A Girl's Dream: Usagi Becomes a Bride

“A Girl’s Dream: Usagi Becomes a Bride" is the 16th episode of the 1st season of the Sailor Moon anime and the 16th episode overall. It aired in Japan on June 27, 1992. The DiC English dub title for this episode is "Wedding Day Blues" and it aired in North America on September 27, 1995.
==Summary==
Usagi decides to enter a homemade wedding dress contest, while her home economics teacher is targeted by Nephrite.
==Plot==
Higure Akiyama teaches home economics class. though seems unusually distracted by something. Usagi and Naru have ice cream together, while Usagi complains how boring the class is. Naru wonders what’s happened as Akiyama‘s usually passionate about sewing. Suddenly, Umino pops up out of nowhere, reading through his memo. He adds that Akiyama is to be married soon. It's not ideal, but as long as they’re happy together. Usagi disagrees and insists she wants the highest of standards or nothing at all.
Akiyama admires the fabrics in the glass of the Dressmaker store. Haruna sees her and stops to talk, asking about her reception and dress that she plans on sewing herself. Nephrite sits in his car watching the two women and later at his mansion he consults the stars for his next target, Higure Akiyama.
After school Usagi sees a wedding taking place, when a sign catches her attention for a Handmade Dress Contest. The prize is a paid for wedding reception, she becomes ecstatic and dreams of her wedding day. She day dreams about marrying Tuxedo Mask or Motoki, though realises she could never sew a dress.
Rei sees the sign too and starts arguing with the head of the contest, demanding to know if someone without a fiancé can win. He tells her the ceremony can be held whenever the winner wishes. Rei walks away, content with the fact she could win, and meets Usagi. She asks to meet Usagi's mom, who’s a housewife. Meanwhile, Akiyama also sees the sign for the dress contest.
At her house, Ikuko meets Rei who pretends to be close with her daughter. She welcomes Rei with a cake that belongs to Usagi, and lies about her baking it herself. Rei asks to be taught sewing, assuming she knows how. Leaving the home in rage, Rei asks Usagi why her mom said nothing about being bad at sewing earlier. Usagi is angered, and points out that she planned to use her. 
Usagi heads to Ami‘s place talk to about the contest and ask for help, begging to learn sewing based off her good grades in class. Ami hands her a stack of books, advising to read the books for the basics, and the actual lessons will come later.
Customers at the Dressmaker’s fight over the materials as one lands at Akiyama's feet. She picks up a piece she likes, when Nephrite asks to see it, taking it from her. He comments on how beautiful it would look as a dress, wrapping it around himself and placing his crest down. 
The next day Usagi walks with Naru to Akiyama's house, carrying magazines about dresses. As they approach the apartments, they see Akiyama’s fiancé walk up the stairs with a bouquet and start laughing. He knocks on the door, worried as she’s not answering his calls. She opens the door and throws the bouquet to the ground, threatening to call off the engagement before retreating inside. Luna recognises something isn’t right, and Usagi and Naru are shocked by what occurred. Inside, Akiyama sews at a mad pace as Nephrite's evil crest becomes more prevalent. 
Luna tells Ami she senses the presence of a Youma around Akiyama, suggesting they seek Rei's help and head towards Hikawa Shrine. At the shrine Grandpa chases Rei, who has stolen the only rental wedding kimono the shrine has. He tells her that it‘s unforgivable to use a sacred wedding kimono for a contest. Seeing Ami he asks her to have a wedding at the Shrine, openly suggesting he’s single. Rei smacks him over the head over the comment.
At her house Usagi sneaks to her mother's bedroom, grabbing her curtains. Ikuko catches her and hopes she’s not planning on using the curtains for a dress, before proposing that to pay for new curtains, she will suspend Usagi's allowance for the next three months. She reminds Usagi the contest is soon, and they may not have enough time to complete a dress. 
Back at Akiyama's apartment, Nephrite's crest has grown increasingly more powerful, reaching the peak. Akiyama admires her finished gown, twirling it around in the air as the crest shines, draining her energy enough to make her collapse as a result. 
At Juban Hall the contest is underway as a man greets the participants waiting to enter. Ami, Rei, and Usagi stand outside her fingers bandaged up from stabbing herself with a needle. Luna tells them to keep watch should anything suspicious happen, and Usagi will enter hall as a contestant. Usagi protests she doesn’t have a dress, though remembers to use her Disguise Pen, transforming into a bride. 
The contest begins, and Usagi competes on stage as the others search for Akiyama, who appears at the top of the stairs in a beautiful gown. The host says she can‘t make such an unplanned entrance, when he's hypnotised with a glare, and soon everyone surrenders to her. She asserts herself as the winner, the evil crest beaming. Widow emerges from Nephrite's crest, as Akiyama is left unconscious on the stairs. 
Usagi faces the monster, who demands to know her true identity. She then transforms into Sailor Moon, meanwhile Ami and Rei transform into Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars. Widow dashes towards them and spits out a web that wraps itself around Sailor Moon. Sailor Mercury uses Bubble Spray to fill the venue and disorient her, and Sailor Mars uses Fire Soul to destroy the web which has trapped Sailor Moon. The spider rushes through the mist, confused about where she is. 
Sailor Moon then uses Moon Tiara Action, destroying her once and for all. Akiyama and the other people left unconscious in the auditorium, wake up with no recollection of what happened. At the wedding, Akiyama walks down the stairs of a church. Ami reminds everyone of the tradition that whoever catches the bride's bouquet will get married next. The bouquet is thrown up as Haruna, Usagi, and Rei fight over it. Ami ultimately catches the flowers as the others complain. 
== International Dub Titles ==
* Brazilian Portuguese: Sonho das Garotas: Serena Torna-se Noiva ("Girls Dream: Serena Becomes Bride")
* European Portuguese: A Bunny Transforma-se Numa Noiva ("Bunny Becomes A Bride")
*European Spanish: El Traje de Novia ("The Wedding Dress")
* French: 
** TV: La robe de mariée ("The Wedding Dress")
** DVD: Rêve de robe blanche ! Usagi se marie. ("Dream of White Dress! Usagi is Getting Married.")
* German: Das Hochzeitskleid ("The Wedding Dress") 
==Changes==
=== Changes from the Manga ===
*These events never occurred in the manga.
=== Dub Changes ===
*In the DiC English dub, the contest prize of a free wedding reception was changed on a trip to Hawaii.
*When Ami and Rei say the scout motto, Usagi takes offense to them stealing her lines in the original. Yet in the dub, she tells them to wait for the intro until they transform.
==Gallery==
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==Trivia==
*This episode shared some similarities with Act 5 of the manga.
*In Usagi's daydream, she was married to both Tuxedo Mask and Motoki Furuhata.
*When Rei knocked Ami over at the Hikawa Shrine, Rei's grandfather's eyes bugged out as Ami's skirt flipped up.
*The stuffed rabbit Usagi is holding resembles Patty Hoperabbit, the main protagonist on Maple Town, another series directed by Junichi Sato.
Category:Anime episodes
Category:Sailor Moon episodes