Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon Styling Logo.

Cosplayer playing Sailor Moon in his first season outfit.

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (美少女戦士 セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn^?), known as Sailor Moon, is a manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi in December 1991. The manga became particularly famous for successfully repopulating the magical girl subgenre, and its sentai elements also gained widespread acceptance among the male sector, generally less interested in this type of story. It was published in the Japanese magazine Nakayoshi ("Intimate Friends") of the Kodansha publishing house between 1992 and 1997 and compiled in 18 tankōbon (volumes).

Originally, Naoko Takeuchi published the short story Codename wa Sailor V ("Codename Wa Sailor V") in Run-Run magazine. from the same publisher. The story liked it so much that the proposal to make an anime series was immediately made. However, the author preferred to add more characters and a stronger plot. This is how the series Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon arose, a sequel to Codename wa Sailor V, which began to be published in parallel and ended up taking precedence over it (which finally became irregular in nature and was even concluded after Sailor Moon). Surpassing Codename wa Sailor V in success, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon made the jump to anime almost simultaneously with its paper publication in 1992. This first anime adaptation was dubbed into 42 languages (up to now the anime with the largest number of dubbings known) and broadcast in around 80 countries.^{[citation needed]} The series also had a good number of musicals, called Sera Myu, as well as a live-action version called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, with 49 chapters and 6 video specials. In 2003 a deluxe reissue of the manga was published, in twelve tankōbon with new covers and certain graphic and dialogue tweaks.

In Latin America and the United States, the series first arrived in the late 1990s. In 1997, the manga license was acquired and translated into English in the US by publisher Mixx, which most Later he would change his name to TOKYOPOP. This also enabled its publication in Mexico through Grupo Editorial Vid, where it was marketed together with the Magic Knight Rayearth series in a dual magazine, MixxZine. However, neither of the two mangas were published in their entirety. In Spain the story was published in its entirety by the Glénat publishing house.

Starting in 2011, both the manga and the first anime series underwent a revaluation, on the occasion of the revitalization of the series in many countries given its twentieth anniversary. In Italy and the United States, GP Publishing and Kodansha USA announced the publication of the 2003 deluxe reissue of the manga (made under the personal supervision of the author Naoko Takeuchi herself). luxury of the first 23 episodes of the original animated series, under the title of "Sailor Moon Talk Box Moon" and produced by Towers Entertainment. The next 23 episodes would appear the following year, under the name of "Talk Box Mercury"". de Barcelona. This publisher also published Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Short Stories and Codename Sailor V.

In 2012, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the work, the author of the manga and Kodansha confirmed the making of a second animated adaptation that is more faithful to the manga. This series, made up of 26 23-minute episodes, is titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, and its first episode premiered on July 5, 2014, with an opening theme performed by the group. musical Momoiro Clover Z.

Aspects of the series

The fictional world in which the plot of Sailor Moon takes place is centered on the concept of "Sailor Senshi", a species of vigilantes in the uniform of "sailor fuku" (sailor suit) that constitute the most characteristic heroine archetype of the series. Beyond their name and clothing style, however, the Sailor Senshi do not present any other trait in common with that epithet; as they are all shown to fight evil rather through " guardian planet power" (also called their "star power"): a personal magical ability, derived from a unique mystical bond (which only each of them possesses) to a specific planet or star.

Typical heroines of the magical girl genre, they generally have two identities: the civilian and the warrior, the connection between the two being sometimes secret. A Sailor Senshi possesses the ability to magically transform into her alter-ego, thus gaining a customized uniform and her special powers. Her powers and personal battle names (usually forms of gairaigo and wasei-eigo, derived from words taken from the English) allude to the planets (or celestial bodies) with which each of them is associated individually (for example, those of "Sailor Mercury" to the planet Mercury, those of " Sailor Jupiter" to the planet Jupiter, etc.). These stars would be connected with a part of his being, called "star seed"; or Sailor Crystal, which grants them elemental powers (based on correspondences that the author took from traditional oriental astrology and philosophy) and which in some versions would also allow these warriors to be reborn, preserving their abilities, more than once.

The story of Sailor Moon, based on the genres of bildungsroman and the tale of the hero's journey, tells the adventures of a group of young teenagers from the city of Tokyo, once who discover her identity as Sailor Senshi. These young women are characterized as the current incarnations of the Sailor Senshi of the planets of the Solar System (and former members of the Silver Millennium, a disappeared kingdom); who now reside on Earth with their leader, the protagonist of the work., around which they gather to fight evil as a team. The fifth season of the series, however, incorporates the existence of more heroines of the same type in other parts of the Milky Way. According to the author's statements, only women can bear the title of Sailor Senshi. (Although there is at least one man with a Sailor Crystal: Mamoru Chiba, guardian of the planet Earth whose secret identity for battle is "Tuxedo Mask").

Production

Prior to the creation of the Sailor Moon manga, Takeuchi published Codename: Sailor V, which centered around the character Minako Aino (aka "Sailor V" or "Sailor Venus"). As she recounts, she conceived the idea out of her desire to create a series of "cute girls in outer space," and her editor asked her to dress them in a popular style of Japanese school uniform, known as Sailor Fuku; which she also used as the base for her vigilante uniform. When the anime adaptation of Sailor V was proposed, the concept was modified so that the protagonist of said story became just one more member of a team of young heroines, the "Sailor Senshi"; who while dressed in the "Sailor" style, fought evil through the power of their guardian planets. The resulting manga series, Sailor Moon, became a fusion of the popular girl magical genre and the Super Sentai series (of which Takeuchi was a huge fan); whose plot followed the conventions of the genre by initially focusing on a typical leading team of five female warriors: each of they with their own special power and celestial body, and individually characterized by symbolic and personalized colors.

Later, after incorporating more characters, the plot redesigned the name to encompass the entire set of vigilantes, "Sailor Senshi", as a term that within the series alluded to her belonging to a group and common origin (represented by the sailor collar on their uniforms). Constituted as a fusion of English and Japanese by series creator Naoko Takeuchi, it had originally emerged linked to a marketing strategy; which conceived this name as a way of associating the story with two very common and familiar expressions for the adolescent public: the aforementioned sera fuku (whose name in wasei-eigo alludes both to the sailor suit as the popular Japanese school uniform style, based on it) and senshi (which is Japanese for 'soldier' or 'warrior'). In the first seven chapters, originally published in Nakayoshi, both the vigilantes and the villains only used the expression "Sailor fuku Senshi" (セーラー服戦士, Sērā fuku senshi^?, Sailor fuku warriors or "sailor uniform warriors"); a phrase similar to that of "Sailor fuku bijin senshi" (セーラー服 美人戦士 , sērā-fuku bijin senshi^?, "beautiful vigilante in sailor suit"), which had been used to define the protagonist of Codename: Sailor V, in the prequel. This phrase was eventually replaced, permanently, by the current "Sailor Senshi" (セーラー戦士, Sērā Senshi ^?, Sailor Warriors), from chapter 8. Like many other Japanese words, the word senshi works both in the plural and in the singular.

Conversations between Takeuchi and his publishers had initially envisioned only one season for the play, the plot of which had begun to develop a year before its publication. In turn, the author also found her inspiration in the inclusion of aspects of astronomy, astrology, Greek and Roman mythology, mineralogy, the elemental themes of Japan, adolescent fashion, and mischief. of the schoolgirls. But once the work was done, the editors asked Takeuchi if he could continue. She then decided to successively create four more seasons, which were published almost simultaneously with its first adaptation and aired through the 1990s anime series; which had all five corresponding seasons and (often) aired only a month or two behind the manga. Takeuchi also stated his impression that, due to the production staff being mostly male, this first anime's version has "a slight male perspective".

Plot

Insignia that identifies Sailor Moon.

Note: The plot exposed below belongs exclusively to the manga, as it is the original story, due to its notable difference with the plot exposed in the anime. To see the differences between anime and manga consult here.

First season

The appearance of the Sailor Senshi

• Manga: Volumes 1 to 3 (chapter 1 to 12)
• AnimeEpisode 1 to 46

Usagi Tsukino is an ordinary, lazy, somewhat clumsy, and whiny Japanese teenager whose life changes forever when she helps and finds a black cat with a crescent moon mark on her forehead, named "Luna", who reveals that she is destined to become a Sailor Senshi with magical powers who must face the forces of evil. With the help of a magical amulet, Usagi is able to transform into "Sailor Moon", a beautiful and generous warrior who defends the defenseless in the name of the moon.

Sailor Moon's first mission

In his first mission he must face a kind of demon part of the Dark Kingdom, a group of villains who intend to plunge the world into darkness. One of them tries to enslave the women of the city by impersonating the mother of his friend, a jewelry seller. Although Usagi manages to use his abilities as & # 34; Sailor Moon & # 34; to defeat the villain, she is helped by a mysterious hero named Tuxedo Mask; with whom the girl ends up falling in love to Luna's regret. She warns him that Usagi's mission is to find other Sailor Senshi as well as the reincarnated figure of the Moon Princess, along with a powerful mystical stone called the Silver Crystal, in order to defeat the evil beings that haunt Earth.. During the successive battles against the Dark Kingdom, fortunately, Sailor Moon manages to find the other vigilantes; four young women who will make up their teammates: Ami Mizuno as the intellectual "Sailor Mercury", Rei Hino as the passionate "Sailor Mars", Makoto Kino as the powerful "Sailor Jupiter& #3. 4; and finally Minako Aino, known as "Sailor V" or "Sailor Venus" As the girls solve missions together and become close, Usagi also meets Mamoru Chiba, a young man with whom she has an antagonistic relationship every time they meet; to the point where they both claim each other and argue every time they see each other.

When Sailor Moon is aided by Tuxedo Mask after a battle, however, the hero reveals his true identity as Mamoru and his intentions to seize the Silver Crystal; the jewel also sought by the Dark Kingdom. In a confrontation against the last servant of that group, however, Tuxedo Mask is injured protecting Sailor Moon; whereupon she is accidentally manifested from within her the Silver Crystal, revealing herself as the reborn princess of the moon and as the bearer of the coveted crystal. Even so, the villainous Queen Beryl seizes the moment of shock to kidnap the deceased Tuxedo Mask in front of her eyes. These unexpected events then force Luna the cat to reveal that Usagi and her companions are reincarnated people from a prosperous kingdom on the Moon, which was wiped out by the Dark Kingdom a long time ago. The girls, along with Luna and Artemis, decide to use their powers to go to the Moon.

Revelation of past lives

Sculptural representation of the goddess of the Moon, Selene, which in history relates to the ancient life of Usagi.

According to the story, in the remote past, a kingdom called the Silver Millennium had existed on the Moon. Usagi and her friends had lived in that place, like Princess Serenity and her four guardians, in a previous existence. At that time, moreover, the princess Serenity of the Moon and the prince of the Earth, Endymion, fell in love. However, the evil rulers of the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl and an evil entity called "Metalia", managed to make enemies of the people of Earth with the inhabitants of the lunar kingdom and unleash a great war between both worlds. The last confrontation, which took place on the Moon, would have cost the lives of the Sailor Senshi and the warriors of the Silver Millennium, as well as Endymion and Princess Serenity, who in the midst of her pain decided to commit suicide. Such circumstances forced the princess's mother, Queen Serenity, to use the power of the Silver Crystal to seal away Queen Metalia, restore Earth, and give fallen warriors a new and second chance through reincarnation.

Queen Serenity predicts information to Sailor Moon, which will play an important role throughout the story: (...) the power of the Silver Crystal will work depending on what your heart feels (...) Dear daughter, you should always trust yourself".

The battle against Metalia

After everything is revealed, the vigilantes recognize that the current reincarnation of Prince Endymion is Tuxedo Mask (Mamoru), Usagi's great love. Furthermore, they now know that the villains now threatening the world are the same ones they would have fought against in the Silver Millennium. They face them again, only to discover that Beryl and Metalia have put a spell on Mamoru, who now obeys their orders. Under their control, he corners the girls and steals the Silver Crystal along with an enchanted sword, the only clue they have to defeat the enemy.

This causes a new battle to break out. Although Beryl is killed by Sailor Venus, Metalia's power over Mamoru is not broken, and Sailor Moon is forced to kill him. The young man's death then drives her to commit suicide, just as it had happened in her past life.In the midst of the chaos, Metallia manages to seize the coveted Silver Crystal to plunge the world into darkness.

