For the 90s Anime I consider him being the writer a more reliable predictor of quality even then Ikuhara being the director.
That should not be taken as an insult to the other writers, each of the other 4 to write for the first 3 seasons have some episodes I consider great and I haven’t memorized who wrote what as much for SuperS and Stars, but Youji Enokido I can confidently say never wrote a bad episode.
Sumisawa didn’t only write for Sailor Moon of course and so I will mention some notable facts about what else he wrote when chronologically appropriate, but by no means everything. Beginning with that he was already working before Sailor Moon, but mostly on shows now forgotten or that the West never got in the first place.
NG Knight Ramune & 40, one of the shows
Snake Eye Dreams talked about in their
1990: A Year in Anime video has Sumisawa on the staff. As did a few of the late 80s/early 90s shows on TV Asahi that this wordpress blog post has documented.
But one notable show among those he worked on was Dragon Ball Z, he wrote a lot of DBZ episodes, many of them seem to be Anime Original “Filler” episodes including most of the Garlic JR Arc.
The first Sumisawa episode of
Sailor Moon is the 3rd episode, but second in the DiC Dub where it was named
Talk Radio, (I use a lot of DiC’s episode titles as shorthand even though that’s not the version of the show I’m actually thinking of). And honestly I would say it's the first good episode of the show, it’s pilot I
already reviewed as a weak adaptation of the first Act of the Manga. It's really better to just watch Crystal if you want an Anime version of Usagi’s origin story. And the second episode really hasn’t aged well.
Talk Radio however feels like the first episode that has much of what 90s Anime Apologists love about the show. Really there is no reason not to just start with this episode.
The second Sumisawa episode is also the first Ikuhara episode, and one of the episodes DiC didn’t include, so my shorthand name for it is the Smooth Jazz Episode (I didn’t invent calling it something like that though, the Sailor Business Podcast did). A lot of what’s memorable about this episode is its visual presentation but its script is also solid.
Third is the 9th episode of the show and 6th of the DiC dub where it’s titled Time Bomb. The gimmick of this episode makes it very fast paced and fun. And as the only episode that both begins and ends with our Magical Girl team as a Duo it’s in hindsight kind of unintentionally proto-Pretty Cure, especially given how often the Blue PreCures are clearly modeled after Ami Mizuno.
In Japan Ami/Sailor Mercury was always the most popular Senshi as documented by polls in Japanese Anime Magazines. Why that is I think starts with how Naoko Takeuchi seemingly based Ami on herself more than any of the others. But as far as the 90s Anime goes I find it notable that while it often Flanderizes her character she does also have some stand out moments and during this early period those often come from Katsuyuki Sumisawa episodes. And that starts with him writing our second impression of Ami in this episode after episode 8 was again a weak adaptation of its Manga/Crystal counterpart.
Next is Cruise Blues the penultimate episode of the Jadite arc and what happens in it is arguably why the next episode was his last. Overall this is actually the episode I have the least thoughts on so far, but it is good.
He only wrote two episodes during the Nephrite Arc, which are coincidentally also the two episodes Ikuhara directed during that arc. An Unnatural Phenomena is neat in how you can call it a plot that could've been used for Poison Ivy, and it’s DiC version was adapted to an Audio Cassette which is oddly fun to listen to.
But An Animated Mess is the big one off stand out of this arc. Its Yuri subtext is thick which is amusing given these guest characters are essentially based on actual women on Sailor Moon’s animation staff, were Sumisawa and Ikuhara shipping their co-workers?
Returning to an earlier point both these episodes have what I think are Ami’s most stand out moments from the Nephrite arc, including her standing on Nephrite’s car in this one.
Sumisawa’s first contribution to the Rainbow Crystal Arc is Mercury’s Mental Match, perhaps the first real Ami spotlight episode since her introduction. The two episodes featuring “Greg” are among the few I’ve never watched the VizDub versions of due to who voiced “Greg”. But that was a decision I made back when I underestimated how many performances from that frustrating individual I was already a fan of. But regardless of how you choose to watch it it’s a good episode.
Kitty Chaos is the last Sumisawa and Ikuhara collaboration until Sailor Moon S. It’s in general one of the most memorable and talked about episodes, and perhaps oddly influential given how I can’t help but wonder if Rhett Butler inspired aspects of The Cat Returns?
Sumisawa also wrote for Yu Yu Hakushu starting with episode 5 which aired the same day in Japan as Kitty Chaos, November 7th 1992, Yu Yu Hakushu aired at 18:30 JST and Sailor Moon at 19:00 JST, but not on the same channel it seems. They also share Sukehiro Tomita as a writer. Their Manga Authors being married makes this sharing of writers even more interesting, were they invited to the wedding?
A Crystal Clear Destiny and A Reluctant Princess are a two parter and the first time Sumisaya is writing episodes that definitely can’t be considered Filler by any metric. They are equivalent to Acts 8 and 9 of the Manga and Crystal but how things play out are dramatically different. And both are great, both these versions of this point in the story can coexist as equally valid.
