I don't think that was the case here... the original anime did, what, dozens of episodes with Usagi as a solo act before finding Mercury? There couldn't have been that much time between the installments in the manga. I mean, yeah, the Doom Tree arc is clearly an entire season of filler... but I'm pretty sure the manga got a bit farther than "Usagi's Sailor Moon" before they did the anime.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.