Faced with this situation of irreparable repetition, the rest of the girls decide to sacrifice and give up their powers by means of the sword, in exchange for resurrecting Sailor Moon. As a result, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask regain consciousness. Luna and Artemis, meanwhile, following the prophecy, offer a prayer to Luna, to grant them her help. Once freed from the spell, Tuxedo Mask helps Sailor Moon harness the full power of the Silver Crystal; getting to seal Metalia definitively. The Silver Millennium palace on the Moon is miraculously rebuilt in the process, and the Sailor Senshi are restored. Tuxedo Mask and Usagi decide to go to the Moon, where they meet the spirit of Queen Serenity. Usagi thanks her for her help and tells her that she chooses life on Earth, as it is the home of her family: Mamoru and the girls. Queen Serenity's spirit, grateful for her triumph, gives the Sailor Senshi and Usagi new powers. After that, Mamoru and Usagi reunite with their friends and peace is restored to Tokyo.

Second season

Chibiusa's Arrival

• Manga: volumes 4 to 7 (acts 13 to 23)
• Anime - (Sailor Moon R): episodes 60 to 89 (The arc of Alan and Ann is unique to the anime and covers from episodes 47 to 59)

Days after Metallia's defeat, the girls can resume their normal lives, while Usagi and Mamoru become an official couple. However, the story takes a new turn with the appearance of a girl nicknamed "Chibiusa". She has an inexplicable knowledge about the Silver Crystal, which is why the girls distrust her at first; while the girl manages to stay at Usagi's house, pretending to be a cousin of hers. Furthermore, she is pursued by a new group of enemies, the Black Moon group. This ends up awakening in Mamoru a strange impulse to protect her, which fills Usagi's mind with insecurities and jealousy.

The new enemies: Black Moon

Symbol of the Moon with an opposite orientation to that used by the family of the Moon of darkness.

Meanwhile, the group "Black Moon" send four servants, the Sisters of the Persecution, to attack the people of Tokyo. When the young heroines manage to catch them in the middle of their misdeeds, another stranger named Rubeus arrives to help the sisters; successively kidnapping three of Usagi's friends. Thus begins a series of battles that ends with the death of the Four Sisters of the Persecution and with the disappearances of Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter at the hands of Rubeus. Desperate by the recent events, and without any answers and information about them, Usagi, Minako and Mamoru later learn the truth of the whole matter through the only person who knows the identity of the newcomers: Chibiusa. The girl, thank you with the help of her friend "Sailor Pluto", she ends up teleporting Usagi's group to the place where she came from; the same one from which the new evildoers come: the world of the future in the XXX century.

Once in the future, it is discovered that Chibiusa is the future daughter of Usagi and Mamoru, who with the passage of time will become sovereign kings with the name of King Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity, authors of a great era of peace and longevity for all humanity. Despite this, it is said that it is precisely in this time of the future when the aforementioned clan of "Black Moon" will also emerge; formed by a group of people full of desire to dominate the Earth. The group of rebels, led by an advisor known as the "Great Sage", dissented from the Crystal Tokyo lifestyle and form of government and had rejected longevity and prosperity. They believe that the rulers of the new Silver Millennium caused aberrations by granting the human race longevity and life expectancy. For them, a human body must be mortal and, otherwise, it represents a threat and blasphemy against God. They affirm that all this is a smoke screen, that it altered the natural course and that the intentions of the Monarchy are different. They come from the planet Nemesis. It is there where they have mysteriously obtained an enormous power, with which they try to dethrone the Neo Queen.

With that power they have managed to wreak havoc on the Earth of the XXX century, leaving everyone injured and the Neo Queen Serenity unconscious; She who was miraculously protected by the Silver Crystal upon receiving the Diamond Prince's attack. The only person to escape unscathed, Chibiusa, is the only one who knows where the Neo Queen's Silver Crystal is, which was lost at the start of the battle. Chibiusa then tells how she decided to escape, traveling to the past in search of the legendary Sailor Moon of the XX century, so that she could help them. with the power of her own crystal, since King Endymion told her stories about that warrior. of abilities and powers - who questioned, for this reason, her legitimacy as Princess -, with deep anguish, she had decided to approach the Silver Crystal and temporarily take it from its place in the Palace; causing the protective barrier against external attacks, it was disabled. Being what she triggered and allowed the invasion of the Black Moon Clan, King Endymion explains that, despite her appearance, Chibiusa is 900 years old, and that she had simply stopped growing one day. In the same way, he comments that they waited for her maturation process to continue and that they waited for her to awaken as a Successor Warrior of Sailor Moon. But that had never happened.

Scenarios of the future: Nemesis and Crystal Tokyo

After this explanation, Usagi's group (Sailor Moon) prioritizes the protection of Chibiusa, while they find a way to save the population of Tokyo de Cristal, and to rescue their kidnapped companions (Mercury, Mars and Jupiter). Then Chibiusa is intercepted and attacked by a member of Black Moon: Esmeralda. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, with the help of Sailor Venus and King Endymion, manage to rescue the little girl; but Sailor Moon is kidnapped by her enemy leader, Prince Diamond, who takes her to her own castle in Nemesis, after immobilizing her with her Evil Eye.

There, Diamante explains to Sailor Moon the Clan's goal: Operation "Reset," to rewrite history at will. Because of that, he and the rest of Black Moon had decided to travel to the past, to prevent the descendants of the Kingdom of the Moon from establishing their rule. Imprisoned on the planet Nemesis, and unable to transform into Sailor Moon, because the planet's Dark reactor nullifies and absorbs any power present there, he is left alone. Silently, Usagi is saddened and wonders why she couldn't transform, due to her power: & # 34; (...) Did the Silver Crystal not work because my heart was undecided? I stopped trusting myself... I became insecure. But I... I am the next Queen, it is my duty to protect the Earth and the girls. I'm not alone. I must believe in myself and rescue them".

Determined, she tries to escape but runs into Diamante's brother, Sapphire; he blames Sailor Moon and the Silver Crystal for everything that happened, accusing her of having driven her brother Diamond crazy and causing her obsession. So, Sapphire tries to kill her. Neo Queen Serenity, who is still unconscious in her palace on planet Earth, somehow perceives what is happening and activates the power of Usagi's Silver Crystal from a distance; which causes the castle of the Black Moon clan to begin to collapse. This, and her determination, gives Usagi the opportunity to transform into Sailor Moon, overcoming and defeating the power of the Dark Crystal of Nemesis, managing to free her captured friends from the Dark Room within the planet. In a face-to-face confrontation, Neo Queen Serenity manages to transfer her consciousness into Sailor Moon's body and speak through her to the Black Moon clan. Seeing her immense power, Diamante says that the Silver Crystal is the cause of all wars: & # 34; (...) such an impressive power causes all kinds of envy and disputes & # 34;. Neo Serenity tries to make Diamante reconsider: "(...) By no means, the Silver Crystal preserves peace and brings love and tranquility to the world. I will not accept your twisted knowledge or your evil plans. We do not want wars, but peace. Open your eyes at once. Don't they realize how dangerous it is to use the Dark Crystal?". Diamante ignores it and maintains that love and tranquility are simple fantasies, that the Silver Crystal only brings hatred and doubt and that it is the origin of all calamities.

As Black Moon Castle collapses, Sailor Moon calls Sailor Pluto for help from a distance, managing to cross the time-space dimension and transport herself to the Gate of Time, along with Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter.

Meanwhile, on Earth of the XXX century, Chibiusa wants to go see Sailor Pluto but gets lost in the interior of the Gate of Time; where she is captured by the Black Moon advisor, the Great Sage. After going in search of Chibiusa, Tuxedo Mask also gets lost and falls into the hands of Black Moon's new ally, Black Lady. She puts him under a spell and makes him her servant. Faced with these facts, a storm is created in the corridor of Time, announcing that some irregularity had occurred. In the middle of the storm, Sailor Pluto and King Endymion inform the group about the joint disappearance of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor ChibiMoon, so they realize the urgency of going to the century XXX again to see what was happening.

Already determined to finish what he started, the Great Sage then enchants Sapphire and Diamond, so that they also obey Black Lady; later sending the four to Earth of the XXX century, in order to attack Sailor Moon and obtain the Silver Crystal.

The battle for the future and the present

Artistic conception of the planet Némesis, cited as hiding from the Black Moon clan in history.

In Tokyo Crystal, the Sailor Senshi discover the true identity of the Great Sage. Known as the "Ghost of Death", he was the first criminal to bear the Black Moon mark and to be banished to Nemesis by Neo Queen Serenity herself, for having corrupted the hearts of the inhabitants, and resurfaced. murders and massacres.

A new fight takes place when they must face Sapphire, Diamond and Black Lady. However, any impulse they have to fight vanishes when they see that the Black Lady is Chibiusa, transformed into a villain by the Great Sage's magic, also assisted by the bewitched Tuxedo Mask. Black Lady throws giant shards of the Dark Crystal at the Planet, to promptly end it. As if that were not enough, Prince Diamante frees himself from the spell and murders his brother Sapphire, amid his disappointment; he seeks to harm the Great Sage, but it becomes clear that, in truth, he is an inert body. Black Lady reveals to them that the Great Sage's true form is actually the planet Nemesis itself; that appears at that instant, distorting time and space, and attacking the Crystal Palace. Sailor Moon attempts to block Nemesis's attacks, using the Silver Crystal. Diamante then realizes that he could never match the power of the Silver Crystal and that any attempt he would have to defeat it would be in vain. Deranged, he steals the silver crystals of the past and the future to try to unite them in a time paradox that ends the known world.

All seems lost until, thanks to the kitten Diana, Sailor Pluto arrives, who sacrifices his life to stop Diamante, making use of one of his forbidden powers (taboos); the power to stop time. With this, she manages to provide Sailor Moon with the opportunity to retrieve the crystals from her. Her sacrifice also manages to affect Black Lady intensely; she who she remembers that the only thing she wanted was to have a friend of hers and that she had found her in Sailor Plut. Thus, she becomes Chibiusa again and then, for the first time, the little vigilante, "Sailor Chibi Moon", finally waking up as a Sailor scout. When trying to counterattack, Diamante is defeated by a combined attack from Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Finally, the Great Sage introduces himself as the Ghost of Death and attracts Sailor Moon to Nemesis, who summons Tuxedo Mask from a distance by her will, transporting herself there.

Neo Queen Serenity awakens from her unconsciousness, summons King Endymion in his physical form and they both leave the Crystal Palace to meet the four warriors, Luna, Artemis, Diana and Chibi Moon. She explains that the group has been dealing with a Nemesis mirage and that Sailor Moon was dragged to the original planet, drawing the Tuxedo Mask to her. The Queen asked her to help Chibi Moon, who as a member of the royal family, could make use of the Silver Crystal, sending her towards Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. With his help and the little Chibi Moon (Chibiusa), Sailor Moon destroys the Ghost of Death, fused with the deserted planet Nemesis. As a reward, all the Sailor Senshi receive new powers from Neo Queen Serenity, and return to their own time. Usagi and the girls return to their normal lives, tasked with caring for and instructing Chibiusa on the path to becoming a "true" girl. Sailor Senshi.

Third season

The Infinite School

• Manga: Volumes 8 to 10 (acts 24 to 33)
• Anime - (Sailor Moon S)Episode 90 to 127

After the defeat of Black Moon, the Sailor Senshi are given the opportunity to return to their ordinary lives, while caring for and instructing Chibiusa. Then her suspicions are aroused by a series of strange episodes, starring the students of a school called the Infinite College (& # 34; Mugen & # 34;). The students of that school seem to get upset, while their bodies seem to be controlled by monstrous beings. Upon further study of the matter, it is revealed that it is the students themselves who are being replaced by monsters; causing the fate of humanity to once again fall into the hands of the Sailor Senshi.

Between allies and enemies

Illustration of the legendary Santo Grial, which appears in this arch as an object of vital importance.

In Tokyo, on the other hand, there is great excitement about the return of a duo of valedictorians; a diligent athlete and car racer Haruka Ten'ō and the acclaimed violinist Michiru Kaiō. They do not take long to establish contact with the protagonists and Mamoru, and soon they seem to develop a special interest. Chibiusa develops a great friendship with the daughter of the director of the Infinite School, Hotaru Tomoe, an introverted and peaceful girl; with whom she spends several moments and shares secrets. However Hotaru's father, Professor Tomoe, serves an alien being called Pharaoh 90; who intends to take over the Earth. The goal of this being is to cover the planet Earth and assimilate it within itself as its new home. Throughout the series, this process is known as "the Utilization". After this he will try to integrate it into his home planetary system, & # 34; Tau & # 34;.

With the help of his assistant, a woman named Kaolinite, the professor has been turning the students of his school into a species of monsters called daimons, through experiments; while his servants, the Witches 5, prepare to locate three thousand-year-old talismans, also following the orders of Pharaoh 90.

