A Powerful New Enemy! Nephrite's Evil Crest

Episode Data
Tuxedo Mask assists Sailor Moon in battle
Original Episode
Name (Kanji/kana):	新たなる強敵、ネフライト魔の紋章
Name (Romaji):	Aratanaru Kyouteki, Nefuraito Ma no Monshou
Name (Translated):	A Powerful New Enemy! Nephrite's Evil Crest
Name (Viz Dub):	A New Enemy Appears: Nephrite’s Evil Crest
Episode Number:	14
Director:	Junichi Satou
Writer:	Shigeru Yanagawa
Animation Director:	Hisashi Kagawa
Air Date:	June 13, 1992
Previous Episode:	Girl Power! The End of Jadeite
Next Episode:	Usagi is Frantic! Rei's First Date
First English Dub Episode
Name:	Match Point for Sailor Moon
Number:	11
Company:	DiC
Air Date:	September 25, 1995
Previous Episode:	Fight to the Finish
Next Episode:	An Unnatural Phenomena

Nephrite is appointed as Jadeite's successor and begins selecting individual targets for energy, the first one being Naru's friend Rui.

Summary

Nephrite, now in charge of collecting energy, informs Queen Beryl of his new strategy. He plans to take energy from specific individuals at a point when their energy peaks. He is mocked by another general, Zoisite, but assures Beryl he will be successful. He consults the stars and chooses Rui Saionji, a tennis player from Juuban Junior High, as his first target.

Rui is actually a close friend of Naru's - Naru refers to her as "big sister" - and she is hugely popular. She is approached by Nephrite, who is posing as a tennis coach named Masato Sanjoin. He surreptitiously infects Rui's racquet with a Youma, then advises her on improving her technique. She immediately becomes much more powerful as the Youma causes her energy to increase. Soon, she has defeated everybody at the tennis court. Usagi is impressed, but Naru worries that Rui is acting differently.

Luna is informed by her mysterious contact that the enemy is the Dark Kingdom, an organization that steals human energy. She advises Usagi, Ami, and Rei to train harder. Usagi suggests taking up tennis, having become infatuated with "Sanjoin." Rei and Luna bemoan Usagi's attitude, telling her to take her position more seriously. Meanwhile, the Youma's sinister influence on Rui continues to grow.

Naru confides in Usagi that she is worried about Rui, who has become cold and unfriendly. The pair visit Rui's tennis school and find her in the midst of terrorising two male tennis pros. As Usagi and Naru confront her, Rui's energy level peaks, and the Youma Tesuni comes out of her racquet, taking her energy. With Naru unconscious, Usagi transforms into Sailor Moon and takes on the Youma. Without the other Senshi to help, she is vulnerable to attack, and finds herself trapped in a giant tennis ball. Tuxedo Mask steps in to help, and briefly incapacitates the Youma, allowing Sailor Moon to escape with him. They prepare to attack Tesuni together, and Tuxedo Mask blinds the monster with one of his roses. He suddenly falls down in pain, but urges Sailor Moon to finish the job. She defeats the Youma just as Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars arrive. Tuxedo Mask, meanwhile, has gone. To Naru's relief, Rui returns to normal, with no memory of what happened.

Episode Trivia

• Zoisite appeared for the first time in this episode.

• This episode featured the first time an individual was specifically targeted by an enemy, though it became the formula for the majority of episodes in the anime.

• When Sailor Moon told Tesuni that "Navratilova would be ashamed," it was a reference to tennis player Martina Navratilova.

• This was Rino Romano's last episode playing Darien in the English dub.

• This episode was omitted from the Korean dub.

Cast

• Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon - Kotono Mitsuishi
• Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury - Aya Hisakawa
• Rei Hino/Sailor Mars - Michie Tomizawa
• Luna - Keiko Han
• 'Game Machine' - Yasuhiro Takato
• Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask - Tohru Furuya
• Naru Osaka - Shino Kakinuma
• Queen Beryl - Keiko Han
• Nephrite - Katsuji Mori
• Zoisite - Keiichi Nanba
• Rui Saionji - Satoko Kitou
• Tesuni - Michiko Abe
• Reporters - Toshio Kobayashi, Arihiro Masuda
• Female Students - Kimiko Toriumi, Naoko Nakamura

Previous episode: 13	Season Sailor Moon	Next episode: 15