This episode is loosely based on Act 5 of the manga. Episode 25 of the anime is also loosely based on this manga chapter. (The filler that was added before episode 25 of the anime was mostly related to the very memorable Naru/Nephrite relationship subplot, which ended in episode 24.)

All three versions of this story feature Makoto Kino transferring to Usagi's school amidst rumours that she was expelled for being violent, defending Usagi from thugs, becoming friends with Usagi, becoming Sailor Jupiter and revealing that her heart was broken by an older student at her old school. Each version uses a very different main plot to get through these same basic points. There's a lot to cover here, so bear with me.

In a way it's possible to see how the PGSM plot is kind of a modern reworking of the very antiquated manga story involving people being trapped in bridal mannequins. The ghostly element is removed (there is no "haunted" mannequin), but in both versions a man that Makoto has a crush on (Motoki in the manga, the basketball player Takeru in PGSM) is possessed, and entices people so that they can be trapped and have their energy stolen. In both versions, taking advantage of women is one of the themes, but PGSM removes the girls' obsession with getting married (which appeared frequently in the anime, and I believe comes from Naoko Takeuchi's own personality).

Makoto herself is a similar character in both the manga and PGSM, but the PGSM writers continue their practice of linking semi-related things together in a way that is perfectly logical and adds a lot of depth to the character. The fact that Makoto lives alone because her parents died in a plane crash wasn't mentioned until Act 16 in the manga, but here it is linked with the broken heart from the boy that rejected her. Although Makoto's friendship with Usagi and willingness to be part of the team are more immediate than the slightly more realistic developments that Ami and Rei were given, this episode still succeeds by bringing the theme of loneliness to the forefront. In the anime this was a recurring theme but was rarely dealt with as well as this (Sailor Moon R: The Movie is probably the best example of it being done right). In the manga I believe it was brought up occasionally, but there's a lot of the manga that I haven't read so I'm not quite as clear on that.

In order to get its point across, PGSM severely toned down the focus on Makoto's cooking skills. In the manga and anime, Makoto and Usagi became good friends when Makoto shared her lunch with Usagi. However, her cooking skills are brought up when she goes on her (nonexistent) date with Takeru. She doesn't think it fits well her more masculine personality, something I have gone into a little more detail about in Makoto's character page.

Makoto's obsession with guys who all seem to resemble the older student that she loved became a running joke in the anime (quite a funny one, actually), which makes it all the more interesting to see it treated so seriously in PGSM. The anime heavily changed this episode from the manga story to relate Jupiter's introduction to the beginning of the Rainbow Crystals subplot, which was added for the anime. It involved Makoto liking two characters who both resembled this one guy.

Moving away from Makoto... In the manga, Usagi amusingly (but pointlessly) uses the transformation pen to become a groom. In PGSM, she, Ami and Rei all use their cellphones to become basketball playing girls, and beat the three guys who were mean to Makoto. The girls give them some well-deserved payback on the basketball court (and make good use of their special powers).

Rei's personality is very different in the anime to the manga, and this episode solidified what her personality will be like in PGSM. In the anime she was very hotheaded, and often quite rude to Usagi, whose childish antics she found hard to put up with. She was also just as boy-crazy as the rest of the Guardians, had a crush on Tuxedo Mask (much to Usagi's chagrin), and even dated Mamoru (read: forced Mamoru to go on dates with her) for a while! However, despite the constant bickering, she and Usagi were best friends, and the trust between them could not be shaken. In the manga, on the other hand, she is cold and aloof, is very distrustful of men, and while she shares many of the characteristics of her more famous anime counterpart, there is rarely any sign of the close friendship (marked by constant arguing) between Usagi and Rei. In PGSM, there's the bickering, but Rei is aloof and dislikes men. This compromise seems to have pleased a lot of people.

Finally, the Four Heavenly Kings. Jadeite and Nephrite are both dead by the end of this story, in both the manga and the anime, but both are still alive in PGSM. I actually find it quite amusing how much more level-headed Queen Beryl is in PGSM than in the anime - she recognises that just because her henchmen are doing a bad job doesn't mean she should permanently incapacitate them! (Hey, they're not gonna collect much energy that way...) And hence Jadeite is still alive. Zoisite (who in PGSM looks more like Kunzite) appears at the very end of this story in both the manga and PGSM, but of course he had appeared already in the anime. The manga had Kunzite's first appearance at the end of this story, but in the anime he appeared a few episodes earlier, and in PGSM he has yet to appear.