And one of my arguments against the concept of Continuity LockOut is that I know from the Sailor Business Podcast that the first of these was the first episode of the show watched by one fan and she loved it. It’s an episode that at face value doesn’t seem like a good jumping on point but it didn’t matter, it was Good and that’s what mattered.
Ski Bunny Blues is the first of these episodes that I barely remember, as bad as that sounds I have no bad memories of it, I probably just haven’t rewatched it recently enough, I often skip Rei centric episodes. I do think this brief era of the show is the weakest of the first series, returning to an episodic format after the big climatic reveal as the last two episodes was pretty awkward since the Manga is already setting up the finale, but Gems were still produced here, not all of them being Sumisawa ones, (the two episodes directed by Kazuisa Takenouchi are standouts).
Tuxedo Unmasked is the other “Greg” episode and it too is great both as a time to shine for Ami and the first time the 90s Anime’s take on Evil Endymion really worked. And it’s Sumisawa’s last episode for the original series.
For the Makai Tree Arc of which I am a notable apologist, Shigeru Yanagawa was the main writer of its main plot, but perhaps the second most important writer of the Arc is Sumisawa. First he wrote the second episode which restores the memories of the Inner Senshi and helps set the new Status Quo quite well. Then he wrote the Venus and Rei centric episodes from around the middle of the arc. Kindergarten Chaos is one of my personal favorite episodes, this is when the 90s Anime finally finds its footing with its take on Minako. And Detention Doldrums is very good at both being fairly stand alone and setting up that the following two episodes will finish the Arc.
The Black Moon Saga I love in Crystal and mostly hate in the 90s Anime, this is where my sympathy for Manga Purists is at its strongest. Thing is, all the episodes of this saga I do consider good in-spite of how the main plot was messed up are the ones Sumisawa wrote. The two Ikuhara directed are very watchable and I understand why one of them is among some people’s favorites, but for me they are Mid at best.
I’m not even gonna cover all of Sumisawa’s Black Moon Saga episodes, some are maybe just good relative to what’s around them.
Sailor Mercury Moving On is the last Ami spotlight episode Sumisawa wrote and is thus the Capstone of a thesis I presented earlier. I don’t think the Ami episodes of S or Stars or even SuperS are bad or anything, but they are mostly just elaborating on what was in the source material. Thing about this Ami episode is it’s plot was remade as a sub-plot of the Summer 1994 Sailor Moon Musical though there reworked into the Death Busters era, which in turn was reworked into the first Last Dracul Musical which I really love. If I wrote my own remake of the Makai Tree Arc I would replace the bad Babysitting episode with a remake of this episode.
Enemies No More is one of the few where I also want to say the English Translation of the Japanese Title “
Battle of the Flames of Love! Mars vs Koan”. This one is definitely not just good for a Black Moon Saga episode but one of the absolute best of all 200 episodes of the show, a must watch for those who want to understand why the 90s Anime version is good for more than just goofy filler. I already talked about it
on my Theology Blog.
No Thanks, Nurse Venus! Is hilarious and the best episode of the Esmeraude arc. Brotherly Love is a good send off for a number of characters. Follow The Leader is the recap episode that technically ends Sailor Moon R and I note it here only because watching it’s Dub is one of my earliest Sailor Moon memories.
Driving Dangerously! Is the proper introduction of HaruMi and the final Sumisawa and Ikuhara collaboration, and it’s great, Iconic, legendary.
Birthday Blues! Is the two parter that ends the first Cour of Sailor Moon S which I have specifically fond memories of renting on VHS (where it shared a tape with a Venus episode Enokido wrote) and I’ve watched it’s modern VizDub version, I think it holds up well.
Art Appreciation is one I don’t remember a whole lot but it is pretty important to the second Arc of S.
It's in the Cards is the last episode of Sailor Moon that Sumisawa wrote, and it may not be a perfect swan song but it’s pretty good.
Between those two episodes Macross 7 started which two Sailor Moon writers wrote for, Sukehiro Tomita as the head writer and Sumisawa. It also featured Oohashi Yukiyoshi who wrote with Tomita for Wedding Peach and then a lot of really good Pokémon episodes.
Katsuyuki Sumisawa spent 95 and early 96 as the head writer of Gundam Wing, which would become most Americans’ introduction to Gundam.
He also wrote a bunch of episodes of Cutey Honey Flash which took over Sailor Moon’s timeslot when it ended. When I watched it I didn't keep track of who wrote which episodes but most episodes were pretty good, I liked it’s second Arc the best.
Sumisawa wrote 18 of the first 26 episodes of Corrector Yui in 1999, episode 17 specifically reminded me of Enemies No More.
He wrote a lot of Inuyasha episodes I just learned.
He also wrote Gundam The Origin which I have mixed feelings on.
And the first 5 and 7th episodes of Yashahime which I did watch, so it seems he’s still got it though I haven't seen most modern shows he’s worked on.
