Total Chaos: The Messy Love Rectangle

Caught in the rain without an umbrella, Makoto Kino bumps into a stranger who turns out to be Motoki Furuhata, and her flash of temper dissolves once she recognizes him. Sharing his umbrella on the walk home, she becomes convinced he resembles a boy she once liked, and when he hears she is a skilled cook, he cheerfully invites her to make him a meal, scribbling down his address and his fondness for hayashi rice. What Makoto does not realize is that Motoki is already seeing Reika Nishimura, a university student wrestling with an offer to study abroad in Africa.

When Usagi Tsukino discovers that her friend has fallen for the same person she herself pines over, the two form an uneasy truce and vow to court him at the same time, hopeless odds and all. Mamoru privately notes that Motoki thinks of both girls as little sisters, a remark that only deepens the tangle.

Tidying Motoki's cluttered apartment, Makoto stumbles on a photo of him with Reika and is crushed. She later confronts Reika at the university, meaning to encourage her to leave, yet her own jealousy warps the advice. Meanwhile Zoisite chooses Reika as the next bearer of a Rainbow Crystal, sulking with envy when Kunzite calls the target pretty. On the Sunday the girls finally cook at Motoki's place, a phone call from Reika draws him away to see her off, and the Moon Stick begins to react.

Zoisite ambushes the couple, blasts Motoki unconscious, and pulls the Rainbow Crystal from Reika, twisting her into a youma. Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter arrive but struggle against the monster's chemicals and a swarm of insects, and Jupiter's Supreme Thunder is even captured inside the creature's flask. Sailor Mercury's spray and Sailor Mars's fire finally clear the way, letting Sailor Moon restore Reika with the Moon Stick. Tuxedo Mask duels Zoisite and nearly claims the crystal, only to be tricked and struck down as Zoisite flees with the prize.

The installment marks the debut of Reika Nishimura and ends at the airport as she departs, with Usagi renouncing Motoki one moment and reclaiming her crush the next. The DiC dub, retitled Too Many Girlfriends, removed Usagi's fantasy sequence and shortened the moment Makoto strangles Mamoru. In the manga Reika never becomes a monster, since neither the Seven Great Youma nor the Rainbow Crystals exist there, and she studies mineralogy rather than archaeology.

An instrumental version of the first ending theme underscores Reika's recovery, previously heard during Nephrite's final episode. Usagi's brief daydream, which closes with her nearly kissing Makoto, is frequently cited by fans discussing her character.