Through dreams, the entire party is warned by a voice that they must gather the talismans. In turn, Mamoru and Usagi have vague visions of the end of the world and a mysterious being, not knowing if it is a Messiah or an enemy.

Investigations regarding occult activities at Infinite College soon pit the vigilantes in succession with the Witches 5, who study or work there conducting experiments for the aliens and collecting souls. Unexpectedly, the girls also meet two other Sailor Senshi; some unknown women called "Sailor Uranus" and "Sailor Neptune"; who turn out to be the famous Haruka and Michiru. Subsequently, they meet with the newly reincarnated Sailor Pluto, "Setsuna Meiō", and the three form the team of the Sailor Senshi of the Outer Solar System, to defeat the remaining Witches 5 and the sect they belong to. they serve, the "Death Busters".

Following the appearance of Sailor Pluto, who destroys the Tellu Witch, saving the Sailors from her attack, the three announce themselves and formally introduce themselves to Sailor Moon - who temporarily becomes Princess Serenity - and the rest of the crew. cluster. At that point, they apologize to her for the way they have been behaving and explain her intentions. They tell them that they had infiltrated the Mugen College as students, to keep an eye on the area and try to extract information about the Death Busters' targets. They also make it clear that the mission to destroy them is expressly theirs, since the enemies had infiltrated from outer space, a jurisdiction that belongs to the three guardians, unlike the Sailors of the Inner Solar System. So they ask the group not to intervene due to the danger it would pose to them, especially after having revealed their identity to the enemies and becoming defectors from the Institute; having the conviction that the enemy, for this reason, would now persecute the three of them.

In turn, they are told that, unlike the other four guardians, they had been given special weapons, with specific powers, that would help them defeat the enemy. Said weapons being the Talismans: Sailor Neptune's Deep Water Mirror, Sailor Uranus' Sword of the Wind, and Sailor Pluto's Garnet Orb.

In spite of everything, thanks to Sailor Moon, they manage to resolve their differences and finish off the Witches 5, who were chasing Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna, after having located them. Then their combined powers, along with the powers of the three talismans, unexpectedly summon a new mystical item; the moon cup, which grants Sailor Moon the power to become a stronger warrior against the Death Busters: "Super Sailor Moon".

As the three talismans resonated with each other unpredictably and to the surprise of Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, for the awakening of Super Sailor Moon, they sense that their objects are already completely full of power, being close to the end of the world. Therefore, they decide to explain her mission to him: to prevent the emergence of a mysterious being called "the god of death", before he wakes up and annihilates the planet. Sailor Neptune tells Sailor Moon that they had only seen the Talismans resonate once: when the Silver Millennium was remotely destroyed, while they observed that fact from a distance in outer space, unable to intervene - since it was forbidden to them. leave their planets and the Gate of Time. Neptune explains that as the Millennium was falling apart, each of the talismans had begun to resonate, and that the three were gathered together and drawn to the Planet Saturn, where they witnessed the rise of Sailor Saturn, "the Sailor senshi who was never to awaken". #3. 4;. Petrified, they could only watch as Saturn used her weapon, Silence Glaive, killing everyone.

The three explain that they were never meant to meet, as their meeting would summon the imminent awakening of Sailor Saturn. Therefore, having been able to reincarnate on Planet Earth, paradoxically represented a danger. They warn the group that, in the same way that they reincarnated, so would Sailor Saturn, who was asleep in Hotaru Tomoe.

Confident that -as the entire group had previously attested- the future does exist, they believe it is because they have to take action on the matter; for life and the future to continue, they have to prevent the end of the world. Thus, they are told that their next action will be to assassinate Hotaru, to prevent the emergence of Sailor Saturn. They inform the group that Hotaru was close to her death, due to the irreparable state of her body, which had been artificially and ambitiously reconstructed by her father, Professor Tomoe. They explain that the scientist had not rebuilt her body out of love for her daughter, but out of personal ambition, evilly manipulating her body. The group asks if there would be a way to save Hotaru somehow, and Uranus states that if she woke up as Sailor Saturn, being a Sailor Senshi—full of power, like all of them—her body would be completely restored. But that, said awakening, although beneficial for Hotaru, would imply the end of the world.

Faced with this crossroads, the group splits up, and Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Plut, march to fulfill their mission.

Two threats: Pharaoh 90 and Sailor Saturn

Sailor Chibi Moon rushes to Hotaru's house to protect her but the latter is possessed by Mistress 9; alien entity that takes control of Hotaru's body and spirit to savagely snatch Chibiusa's soul and silver crystal from her, leaving her in a near-death state. Mamoru manages to use her powers to keep the girl alive, while the event convinces Sailor Moon and her friends to go and confront the Death Busters in the Omega area. Kaolinite, on orders from Mistress 9, casts one last curse and sends clones of the Witches 5 to attack the warriors, in an attempt to delay them until Pharaon 90 is fully established. Joining forces with Uranus, Pluto, and Neptune, the girls defeat Kaolinite along with her creatures.

Tau Ceti (right) is the solar system from which the Death Busters come from.

After this, Professor Tomoe is confronted by Sailor Moon, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Prior to said confrontation, Sailor Moon reflects on the darkness and its power: & # 34; In truth... I die of fear every time I face an enemy. I think of all the bad things that could happen. And if I were left alone? What would I do?". There, the Outers comfort her by telling her that they knew her loneliness, having once lived in out-of-the-way places. But that the splendor of the Moon and her Queen and Princess always guided them and were for them a beacon of light and hope.

Once they reach the underground portion of the Infinite College, they take out Professor Tomoe when he tries to attack them in the guise of a monstrous alien being, Germatoid. Mistress 9, meanwhile, provides him with the energy to begin his conquest world to the leader of the alien race, Pharaoh 90. Hotaru's soul then escapes from the body controlled by Mistress 9 and returns Chibiusa's soul, along with her silver crystal; giving her and Tuxedo Mask a chance to go fight as well.

Afterward, Sailor Moon and the others see Pharaoh 90 emerge as a mass of black lava that grows larger and larger, fueled by energy stolen from the Silver Crystal. They try to destroy it with their attacks, but to no avail. The Outer System Sailors create a barrier to stop its expansion, but it is soon torn apart by the alien entity. In an attempt to save the Planet, while she sinks into silence, Sailor Moon sacrifices herself and throws herself into the void, immersing herself inside the creature; her activating her powers to try to kill him from within. The powers of her Silver Crystal and the Lunar Cup, combined, take immediate effect on the talismans, heralding the awakening of Sailor Saturn.

The end of the world: a new beginning

In the same way that Mistress 9 emerged from Hotaru, Sailor Saturn emerges from within Mistress 9. Paralyzed, the warriors then believe that the end has come and that Sailor Moon has died inside Pharaoh 90. Sailor Saturn explains that she did not it was part of the story that Hotaru survived the fire accident in her childhood, that she should have died, thus preventing her future emergence as Sailor Saturn. But that Professor Tomoe had changed history; affecting Hotaru's body by restoring it and Saturn's soul - which was not supposed to reawaken in this time line. But, then, it was due to the accumulated coincidences and the establishment of those coordinates of destiny that heralded her imminent awakening at some point within this time line, by allowing Hotaru to continue with life, the body in which she would reincarnate, once she arrived. the case; and that it had been the twisted mind of Professor Tomoe that had first attracted the invaders from outside to the Omega area, an area that presented a huge distortion of space and time, through which they were able to filter. So the awakening of her was predestined. But in an unexpected twist, she claims that while she is the Sailor of Death - as the Outers had seen and witnessed - more importantly (what no one knew, because no one had been able to witness it), she is also the Renaissance Sailor; and that, thanks to Sailor Moon, she could defeat the enemy. Saturn, with her power Death Reborn Revolution, sends Pharaoh 90 back to her planet Tau; freeing Sailor Moon from the depths of the monster. With the help of Sailor Pluto, they summon the Gate of Time to close the dimension that serves as a passage between Earth and the planet Tau, leaving the enemy and Sailor Saturn locked on the other side forever.

Saddened by the death of Hotaru and the disappearance of Sailor Saturn, unable to prevent their deaths (one of the objectives of the group, who wanted to save her), Sailor Moon suddenly transforms into Neo Queen Serenity; who uses her powers to restore the city and bring Saturn back. Mamoru realizes that the entity they had been seeing in their dreams was actually Neo Queen Serenity; who would be her Messiah. Then, Saturn reappears in the form of a baby, with the mark of Saturn on her forehead: she had been granted a new life, being able to reincarnate as Saturn again, when the time came. The Outer System Sailors, repentant of their previous intentions to kill Hotaru, take the creature and vow to raise it until it grows up to become a warrior again. Bidding farewell to her, Sailor Neptune gives Sailor Chibi Moon her talisman, the Waterdeep Mirror, and promises that one day she will find it again. Meanwhile, they ask Sailor ChibiMoon to take care of her future queen. Thus, after affirming to the group that they will see each other again, they disappear in front of the eyes of Sailor Moon and the others. Visiting the homes of Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna, Usagi and her friends find that they really are gone; but they know that one day they will meet again.

Season Four

Neherenia's Revenge

• Manga: Volumes 12 to 15 (acts 34 to 42)
• Anime - (Sailor Moon Super S)Episode 128 to 166
• Film - (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon): Divided into 2 parts

An illustration of Pegasus, which in history appears as the alter ego of the character of Helios

A new school year begins. Usagi and her companions prepare to witness a total eclipse of the sun about to occur. In the company of Mamoru and Chibiusa, the friends meet in a large park; already full of people eager to see the event.

A strange reverie

During the eclipse, both Usagi and Chibiusa and Mamoru experience something disturbing: the three of them unexpectedly see a Pegasus before them, asking for their help, before vanishing into nothingness. Later, they and their companions see how a spectral ship, which came out of the eclipse, goes down through the air to Earth, to immediately disappear. Visions only last a second; but, looking around, they realize that only they seem to have seen what just happened. Upon learning of the arrival of a new circus, the "Dead Moon Circus", made up of the strange ghostly crew they saw earlier, they decide to keep an eye on that group. Thanks to her psychic powers, Rei perceives an omen of imminent danger.

The group remembers Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna, eager to meet again. Suddenly, the Sailor Senshi are attacked by a strange trio, the Amazon Trio, while Tuxedo Mask (Mamoru) begins to suffer from a supernatural disease in her lungs. The girls begin to suspect that this is connected to the Dead Moon circus. Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter defeat the trio after gaining new powers along with their Sailor Crystals: Sailor Mars gains hers from Phobos and Deimos; Mercury and Jupiter, on the other hand, receive theirs after meeting some sort of extension or reflection. of themselves, their spiritual guardians Guardian Mercury and Guardian Jupiter.

After the confrontation between Sailor Jupiter and the Amazon quartet, Sailor ChibiMoon is called by Helios for her help, since nightmares or lemurs attack Mamoru; so Sailor Moon, ChibiMoon, and Jupiter head there. Once these nightmares are defeated, Helios explains that he and Mamoru are cursed. He finally introduces himself as the priest of Elysion, a sacred place in the center of the Earth, a place that serves as the heart of the planet from which, remotely, Prince Endymion's family guarded. He explains that the four elements work as one and are connected: Mamoru as the Prince of Earth, Elysion as his holy place, the Earth as a whole, and him as Endymion's priest. He asks them for help to end that curse, established by Queen Nehrenia, an ancient enemy of the Silver Millennium, from the kingdom of Dead Moon; that she had managed to expand her influence to take revenge on the descendants of the Lunar Kingdom. Her purpose is to seize the Silver Crystal to rule the entire Universe. He in turn explains that his body was turned into a pegasus because of the curse, so by using astral projection, he has been able to leave her body to communicate with them.

Days later, distraught, seeing that only her companions awakened new mystical powers and she did not, Minako questions her abilities and skills as a future leader among the 4 guardians. After this, the young women surprise the circus by bewitching the audience during their shows and Sailor Venus obtains her Sailor Crystal from Artemis, turned into a human form, to defeat two other of its members, Xenotime and Zeolite. Directly confronted by the last members of the Dead Moon circus, the Amazon Quartet, four of the sailor senshi fall into a trap set by this group.

Meeting of all Sailor Senshi

Somewhere else; Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna reflect on Hotaru. She is she has begun to grow and develop her powers at an accelerated rate, managing to remember her identity as Sailor Saturn. When she reports that Sailor Moon and the others are in danger, the four invoke the powers of their Sailor Crystals to become warriors again and come to the aid of her friends. Hotaru conveys to them that she has been able to obtain a new awakening and that, from now on, the 4 o'clock meeting would not imply the end of the world or bring destruction, being able to make use of her powers and stay together.

