Crushing on Ami: The Boy Who Can See the Future

Queen Beryl reminds Zoisite and Kunzite that all seven Rainbow Crystals are needed to reach the Silver Crystal, and since Tuxedo Mask already holds one, she orders Zoisite to hunt down the remaining five. On her way to class, Ami is stopped by a strange boy who warns her off just before a falling beam crushes a truck at her back, and when she turns, he has already gone. Posted test scores soon reveal the boy as Ryo Urawa, a recent transfer who edged out Ami with a perfect mark, a result that both flusters him and fuels a growing crush.

Usagi, ever eager to play matchmaker, meets Urawa at a cafe and coaxes out his plan to confess only once he matches Ami academically. Luna notices the Moon Stick glowing in Usagi's bag whenever he is near, and Zoisite gloats that this gentle boy is secretly one of the Seven Great Youma. When Usagi tries to bring Ami to him, Luna moves to warn them of his true nature, but Usagi pulls Ami away before the truth can land.

Walking home, Urawa is confronted by Zoisite and calmly names her, explaining that his foresight has shown him his cursed second self since childhood. He refuses to transform, declaring he would sooner die, and is blasted with dark power meant to draw out the crystal shard. Ami and Usagi arrive in time to become Sailor Mercury and Sailor Moon, and the interruption forces Zoisite to withdraw empty-handed. Resting on a park bench, Urawa murmurs Ami's surname, leaving her to wonder how he knows her secret, while Luna deduces that a Rainbow Crystal lies within him.

Zoisite eventually turns Urawa into the Youma Bunbo, but his lingering will drives him to strike at her instead, knocking the crystal loose into Sailor Mercury's hands. Fully hypnotized, Bunbo then hunts Mercury down, shrugging off the Moon Stick as Luna warns he has absorbed too much power. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter arrive to slow him with Fire Soul and Supreme Thunder, Mercury clouds the air with her bubble mist, and Sailor Moon weakens him using Moon Tiara Action before restoring him with Moon Healing Escalation. Tuxedo Mask, watching from afar, is pleased the third crystal reached her before slipping away. Days later Urawa announces another transfer for his father's work, and at the station he returns the photo Usagi gave him, vowing to reclaim it once his powers surpass Ami's, while she offers a nicer picture of herself as a keepsake.

Written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa and directed by Takao Yoshizawa, the episode first aired in Japan on October 10, 1992, and reached North America on October 11, 1995, as "Mercury's Mental Match" in the DiC dub. It stands as the only instance of Sailor Moon using Moon Healing Escalation without her tiara, having already flung it at Bunbo, and the sole time that tiara clung to a foe's forehead and shocked him. The installment also debuts "Princess Moon" as the closing theme and a revised opening animation. In a hidden touch, the names filling ranks nine through thirty-one on the test board belong to 1980s Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball players. Urawa's experience here, and Ami's kindness, later inspire his return to help battle the Dark Kingdom.