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Story
The protagonist of Sailor Moon, Usagi Tsukino, an ordinary ditsy middle-school girl - or so she herself thinks, at least - discovers a talking cat named Luna, who reveals Usagi's identity as "Sailor Moon," a special warrior with the destiny of saving the planet Earth, and later the entire galaxy. Usagi, who is the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, must now protect Earth from a series of villains, beginning with the Dark Kingdom that had appeared once before, long ago, and destroyed the kingdom of the moon.
The characters in Sailor Moon awaken members of the court of the kingdom of the moon, and the people dedicated to protecting it; when the dark nemesis attacked the kingdom, the Queen sent the Moon Princess, her guardians and advisors, and her true love into the future to be reborn. As Usagi and Luna battle evil and search for the Moon Princess, they meet the other Sailor Senshi, incarnations of the Moon Princess' protectors, and the mysterious Tuxedo Mask.
As the series progresses, Usagi and her friends learn more and more about the enemies they face and the evil force that directs them. The characters' pasts are mysterious and hidden even to them, and much of the early series is devoted to discovering their true identities and pasts. Luna, who teaches and guides the Sailor Senshi, doesn't know everything about their histories either, and the Senshi eventually learn that Usagi is the real Moon Princess. The Moon Princess' mother had her reborn as a Sailor Senshi to protect her. Gradually Usagi discovers the truth about her own past life, her destined true love, and the possibilities for the future of the Solar System.
The plot spans five major story arcs, each of them represented in both the manga and anime, usually under different names:
1. the Dark Kingdom arc (Sailor Moon)
2. the Black Moon arc (Sailor Moon R)
3. the Death Busters arc (Sailor Moon S)
4. the Dead Moon arc (Sailor Moon SuperS)
5. the Stars arc (Sailor Moon Sailor Stars)
The anime added an additional minor arc at the start of the second series, and spent the first few episodes of Sailor Stars wrapping up the plot from the previous series. Taking place before the manga timeline, its sister series Codename: Sailor V tells the story of Sailor V, Minako Aino and her adventures during the year before Sailor Moon itself starts. Many characters from Codename: Sailor V return in Sailor Moon, including Sailor V herself (under the name "Sailor Venus" .
[edit] Characters
See also: List of minor Sailor Moon characters
Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon (月野 うさぎ, Tsukino Usagi?)
The main character of the series. Usagi is a carefree schoolgirl with an enormous capacity for love, and transforms into the heroine called Sailor Moon. At the beginning of the series she is portrayed as an immature crybaby who hates having to fight evil and wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. As she progresses, however, she embraces the chance to use her power to protect those she cares about. Not too much longer, it's revealed that she is also Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom and also the mother of Chibiusa, changed to Rini in the English manga. Because of her mother, Queen Serenity, giving her last bit of life energy to save her, Usagi is later known as Neo-Queen Serenity in the 30th century. As Usagi continues to play the loved heroine, she transforms into more powerful versions known as Super Sailor Moon and Eternal Sailor Moon. It has also been hinted that she may be Cosmo Sailor Moon.[7][8]
Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask (地場 衛, Chiba Mamoru?)
A student somewhat older than Usagi. As a young child he experienced a terrible car-accident that robbed him of his parents and of his knowledge of his own identity.[9] During the series he has some precognitive ability,[10][11] including dreams that inspire him to take on the guise of Tuxedo Mask and fight alongside the Sailor Senshi. After an initially confrontational relationship,[12] he and Usagi remember their past lives together and fall in love again.
Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury (水野 亜美, Mizuno Ami?)
A quiet bookworm in Usagi's class. Highly intelligent with a rumored IQ of 300,[13] she can transform into Sailor Mercury, acquiring power over all phases of water. Ami's shy exterior masks a passion for knowledge and for taking care of the people around her.[14] 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.
Rei Hino/Sailor Mars (火野 レイ, Hino Rei?)
An elegant miko (shrine maiden); Because of her work as a Shinto priestess, Rei can sense and dispel evil even in her civilian form.[15] When she transforms into Sailor Mars she can also manipulate fire. She is very serious and focused, but although easily annoyed by Usagi's flightiness, cares about her very much. Rei is portrayed as boy-crazy in the early anime[15] and short-tempered throughout, but is uninterested in romance and self-controlled in both the manga and live-action series.[16] She attends a private, Catholic school separate from the other girls.
Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter (木野 まこと, Kino Makoto?)
A tomboy who transfers into Usagi's school. Very tall and strong for a Japanese schoolgirl,[17] she can transform into Sailor Jupiter, attacking with lightning and with some control over plants. 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. She wants to marry young and to own a flower-and-cake shop.[18]
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus (愛野 美奈子, Aino Minako?)
A perky dreamer who acted on her own as Sailor V for some time.[19][20] Called by her nickname Mina in the English versions, she has a companion cat called Artemis who works alongside Luna in guiding the Sailor Senshi. Minako transforms into Sailor Venus, Soldier of Love, and leads Sailor Moon's four inner guardians. She also dreams of becoming a famous singer and idol; she attends auditions whenever she can.[21] In contrast, in the live-action series, she is a successful J-Pop singer (of whom Usagi and Ami are fans) and has a poor health condition, choosing to separate herself from the other Senshi as a result.[22]
Chibiusa/Sailor Chibi Moon (ちびうさ?)
The future daughter of Usagi and Mamoru, Chibiusa travels from the 30th century to seek help to save her parents, then later to train with Sailor Moon to become a soldier.[23] She learns to transform into Sailor Chibi Moon. At times she has an adversarial relationship with her mother in the 20th century,[24] as she considers herself more mature than Usagi, but as the series progresses they develop a deep bond. Chibiusa wants to grow up to become a lady like her mother.[25]
Setsuna Meioh/Sailor Pluto (冥王 せつな, Meiō Setsuna?)
A mysterious woman who appears first as Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time, who has the task of protecting the Space-Time Door from unauthorized travelers. Only later does she appear on Earth, living as a college student. She has a distant personality and can be very stern, but can also be quite friendly and helps the younger Sailor Senshi when she can.[26] After so long at the Gate of Time she carries a deep sense of loneliness, although she is close friends with Chibiusa.
Michiru Kaioh/Sailor Neptune (海王 みちる, Kaiō Michiru?)
A talented violinist with some precognition. A year older than most of the other Sailor Senshi, she can transform into Sailor Neptune, channeling the power of the ocean. She worked alone for some time before finding her partner, Sailor Uranus, with whom she fell in love.[27] Michiru is elegant and personable, already well known for her music as well as her painting, but has given up her own dreams for the life of a Senshi. She is fully devoted to this duty and willing to make any sacrifice for it.
Haruka Tenoh/Sailor Uranus (天王 はるか, Ten'ō Haruka?)
A good-natured, masculine-acting girl. Haruka, of an age with her partner, Michiru, transforms into Sailor Uranus, Soldier of the Sky. Before becoming a Sailor Senshi, she dreamt of being a racer, and she has good driving skills.[28] 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 Sailor Neptune and, later, Pluto and Saturn.
Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn (土萠 ほたる, Tomoe Hotaru?)
A sweet, lonely young girl whose name remains unchanged in the English versions (though pronounced slightly different). Daughter of a possessed mad scientist, a terrible laboratory accident in her youth significantly compromised her health. After overcoming the darkness that has surrounded her family, Hotaru is able to become the Soldier of Silence, Sailor Saturn.[23] Saturn shows that being damaged should not stop one from being the best one can. Indeed, her past problems mean that she now wields forces of destruction so powerful that she is rarely called upon to use them (but unlike the others, her Senshi and civilian personae seem somewhat disconnected). She is often pensive, and as a human has the inexplicable power to heal others. She is the only one of the main characters to go with her name unchanged between the original Japanese and English-language localized versions.
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] Manga
The first cover of the Sailor Moon manga, July 1992.
