Here I will speack about the second Sailor Moon animated season.
This serie has 43 episodes, and it's different in the structure from the first one. In fact here the first 13 episodes are made exclusively for animated version, under the direction of Takeuchi Naoko, and they don't have any correspondence with the manga. I'm speaking about Ail and An saga (Al and Anna in italian version).
In these episodes, we meet Seijurô and Natsumi Ginga (François and Michelle in It), two brothers that arrive at Usagi's school at the serie's starting. Contemporary with their arrive, some strange monsters named "Cardian" infest Tôkyô, stealing the energy to people.
As you remember, in the final episode of the first season, Usagi asked to Maboroshi no Ginzuisho to forget all adventures, and to continue the normal life. In fact Usagi and her soldiers can't remember even that they were friends, and they live normally.
Unfortunately Luna and Artemis, watching these things happening, they start thinking to make them remember.
But they can't have the time to decide: In fact one day, when Usagi was talking with Naru at telephone, she hears her friend cry, because a big cardian arrived in her room and tried to steal her energy. Usagi runs to her house, and she tries to defeat the monster, even without the help of her powers (that she doesn't remember to have). So Luna makes her remember, and Usagi transforms herself and destroys the monster, that turns into a black tarot card. So, Usagi comes back to be the Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. And soon, even the other girl remember, because they are involved in a monster trap, and Luna has to make them remember, to save their life. To send these monster to Earth are Ail and An, two aliens that needs others energy to survive. They tries with these monsters, that they create by some tarots cards, to give energy to Makaijû (lett: Tree of Demon's Kingdom, in It named Darkness Tree), a big tree that gives to them the energy to survive. In normal clothes, Ail and An are Seijurô and Natsumi, the new students in Usagi's school.
At first, the two think only to steal the energy, but very soon their feelings change. In fact Ail falls inlove with Usagi, and An falls inlove with Mamoru. Mamoru still can't remember the past adventure (Usagi can't understand why), and he speaks to Usagi in the same way that he did at the start of the first season. In the same time, a boy that seems really like Mamoru, takes the place of Tuxedo Kamen saving Usagi from enemies: the boy uses the name of Tsukikage no Knight (Knight of Moon's shadow, in Italian only Knight of the Moon). The episodes continue similar each other for a little, then there's a very difficult match for Usagi. She's really in trouble, and she leaves all her energy. She faints, and she arrives in a parallel dimension, where she meets again Queen Serenity. She consoles her daughter, and she gives to her Maboroshi no Ginzuisho, that Usagi lost at the end of first season. Her mother explains to Usagi that now she can use directly the Maboroshi no Ginzuisho to trasform, and that she has to say "Moon Crystal power, make up!"(in Italy she says: "Silver Crystal power make up", obviously in Italian :). Serenity gives to her even another sceptre, and she says to Usagi to be careful with the jewel, because it hadn't arrived to find back the complete power, after the battle. Then Usagi comes back in her world, and she can defeat the monster again. The moment of Truth telling is arriving: Ail and An suddently understand that the Makaijû is dieing, and that the tree refuses the energy that they capture for him. They would like to find a solution, so they don't go to school. Usagi is very worried about them, and she goes to their house to see what they have. She's curious, so she enters in a room without permission. The Makaijû, that is in the room, grabs Usagi's body, and starts sucking her energy. By chance, Natsumi arrives, and Usagi can't understand what's really happen. Natsumi scolds Usagi, because nobody told her to enter in this room, and Usagi goes away. But when the two enter in the Makaijû's room, they find a little bud on his dead branches. They try to give energy to it, but the bud suddently dead when the energy arrives to it. The two start thinking that Usagi has a very strong energy. Natsumi wants to use Usagi to save the tree, but Ail doesn't want it, because he's inlove with Usagi, and he doesn't want to make her feel bad. An, instead, wants to use Usagi because she's jealous of the feelings that her brother has for the blond girl. The two can't know very well WHAT's the feeling named love, and they make a lot of faults: it's the first time they love someone.
