Editing Act Zero - The Birth of Sailor V

{{PGSM Episode
| image             = http://www.wikimoon.org/images/pgsm/actzero.jpg
| caption           = Sailor V rescues an excited Usagi
| Name (Kana)       = セーラーＶ誕生！
| Name (Romanji)    = Seeraa V Tanjyou!
| Name (Translated) = The Birth of Sailor V!
| Number            = 51
| Director          = [[Masataka Takamaru]]
| Writer            = [[Yasuko Kobayashi]]
| Air Date          = N/A
| Prev              = [[Special Act - We're Getting Married!]]
| Next              = None
}}
'''''Act Zero - The Birth of Sailor V''''' was a single episode of [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]] released directly to DVD/VHS, which told how [[Minako Aino]] and [[Artemis]] first became a team, and about their first mission to protect [[Usagi Tsukino]] from a group of eccentric jewel thieves.

==Summary==
It is Christmas time in [[Tokyo]], and shoppers walk past a large TV screen advertising the latest CD by the popular [[idol]], [[Minako Aino]]. 

Minako stands on the roof of a building, softly singing "Silent Night" as she looks out over the city. 

A robber charges out of a store and down the street as cries of "thief!" follow him.

As Minako lies on the roof, she sees a shape silhouetted against the full moon, and shortly afterwards [[Artemis]] falls out of the sky and lands on her head. She drops him to the ground and is surprised when he begins to speak. As they talk, they hear the sound of sirens from the street below, and see the robber run past. Artemis says this is the perfect opportunity, and he would rather demonstrate than try to explain things to her; he pulls out a [[Teletia S]] and pushes a button on it, transforming Minako into [[Sailor V]]. When she is again startled, he asks her to just do as he says, and she nods.

The robber stops to catch his breath but finds Sailor V waiting for him. She introduces herself, and he pulls out a knife and lunges at her. As Sailor V dodges his blows, Artemis tells her to use the weapon in her pocket. She reaches into her pocket and finds the [[Crescent Moon Cutter]], which she then throws at the robber; the weapon misses him completely, but cuts through a tree branch which falls and lands on his head, knocking him out. Sailor V is thrilled, and Artemis tells her that her mission as a [[Sailor Senshi]] starts today. She thanks him for the best Christmas present she has ever received.

At the Tsukino household, [[Ikuko Tsukino|Ikuko]] calls for [[Usagi Tsukino|Usagi]] to wake up, but to her mother's surprise, she is already up. [[Shingo Tsukino|Shingo]] observes that it's only because Minako's new CD came out today. Usagi is annoyed at him, but is soon distracted by a tv news report about a jewelry store robbery that was foiled by Sailor V. Ikuko wonders at the amount of jewelry thefts in the [[Azabu-Juuban]] area lately, and observes that the police station on the corner didn't even manage to stop the robbery that happened right in front of them.

As Usagi walks to school, she runs into [[Naru Osaka|Naru]], who is on her way to the police station; she wants to talk to them because [[Mayumi Osaka|her mother]]'s [[Osa-P jewellers|jewelry store]] is the only one in the district that hasn't been robbed yet. The two of them reach the station (which has a sign on the door asking people not to throw things at them) and there find [[Akai]] being restrained by [[Kuroi]] as he throws a temper tantrum about comments the civilians are making about them. [[Shiroi]] staggers into the room, telling Akai to remember that they, the "[[Shitennou]]" of the Juuban Police Station, serve the public. [[Hanako]] follows him in, telling him not to overexert himself, and begins to cry when he collapses against a desk. Kuroi gives Hanako a handkerchief and Akai a bottle of pills to calm him down, then notices the two girls standing in the doorway. When he asks what they can do to help, Naru and Usagi insist they are fine and run away quickly. Kuroi becomes angry because that jewel thief is ruining their reputation, and declares that he will get his revenge.