See also: List of Sailor Moon chapters
Before the Sailor Moon manga, Takeuchi published Codename: Sailor V, which centered around just Sailor Venus. She devised the idea when she wanted to create a cute series about girls in outer space, and her editor asked her to put them in sailor fuku.[5] When Sailor V was proposed for adaptation into an anime, the concept was modified so that Sailor V herself became only one member of a team. The resulting manga series became a fusion of the popular magical girl genre, the Super Sentai Series, of which Takeuchi was a fan.[6] Recurring motifs include astronomy,[5] astrology, Greek myth,[12] Roman myth, geology, Japanese elemental themes,[29] teen fashions,[12][14] and schoolgirl antics.[14]
Talks between Takeuchi and her publishers originally envisaged only one story-arc,[30] and the storyline developed in meetings a year prior to publications,[31] but having completed it, Takeuchi was asked by her editors to continue. She issued four more story-arcs,[30] often published simultaneously with the five corresponding anime series. The anime series would only lag the manga by a month or two.[31]
The complete original manga spans 52 chapters, known as Acts, as well as ten separate side-stories. Its main series appeared in serial form in Nakayoshi, Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine, from 1991 to 1995; the side-stories were serialized in Kodansha's Run Run. Kodansha has published all the chapters and side-stories in book form. The first edition came out as the series was being produced, from 1992 through 1997,[32][33] and consisted of 18 volumes with all the chapters and side stories in the order in which they had been released.
The second edition, called the shinsōban or "renewal" edition, began in 2003 during the run of the live-action series.[34] Kodansha redistributed the individual chapters so that there are more per book, and some corrections and updates were made to the dialogue and drawings. New art was featured as well, including completely new cover art and character sketches (including characters unique to the live-action series). In all, the new edition consists of 12 story volumes and two separate short-story volumes.
By the end of 1995, the thirteen Sailor Moon volumes then available had sold about one million copies each, and Japan had exported the manga to over 23 countries, including China, Mexico, Australia, most of Europe and North America.[35]
Kodansha released special art books for each of the five story arcs, collectively called the Original Picture Collection. The books contain cover art, promotional material, and other work done by Takeuchi. Many of the drawings appear accompanied by comments on how she developed her ideas, how she created each picture, whether or not she likes it, and commentary on the anime interpretation of her story.[36][37][38][39][40]
Another picture collection, Volume Infinity, appeared in a strictly limited edition after the end of the series in 1997. This self-published artbook includes drawings by Takeuchi as well as by her friends, her staff, and many of the voice-actors who worked on the anime. In 1999 Kodansha published the Materials Collection; this contained development sketches and notes for nearly every character in the manga, as well as for some characters who never appeared. Each drawing is surrounded with notes by Takeuchi about the specifics of various costume pieces, the mentality of the characters, and her particular feelings about them. It also includes timelines for the story arcs and for the real-life release of products and materials relating to the anime and manga. At the end, the Parallel Sailor Moon short story is featured, celebrating the year of the rabbit.[41]
[edit] Anime
See also: List of Sailor Moon episodes
The Sailor Moon anime, co-produced by TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation, started airing only a month after the first issue of the manga was published. With 200 episodes airing from March 1992 to February 1997 on TV Asahi, Sailor Moon is one of the longest magical girl anime series. The anime sparked a highly successful merchandising campaign of over 5,000 items,[12] which contributed to demand all over the world and translation into numerous languages. Sailor Moon has since become one of the most famous anime properties in the world.[42][43] Due to its resurgence of popularity in Japan, the series is slated to be back on the air as of September 1, 2009. Also, Italy is getting it rebroadcasted in northern-hemisphere autumn 2010, also getting permission from Naoko who will be releasing new artwork to promote.[44]
Sailor Moon consists of five separate arcs. The titles of the series are Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon Super S and Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Each series roughly corresponds to one of the five major story arcs of the manga, following the same general storyline and including most of the same characters.[31] There were also five special animated shorts, as well as three theatrically-released movies: Sailor Moon R: The Movie, Sailor Moon S: The Movie, and Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie.[45][46][47]
The anime series uses traditional animation techniques throughout. It was directed by Jun'ichi Satō, then Kunihiko Ikuhara and later Takuya Igarashi in succession. Character design was headed by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Itoh and Katsumi Tamegai, all of whom were also animation directors. Other animation directors included Masahiro Andō, Hisashi Kagawa, and Hideyuki Motohashi.[48]
The series sold as twenty "volumes" in Japan. By the end of 1995, each volume had sold approximately 300,000 copies.[35]
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