When Usagi comes back home, Luna founds on her hairs a strange root. When something arrives near the root, this thing sticks to it, and starts sucking energy. Luna and Artemis tell to Usagi and other soldiers that this is their enemy, a big and evil tree named Makaijû, that sucks human's energy! The soldiers understand that Ail and An are Seijurô and Natsumi, and they start thinking a plan to win them. The next day, Usagi sees Mamoru that comes visit Natsumi: he's worried about her, because he knew that she was ill. Usagi tells to him to not go there: it's dangerous. But Mamoru wants to go, so Usagi goes with him. So, Natsumi distracts her brother, and makes Usagi enter in the Makaijû's room.
Usagi starts crying, because the tree is sucking her energy, and at this time, the tree crys <<NOW STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!>>. The tree grows up and absorbs everything in the building where Ail and An live. Mamoru tries to save Usagi, and in this moment, even the other soldiers arrive. Usagi transforms herself into Sailor Moon in front to Ail and An. Ail is really surprised seeing that the girl he loves is his enemy, and he thinks that Usagi betrayed him. An makes fun of him, but he makes her understand that Mamoru is helping Sailor Moon, and that he never would be her boyfriend. An fills herself of jealousy and anger. She decides that if Mamoru can't be with her, he must die, and Usagi must die with him. She starts hit them, and Usagi tries to make her come back to reason: it's not with revenge that she can feel better! But An can't hear Usagi, and continues hitting them. Ail sees the courage and the sacrifice's spirit of Mamoru, that is always over Sailor Moon to protect her, and he finally understands. He understands the power of Love, and he understands even that's the only thing that they need. He tries to stop An, but she can't hear him. So, the Makaijû starts hitting everything, and at least, An sees that the last hit of the tree would kill Ail. She comes over her brother, to protect him, and in this way, she's killed by the tree. Ail cries, because he had understood that An was the only girl that he really cares of, and he doesn't want she dead.
The tree starts speack, and he tells to Usagi and the others his real story: he's not an evil tree. Ail and An were the only survivors of a people that the tree created to have a company, and to be happy. At first the people that he created lived in harmony and happiness, then jealousy, will of power, and angry started, and the people destroyed each other. Ail and An were only little children when the last person of this corrupted people dead, and they can't know how they had to behave.
They thought that they had to give to the tree the energy, but they couldn't know that the only thing the tree needed was the energy of their love. But now the tree was corrupted by the Angry and the Hate, and he was dying. The Makaijû asks Sailor Moon to purify him with Maboroshi no Ginzuisho's power, so he would grow up back, and Ail and An would survive. Usagi agrees, and she purify the tree, that grows back into a little bud, that Ail and An (that comes back to life) starts feed with the energy of their love. They say goodbye to Sailor Soldiers, and they come back to travel in the Universe.
Now Usagi finds even the true identity of Tsukikage no Knight, that was Mamoru! In fact Mamoru had a big shock during the match against Beryl, and he lost his memory. But his will to help Usagi was so strong, that he created a projection of him, that appeared only when Usagi needed help. Tsukikage no Knight comes back into Mamoru, and when he opens the eyes, he remembers everything! Usagi is so happy: finally their group is complete another time!
Now finally the real Sailor Moon R starts: In fact now there's the story that Takeuchi naoko inserted in the manga. Mamoru found back his memory, and Usagi can think at him as her boyfriend.
During a meeting of them, when they are kissing, a little girls with pink hair appears. She has the hair with the same Usagi's hairstyling, and she pretend to be Tsukino Usagi. Usagi refuted to her that she's the only and unique Tsukino Usagi in the Universe, and the little girl takes out a gun, and tells to Usagi to give her Maboroshi no Ginzuisho. Usagi tries to dissemble, but the girl shots her, and Usagi faints before to understand that it was only a toy-gun.