Once Sailor Mars, Mercury and Jupiter are freed by the Sailor Senshi from the outer solar system, another of the figures behind the actions of the Trio and the Amazon Quartet appears: the witch Zirconia, who serves Queen Neherenia and decides to join the fight. As the vigilantes soon receive help from Sailor Moon, Chibi Moon, and Tuxedo Mask, Zirconia transforms Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask into two little boys, trying to buy time to complete the conquest; but Helios (in his Pegasus form) appears unexpectedly to take the little ones to the land of Illusion, where they become Usagi and Mamoru again and return to normal. In the outside world, Chibi Moon and Sailor Saturn free the Amazon Quartet from Neherenia's control by pointing out that they are only being used. Saturn warns them that the four of them really have a hidden power, but that it had been distorted by the Circus; forgetting its origin by giving in to nightmares. But Zirconia appears and locks the Quartet inside their own billiard balls (called Amazon stones) after trapping Chibi Moon and Saturn inside two large pieces of a mirror, both of which fall into Neherenia's possession.

The Land of Illusion

Traditional Circus, similar to the costume acquired by Dead Moon.

In the realm of Illusion, Usagi and Mamoru meet Helios (the true identity of Pegasus) as well as two young protectors of the palace of Illusion, the Maenads, who are in a deep sleep due to a spell.. Helios tells Usagi and Mamoru the history of this kingdom as well as its protective crystal, the legendary Golden Crystal, which have belonged to Prince Endymion since ancient times. There they understand the origin of Mamoru's disease, who, being the guardian of Planet Earth, and being in deep risk, had begun to somatize due to her intimate connection. After realizing that the Gold Crystal is the key to defeating Neherenia, Usagi believes that it may be hidden inside Mamoru, as had happened in the past with herself and her silver crystal. However, before being able to confirm it, the three are attacked by Neherenia herself, before which Helios uses all her power to expel her from the sacred place and falls faint. Usagi and Mamoru transform back into Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask and return to the surface with a mission to find the Dorado crystal. Attacked again by Zirconia, they and their friends are bewitched with hallucinations that attempt to persuade each member of the team to that all the other vigilantes have died, tempting them to abandon their mission. Tuxedo Mask, unaware, breaks the spell; whereupon Sailor Moon chases Zirconia into a dark mirror. There, she meets Queen Neherenia and two of her own fellow captives: Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Saturn. Upon releasing them, the three are thrown back outside; where they reunite with their companions and decide to go find the enemy in their new hideout, the secret land of Illusion, on Earth.

Once there, Queen Neherenia, ready to reveal the origin of their enmity, recounts how she was sentenced to confinement inside the mirror: for having threatened the Silver Millennium and prophesied its end on the same day as the birth of Princess Serenity. Neherenia reveals and tells that they all have the same origin; and that she also shared the same origin as Queen Serenity, being her exact dark counterpart: & # 34; (...) where there is light, there will also be darkness. The light calls the darkness and the darkness calls the light". She in turn, she also tells that she had cursed the Princess with a premature death that day. Said prophecy had been fulfilled, since when Queen Metalia had invaded the Silver Millennium, Princess Serenity had committed suicide, after seeing how Endymion perished. Said mirror really belonged to Queen Serenity; who, seeing that Neherenia had not come in peace, decides to expel her from the Moon, locking her up there, in the world of Darkness: "(...) If peace is what you are looking for coming to the Moon, then be welcome. But if what you bring is ghastly darkness, then go away'.

Seeing the Sailor Senshi determined to fight her, the ruler of Dead Moon steals the Silver Crystal, leaving Sailor Moon in a weakened state. However, Tuxedo Mask receives new help from the power of the Golden Crystal: a magical item that, unbeknownst to her, has been in her possession since the days of the ancient Kingdom of the Moon. After discovering that this crystal is inside his body, where it has been hidden, Tuxedo Mask manages to use his power to summon the Silver Crystal back to its owner. That is to say, that Sailor Moon had actually been the one who could awaken the power of Tuxedo Mask, fulfilling the prophecy, and breaking the seal of the Golden Crystal.

Nightmares End

Recovered, Sailor Moon enlists the help of her friends to face Neherenia. Upon hearing her words, the other vigilantes transform, adopting their appearance as princesses from their respective planets. Also, the cats Luna, Artemis and Diana take on human form. The Sailor Senshi, now princesses of the Solar System, invoke the power of their palaces on their original planets, granting Sailor Moon a new transformation that gives her a higher level of power (close, moreover, to that of the future Neo Queen Serenity): "Eternal Sailor Moon". With the power of Tuxedo Mask's Gold Crystal, Chibiusa's Silver Crystal, and the Sailor Crystals of the ten Sailor Senshi, the princesses also achieve transformation into "eternal" warriors.; while Sailor Moon invokes the powers of her allies to join hers in a single attack, with which she manages to destroy Neherenia forever. Sailor Moon remembers an episode from her childhood as Princess Serenity, in which she went to Queen Serenity in anguish, at night: "Serenity... we all have a star in our hearts." Light and darkness are companions for eternity. If you show your tears because the darkness scares you... Their power will increase and they will come to attack you. And then... they'll end up absorbing the light. Serenity, if you want to overcome the darkness and dispel the darkness that invades your heart, let the star that is in you shine. It is your most important mission".

Following Neherenia's defeat, the land of Illusion is freed from Dead Moon's curse, whereupon they discover that Helios has survived. Grateful, the young man places the Gold Crystal on a scepter for Tuxedo Mask, causing him and Sailor Moon to transform once more. Unexpectedly, the two together first take on their guise as the future King Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity, and decide to use their power to fully restore the planet from Dead Moon's attacks. Sailor Moon, now transformed into Neo Queen Serenity, also frees the Amazon Quartet from within the Amazon stones. With this, the four Amazons regain the memory of their true identity as warriors destined to become the Sailor Quartetto, the future guardians of Chibiusa, in the same way that Sailor Moon had Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus. The heroes then return to the surface, where Helios finally says goodbye to everyone. He promises the Little Lady that they will meet again in the future. The rest can, from now on, return to live peacefully. Usagi senses that, having first become Neo Queen Serenity through his own power, his coronation as ruler of the New Silver Millennium would be near. Usagi tells Tuxedo Mask that everyone has a star inside (which in the next arc will be developed and of vital importance) and that their powers are born from there. Usagi raises a petition to the sky, asking that his Star give her more value and that his radiance never leave her.

Season 5

Arco Stars or Shadow Galaxy

• Manga: Volumes 16 to 18 (acts 43 to 52)
• Anime - (Sailor Moon Stars)Episode 167 to 200

With the restart of classes, the young women begin to sigh for a new musical group: the Three Lights; group formed by the famous Seiya, Taiki and Yaten. For Usagi things don't seem entirely happy; since her boyfriend, Mamoru, is going on a trip to the United States for a whole year, to do a postgraduate degree. Also his future daughter, Chibiusa, ends up returning to the XXX century, leaving Usagi with a great sense of loneliness.

At the moment of parting at the airport, Mamoru has a surprise for Usagi: an engagement ring, which means that when he returns, they will get married. His happiness is violently interrupted when a strange woman, Sailor Galaxia, appears to steal Mamoru's Gold Crystal, killing him instantly. Usagi then passes out. Unconscious, she is assisted by the Three Lights, who have just arrived in Tokyo. They try to take her to her house, but she wakes up and returns to her home confusedly, although by her own means.

The next day, she has no recollection of what happened. When the girls ask her about Mamoru, she only says that she thinks he left for the United States without difficulty. Her melancholy leads her friends to decide to take her to the Three Lights concert, in order to revive her.

The Star Lights

At the concert something unexpected happens: a villain emerges from the audience, identifying herself as a Sailor Senshi, Sailor Iron Mouse. After attacking the Three Lights, she claims that she has come to steal the Sailor Crystals (ie, the sources of power) from "others"; Sailor Senshi. When Sailor Moon and her family confront her, three other mysterious warriors appear. They are the three Sailor Starlights: "Sailor Star Fighter", "Sailor Star Maker" and "Sailor Star Healer". They finish off the intruder and then disappear. Haruka, trying to protect Usagi and warn the rest of the group, comments that she believes that the Sailor Starlights and the Three Lights are somehow the same people.With the appearance of all these new warriors, Usagi's group decides to start to investigate.

Upon returning home, Usagi finds an unknown girl there; whom everyone in her household sees as a member of the family. Usagi believes that the girl, Chibi Chibi, could be a second daughter of Neo Queen Serenity (Usagi's counterpart in the XXX century), sent from the future just like Chibiusa. Even so, it is impossible for him to confirm it. The next morning, at school, she discovers that the Three Lights have transferred to her school and are now in her class.

When one of them, Seiya, comes across the young woman, he asks about her boyfriend; but, thinking of Mamoru, she experiences a strange headache. Usagi then comments that the latest song by the Three Lights has touched her heart; to which Seiya replies that his music is dedicated to a very special person and he begins to sing. His singing attracts the attention of allies and enemies alike, and a new enemy Sailor Senshi comes to them: Sailor Aluminum Seiren. She is she realizes who she is and ends up killing Sailor Mercury and Jupiter to get the Sailor Crystals from her. Immediately, the Three Lights transform into the Sailor Starlights and counterattack, destroying Aluminum Seiren. Confirmed the suspicions that the Three Lights are the three mysterious Sailor Senshi that helped them before, Usagi and her friends interrogate them to find out who the new enemies are: they are the Shadow Galactica Sailor Animamates; an empire of power-hungry warriors who answer to a "renegade" Sailor Senshi, Sailor Galaxia.

Sailor Anima Mates and Sailor Galaxy

Artistic recreation by NASA Milky Way. Both the sleeve and the anime of Sailor MoonSailor Galaxy represents her guardian.

The Starlights explain that the enemies have killed Mercury and Jupiter and stolen their sources of power, their Sailor Crystals. Usagi and her friends wonder if those crystals will be the key to revive them, so they decide to get them back. The Three Lights show them that, just like them, they too are true Sailor Senshi. The Sailor Animamates, on the other hand, are just impostors. Meanwhile, Usagi starts to get the strange feeling that she has forgotten something important.

Suddenly, going to Sailor Mars's home, she and Venus discover that Phobos and Deimos (Rei's guardians) are being cornered by another Sailor Animamate, Sailor Lead Crow. She is she knows Phobos and Deimos because she comes from the same planet. She betrayed her world's guardian, Sailor Coronis, in exchange for Sailor Galaxia promising her the power of a Sailor Senshi. Lead Crow kills Phobos and Deimos and seizes her starseeds from her, later taking Sailor Mars hostage until Sailor Moon takes action, eliminating her. She then appears by surprise Sailor Galaxia, killing Venus and Mars and stealing her crystals. Upset by the death of her friends, this causes Usagi to remember Mamoru's death at the airport by Sailor Galaxia, and she goes into a complete state of shock.

Meanwhile in the XXX century, Chibiusa learns that changes are taking place in the past, on a space-time level., which endanger the entire existence of your world. Determined to help her friends from the XX century, she resolves to time travel once more. But she is immediately stopped by her mother, who tells her that her training in the past has ended, and that jumping across timelines could produce irremediable paradoxes. Chibiusa's Time Key has already been returned to Sailor Pluto, and there seems to be nothing to change Neo Queen Serenity's mind.

In the present, Sailor Uranus (Haruka), Neptune (Michiru) and Pluto (Setsuna) leave for their respective palaces on their home planets; with the plan to create a new defensive barrier for the entire Solar System. There, they are interrupted by another appearance of Galaxia, who steals her crystals, annihilating them as well as Sailor Saturn (Hotaru), who had gone to help them later. The Three Lights inform Usagi that they come from another planetary system, from which they fled to Earth when Galaxia attacked them. Also, although Mamoru and her friends have died; its essence resides in its crystals; with which, it is possible to revive.

At school, a new student tries to get close to Usagi, but the cats Luna and Artemis discover that she is another enemy: Sailor Tin Nyanko. She attacks them at the moment when Diana, her daughter, arrives from the future to defend them; injuring them before the intervention of Sailor Moon and the Starlights, who force her to flee from her.

The origin

Wikipe-tan drawn in chibi form, a style similar to that adopted for the design of the Chibi Chibi character Sailor Moon.

The Three Lights discover a Chibi Chibi censer, from within which emerges their Princess: Princess Kakyū, from the planet Kinmoku. She is the person that the Sailor Starlights have been looking for. Kakyū tells that she had remained hidden to recover from the fatal injuries from Sailor Galaxia's attack. Also, to the surprise of Usagi and the Starlights, Chibi Chibi turns out to be a Sailor Senshi as well.

