never knew about Naru's infatuation with Masato/Nephrite.
- Memento MacGuffin: Tuxedo Mask drops his Star Locket which gets picked up by Usagi.
- Mood Whiplash: The priest comforts Naru by assuring her that love can be found all around her. When she turns around to see, she finds Zoisite.
- Mundane Utility: Rei is against Usagi keeping the Moon Stick, believing that she'd use it as a common tool.
- Not Helping Your Case: Luna tries desperately to convince the girls to give Usagi a chance at proving herself worthy of being their leader. To her disappointment, Makoto calls on her and reveals that she can't make their meeting because she's in Chinatown with her friends.
- Not So Above It All: Despite being the most patient towards Usagi, even Ami agrees that she wouldn't treat the Moon Stick with proper care.
- Oh, Crap!: Naru when she recognizes Zoisite.
- Old-School Chivalry: Tuxedo Mask chastises Boxy by stating that boxers should treat women with respect and never lay a hand on them.
- The Power of Friendship: It's there in the dub title. Usagi decides to spend the day with Naru to cheer her up after her heartbreak of losing Nephrite. It works in the end as Naru overcomes her grief and returns to school.
- Reminder of Duty: Luna argues in favor of giving Usagi the Moon Stick as doing so would encourage her to gain more confidence and become a more productive Guardian.
- Rocket Punch: Boxy can shoot out boxing glove punches with the same impact as a rocket.
- Shout-Out: In the DIC version, Boxy/Bobo exclaims "Vulture's gonna Knock You Out!" when he goes on the attack against Sailor Moon.
- Shown Their Work: Naru, Usagi and Umino visit Yokohama and notable landmarks are referenced. Umino mentions wanting to go eat in Yokohama's Chinatown and at the episode's end, we can see Yokohama Bay Bridge
in the background. - Stepford Smiler: Naru tries to become this after being visited by Usagi and Umino. It doesn't last when they reach the graveyard.
- Tracking Spell: The Moon Stick is able to detect people who have Rainbow Crystals inside them.
- Tragic Keepsake: Naru still carries the makeshift bandages she used for Nephrite. Later, she would use them to treat Umino's wounds.
- Vile Vulture: Boxy has distinct vulture features like wings and clawed feet. Fittingly, he is called "Bobo the Vulture" in the DIC version.
- Winged Humanoid: The father is transformed into Boxy, a boxing humanoid youma with vulture wings and claws for feet.