Usagi comes back home, and she finds the little pest with his family, that she had enchanted. They now believe that the little girl is a cousin of Usagi, and they decided to make her live in their house for a little. So, Usagi finds everywhere that little pest that searches the maboroshi no Ginzuisho. The little girl insists to say that her name is Tsukino Usagi, so she decides to name her Chibiusa (the name arrives from Chibi=little and Usa-Usagi=rabbit, in Italy they pronounced in a bad way the name, that begins Kibiusa).
At the same time, some new enemies arrives in Tôkyô sky: it's Rubeus (Rubens in It) and his "4 Sisters" (Persecution Sisters in italian). They arrive from the Future, from Nemesis, the 10th planet of Sun's system: Prince Diamond and his councillor Wiseman (Great Wise man in Italy) sent them on Earth to find "The Rabbit", and they have to find even the Maboroshi no Ginzuisho, to destroy it. In fact Nemesis people wants to destroy the Ginzuisho before that Crystal Tôkyô is created, and Serenity will be made the queen of the Earth, becoming Neo Queen Serenity (Neo Queen because her mother was named Serenity too, but in Italy the name of Serenity mother was Selene, and the new queen has been named "New Crowned Queen Serenity").
Diamond, in reality, wants to capture Serenity, because when they attacked Crystal Tôkyô, he fallen inlove with the Queen, that looked at him with anger.
As during the serie we find, the person that nemesis is searching is Chibiusa, that is Usagi and Mamoru's daughter when they will become a couple, in future. Chibiusa brought back with her the Future's Maboroshi no Ginzuisho, and she wants to ask Sailor Moon to help her family.
Mamoru starts to have some visions when he touches Chibiusa, and he has a nightmare, where he hears a voice that tells him to leave Usagi alone. If he wouldn't do that, the voice says, Usagi will die! So, Mamoru decides to leave Usagi, and the moment when he tells her this thing is surely the worst one in Usagi's life. She loves Mamoru, she says that if she did something wrong, she would change. But Mamoru said that it's not her faults, but he can't stay with her any more.
Usagi can't accept that, she's really desperate: she's even jealous of Chibiusa, because Mamoru spends a lot of time with the little girl, trying to understand why he has these visions. The poor Usagi minded off by this feelings, is a simple victim for 4 Sister's spells. But silly thing is that when she trasform herself into Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen arrives every time to save her!
But very soon we arrive to a change: The 4 Sisters understand that they are supporting evil people, and decide to change. Sailor Moon will help them, using Maboroshi no Ginzuisho power to trasform them into human being. The first is Cooan (Kermesite in It), then Beruche (Bertierite), and then Karaberas (Kalamerite) and Petz (Pezzite) in the same time. One day, Chibiusa discovers Sailor Soldiers secret: she's very disappointed to know that the warrior her parents respected was that crybaby of Usagi! The child decide that Usagi isn't the right person to save her mother, and she steals Maboroshi no Ginzuisho, deciding to come back to her future time and save her parents without help. Unfortunately, in the moment she's asking to Cronus to make her come back to the future, she's found by Rubeus, that kidnaps her, and brings her to his UFO. So, the soldiers have to use a new power they have, the Sailor Teleport, to arrive to Rubeus' UFO, and rescue Chibiusa. Rubeus is destroyed with his UFO thanks to Maboroshi no Ginzuisho's power
But little Chibiusa is in trouble: she's fallen into a very deep sleep, and she can't come back asleep. Now, finally, we can know what's the little ball that Chibiusa had always with her, and that seemed like to Luna's face (Luna the cat :). Chibiusa named that ball "Luna P ball" and sometimes "PU". the ball starts to speack with Sailor Soldiers, and says that she's another soldier, Sailor Pluto. This ball is only a communication way with Chibiusa, that Pluto names as "Small Lady". She says to the others that Chibiusa now is in real danger: Wiseman entered in her mind, and trys to destroy it with his power. If he could destroy her mind, Chibiusa would die!
So, Usagi forgets every jealousy that she seemed to have for Chibiusa, and decides to help her. All Sailor Soldiers enter thanks to Pluto's help in Chibiusa's mind, and they could save her. they promise to Chibiusa that they would go to her future time, and save her mother and her father. So, they do that, and in this journey, they are helped even by Tuxedo Kamen.
