For Friendship! Ami and Berthier Clash

Ami enters an international chess tournament at the Chess Tower, and discovers that Berthier has targeted the building.
The North American dub title for this episode is Checkmate.

Summary

Episode Data
Berthier tries to kill herself and the Senshi
Original Episode
Name (Kanji/kana):	友情のため! 亜美とベルチェ激突
Name (Romaji):	{{{Name (Romaji)}}}
Name (Translated):	For Friendship! Ami and Berthier Clash
Name (Viz Dub):	{{{Name (Viz Dub)}}}
Episode Number:	71
Director:	Harume Kosaka
Writer:	Shigeru Yanagawa
Animation Director:	Masahiro Ando
Air Date:	October 16, 1993
Previous Episode:	A Battle of the Flames of Love! Mars vs Koan
Next Episode:	Cold Hearted Rubeus! The Four Sisters of Sorrow
First English Dub Episode
Name:	Checkmate
Number:	64
Company:	DiC
Air Date:	November 20, 1995
Previous Episode:	Enemies No More
Next Episode:	Sibling Rivalry

Usagi and Ami are playing a game of chess in Usagi's room as Makoto, Chibiusa, and Luna watch. Usagi loses, and Ami tells her that you need to be calm and accurate to play chess. Chibusa teases Usagi about her loss and Usagi challenges her to a game, but is defeated again.

In the Black Moon Clan's UFO, Rubeus and the three eldest Ayakashi Sisters watch an image of Koan working in a beauty shop. Berthier wonders why Koan wanted to become a normal human, and the others condemn her as a traitor. Rubeus reveals the next Crystal Point: the Chess Tower. Berthier volunteers to contaminate it with Dark Power, but she is the only one currently focused on the mission, as Petz and Calaveras are plotting against her and Rubeus secretly wants to get rid of all four sisters.

Outside the Chess Tower, Ami, Usagi, and Makoto talk about the upcoming chess tournament that Ami is going to enter. Ami says that she only plays chess because she likes it, but a disguised Berthier arrives and gets into an argument with the girls when she insists that only winning is important. Ami goes inside and meets with her grandfather's friend, the owner of the tower. As the two of them are playing chess together, Ami notices the now-undisguised Berthier running by.

Berthier reaches the center of the Crystal Point and uses her Dark Water attack to release the Dark Power. Ami finds her and tries to stop her, but Berthier turns and attacks her. Ami is forced to transform into Sailor Mercury in front of Berthier, and uses Shine Aqua Illusion to defend herself. Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter arrive and come to the rescue, and after being hit by Sailor Jupiter's Sparkling Wide Pressure attack Berthier withdraws. Sailor Mercury tells the others that her identity was just revealed to their enemy.

Back at the UFO, Petz and Calaveras mock Berthier for her failure, and she resolves that she would rather die than get humiliated again. Insisting that she doesn't need anyone's help, she returns to the Chess Tower and hypnotizes the receptionist to enter the chess tournament.

On the day of the tournament, Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and Koan sit in the stands to cheer their friend on, and there meet the owner of the Chess Tower. They watch the competitors on a large screen as Ami and Berthier defeat all of their opponents one by one, and Koan sees through Berthier's disguise.

Ami and Berthier meet again in the final match of the tournament, and Berthier asks if she can use her own chess pieces. Ami agrees, commenting on how pretty the pieces are, and the two of them shake hands. As the game progresses, Ami seems to be losing at first but turns it around and puts Berthier's king in check. Berthier becomes angry and freezes the camera in the playing hall, dropping her disguise. As she finally realizes who her opponent truly was, Ami transforms into Sailor Mercury.

The other four Inner Senshi realize something is wrong and transform together, rushing to join Mercury. When they burst into the playing hall, though, Berthier traps them in a ice bubble so strong that not even Sailor Mars' Burning Mandala attack can break it. Berthier demands that they finish the match, but with her own conditions; she rearranges the pieces to give herself an advantage, then says that every time Sailor Mercury loses a piece, part of her body will be frozen. Though Berthier offers to let her go free if she gives up, Sailor Mercury insists on playing to save the life of the other Sailor Senshi, saying that they are important people to her and she must protect them.

Petz and Calaveras also arrive, wanting to take part in the defeat of the Senshi. As Berthier moves to take another one of Sailor Mercury's chess pieces, however, Tuxedo Mask throws a rose which shatters Berthier's chess piece, cancelling her magic and freeing the Senshi. The two sisters tell Berthier that she must pay for her failure with her life; she complies and uses her attack Dark Water Full Power which will kill both the Senshi and herself. She is willing to die because she is convinced that trust and love are foolish ideas. Koan rushes in and finally manages to convince Berthier that she too can feel love. Koan and Berthier embrace, and Sailor Moon uses Moon Crystal Power to heal Berthier.

Later, Berthier and Koan play chess together in Usagi's room. Berthier still cheats, but the two sisters obviously love each other.

Episode trivia

• This episode contained the first and only use of the attack Dark Water Full Power.

• Ami mentions in this episode that she was the junior chess champion of Japan.

• The first chess game between Ami and Berthier used a position taken from the 1972 World Chess Championship. In the real game, Spassky (white) resigned on the spot after Fischer's move 27... Bxa4. In this episode, Berthier played the same move, but Ami played on and managed to win against an opponent who had up to then been playing at the standard of Bobby Fischer.

• This episode has many similarities with Act 15 of the manga.

• With this episode came an entirely new opening sequence. It made much use of clocks and time motifs, and now featured Crystal Tokyo, Esmeraude, Saphir, Prince Dimande, Wiseman, Chibiusa, Sailor Pluto, King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity.

Cast

• Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon - Kotono Mitsuishi
• Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury - Aya Hisakawa
• Rei Hino/Sailor Mars - Michie Tomizawa
• Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter - Emi Shinohara
• Minako Aino/Sailor Venus - Rica Fukami
• Chibiusa - Kae Araki
• Luna - Keiko Han
• Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask - Tohru Furuya
• Rubeus - Wataru Takagi
• Koan - Wakana Yamazaki
• Berthier - Yuri Amano
• Calaveras - Akiko Hiramatsu
• Petz - Megumi Ogata
• Old Chess Man - Osamu Saka
• Receptionist - Miki Inoue

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