Kakyū explains that Sailor Galaxia plans to take over all supernaturally-powered star seeds in the galaxy; Sailor crystals. Starseeds are the life essence of living beings; while Sailor crystals are a special type, which grants supernatural and mystical powers of "Sailor Senshi" to its owner. The Sailor Animamates are ordinary people who Galaxia has promised to turn into Sailor Senshi, in exchange for their help in her cause. Usagi decides to confront this powerful warrior, and Kakyū and the Starlights offer to guide her to her lair.

Before leaving, Usagi tries to question Chibi Chibi, but their conversation is interrupted by Sailor Galaxia. Usagi confronts him, but ends up losing consciousness. Then, Chibi Chibi transmits her own power to him; forcing Galaxia to escape from her. In dreams, again, Usagi has another encounter with his opponent; who challenges her to go to the Zero star of Sagittarius, where both will have their final confrontation. There, meanwhile, Galaxia meets with Sailor Tin Nyanko. Unyielding in the face of Tin Nyanko's failure, she ends her life.

The next morning, Usagi meets with the Three Lights and with Kakyū, with whom she decides to go to the other planets of the Solar System in search of Sailor Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto. They soon find out what happened to them when they watch a security video. They decide to leave for the Sagittarius star Zero, where Usagi knows that Galaxia is waiting for her.

The River of Oblivion

Barca de Caronte, boatman of the Aqueronte River, in the Hades (Inframundo), within the Greek mythology. Notable influence for the author.

Sailor Moon (Usagi), Chibi Chibi, Kakyū and the three Sailor Starlights arrive at the Sagittarius star Zero, in the center of the Milky Way. Kakyū explains that Sailor Galaxia has erected her palace there to be close to the Galactic Cauldron, the site where the stars and star seeds of the galaxy are born, along with Sailor crystals. Sailor Moon understands that all beings, the stars and even themselves, have their origin in this sacred place.

Upon arrival, they find themselves in a vast desert; where they are greeted by Lethe, "the ferryman of the Desert River". He offers to take them in his boat.Once they get on board, the desert becomes a real river, into whose waters the occupants fall, when the boat sinks.

Suddenly, Usagi wakes up alone in a park; sitting on a swing and wearing her student clothes, she Before her she sees an unknown young woman; who has with him Luna, Artemis and Diana. When Usagi can't remember who she is and realizes that she has lost her memory, the strange young woman kills the three cats.

In the XXX century, Chibiusa has a premonition about what has happened to Diana. Seeing the dying bodies of Luna and Artemis, her mother tells how she gave Diana permission to go back in time to investigate the space-time disturbance. Seeing the bodies of Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, and even to Sailor Pluto and King Endymion, in the same state, Chibiusa begs to return to the XX century to come to Sailor Moon's aid and the others. Upon transforming into Sailor Chibi Moon, she sees the Sailor Quartetto appear before her, who offer to accompany her. The Neo Queen Serenity, resigned, then gives them the Key of Time.

In the present, Usagi discovers that the one who eliminated Luna, Diana and Artemis is Lethe, the 'ferryman of the deserted river'. This is actually a girl named Sailor Lethe, the guardian of the River of Oblivion. She is she has transported Usagi into her imaginary world, within which he wishes to annihilate her; but his own partner, Sailor Mnemosyne, unexpectedly steps in to prevent him. Meanwhile, Usagi regains her memory and transforms into Sailor Moon. By breaking the illusion created by Sailor Lethe, Sailor Moon manages to see Kakyū and her allies floating in the water around her and return with them to the mainland. Mnemosyne provides Kakyū and Chibi Chibi with some water from her River of Memory, which has the ability to restore memories. However, the three Starlights remain unconscious.

Sailor Lethe and Mnemosyne then explain that they have served Galaxia in the hope that it would bring peace to the Milky Way; whereupon, Kakyū states that Galaxia is only capable of bringing death and devastation. Lethe replies that Sailor Moon is not a better option, because her great power provokes the greed and ambition of others, falling into endless repetition; Therefore, as long as she lives, her existence will only cause problems and wars will never end. Upon hearing her, Sailor Moon offers to allow them to take her life without resisting; determined to end the violence. Moved, Lethe and Mnemosyne decide to let them go; but they are discovered by other followers of Galaxia: Sailor Chi and Sailor Phi; who kill them and steal their crystals, along with those of the deceased Starlights. Sailor Moon, Kakyū, and Chibi Chibi follow them to a strange graveyard, where the last of the Sailor Animamates: Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon awaits them.

In the anteroom of Sailor Galaxia's palace

Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, the last of the Sailor Animamates, attacks Sailor Moon, Kakyū and Chibi Chibi and ties them to wooden crosses, then sets them on fire. The sudden arrival of Sailor Chibi Moon and the Sailor Quartetto puts an end to her plans, when they defeat her and assist their own. Resuming the march, they meet with Sailor Chi and Sailor Phi, who die after killing Kakyū. Kakyū's body is destroyed and her Sailor's crystal is stolen by a new group: Tuxedo Mask and the other Sailor Senshi of the Solar System, who have been resurrected thanks to Sailor Galaxia, and are now under her power.

With no choice but to fight, Sailor Moon faces them in an unequal battle; where her attacking spirit is much lower than her opponents. When the Sailor Quartetto tries to help her, all four are badly injured. Sailor Chibi Moon discovers, however, that it is not really her true friends but puppets created by Sailor Galaxia, with the same appearance as her, to confuse them. The only way to get them back is therefore to beat the imitations. With this hope, Sailor Moon manages to destroy her copies and enter Galaxia's palace, in search of hers and the false Tuxedo Mask.

Final Battle and the Fate of the World

At the palace, Sailor Moon is confronted again by Galaxia, who throws her friends' Sailor Crystals into the Primordial Cauldron. She then throws away the fake Tuxedo Mask as well, along with the real hero's Sailor Crystal. The disappearance of the Tuxedo Mask crystal causes the immediate disappearance of Sailor Chibi Moon (her future daughter of hers), before the helpless gaze of Sailor Moon and Chibi Chibi.

Demoralized, Sailor Moon lashes out at Galaxia; who tries to provoke her to use all her strength. Her purpose is to make Sailor Moon fight against Chaos (or & # 34; Chaos & # 34;), her final enemy, with all her power; so both end up destroying each other. Even so, before that, she is betrayed by Chaos itself; who intervenes to try to make her fall into the Cauldron. Sailor Moon saves her from her by grabbing her hand and returning her to the mainland. Then Chaos appears before Sailor Moon, to whom he explains that all his great enemies from the past (Queen Metallia, Death Phantom, Pharaoh 90 and Queen Neherenia) were actually his "alter egos", manifestations and expressions of yours "Chaos" it is the origin of all the enemies and all the wars that have happened and will happen in the galaxy, destined to be repeated. Therefore, Chaos is the most powerful and fearsome enemy that Sailor Moon will have to face.

Following that revelation, Chibi Chibi tells Sailor Moon that the only way to destroy Chaos is to destroy the Primordial Cauldron. Sailor Moon refuses, since without the cauldron the starseeds will not be born again; therefore, neither will there be new beings nor a future. In exchange for preserving Life, she is willing to accept it in all its aspects, both good and bad. The light and the dark. This decision causes in Sailor Galaxia an admiration so intense then, that the bracelets on her arms (whose power she used to do evil) end up breaking into pieces. Upon this, the Galaxy itself vanishes with a smile; Her Sailor Crystal, the Saffer Crystal, is all that remains of her. Sailor Moon, taking the crystal, throws herself into the Galactic Cauldron, with the goal of defeating Chaos and freeing all the Sailor crystals held by Chaos. She in turn manages to separate Chaos from the Cauldron.

The unconscious girls of the Sailor Quartetto wake up to find Chibi Chibi, who finally reveals her true identity as Sailor Cosmos. The young women watch as a radiant beam of light crosses the Galaxy. Sailor Cosmos tells them that this beam is the crystals of the warriors from all over the Galaxy, who have found their original form and return to their planets: "(...) as soon as they arrive at their destination, all the stellar seeds born from this Cauldron, will rediscover their incarnated form and grow. Thus, she tells that, thanks to Sailor Moon's sacrifice, the Sailor crystals of all Sailor Senshi will be able to return to their home planets, where they will be able to resurrect.

They ask him what will happen to the world, Sailor Moon and the Silver Crystal; to which Sailor Cosmos responds: "(...) the power of regeneration of the Galaxy emanates from the union of all the sailor crystals; that reach, then, a full power: that of the Cosmos Crystal. Its power, called Lambda Power, stabilizes the entire Cosmos (...) I come from a place that I carelessly abandoned. Sailor Moon's ultimate sacrifice isn't enough for eternity. Do not despair: her Princess, like all Sailors, has been regenerated by Lambda power. That beam of light that you see will return you to the 30th century. All the stars are born here, in the Cauldron of the Galaxy, and return one day. Her friend has thrown herself into the heart of the Cauldron to absorb Chaos and all the enemies, who also find refuge there. She has dissolved into the Primordial Cauldron, with them. But, thanks to her power, the Cauldron and the Galaxy, have been able to find her primitive state. Therefore, she has not been able to bring about the complete disappearance of Chaos. The massacres will be repeated, as will the long and painful combats. Chaos will unleash great violence. Until now, I have not been able to beat him, to face him. And returning peace will cost me a lot. In the very distant future, I will have to fight with Chaos. But I... I have abandoned everything. I have not yet been able to understand why the fighting took place or what its legitimacy was. What should I have done...? Every time I suffered, I wondered what would have happened if Sailor Moon, in combat, had made the Cauldron disappear forever... Would all the conflicts, all the sufferings have taken place? I have come here, tortured by remorse, to start over. I have always suffered from my loneliness, even on this Planet, on this Earth. But the support and affection that Sailor Moon has given me have made me choose the right path this time. Don't try to change fate. I have finally understood that I was wrong: no one can destroy the place where the stars are born. We exist because that place exists. I will fight again, when necessary. I will not run away: I will always go forward. Sailor Moon has given me immense energy; she has given me back the courage to face anything. To bear it all. She is an invincible mystical force that I had already forgotten about. The Sailor Moon who has saved the universe today is the true Sailor Cosmos. Acquiring the strength and courage to face everything, like her, the true Sailor Cosmos has revealed herself in me".

Sailor Cosmos then sends the Sailor Quartetto back to the future, assuring them that Sailor Chibi Moon will return as well. Meanwhile, inside the Primordial Cauldron, Usagi meets all the girls and Mamoru; and Chibiusa is drawn back to the XXX century, saying goodbye to Usagi. Then, the Guardian of the Cosmos appears, the spirit that watches over the star seeds; and that, furthermore, it is the very spirit of the Mother Cauldron. She tells him that, once upon a time, she had come there in the shape of a perfect star (an important moment, since she is referring to Princess Serenity's mother, Queen Serenity; it being understood that when the Silver Millennium was remotely destroyed, she had gone to the Mother Cauldron to meet the Guardian Cosmos, and use all her strength so that her daughter's star, the sailors and all the inhabitants of the Silver Kingdom could reincarnate). She also says that the Queen—at least her body—hers had dissipated into the Oceans of the Cauldron. After telling her that he has reached her, and that she has linked her destiny to that of the Mother Cauldron, he asks her about her choice: "Sailor Moon... Do you want to relive history with a new planet or do you want to keep this incarnation and the planet that you have guided here?". Sailor Moon replies that she wants to keep that form, with Usagi Tsukino's, with all her friends, to build her future, even if it is difficult. That this is the life they all want.

Finally, Guardian Cosmos tells him that the Chaos Seed and Guardian Chaos have just dissipated into their minimal form within the Primordial Cauldron; that both are small - surrounded in the Cauldron by an infinity of stars - so it would be difficult to find them and that it is most likely that they will be reborn one day. Because there, the stars and absolutely everything can come back to life.

After a final ellipsis, Usagi and Mamoru talk before their wedding. There Usagi tells him that he feels a new star and life within himself; and that, soon, both will have a daughter. After the wedding, Mamoru reflects. She knows that new Sailors and stars will be born, so he and the other Sailors will disappear. Except Sailor Moon. She will be immortal: the most beautiful star shining in the firmament of eternity.

Characters

Heroines

Usagi Tsukino

Usagi Tsukino (月野 うさぎ, Tsukino Usagi^?, known as "Bunny" in Spain and "Serena" in America) is the main protagonist and heroine of the series; a student who gains the ability to transform into the famous vigilante protector of love and justice, Sailor Moon (セーラームーン, Sērā Mūn ^?, in Spain translated as "Guerrero Luna"). Although at first Usagi was nothing more than a lazy, naive and somewhat crying teenager; With time she becomes more courageous, determined and effective, besides that her gentle nature together with her big heart makes her the bearer and guardian of the powerful Silver Crystal.