The new enemy of Sailor Soldiers now is Esmerood (Esmeralda in It) another General of Dark Moon, that hates Sailor Moon. In fact she's inlove with Prince Demando, but he's inlove with, and he has a really great obsession for Queen Serenity, that's Usagi's future appearence, and he wants to capture her, to take possesion of her hearth. Esmerood wants to kill Sailor Moon, even if Demando asked to her to bring to him Sailor Moon alive.
Thanks to Chibiusa, the Soldiers arrives in front to the Time Door, controlled by Sailor Pluto. Usagi had a very bad meeting/fight with her, because she thought she was a bad person. But Chibiusa explains to "Pu" everything (the name PU arrives from SE-RA-PU-RU-TO, the way to spell Sailor Pluto in japan language, it's a contraction), and Pluto opens to them the magical port, advertising them to NEVER leave Chibiusa's hand, if they won't lose themselves in a temporal labyrinth without end. Unfortunately, Usagi can't resist, and she loses Chibiusa's hand. Chibiusa is very close to be kidnapped by Evil, but luckily, Sailor Soldiers arrive (thanks Maboroshi no Ginzuisho), and they save her. They arrive to Crystal Tôkyô palace, and there, they meet King Endymion (the future Mamoru), that explain them everything. First of all he tells to Usagi and Mamoru that Chibiusa is their future daughter, and you can imagine the reaction of them (*VERY BIG BLUSH*). But Endymion now is reduced to a ghost, and he tells to Soldiers that Crystal Tôkyô lived without problem, then suddently, that Evil things appeared in the sky, and Queen Serenity tries to destroy them. But she couldn't and so she barricaded herself under a Sleep barrier, protected by the power of her Soldiers. By the moment that Queen Serenity slept, Crystal Tôkyô fallen into darkness, and into the destruction.
In reality, the Dark Moon group wasn't a new enemy to Queen Serenity: she was the one that punished them bordering them on Nemesis. There, the group met Wiseman, that told to them a way to destroy Queen Serenity, and take revenge of her. Obviously, the group has been used by Wiseman, that's in reality is Death Phantom (in Italy Big Phantom) a powerful and Evil entity created by Chaos. It's a try f that the sacrifice of Demando, that is killed by Wiseman to save the life of Usagi, the only woman that touched his hearth. The moment of Demando's death is the most moving of all the second season of Sailor Moon, to me, perhaps with the final episode of Ail and An saga, and with the death of Sapphire, the Demando's brother (very similar to Mamoru): Sapphire understood that Wiseman was using them, and tried to tell to Demando. But he couldn't because he's killed by Wiseman before he could speack to his brother. But Wiseman has a very accurate plan: he enter in the mind of Chibiusa, and darks her mind, making her believing that no one loves her, and that all her friends attempt to feel her bad. Chibiusa, that loved very much her parents, now thinks that they maltreated her, and they never want to be with her. She starts to hate everything, she hates her mother, her father, and even Sailor Soldiers. All this hate, make her grow up, and it trasform herself into the Dark Lady (same, but translated, in It)
Dark lady wants to destroy Usagi's psychology, and she kidnaps Mamoru, hypnotizing him, and making him her slave. But usagi is really grown up by the first season, and she reacts: she tries to make Chibiusa come back normal, she tries to make Dark Lady understand that Wiseman words were faults, and that everyone there loved her. Slowly, she obtain Chibiusa's attention, and then, Dark Lady disappears, and Chibiusa returns. Thanks to the united power of future and present Maboroshi no Ginzuisho, Chibiusa (that by this occasion wears the dress of Queen Serenity) and Usagi (idem) destroy Death Phantom, and bring back to Crystal Tôkyô the peace. Finally, Neo Queen Serenity wakes up, and even in 20th century Tôkyô everything come back normal. After few days, Chibiusa uses her Dimension Key, and she comes back to her time, to hug back her parents and Sailor Soldiers.