As Usagi walks to school with her friends, Naru wonders who can help her protect her mother's jewelry store if the police can't and she can't get in touch with Sailor V. Usagi gets an idea, and tells the others that ''they'' will become Sailor V and protect the store. The girls imagine themselves dressed in Sailor V's costume, and excitedly agree. [[Ami Mizuno|Ami]], walking behind the group, overhears and starts imagining herself as "[[Sailor A]]," but when she sees Usagi looking back at her quickly pretends she wasn't listening.

At [[Karaoke Crown]], [[Motoki Furuhata|Motoki]] is putting [[Kamekichi|his new turtle]] in its tank when he gets a phone call from [[Hina Kusaka|Hina]]. The two of them discuss [[Mamoru Chiba|Mamoru]] and why he seems to be so busy and distracted lately. In his apartment, Mamoru picks up a mask and puts it on.

Later, as [[Tuxedo Mask]], Mamoru stands on a rooftop watching Naru's mother's store. Naru and the girls arrive at the jewelry store carrying their costumes and excitedly go inside. Across the street, [[Makoto Kino|Makoto]] emerges from a real estate office as an agent refuses to rent an apartment to her. Nearby, two women dressed in black and wearing sunglasses watch the shop, then head off to report to their boss. Sailor V is standing on a rooftop watching the two women, and declares that she will catch them this time. Usagi rushes out of the store then and screams Minako's name, and Sailor V panics that someone has discovered her identity, then runs away. Tuxedo Mask sees her and is surprised to find out that she is Minako. Meanwhile, Usagi tells her friends that she forgot to buy Minako's new CD and runs off.

The two mysterious women wait in an empty warehouse, and when their boss arrives with a third woman, declare themselves as "One" and "Two," ready to serve [[Cutie Kenko]]. Cutie Kenko asks them about the plans for tonight, and when the three of them confirm that they are ready, he orders them to start.

The two guards standing at the entrance to the jewelry store are overcome by a strange mist and collapse, unconscious. In the meantime, Usagi emerges from the CD store, triumphantly holding Minako's new CD.

As Cutie Kenko's minions enter the jewelry store, they are confronted by "[[Sailor N]]," "[[Sailor K]]," and "[[Sailor M]]," who introduce themselves as Sailor V's comrades. The three women only laugh and attack the false Senshi, trapping them in a web-like material. Cutie Kenko arrives and tells the girls that he has a grudge against Sailor V, so if they are her friends, he will just take his revenge on them instead. Just then, "[[Sailor Rabbit]]" arrives and sprays the four villains with a fire extinguisher; when Cutie Kenko only smirks at her, she throws the extinguisher at him, and he becomes annoyed and sends his three minions after her.

Leaving [[Momoko Kimura|Momoko]] and [[Kanami Abe|Kanami]] tied up in the store, the villains take Naru and Usagi into the vault. As his minions gather all the jewels, Cutie Kenko finds out from the terrified Naru where the most valuable gems are. As he retrieves the case, though, Usagi grabs the key attached to the case and swallows it. Irritated, Cutie Kenko says that they will just have to cut her open back at the hideout and retrieve the key; one of his minions drops a smoke bomb and the four of them disappear. Back at the hideout, the three minions lock Usagi into a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zig_Zag_Girl magician's cabinet] and Cutie Kenko pulls out a sword, approaching the cabinet menacingly.

Naru, Momoko, and Kanami run frantically to the police station to get help.

Cutie Kenko slices through a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikon|daikon] held by one of his minions to demonstrate how sharp his sword is. As he prepares to use it on Usagi, however, it is knocked out of his hands by Sailor V's Crescent Moon Cutter. Sailor V leaps in and frees Usagi from the cabinet, then tells Cutie Kenko that she attached a tracking device to the jewelry case. She says that nothing is impossible for a fighter for justice, and Artemis, in the background, is annoyed because he was actually the one who did it. Sailor V tells Cutie Kenko that this time she will definitely capture him, and he orders his minions to fight her.

