“I don't believe it. That jerk was Tuxedo Mask all along? And now he's fighting Zoisite right in front of me?! Ahhh!! Just what the heck is going on here?! Nevermind. What's important right now is for me to fight evil! In the Name of the Moon, I'll punish you!”
— Usagi Tsukino
(DiC Episode: "A Crystal Clear Destiny")
With his identity exposed by the Dark Kingdom, Mamoru decides to meet with Zoisite in a gambit to recover the Rainbow Crystals. But along the way, a certain bun-head follows him which ends with the two of them making some illuminating discoveries about who they really are.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Adaptational Jerkass: In the DiC dub, Raye calls Serena a "failure scout" for not making the Sailor meeting on time. In the original and Viz dub, Rei realizes that something is wrong for Usagi to be so late mixed with her not answering her communicator.
- Ascended Fanboy: Usagi is delighted to be meeting her hero, Sailor V, and teaming up with her.
- Berserk Button: Zoisite decides to attack Mamoru and Usagi with full force after Mamoru manages to pierce his cheek with a rose.
- Birthmark of Destiny: Upon her awakening, Usagi gets a golden crescent moon on her forehead signifying her destiny as the legendary Moon Princess.
- Bowdlerization: Tuxedo Mask being impaled by Zoisite's crystal was cut from the DiC dub.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with everyone looking in amazement over the crybaby Usagi's beautiful transformation.
- Crush Blush: Usagi gets this when she realizes the man of her dreams and the jerk in tacky pants are the same person.
- Cutting the Knot: With all of the tower's doors bolted shut, Sailor Jupiter decides to force her way in by destroying one of them with Supreme Thunder.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Mamoru reveals that he lost his parents in a car accident, along with his memories, when he was six.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Kunzite permits Zoisite to take revenge on the Sailor Guardians and Mamoru after the latter cut his cheek.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Minako believes that Usagi immediately picked on Dark Kingdom activity and went to the Starlight Tower to investigate. Her new friends and Luna are fully aware that Usagi could do no such thing on her own.
- Evil Tower of Ominousness: Zoisite instructs Mamoru to meet him at the Starlight Tower near the Tokyo Bay so they can have their final duel. Kunzite even channels the darkness of Tokyo to give it a more morbid appearance.
- Fangirl: Usagi is in total heaven as she meets her idol Sailor V in person.
- Floating in a Bubble: Zoisite uses an evil red bubble to transport Mamoru and Usagi to the tower.
- Foreshadowing: One of Usagi's defining traits is her being an emotional crybaby who cries over every little thing. The Silver Crystal appears when Usagi cries over Mamoru's sacrifice.
- Have We Met?: The group have this reaction to Minako showing up at the shrine to inform them of Usagi's whereabouts. It takes noticing Artemis for them to realize they're talking to Sailor Venus's civilian identity.
- Holding Your Shoulder Means Injury: Mamoru does this for most of the episode since he was seriously shanked by Zoisite.
- In Medias Res: The episode picks up with the Sailor Guardians meeting Venus and asking if she's their Moon Princess.
- I Lied: True to his wicked and petty nature, Zoisite breaks his word two times. First by tricking Mamoru into losing his crystals and later with trying to impale Sailor Moon despite promising not to hurt her.
- Innocently Insensitive: Usagi gives Mamoru a playful slap on the shoulder, completely unaware of his injury.
- Instant Costume Change: Usagi's awakening also changes her sailor uniform for a white princess dress.
- Internal Reveal:
- Minako reveals her civilian name and appearance to the girls.
- Usagi and Mamoru reveal their superhero identities to each other.
- My Greatest Failure: Mamoru considers not being able to save Sailor Moon from Kunzite's Death Trap to be his greatest failure.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Sailor Moon is the long awaited Moon Princess and she knows that her beloved Tuxedo Mask was Mamoru all along.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Usagi immediately notices that something is off with Mamoru when he acts surprisingly decent with her when they bump into each other in public.
- Parting-Words Regret: Mamoru appears to be trying to avoid this. Ahead of a potentially fatal situation, he's surprisingly pleasant to Usagi after she accidentally exacerbates his wound rather than provoke her into insulting him. He only snaps at her when she persists in following him and risks getting caught up in his problem.
- Previously on…: The first scene has Usagi giving a quick recap of the last episode.
- Recurring Dreams: Mamoru claims that he's always dreamt of a mysterious princess telling him to find the Silver Crystal.
- The Reveal: You saw the page image, you know.
- Secret Identity: Usagi holds out on transforming into Sailor Moon, in order to preserve hers. When she and Mamoru are at risk of getting roasted alive, she realizes it's literally do or die.
- Taking the Bullet: Tuxedo Mask ends up taking a fatal crystal attack that was meant for Sailor Moon.
- This Cannot Be!: Usagi picks up on how Mamoru has the same injury that Tuxedo Mask suffered, but she tries to convince herself that there's no way the one always busting her chops and the one she loves are the same guy. She's floored when he reveals the truth.
- Villain Ball: Zoisite decides to defy Queen Beryl's orders by setting Mamoru on fire because that worked out so well for the other villains.
- Wham Episode:
- Usagi and Mamoru learn about their true identities as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask.
- The Silver Crystal appears and Usagi is revealed to be the Moon Princess.
