The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire

"The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire" is the 10th episode of the 1st season of the Sailor Moon anime and the 10th episode overall. It aired in Japan on May 16, 1992. The DiC English dub title for this episode is "An Uncharmed Life" and it aired in North America on September 19, 1995.
==Summary==
Several people who take the bus near the Hikawa Shrine have gone missing. Usagi, Ami, and Luna decide to investigate by visiting the shrine. There, they meet Rei Hino, a shrine maiden with strong spiritual powers.
==Plot ==
Queen Beryl asks Jadeite if he’s located the Silver Crystal yet, and reminds him they must find it first. She asks him to devise a new plan to gather energy for Queen Metalia, a chance to redeem himself.
Usagi, Ami, and Naru see several cops going to a temple near Sendaizaku, where several buses were reported to have vanished into thin air after picking up passengers. The temple is also selling charms, and Usagi goes there to buy one. Jadeite is working at the temple, disguised as a worker named Jed. At the temple, Usagi, Ami, and Naru meet Rei Hino and her grandfather. Jadeite activates the charms that three girls bought earlier, putting them into a trance.
Usagi, Ami, and Luna arrive at the bus station to investigate. A bus (with the number 66, the same number as the one that disappeared) arrives. Luna tells Usagi to get on, but she does not want to due to the appearance of the driver. Afterward, the bus drives off into a black hole. Usagi tells Rei about this, associating the bus with the temple since everyone on it has the charms sold by the temple, which was Jed's idea. After they leave, Rei finds a transformation pen on the ground with the symbol of Mars on it. She then begins to suspect that Jed might be involved.
When the bus returns, Luna tells Usagi to get on. She eventually uses the Disguise Pen to turn into a bus attendant and gets onto the bus with Luna. After the bus drives into the black hole, leaving Ami outside at the bus station, Rei, at her shrine, looks into the fire and sees that Jed is the one responsible. After she accuses him, he summons a black hole and throws her in. Rei and the bus appear in another dimension. The driver turns into one of Jadeite's youma, Kigaan. Usagi transforms into Sailor Moon.
The sign of Mars appears on Rei's forehead. Sailor Moon throws her moon tiara to Kigaan, but she avoids it. As Rei's birds, Phobos and Deimos (who were also thrown into the black hole with her) attack Kigaan, who catches the moon tiara, which Sailor Moon uses to bind her. Luna tells Rei to use the transformation pen and say "Mars Power, Make Up", and Rei, visibly infuriated, and she transforms into Sailor Mars and destroys Kigaan with her Fire Soul attack.
The black hole begins to close up, threatening to trap Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Luna, and the other victims inside forever, but Ami, from the bus station, prays and inadvertently uses her power to keep it open. Tuxedo Mask arrives and takes everyone out of the black hole. Afterward, Sailor Moon suspects that Sailor Mars is in love with Tuxedo Mask.
== International Dub Titles ==
* Brazilian Portuguese :O Ônibus Fantasma: Sailor Mars, a Guerreira de Fogo ("The Phantom Bus: Sailor Mars, the Guardian of Fire")
* European Portuguese: Marte, a Guerreira do Fogo ("Mars, the Guardian of Fire")
*European Spanish: El Autobús Maldito ("The Cursed Bus")
* French:
** TV: Sailor Mars ("Sailor Mars")
** DVD: Le bus maudit ! Voici Mars, guerrière des flammes. ("The Cursed Bus! Enter Mars, the Guardian of Flames")
* German: Der Tempel der Verliebten ("The Temple of Lovers")
==Changes==
===Changes from the Manga===
This episode is based on the manga chapter Act 3 Rei - Sailor Mars but with a few differences.
* Nephrite makes his debut.
* The chapter does not have a youma.
* Sailor Mercury can reach the alternate dimension.
* Jadeite is killed outright by Sailor Mars' fire attack after she is introduced.
* The symbol of Mars appeared on Rei's head and Luna threw Rei the pen.
* Rei's Grandfather does not appear until Act 5. Also, his appearance differs greatly, as in the manga he is tall and has hair and a mustache.
* Jadeite is the bus driver and does not set foot in the shrine.
*Tuxedo Mask didn't appear in the alternate dimension driving the buses, nor does he even appear at all.
*The Sailor Senshi escaped from the dimension using a transportation technique.
*Usagi and Luna boarded into the bus when they suddenly met Mamoru by accident, revealing himself as the Grade 11 High School student attending at Moto Azabu High School.
=== Dub Changes ===
* After Rei attacks Usagi with Akuryo Taisen mistakenly, the shot of Usagi on the ground dazed and dizzy is longer in the dub.
* The shot with Luna and Usagi talking about whether they should call Ami to investigate the Hikawa Shrine/66 Bus is longer in the dub as well.
* The shots of the 66 Bus are reversed. Only shots of the driver or when the steering wheel is noticeably on the "wrong side" are reversed. Everything else is as it should be.
* When Serena transforms into the stewardess using the Luna Pen, the transformation is longer in the dub.
* Instead of having Rei's henshin cut like Ami's was, Rei's was censored, having her body lines removed instead.
* All henshins/attacks aside from Moon's were slightly sped up.
* At the end of the episode with Sailor Moon crying, originally we see a pick of Sailor Mars in the corner sticking out her tongue. The picture of Sailor Mars is missing in the dub.
==First Appearances==
===Characters ===
*Rei Hino / Sailor Mars
*Grandpa Hino
===Items ===
*Ofuda
*Sailor Mars' Transformation Pen
===Phrases===
*Mars Power, Make Up
=== Attacks ===
*Akuryo Taisan
*Fire Soul
== Gallery ==
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Mars Power (Episode 10 - Cursed Buses! Fire Senshi Mars Appears) (May 16, 1992).png|This episode marks the official debut of Rei, along with the official debut of her Mars Power, Make Up transformation sequence.
==Trivia==
* This episode and the next episode were edited and merged in the Korean dub. This was done to avoid showing scenes of the Hikawa Shrine.
* It is never shown how Tuxedo Mask got into the other dimension.
* This is the first episode where, on a rare occasion, a Sailor Senshi, other than Sailor Moon, destroys the Monster of the Day.
*This episode showed the first instance of a Sailor Senshi using their powers to guide or support Sailor Moon. In this case, Ami was able to use her Transformation Pen to guide Usagi to the exit of the dimensional warp.
Category:Sailor Moon episodes
Category:Anime episodes