A Guide to Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes. The series follows the adventures of a young schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the titular character to search for a magical artifact. During her journey, she leads a diverse group of comrades, the—Sailor Guardians in later editions—as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.

Usagi first appears as a schoolgirl living in 20th-century Tokyo, a well-meaning but underachieving and accident-prone crybaby living the life of a normal teenage Earth girl. Usagi lives in Azabu Jūban with her mother Ikuko Tsukino, her father Kenji Tsukino, and her brother Shingo Tsukino. One day, Usagi encounters a mysterious cat, who later reveals herself as Luna, the mentor archetype who introduces Usagi to her new heroic role. Luna gives Usagi a magical brooch and explains how to use it to transform into Sailor Moon (the "Soldier of Love and Justice"); she tells Usagi that she is a Sailor Soldier who must fight for peace and find the rest of the Sailor Soldiers, as well as their princess. Though at first Usagi appears as a "reluctant heroine" (in the anime she often is rescued by Tuxedo Mask), as time goes on her character grows more confident and mature. She sets out to fight the evils of her past life and protects the Earth with the Silver Crystal, as Sailor Moon, providing most of the conflict within both the manga and the anime. Usagi has a boyfriend named Mamoru Chiba. Mamoru and Usagi's relationship forms an important part of Usagi's life, as well as of the series. The love they share helps Usagi make it through many challenges. Mamoru becomes Usagi's boyfriend after many trials, and they date for a long time during the series. In the anime adaptation, Mamoru gives Usagi a promise ring in a shape of a heart at the airport just before he leaves for America. The ring represents a promise to Usagi that they will eventually marry. Usagi learns about her heritage once she forms the Sailor Soldiers. She comes from a race belonging to the Silver Millennium, herself having been sent by her mother from her kingdom to Earth to be reincarnated. The series shows how Usagi loves sweet foods and how easily they distract her. She loves ice cream so much that it appears listed as her hobby in the manga, and her favorite subject is listed as Home Economics. She is also said to dislike carrots (although she eats them in the anime), and is poor with both English and mathematics. In addition to being a genuine friend, Usagi is extremely good at brown-nosing as required, and (of course) at crying to get what she wants. She is afraid of dentists, ghosts and lightning, and her greatest dream is to be a bride. She is apparently a member of the Manga Drawing Club at school,[9] though her skill level varies widely when shown in the anime.[note 1] She stands 150 cm tall.

The series frequently refers to Usagi's Sailor Soldier identity, "Sailor Moon", as the "Soldier of Love and Justice", and once as the "Soldier of Mystery." Throughout most the series, Sailor Moon wears a white and blue sailor fuku uniform, white and reddish-pink gloves, reddish-pink boots and crescent-moon earrings. She also wears red hairpieces and white barrettes resembling feathers, both of which can be used for minor attacks. Her personality is no different from when she is a civilian, although certain powers are unavailable to her in that form. Sailor Moon's attack names center around the moon, love, mystery and light. She starts out as a frightened, reluctant girl, and others often have to bail her out, but she gradually comes to accept her full identity. She eventually becomes the most powerful Sailor Soldier in the galaxy, but her capacity for caring about other people is frequently shown to be more powerful still. As she grows stronger, Sailor Moon gains additional powers, and at key points her appearance and title change to reflect this. The first change takes place during the third major story arc — Act 30 of the manga and Episode 111 of the anime — when she obtains the Holy Grail and becomes Super Sailor Moon. Her uniform becomes more ornate, and her powers are increased; at first she is unable to take this form without the Grail, and is weakened when its effects fade. Sailor Moon receives her third and final form at the end of the fourth major story arc, as the combined power of the other Sailor Soldiers transforms her into Eternal Sailor Moon, whom Diana says is the closest in power to Neo-Queen Serenity. Her uniform is even more radically altered — most significantly, two pairs of angelic wings adorn her back. They replace her standard back bow as they are attached only at the waist and are in the shape of a large bow.

Sailor Mercury Ami Mizuno: is a quiet but intelligent fourteen-year-old bookworm in Usagi's class,she can transform into Sailor Mercury, Soldier of Water and Wisdom. Ami's shy exterior masks a passion for knowledge and taking care of the people around her. She hopes to become a doctor one day, like her mother, and tends to be the practical one in the group. Secretly, she is also a fan of pop culture and romance novels, and becomes embarrassed whenever this is pointed out. Ami would also be considered the "tech girl" and the "brain" of the group by using her mini data computer, which is capable of scanning and detecting virtually anything she needs.