My Mizuno

Ami Mizuno (水野 亜美, Mizuno Ami^?, "Amy" in Spain and America) is "The Bookworm" at Usagi's school. She is a very intelligent girl, with an IQ of 300, capable of becoming Sailor Mercury (セーラーマーキュリー, Sērā Mākyurī^?, translated in Spain as "Mercury Warrior"); the vigilante of knowledge, able to control water in its liquid, solid, gaseous, and even mist states, she is characterized by her shyness and passion for study, as well as a need to protect others. She longs to follow the same footsteps as her mother in the study of Medicine; she is the most analytical of the group.

Rei Hino

Rei Hino (火野 レイ, Hino Rei^?, sometimes known as "Rai") is a determined Miko who has the ability to become Sailor Mars (セーラーマーズ, Sērā Māzu^?, or "Warrior Mars" in some translations to Spanish), the warrior of flames and passion. Rei has Onmyōji abilities, including extrasensory perception. She is capable of detecting evil forces around her, weakening them or expelling them; she in addition to being able to manipulate fire like a Sailor Senshi. While in the manga Rei is a serious and calm girl, the animated version of her is more temperamental, impulsive and proud; She often quarrels with Usagi, although deep down she loves and admires her a lot.

Makoto Kino

Makoto Kino (木野 まこと, Kino Makoto^?, known as "Patricia" in Spain and as "Lita" in America) is a girl of above average height and physical strength; who can become Sailor Jupiter (セーラージュピター, Sērā Jupitā^?, sometimes translated as "Jupiter Warrior"), warrior who controls lightning and trees. At first, Makoto likes cooking and gardening, her parents died in a plane crash, after which Makoto had to learn to live and take care of herself. She is a sentimental but strong girl who has a habit of seeing in every boy she meets a resemblance to her former senpai.

Minako Aino

Minako Aino (愛野 美奈子, Aino Minako^?, known as "Carola" in Spain and as "Minako" alias "Mina" in America) is a enamored, vivacious and cheerful girl who begins her career as a vigilante first as Sailor V and later as Sailor Venus (セーラーヴィーナス, Sērā Vīnasu^?, "Venus Warrior" in Spain), female warrior who has related powers to love and romance. She is very similar to Usagi in appearance (blonde, thin) and in personality (lazy and a lover of video games); she is part of the school volleyball club and aspires to become a pop culture iconic singer. Minako is, at the same time, the leader of the vigilantes that protect Sailor Moon and the first of the protagonists to become a Sailor Senshi, thanks to her faithful companion and friend of hers, Artemis.

Mamoru Chiba

Mamoru Chiba (地場 衛, Chiba Mamoru^?, called "Armando" in Spain and "Darien" in America) is a boy who becomes the hero Tuxedo Mask (タキシード仮面, Takishīdo Kamen, called "The Lord of the Mask" in Spain ^?), a tailcoat-clad masked man who frequently appears to assist Sailor Moon during battles. He possesses great ability to use his top hat, cane, and other accessories as combat weapons, as well as an ability for premonition and retrocognition, especially through dreams. With these abilities he helps the Sailor Senshi throughout the series.Although Mamoru is a couple of years older than Usagi, he ends up starting a romantic relationship with her.

Chibi USA

Chibiusa (ちびうさ, Chibi Usa^?, known as "Rini" in Latin), is a red-eyed, pink-haired girl who is initially in the fourth grade of elementary school, though she is too short to be her age. She appeared as a small and mysterious visitor who began to live in Usagi's house, posing as a cousin of hers; until it is discovered that she is actually from the future in the 30th century. She can become a Sailor Senshi, Sailor Chibi Moon (セーラーちびムーン, Sērā Chibi Mūn ^?, "Little Moon Warrior" in Spain) because she is the future daughter of Usagi and Mamoru. Her relationship with Usagi throughout the series is based on mother-daughter affection for each other and a fierce rivalry for Mamoru's attentions.

Setsuna Meiō

Setsuna Meiō (冥王 せつな, Meiō Setsuna^?, also known as "Raquel", in Spain) is a character who is first introduced in her identity as Sailor Senshi, Sailor Pluto (セーラープルート, Sērā Purūto^?, sometimes translated as " Sailor Plut" or "Warrior Pluto"). Sailor Pluto is a warrior who possesses powers related to the Underworld and the dimension of Time. Chibiusa's friend, she is dedicated to taking care of the & # 34; Space-Time Gate & # 34;, a mysterious structure that allows you to travel to the past and the future. Her mission is to not allow anyone to pass through this door to travel through time without permission, or cause unforeseen changes in history. She seems to be a more mature, severe and lonely woman than the other protagonists.

Haruka Tennoh

'Haruka Tennoh (天王 はるか, Ten'ō Haruka^?, called "Timmy" in Spain), a high school student, is a prodigious professional racer. She has a lot of female fans, which is partly because she dresses, looks, and talks like she's a man; unlike Makoto, Haruka is your typical 'butch girl'. She can transform into Sailor Uranus (セーラーウラヌス, Sērā Uranusu^?, "Uranus Warrior" in Spain), warrior with the power of air, who has great affinities with the sky and the dimension of Space, and can run & #34;as swift as the wind". Although she is in a dating relationship with Michiru, she likes to flirt with Usagi and some of the other Sailor Senshi.

Michiru Kaio

Michiru Kaiō (海王 みちる, Kaiō Michiru^?, known in Spain as "Vicky"), a high school student, is a very delicate and talented violinist who can become Sailor Neptune (セーラーネプチューン, Sērā Nepuchūn^?, or "Warrior Neptune& #34; in some translations), a warrior who controls the deep waters and has a great affinity for the oceans, unlike Sailor Mercury. Like Rei, she possesses the ability of extrasensory perception, which she eventually begins to "channel" on. through her talisman, the Waterdeep Mirror. Before meeting Usagi and the others, Michiru worked for her, like Minako and Setsuna, until she met Haruka; who became her main companion and even her romantic partner.

Hotaru Tomoe

Hotaru Tomoe (土萠 ほたる, Tomoe Hotaru^?, known in Spain as "Andrea" and "Hotaru" in America) is a logical and formal young woman, who becomes a great friend of Chibiusa. At first, she suffers from strange seizures that are believed to be caused by a rare disease. Her life is very lonely; since her mother is dead, she has no siblings, and her father is a great scientist who is always busy with strange experiments. It is soon discovered that she can transform into Sailor Saturn (セーラーサターン, Sērā Satān^?, translated in Spain as "Saturn Warrior"), last warrior of the team, who has affinities with Silence and the End of the World, in addition to the ability to destroy a planet completely. Eventually, Hotaru is adopted by Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna.

Villains

Dark Kingdom

Also known by the name of the Negaverse in the different dubbings, it is the first group of antagonists of the series. Commanded by Queen Beryl and her generals, the four celestial kings (former subordinates of Prince Endymion who are enslaved by the power of Metalia -in the manga-) and guided from the shadows by Queen Metalia, this group was the main cause of the almost total destruction of the old silver millennium since its main objective was and still is, wanting to take over the entire universe. They were sealed back then by the power of the silver crystal at the cost of Queen Serenity's life. But they have returned to the 20th century ready to finish what they started in the past.

Black Moon Clan

Hailing from the future XXX century, this Clan resides on the planet "Nemesis". On this planet is the Dark Crystal, whose power is capable of absorbing energy by distorting time and space, just like a black hole. His goal is to use said power to conquer the planet Earth. When Chibiusa escapes her attack, he time-travels to the XX century to ask for the help of Sailor Moon , some members of the clan also travel to the past to pursue her. So they set in motion in the XX century a series of tricks, with the purpose of changing History.

Death Busters or Death Hunters

A clandestine organization whose goal is to hand over Earth to the alien creature known as Pharaoh 90. To do so, they must find three mysterious legendary talismans. The group is led by Professor Tomoe (father of Hotaru, also known as 'Sailor Saturn'), who is assisted by a woman named Kaolinite. The two of them employ five other women, the Witches 5, to carry out their plans. Their base of operations is Mugen College, also called Infinity College, where they have a secret underground laboratory.

Dead Moon Circus

One day a solar eclipse allows Queen Neherenia to partially leave her prison, who as punishment for her wickedness had been locked in a large mirror long ago by Queen Serenity, in the times of the ancient Silver Millennium. Once free, Neherenia directs her ambitions towards Earth and sends her followers there to prepare everything to conquer her. His followers, including the Zirconia Witch, the Amazon Trio, and the Amazon Quartet, pretend to be part of a run-of-the-mill circus, the 'Dead Moon Circus,' and arrive in Tokyo to give circus performances. as they secretly set Neherenia's evil plans in motion to obtain the golden crystal (anime)/silver crystal (manga), be the ruler of the earth and moon, and take revenge on the Moon Kingdom.

Sailor Galaxy

In both the animated version and the manga, the Sailor Senshi warriors have the mission of protecting the world; but Sailor Galaxia is a Sailor Senshi who has turned evil and wishes to rule the entire galaxy. In order to do it without opposition, she tries to take over the starseeds (meaning hearts or spirits) of all the other Sailor Senshi in the universe. That is why she sends her followers, the Sailor Animamates, to planet Earth to steal the star seeds of the Sailor Senshi from our Solar System. Mainly that of Usagi (Sailor Moon); since her crystal, the Silver Crystal, is the most powerful and valuable in the entire Milky Way.

Side characters

Name mapping

The following is the list of the main characters of Sailor Moon and their names in each version:

Sailor Moon character name picture.

Sailor Senshi	Original name	Mexican version	American version	Spanish version	Dutch version (Latin alphabet)	French version	Italian version	Portuguese version	Catalan version
Sailor Moon	Usagi Tsukino	Serena Tsukino	Serena "Bunny" Tsukino6	Bunny Tsukino	Yuet Yeah Tue	Bunny Rivière	Bunny	Bunny Tsukino	Bunny Tsukino
Sailor Mercury	Ami Mizuno	Amy Mizuno	Amy Anderson or Amy Mizuno4	Amy Mizuno	Shiu Yeah Maiah	Molly.	Amy.	Ami Mizuno	Ami Mizuno
Sailor Venus	Minako Aino5	Mina Aino	Mina Aino	Carola Aino	Joi Yeah May Lei	Mathilda	Marta	Joana Lima	Minako Aino
Sailor Mars	Rei Hino	Rei Hino	Raye Hino7	Rai Hino	Fow Yeah Lai	Hino Ray	Rea	Rita Hino	Rai Hino
Sailor Jupiter	Makoto Kino	Lita Kino	Lita Miller	Patricia Kino	Muuk Yeah Juum Kum	Marcy Maurane	Morea	Maria Kino	Makoto Kino
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe	Hotaru Tomoe	Hotaru Tomoe	Andrea Tomoe	- or...	Olivia Williams	Ottavia Tomoe	Octavia Tomoe	Hotaru Tomoe
Sailor Uranus	Haruka Ten'ō	Haruka Tenoh	Amara Teno	Timmy Tenoh	Aiyu	Frédérique	Heles	Aruka Tenoh	Haruka Tennoh
Sailor Neptune	Michiru Kaiō	Michiru Kaioh	Michelle Kayo	Vicky Kaiou	Amon	Mylène	Milena	Mariana Kaiou	Michiru Kaioh
Sailor Pluto	Setsuna Meiō	Setsuna Meioh	Trista Meio	Raquel Meiou	- or...	Sylvana	Sydia	Susana Meiou	Setsuna Meioh
Sailor Chibi Moon	Chibiusa3	Rini Tsukino	Rini Tsukino	Chibiusa	Rini	Camille Rivière	Chibiusa	Chibiusa Tsukino	Chibiusa
Sailor Chibichibimoon	Chibi Chibi	Chibi Chibi	Chibi Chibi	Chibi Chibi	- or...	Chibi Chibi	Chibi Chibi	Chibi Chibi	Chibi Chibi
Tuxedo Mask	Mamoru Chiba	Darien Chiba	Darien Shields	Armando Chiba	- or...	Bourdu	Marzio	Gonçalo Chiba	Mamoru Chiba

¹ Includes Darien Chiba.
² The version applies to all of Latin America.
³ Short for "Chibi-Usagi" Tsukino, as she is known in the 20th century.
⁴ Anderson - Season 1 and 2. Mizuno - Season 3 and 4. Dubbing companies were different.
⁵ Protagonist of Codename wa sailor V.
⁶ Episode 138.
⁷ Episode 48.