Sailor V battles against the three minions, and Usagi helps by hitting one of them over the head with the daikon and knocking her out; as Artemis sees this, he senses something unusual about Usagi. After defeating the other two women, Sailor V goes up against Cutie Kenko. He injures Sailor V with his initial attack, but as he approaches her is stopped by the four police officers. Though one of the minions manages to distract them briefly, Sailor V kicks Cutie Kenko's weapon out of his hand and the police move in to arrest the villains. In the confusion, Tuxedo Mask steals the jewel case, and Sailor V notices and follows him. Usagi suddenly realizes that everyone has left, leaving her disappointed that she didn't get to talk to the Senshi.

Sailor V stops Tuxedo Mask and demands that he give the case back. The two prepare to fight and then charge at each other, but when they meet they both suddenly see a vision of the [[Moon Princess]] begging for the [[Silver Crystal]], as well as the fate of the [[Moon Kingdom]] in the past. Tuxedo Mask runs away, and Sailor V tells Artemis that she has remembered the [[Princess Serenity|Princess]], her mission, and her real name. Artemis observes that he has also found something.

Usagi runs into her friends and assures them that she is all right, and excitedly tells them that she met Sailor V.

Artemis looks up at the moon and calls out to [[Luna]], telling her what he found; Luna flies toward the [[Earth]], on her way to find [[Sailor Moon]].

At home, Usagi is excited about how much fun she had that day. In the meantime, [[Rei Hino|Rei]] senses something is about to happen, while elsewhere, Ami and Makoto look up at the moon. Luna falls to Earth, and Usagi makes a wish on the "shooting star."

==Episode Trivia==
* The [[Make up! Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon ~Till the Young Girls Become the Sailor Warriors~|making-of preview episode]] of [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]] was referred to as "Act 0" by [[Sailor Moon Fandom|fans]] due to the fact that it came the week before [[Act 1 - I am Sailor Moon!|Act 1]], which caused some confusion amongst [[fansub]] groups when the actual Act Zero was released.

* The stunt women from the TV series doubled as the villians in this episode.

* In this episode, [[Naru Osaka|Naru]], [[Momoko Kimura|Momoko]], [[Kanami Abe|Kanami]], and [[Usagi Tsukino|Usagi]], inspired by [[Sailor V]], [[cosplay]]ed as imaginary [[Sailor Senshi]].

* Although stills of [[Ami Mizuno|Ami]] and Naru in Sailor V's costume were featured in printed publications covering this episode, they actually came from a brief scene of those characters (along with Momoko and Kanami) imagining themselves as Sailor V.

* Besides Sailor V, the other four [[Senshi]] also appeared in this episode as civilians, while the actors of the [[Shitennou]] played police officers.

* "[[Lovely Yell]]" was playing in the background when [[Makoto Kino|Makoto]] appeared in this episode.

==Goofs==
* This episode showed [[Artemis]] falling onto [[Minako Aino|Minako]]'s head when they first met, although in a flashback scene in [[Act 36 - Princess Sailor Moon Appears!|Act 36]] of the TV series he landed in her hands.

* In this episode, Minako transformed into [[Sailor V]] with her [[Teletia S]] phone, but she was shown carrying a suitcase containing Sailor V's costume in the TV series.

* During her fight against [[Cutie Kenko]]'s minions, Sailor V was wearing her normal blue shoes in one shot, then a pair of white tennis shoes in the next. A similar goof also occurred in [[Act 17 - Minako Transforms in Front of Rei's Eyes!|Act 17]].

==Mini Dramas==
There were two short episodes included along with the main Act Zero on [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Act Zero|the DVD]], one about [[Tuxedo Mask]] and the other about [[Hina Kusaka]].

===''Tuxedo Mask's Birth''===
{| border=1 style="text-align: center; float: left; margin-right: 10px;"
| http://www.wikimoon.org/images/pgsm/actzero_1.jpg
|- 
| style="background:#ffcccc" | Mamoru is surprised Usagi<br>believed his story
|}
[[Usagi Tsukino|Usagi]] asks [[Mamoru Chiba|Mamoru]] about why he became Tuxedo Mask. He tells her that when he was a child, he had run away from home and as he walked, he tripped and fell. A man wearing a [[tuxedo]] and a mask stopped and, seeing little Mamoru's skinned knee, did a magic trick that produced a flower, then turned the flower into some bandages. After putting a bandage on the child's knee, the man used the command "Tuxedo Power" to heal the scrape. He then did flips and cartwheels to entertain little Mamoru until the child completely forgot why he had run away.