Sailor Mars Rei Hino: is an elegant, fourteen-year-old miko. Because of her work as a Shinto priestess, Rei has limited precognition and can dispel/nullify evil using special Shinto scrolls, even in her civilian form. She transforms into Sailor Mars, Soldier of Fire and Passion. She is very serious and focused, and easily gets annoyed by Usagi's laziness, although she cares about her very much. In the anime adaptation, Rei portrayed as boy-crazy and short-tempered throughout, while in the manga and live-action TV series she is depicted as uninterested in romance and more self-controlled. She attends a private Catholic school separate from the other girls.

Sailor Jupiter Makoto Kino: is a fourteen-year-old girl who is a student in Usagi Tsukino's class and has immense physical strength and in fact was rumoured to have been kicked out of her previous school for fighting. Unusually tall and strong for a Japanese schoolgirl, she transforms into Sailor Jupiter, Soldier of Thunder and Courage. Both Makoto's parents died in a plane crash years ago, so she lives alone and takes care of herself. She cultivates her physical strength as well as more domestic interests, including housekeeping, cooking, and gardening. Makoto is also good at hand-to-hand combat. Her dream is to marry young and to own a flower-and-cake shop.

Sailor Venus Minako Aino: is a fourteen-year-old perky dreamer.She has a companion cat called Artemis who works alongside Luna in guiding the Sailor Soldiers. Minako transforms into Sailor Venus, Soldier of Love and Beauty, and leads Sailor Moon's four inner soldiers, while acting as Sailor Moon's closest bodyguard-decoy because of their near-identical looks. She also dreams of becoming a famous singer and idol; she attends auditions whenever she can. In contrast, in the live-action series, she is a successful J-Pop singer and has a poor health condition, choosing to separate herself from the other Guardians as a result.

Sailor Uranus Haruka Tenoh: is a good-natured, masculine-acting girl who is a year older than most of the other Sailor Soldiers. She is able to transform into Sailor Uranus, Soldier of Sky and Flight. Before becoming a Sailor Soldier, she dreamt of becoming a racer, and she has excellent driving skills. She tends to dress and, in the anime, speak like a man. When it comes to fighting the enemy she distrusts outside help and prefers to work solely with her girlfriend Sailor Neptune and, later, Pluto and Saturn. Sailor Uranus's talisman, known as the Space Sword, aids her with her fighting and attacks.

Sailor Neptune Michiru Kaioh: is an elegant and talented violinist and painter with family money of an age with her partner and lover, Haruka Tenoh. She is able to transform into Sailor Neptune, Soldier of Ocean and Embrace. She worked alone for some time before finding her partner, Sailor Uranus. Neptune has ultimately given up her own dreams for the life of a Soldier. She is fully devoted to this duty and willing to make any sacrifice for it. Sailor Neptune's talisman is her Deep Aqua Mirror, which aids her with her intuition and revealing cloaked evil.

Sailor Saturn Hotaru Tomoe: is a sweet, lonely young girl. A terrible laboratory accident in her youth significantly compromised her health in the anime adaptation and destroyed a large portion of her body (which was later rebuilt with electronic components by her father) in the manga. After overcoming the darkness that has surrounded her family, Hotaru is able to become the Soldier of Destruction and Silence, Sailor Saturn. She is often pensive, and as a human has the inexplicable power to heal others. Sailor Saturn's weapon is her Silence Glaive, which aids her with her power to generate barriers and the power to destroy a planet. However, when she uses that power, she kills herself but is reborn afterwards by Sailor Moon.

Tuxedo Mask Main article: Tuxedo Mask Mamoru Chiba is a student somewhat older than Usagi. As a young child he was in a car accident that killed his parents and erased his own memories. During the series it is revealed he has a special psychic rapport with Usagi and can sense when she is in danger, which inspires him to take on the guise of Tuxedo Mask and fight alongside the Sailor Soldiers when needed. After an initially confrontational relationship, he and Usagi remember their past lives together and fall in love again.