-o-: James stevenson (gene stevenson) Mexico James stevenson Hong Kong version Jēmuzu sutībunson Japanese version Spanish version James lamb

Versions

The story of Sailor Moon was originally released as a manga series, which was later adapted to other media and successively reproduced in three audiovisual series (two anime and the other in real image), plays, musicals, video games and art books.

Manga

Written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, the Sailor Moon manga spans 52 chapters, known as "acts", as well as ten alternate stories or " 34;side-stories". It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine monthly from 1991 to 1995, while side stories were published by 'Run Run' magazine. from the same publisher. Kodansha has also published all the chapters and side stories in book form. The first compiled edition was first published between 1992 and 1997 and consisted of 18 volumes containing all the chapters and side stories in the order in which they had been published.

A second compiled edition, called the shinsōban or "revamp," began publication in 2003, taking advantage of the fact that a new live-action television adaptation had reignited interest again. for the series. This time Kodansha redistributed the chapters so there were more per volume, and made some fixes and updates to both dialogue and art. Takeuchi also created new art illustrations for the all-new covers of each of the volumes, as well as character sketches (including one-of-a-kind characters from the series done in live action). In total, the new edition consisted of 12 main volumes and two separate volumes of short stories.

By the end of 1995, each of the thirteen Sailor Moon volumes available at the time had already sold one million copies in Japan, while the manga had been exported to around 23 countries. including China, Mexico, Australia, most of Europe and North America.

In North America, a revised twelve-volume version of the manga was reissued by Kodansha Comics USA, with Bertelsmann's Random House as distributor. The first volume of this went on sale in September 2011. That same year, a second volume was published in November, from which the following volumes continued to be published bimonthly.

Anime

Toei Animation has produced two anime television adaptations based on the manga. The first animated series, also titled Sailor Moon, was made in the 1990s; while the second, popularly known as Sailor Moon Crystal, was started 20 years later, in 2014.

First anime

The first version of the anime began airing in Japan on March 7, 1992, and ended on February 8, 1997. It sparked a successful merchandising campaign of over 5,000 items, helping to spread demand for the anime. broadcast of the series worldwide and its translation into several languages. In Japan, it was also sold in a print version of twenty "volumes". By the end of 1995, each volume had sold close to 300,000 copies.

Today, Sailor Moon is one of the most famous anime intellectual properties in the world. Due to its resurgence in popularity, it was broadcast in Japan from September 2009 and in Italy from the fall of 2010, with the permission of Naoko Takeuchi for the release of new promotional images.

This anime spans 200 episodes, consists of five seasons and is one of the longest-running within the magical girl genre. The season titles are Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon SuperS and Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Each of the seasons is roughly based on one of the five sagas or story arcs of the manga, generally following the same story line and including most of the characters. In addition, five special animated shorts were created, as well as three films that were released in theaters: the Sailor Moon R film, the Sailor Moon S film, and the Sailor Moon SuperS film.

This series was directed by Junichi Sato (later creator of Prétear), Kunihiko Ikuhara (director of Utena in 1997) and Takuya Igarashi (director of Ouran High School Host Club in 2006). Character design was headed by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Itō (creator of Princess Tutu), and Katsumi Tamegai, all of whom were also animation directors. Other animation directors included Masahiro Ando, Kagawa Hisashi, and Hideyuki Motohashi.

The manga and anime versions presented, respectively, notable differences; among which were included the radical change in the personality of several characters, the homosexual relationship between the villains Zoisite and Kunzite, the elimination of several characters such as Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, Sailor Kakyū (the Senshi form of Princess Kakyū) or Sailor Cosmos, and the inclusion of an additional story exclusive to the animated version of Sailor Moon R (in which the characters Alan and Ann appeared). (see differences section).

Second anime

On July 6, 2012, during an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon, both Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha and the group "idol" Momoiro Clover Z announced that a second production in anime format would be completed by the summer of 2013; at which time it would begin to be broadcast worldwide simultaneously. However, the premiere was postponed to 2014. Some information about this new production, called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, was announced by the company or quickly leaked through the Internet through a image that showed the announcement of the new series, with the renewed design of Usagi Tsukino in the header. This image also included the synopsis, the names of the members of the creative staff, and the start date of the series starting in July 2014. After this, a streaming event was broadcast on the Nico Douga website. On April 27, 2014, he announced the final release date together with the seiyū to interpret the characters in the story. The first episode of this second animated series was broadcast on July 5, 2014 in worldwide streaming through the Niconico internet sites. Crunchyroll, Hulu among others, with a total of 26 chapters covering the story arcs "Sailor Moon" and "Black Moon". Once the last chapter was broadcast on the Internet, the series was broadcast in its improved version on Japanese television.

Between April 4 and June 27, 2016, the third season of the series aired on both Japanese TV and internet streaming sites (Niconico, Crunchyroll, Hulu, among others) covering the arc of the Death Busters.

Live Action TV Series

Several years after the first publication of the manga was completed, the Japanese television network Tokyo Broadcasting System and the radio and television broadcaster Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting broadcast a series of the type tokusatsu (shot live action) based solely on the first season, which aired from October 4, 2003 to September 25, 2004. This version, titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (often abbreviated as "PGSM"), the first adaptation of the series to bear an entirely English title, ran for a total of 49 episodes. Almost a thousand hopefuls applied for the casting of the roles of the five main characters.

This series initially followed the manga's plot much more closely than the anime adaptation (its predecessor) had; but in later episodes it evolved to completely depart from both and become a totally different version, with exclusive original characters and new plot developments.

In addition to the main episodes, after Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon had just aired on TV, two more direct-to-video episodes emerged. These formed a kind of additional plot arcs, the first called Special Act or "Special Act", set four years after the events of the series to show the wedding of the leading couple; and the second called Act Zero or "Act Zero", a kind of prequel that shows the origins of Sailor V and Tuxedo Mask.

Art Books

Kodansha has published a collection of five "art books" of Sailor Moon, composed of illustrations from the manga and previously unpublished images, and based on each of the five major story arcs of the plot. The collection, which was named the Original Picture Collection ("Original Illustrations Collection"), contained artistic images of the work, made by creator Naoko Takeuchi; among which were old illustrations that had been used on the covers or in promotional material. Many of the drawings were accompanied by comments from the author, where she told her readers how she developed her ideas, the way each image had been created, whether or not she liked the final result of each one, and her opinions. regarding the interpretation that had been made of his story in the animated adaptation.

Another compilation of images, Infinity Volume or "Infinite Volume", was self-published by Naoko Takeuchi after the end of the series, in mid-1997. Conceived as An unstamped, limited-circulation edition, this collection was exclusively distributed during Japan's Comiket that same year. The issue contained not only drawings of Sailor Moon made by herself, but also others made by her friends, by members of her staff, and by many of the voice actors who had worked in the anime.

In 1999, Kodansha published a third compilation called the Materials Collection ("Materials Collection"), made up of sketches and descriptions of almost all of the manga's characters, as well as of some unpublished characters originally conceived by Takeuchi as part of his work but which the author had later decided not to include in the final version. Each drawing was surrounded by notes from her with detailed references to her character design; such as specific details of her clothing, her way of thinking, and Takeuchi's own feelings towards each character. The collection also contained a chronological diagram of the five seasons of the manga and another of the successive releases of different merchandise related to it and the animated adaptation. At the end, in addition, the brief alternate story Parallel Sailor Moon was included, commemorating the year of the rabbit in which this collection was published.

Musicals

The Sailor Moon Musicals (セーラームーン・ミュージカル sērāmūn myūjikaru), collectively referred to as Sera Myu, were a series of live musical productions based on the series. The shows began in 1993 and continued consecutively until 2005, with a total of 29 musicals and more than 800 performances since its premiere. The plot was continually modified and rescued elements from the anime series and the manga, however mostly completely original plot acts were created. The popularity of musicals was also cited as a reason for the production of Pretty Guardian. Sailor Moon (the live action version of the series).

Due to its popularity, approximately 25 musical-related albums have been released, some of which are made up of compilations of best performances, music compilations around an actor, as well as the music of each complete performance. All the productions have also been released on DVD. Both the music albums and the DVDs have only been released for the Japanese market.

Musicals were performed twice a year, in winter and in summer. Summer productions only ran at the Sunshine Theater, located in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo. In winter, meanwhile, tours of major cities in Japan were conducted, including Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Shizuoka, Kanazawa, Sendai, Saga, Oita, Yamagata, and Fukushima.

The latest production, "The New Legend of Kaguya Island (Revised Edition of the Old One)" (新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版> Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (Kaiteban) was held in January 2005. After that show, Bandai decided to put the shows on an indefinite hiatus.

On June 1, 2013, Fumio Osano (also called "Osa-p", Sailor Moon editor) announced on his Twitter account that a new musical will be released in Japan. So far it has been stated that it will consist of 16 functions and that it will last from September 13 to September 23. In other messages the editor also confirmed that the author Naoko Takeuchi helped in the selection of the main actresses and that Hiramitsu Takuya will return as director, producer and writer of the musical, while the music will be composed by Toshihiko Sahashi. On July 2, the official website of the musical was launched. Along with this it was announced that the musical will be called "La Reconquista" and that the main characters will be played by women. The plot of this production will be original, but it will address as the main plot the battle between the Sailor Senshi and the Dark Kingdom for the search for the silver crystal.

Video Games

More than twenty console and arcade Sailor Moon games have appeared in Japan, all based on the anime series. Bandai and a Japanese game company called Angel (not related to the American-based studios Angel, as of 2010 known as Rockstar San Diego) made most of them, with some produced by Banpresto. The first games were side-scrolling fights, while the later ones were just puzzle games, or fighting games. The video game Sailor Moon: Another Story, on the other hand, is based on a role-playing game. Only one game related to the franchise was produced outside of Japan: 3VR New Media's The 3D Adventures of Sailor Moon, which was released in North America in 1997. A game released in spring 2011 for the Nintendo DS, it went by the name Sailor Moon: La Luna Splende (Sailor Moon: La Luna Brillante).

Music

Various composers wrote the music for the Sailor Moon anime, and even author Naoko Takeuchi contributed many of the song lyrics. Takanori Arisawa was in charge of composing and arranging the background music and instrumental score. This earned him the Gold Record Grand Prix from Columbia Records in 1993 for his work on the music for the first season. Arisawa also won the JASRAC award in the years 1998, 2000 and 2001 for the most international royalties, due to the great popularity of Sailor Moon music in other countries.

In the first four seasons of the series, “Moonlight Densetsu” (ムーンライト伝説 Mūnraito Densetsu, lit. "Moonlight Legend"), composed by Tetsuya Komuro with lyrics, was used as the introductory song. by Kanako Oda. One of the most popular songs in the series, "Moonlight Densetsu" was performed by Dali in the first two seasons of the anime, and then by Moon Lips for the third and fourth seasons. In the final season, Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars, the song was changed opening by "Sailor Star Song", written by Shōki Araki, with lyrics by Naoko Takeuchi and performed by Kae Hanazawa. "Moonlight Densetsu" it was later used as the ending song in the last chapter of the anime.

Forty anime-related music albums were released in Japan, many of which were remix versions of the first albums, but with different musical arrangements. In addition, thirty-three character-specific singles (known in Japan as character albums).

Differences between manga and anime

The Sailor Moon manga is far from its first animated version, as it tells the story from a more mature and explicit point of view. The characters, including the main heroine, mature quickly and have the character of an adult in all the series and there are darker and stronger moments. Also the manga is not as repetitive as the first anime, this is because the anime aired almost at the same time as the manga was published, and without all those filler scenes, the anime (which was weekly) would have had to be brought forward to the manga (which was monthly), and could have caused the manga to stop selling. In the new animated version Sailor Moon Crystal the story is told almost identically to the manga.

The following is a list with the differences from the first anime by seasons:

Sailor Moon (Volume 1 to early 4).

Sailor Moon R (Volume 4 to 7)

Sailor Moon S (Volume 7 to 10)

Volume 11 is a special volume containing the stories "Princess Kaguya's Love" on which the movie Sailor Moon S was based and "Memories of Casablanca" in homage to King

Sailor Moon Super S (Volume 12 to 15)

This was the part that underwent the most changes:

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (Volume 16 until the end in volume 18)

Controversy

In the West, the anime series was accused of inappropriate content for the children it was aimed at. For this reason, in addition to the translation of the original voices, the dubbing work also included another series of modifications in order to adapt them for said audience. Some of these were the elimination of certain parts of chapters and even complete chapters in order to avoid the risk of offending the sensibilities of the local audience.

In the United States, for example, five episodes of the first season were cut; with the motive of giving the chains a round number of chapters: thus, they had 40 and not 46; the rest of which were chapters outside of the main plot. Chapters 45 and 46 were merged into one, because they were considered too violent as certain characters died very violently.