Mamoru shows Usagi a bandage and tells her it is the same one, and that from then on he realized his special mission. In a flashback, he pulls out the bandage and turns it into his mask, then holds up the mask and, with the command, "Tuxedo Power," turns into Tuxedo Mask in a sequence similar to the [[Senshi]] transformation sequences. Then, using his power as Tuxedo Mask, he began to search for the [[Silver Crystal]]. 

Usagi thanks him for telling her the story, and he begins to laugh because she believed the story he just made up. As Usagi begins pestering him to tell her the real story, the older "Tuxedo Mask" watches from nearby, holding some bandages.
<br clear="left">

===''Hina Afterwards''===
{| border=1 style="text-align: center; float: right; margin-left: 10px;"
| http://www.wikimoon.org/images/pgsm/actzero_2.jpg
|- 
| style="background:#ffcccc" | Hina reads her script on set
|}
As Hina walks down the street, a [[Youma]] appears and begins attacking civilians. One of the fleeing people knocks Hina down and the Youma attacks her, but is stopped by a man in a Tuxedo Mask-like costume. He and the Youma fight for a moment, then he strikes a blow that causes it to retreat. "Tuxedo Mask" returns to Hina's side and helps her to her feet, then after looking at her for a long moment, starts to walk away. She calls after him, thanking him for saving her and asking his name. He glances back and tells her that he is "Tuxedo Knight."

The director calls "cut" on the scene and the film crew enters the plaza, helping "Tuxedo Knight" with his costume and arranging Hina's hair. The director compliments Hina on her work in the scene, and she goes to sit down and read through her script. She thinks about how she was chosen by chance at the audition, and finds her gaze drawn toward the actor playing Tuxedo Knight, thinking about how he has been on her mind lately. Hina sets her script down and, determined, walks back out onto the set, looking happy. 
<br clear="right">

==Cast==
* [[Usagi Tsukino]]/"[[Sailor Rabbit]]" - [[Miyuu Sawai]]
* [[Rei Hino]] - [[Keiko Kitagawa]]
* [[Ami Mizuno]] - [[Rika Izumi|Chisaki Hama]]
* [[Makoto Kino]] - [[Mew Azama]]
* [[Minako Aino]]/[[Sailor V]] - [[Ayaka Komatsu]]
* [[Luna]] (voice) - [[Keiko Han]]
* [[Artemis]] (voice) - [[Kappei Yamaguchi]]
* [[Mamoru Chiba]]/[[Tuxedo Mask]] - [[Jyoji Shibue]]
* [[Cutie Kenko]] - [[IZAM]]
* [[Kuroi]] - [[Akira Kubodera]]
* [[Akai]] - [[Hiroyuki Matsumoto]]
* [[Shiroi]] - [[Yoshito Endou]]
* [[Hanako]] - [[Jun Masuo]]
* [[Ikuko Tsukino]] - [[Kaori Moriwaka]]
* [[Shingo Tsukino]] - [[Naoki Takeshi]]
* [[Motoki Furuhata]] - [[Masaya Kikawada]]
* [[Hina Kusaka]] - [[Moeco Matsushita]]
* [[Naru Osaka]]/"[[Sailor N]]" - [[Chieko Kawabe]]
* [[Momoko Kimura]]/"[[Sailor M]]" - [[Natsumi Kiyoura]]
* [[Kanami Abe]]/"[[Sailor K]]" - [[Aiko Hirai]]

{{Episode Navigation
| last = [[Special Act - We're Getting Married!|50]]
| season = [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]
| next = None}}

[[Category: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Episode]]