Showdown with Pinako and her Friends! Devil's Game
| Episode Data | |
 Title | |
| Original Episode | |
| Name (Kanji/kana): | ピナコたち対決！ ＤＥＶＩＬ’Ｓ ＧＡＭＥ |
|---|---|
| Name (Romaji): | Pinako Tachi Taiketsu! DEBIRUSU GEEMU |
| Name (Translated): | Showdown with Pinako and her Friends! Devil's Game |
| Name (DVD Dub): | A Showdown with Pinako's Group: The Devil's Game |
| Episode Number: | 21 |
| Director: | Masterson Asatou |
| Writer: | Tomomi Shimabukuro |
| Animation Director: | Matahitsu Andou |
| Air Date: | February 13, 2023 |
| Previous Episode: | Machinations of Val, King of the Dark Agency |
| Next Episode: | Showdown with Pinako! The Cyber Warrior Master, Cochran |
| TV English Dub Episode | |
| Name: | Val's Doom Gauntlet |
| Number: | 21 / 180 |
| Company: | DHX Media (formerly DiC) |
| Air Date: | November 17, 2023 |
| Previous Episode: | King of The Nega Agency |
| Next Episode: | Cochran's Cyber Scouts |
Episode Comparison
| Episode Comparison, From "Tokyo Side Stories Uncensored" | |
| Blue | Side Note |
|---|---|
| Red | Scene that was Cut |
| Green | Altered Scene |
| Purple | Stupid Dialogue Alert (S.D.A) |
| JPN EP 21 22-9-18 |
Pinako Tachi Taiketsu! Debirusu Geemu (Showdown with Pinako's Group! Devil's Game) |
| ENG EP 21 / 180 23-6-30 |
Val's Doom Gauntlet |
| Chandler's Two Cents |
Ok, so aside from the first few minutes, the first half of the episode plays out as if it was the first episode of Sailor moon, but with a changed cast and changed scenes, and this was the original version of the episode, but when we get to the second half, oh boy do we have a ride and a half waiting for us, Val doesn't play around, especially after he killed KING ASHURA a few episodes back. |
| Side Note | This episode is a bit bland during its first half, a lot of lines during this segment were off, especially when someone makes their LONG AWAITED RETURN! The second half is the opposite of the first half, a lot of lines were translated faithfully, even if some of them had to be adapted to use terminology such as "Negaverse", "Scout", or "___ Power"... wait, that third one isn't said? oh right, Daniel and Katrina do not transform throughout this Three-parter. This is part 1 of 3.
MotDs are Morga, Making her long awaited return in the dub. and her daughter, Mol... wait, it's actually not changed? They didn't change it from Narun to Molly with an extra syllable? Villain of the day is Val the Tsar, don't worry, they're not on the same side. VotDs are Mina Aino (Minako) and Theia Tsukino (Kurenai Aino/DD Girl III), they were kidnapped by Val's Monsters in the first half and subjected to a humiliating loss by Val at the beginning of the second half. Devil's Game is renamed to The Doom Gauntlet, nice touch keeping the initialization, since there are various "D.G."s throughout the second half of the episode. Cochran retains his name in the dub Barry retains his name Metallia... also retains her name despite being referred to as The Negaforce in Season 1, then again This Metallia is different from the Metallia of back then. |
| Side Note | We get a narrator in this episode, and he's pretty much the same one from episode 1 (the part where Pinako is introduced), he narrates over up until the part where Pinako wakes up, while in the original, Pinako does it herself. While it does sound mundane, this isn't the last we'll hear of the Narrator this episode. |
| Cut | (Addition of 30 seconds) A scene of Morga being defeated by Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Ac- AHEM, Moon Tiara MAGIC is inserted in the beginning of the episode (After the title card), this isn't in the original, and effectively destroys the context of the next scene, but it's there because "I SHALL RETURN!" |
| S.D.A. | "I HAVE RETURNED!" - Morga
Yup, All the dub fans have been wondering when will Morga ever make her supposed return, and that day is TODAY! ... yeah I'm all for completing full circle loops, but the original Morga just said hi to Narun and Pinako, nothing about having returned from the dead or the Negaverse. |
| Side Note | Can we just applaud both the Tokyoma Gaiden sound team and the Tokyo Side Stories sound team for the amazing musical work they do, with all of the cues they have, they certainly know how to cut from song 1 to song 2 seamlessly without a fade. it sounds like they're making new combo cues every day. |
| S.D.A. | "That was so sweet, I'm getting cavities" - Val The Tsar
Is Val just the dub's reference for Queen Beryl in-jokes at this point? Aside from the King Emerald Cards (Which are the Anime's Equivalent of Evil Darien, Queen Beryl and the Negaforce), Val pretty much has no relation to her at all, Barry's kinda the one closest to her, but we also hear a bit of Episode 40's audio with new Dialogue put in... which means this makes up the dub's second commercial break. Going into Break Val drops Theia and Mina down a hole into the Negaverse Coming out of Break Val says to Pinako to say goodbye to get family Japanese/DVD Version Val tells everyone that Pinako's talks with her family is over as he drops Kurenai and Minako down a hole and into some sort of cell off screen Amazing how a commercial break can change so much. |
| Side Note | The Narrator returns at the end of the episode, replacing the voice of the announcer and of Barry, it's also stylized as though it's one of "Digimon: Digital Monsters'" To Be continued spiels, even going as far as to emulate its end with "Find out on the next Sailor Moon Tokyo Side Stories". At least the DVD Version is Viz-Consistent, we actually get to hear Barry wondering why he's being called to Val-The-Land there. (Spoiler Alert: It's the Silver Crystal, Beryl wants it and Barry doesn't know it yet.) |