In the original series, on the other hand, the male characters Zoisite and Kunzite were in a homosexual relationship, as were two female characters, Haruka and Michiru. In the West, such references to homosexuality were often removed or altered in various ways during dubbing. In Portugal, Italy, the United States and Latin America, Zoisite was interpreted as if it were a female character. In Spain, on the other hand, the relationship of Zoicite and Kunzite (Malachite) was modified by an "uncle and nephew" relationship, while in the United States the relationship of Haruka and Michiru was characterized as cousins.

In the movie Sailor Moon R The Promise of the Rose, when Usagi had doubts about Mamoru and Fiore's relationship, Ami originally said: "Mamoru is so cute that even boys are attracted to him." On the other hand, in the Spanish-American version, the dialogues were softened by what was said: "It seems that Darien is a very attractive boy, don't you think?."

In the original Sailor Moon Stars saga, on the other hand, three male characters named "'Three Lights" they changed sex by transforming into the Sailor Starlights, three female characters. The way in which such scenes could be interpreted as innuendoes to cross-dressing and transsexualism led to the fact that this last season was not aired in the United States. In Italy, too, the dubbers decided to alter the dialogue in such a way that it would appear that the Three Lights and the Starlights were not the same people.

In Spain, however, another homosexual-oriented character named Ojo de Pez was dubbed by a male actor, who tried to give his voice a more feminine tone, without hiding the character's sexual orientation. In the Spanish dubbing, furthermore, Haruka and Michiru's gender and sexuality remained unchanged; just as it happened in the Spanish-American version. Although both in Spain and Latin America the Three Lights were interpreted as men who became the three female Starlights (and vice versa), only in Spain were the Three Lights dubbed by the same female actresses who lent their voices to the Starlights, who they tried to account for the change by adopting a "more masculine" when they played the young Three Lights again.

In Chile, the then evening newspaper La Hora published a controversial report on the sexual content of the series on December 29, 1997, pointing out the homosexuality and lesbianism present, and emphasizing the relationship between Haruka and Michiru. The series, which was broadcast at that time by Chilevisión on open television, and by ETC TV and the Argentine signal Big Channel on pay television, was experiencing great popularity, being broadcast five or six times a day. ETC's public relations officer pointed out at that time that the controversial scenes had been cut by the channel, and that only Chilevisión had broadcast the full animation.

Dubbing into Spanish

• The folding in Spain was made by 3 different companies. The first 3 seasons (Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S) were bent by Vulpi Yuri. The bent of the fourth season was in charge of the company Tecnison. Finally, the fold Sailor Moon Sailor Stars was made by the Arait Multimedia.

• The Doubling for Hispanic America the company INTERTRACK S.A. de C.V. in Mexico at the hands of Gloria Rocha, which respected the original dialogues in Japanese and the script was translated directly from an English libretto made in Japan although the names were changed by the ones used in the Canadian version during the first 65 episodes while the surnames remained the same, but from the half (from the 66th episode) of the second season, the bent direction changed to the hands of Patricia Acevedo.

Mythology, astronomy and mineralogy

To create the plot theme of the manga and anime Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi drew on principles from three sciences, Mythology, Astronomy, and Mineralogy.

Mythology

To give the mythological basis for the work, Naoko Takeuchi used the Japanese legend of the moon rabbit.

In the plot of Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, on the other hand, we can take many references taken from some legends and characters from Greek mythology. The story of Princess Serenity's past is inspired by the myth of Selene and Endymion. Later, the name of Elysion (which receives the homeland of Endymion and Helios himself, the Pegasus) comes in turn from the ancient Greek word to designate the Elysian Fields; which fulfilled a similar role, as a kind of paradise, within mythology.

Astronomy

Naoko Takeuchi was inspired by the names of the stars of the Solar System for her characters, she gave each planet a guardian who would protect the Moon Kingdom from attacks from other galaxies.

Mineralogy

Most of the villains have names based on minerals, with the following exceptions: An and Ail (Ann and Alan), Pharaoh 90, and Ghost of Death. The names of the Amazon Quartet and the Shadow Galactica are based on mythology.

The following is a list with the names and their base word/inspiration:

Dark Kingdom

• Jedite (Jadeite) = Jadeite
• Neflyte (Nephrite) = Nefrita
• Zyocite (Zoisite) = Zoisita
• Malachite (Kunzite) = Kunzita/Malaquita
• Queen Beryl = Berilo
• Queen Metalia = Metal

The Black Moon Family

• Rubeus (Crimson Rubeus) = Ruby
• Emerald (Green Emeraude) = Emerald
• Sapphire (Blue Sapphire) = Sapphire
• Prince Diamond (Prince Demand) = Diamond
• Karmesite (Kōan) = Quermesita (Contraparte de Sailor Mars)
• Berjerite (Beruche) = Berthierita (Contraparte de Sailor Mercury)
• Calaberite (Calaveras) = Calaverita (Contraparte de Sailor Venus)
• Petzite (Petz) = Petzita (Contraparte de Sailor Jupiter)

The Hunters of Death

• Caolinet = Caolinite
• Yuyal = Eudialita
• Mimet
• Teliu = Telurita
• Vilu = Viluita
• Cyphrin and Petril (Cyprine and Ptilol) = Siprina and Ptilolita
• Professor Seuchi Tomoe
• Hotaru = Dama 9

The Dead Moon Circus

• Queen Neherenia (Queen Nehellenia) = Nephelin or nepherine, also refers to the Teutonic goddess Nehallenia
• Zirconia = Circonium
• Zircon = Zircon
• Trio of amazons
  • Tiger Eye = Tiger Eye (precious stone)
  • Hawk Eye = Blue Tiger Eye Varieties (Greatstone)
  • Ojo de Pez = Alternative name of apofilite

(The last three are gems of the same name)

• Amazon Quartet
  • CereCere or Sailor Ceres = The dwarf planet Ceres and/or the Roman goddess Ceres
  • Para o Sailor Pallas = The asteroid Pallas and/or the Greek goddess Pallas Athena
  • JunJun or Sailor Juno = The Juno asteroid and/or the Roman goddess Juno
  • See or sailor Vesta = The asteroid Vesta and/or the Roman goddess Vesta

In the manga the last 4 become the sailor asteroids, Chibiusa's protectors who are going to wait for her in the XXX century until he finishes his sailor training.

Sailor AnimaMates

• Sailor Iron Mouse = Iron Mouse
• Sailor Aluminum Siren = Aluminium Mermaid
• Sailor Lead Crow = Plomo curve
• Sailor Tin Nyanko = Canopy Cat
• Sailor Heavy Metal Papillion = Metal Butterfly
• Sailor Lethe = Lete Guardian of the River of the Desert of oblivion
• Sailor Mnemosyne = Mnemósine Guardian of the Desert of Remembrance
• Sailor Phi = φ Fi PHI (fai) A letter from the Greek alphabet
• Sailor Chi = X Ji (kay) A Greek alphabet letter
• Sailor Titanium Kerokko = Titanium Rana
• Sailor Pewter Fox = Peltre fox

Note: Heavy Metal papillion, Chi, Phi, Lethe and Mnemosyne are unique to the manga and the last two are from a stage play titled: Sērā Myu in 1997

Reception

In Japan

The manga won the 1993 Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category.

The first anime series, created in the 1990s, was initially intended to run for only six months. However, it continued to air repeatedly due to its popularity, only concluding after a long run of five years. In Japan, it aired every Saturday night in prime time time slot, and garnered TV audience ratings of 11-12% during the longest run. Various commentators detect in the anime adaptation "a more shonen tone", appealing to a broader audience than in the original manga, whose focus and obvious target pointed directly to adolescent girls (shojo). The Sailor Moon franchise is one of the most successful Japan has ever had, producing $1.5 billion in merchandise sales in its first three years. Ten years after its completion, it stood out among the top thirty selected in a ranking of the top 100 best anime series, conducted in 2005 and 2006 by TV Asahi. The anime won the Anime Grand Prix from Animage magazine in 1993. Sales of Sailor Moon dolls surpassed those of Licca-chan in the 1990s. Mattel suggested that this was due to the mix of " fashion-action" that the former contained, since their accessories included both fashion items and the weapons of the Sailor Senshi.

In the rest of the world

The work has also been popularized internationally. Spain and France were the first countries outside Japan to broadcast the 1990s animated series, starting in December 1993. Before North America took up the franchise for the English adaptation, other countries and localities followed suit., such as Australia, South Korea, Italy, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Sweden, Hong Kong and the Philippines (where it became one of the main successes of a Philippine television network, to such an extent that it became the third largest in the country). In 2001, the Sailor Moon manga became Tokyopop's best-selling manga in its history, outselling its other best-sellers by at least an average of 1.,5. In May 1999 Diamond Comic Distributors's placed volume three of it in the No. best-selling comics in the United States.

Critics have praised the animated series for its portrayal of strong bonds of friendship, as well as its large cast of "remarkably different characters whose characters take on different dimensions and aspects as the story continues; as well as for their "ability to attract a wider audience". Writer Nicolás Penedo attributes his success to his fusion of the Mahō shōjo ("magical girls") genre with team fights of the Super Sentai genre. According to Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper, Sailor Moon achieved great popularity due to its high level of action "heavily depicted in fight and rescue scenes&# 3. 4;" and due to "their emphasis on feelings and relationships", including some "sexy romances" like the one between Usagi and Mamoru. The romance between these two characters has often been seen as an archetype, in which lovers they are "more than the sum of their parts, with the promise of being together forever". In contrast, others consider the work a "cheesy, melodramatic series". Critics have also negatively qualified the repeated use in various chapters of the same formula, "the monsters of the day", and the file montages. Patrick Drazen, for his part, points out that each season combines two types of villains, the famous "monster of the day" and "those who have human thoughts and feelings." Although this is common in anime and manga, this type of combined format is "almost unheard of in the West". Despite the apparent popularity of the series among Western fans of Japanese anime, the English dubbed version initially received low ratings. audience in the United States, and its DVD release did not sell well in the United Kingdom. Anne Allison attributes the lack of popularity in the United States mainly to the poor marketing campaign (in the United States, the series was initially broadcast at times unsuitable for the type of children's audience it was intended for - weekdays at 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.). Executives associated with the franchise suggested that poor marketing of the product played a role. Helen McCarthy and Jonathan Clements went further, accusing those responsible for the dubbing of "lack of interest", and suggesting that Sailor Moon was shown at inappropriate times in response to the interests of some local groups. British distributor, MVM Films, attributed poor sales in the UK to the fact that the DVD copies only contained the dubbed version, as well as major retailers' refusal to support the show; which led to the DVD edition having no appeal to either children or older anime fans.

Both the manga (through Editorial Vid) and the animated series were broadcast in Mexico on two occasions, with a dubbing work somewhat based on the American since several names were changed (Serena instead of Usagi or Amy instead of Ami) and the use of terms like "Sailor Scouts". The anime was broadcast on TV Azteca channels in 1996, originally on Channel 13 (today Azteca 13) on weekends in the children's program "Caritele" and later on TV7 (Azteca 7) in an evening schedule. The series had not been broadcast again on open television in Mexico since 2001, especially after the association with Disney at the end of 1998 has made TV Azteca give preference to the series of this production company, only making one exception. with Saint Seiya (Knights of the Zodiac), the latter having been a phenomenon in Mexico. It wasn't until August 2017 that the series was back on the air.

The censored US version aired until the third season, at which point it was quickly taken off the air due to a lack of viewers, who considered it "mediocre" compared to the original version, with which it went finally replaced.

Due to South Koreans' anti-Japanese sentiment, much of Japan's media products were banned from being shown in South Korea for many years. A KBS producer stated that he "didn't even bother trying to buy the rights to Sailor Moon " because he thought it would not pass local censorship checks; but as of May 1997, the animated version was broadcast on KBS2 without problems, reaching "enormous popularity".

In his 2007 book, Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson rates the manga version 3/4 stars. After declaring his approval of the "mixture of shōnen and shōjo styles", he adds that the combat scenes seem heavily influenced by those of the Saint Seiya anime. >, but shorter and less bloody, considering that the manga itself already looks very similar to the Super Sentai shows. Although the author describes the series as fun and entertaining, he considers the repeated use of the same plot in almost all the chapters as such a disadvantage that even the increase in the quality of the drawings had not been able to compensate for it; even so, he maintains that it remains "sweet and effective entertainment". The author further states that while Sailor Moon's audience is both male and female, Takeuchi did not resort to excessive fanservice in order to appeal to the public. masculine, which avoided the risk of losing his female audience. Thompson also believes that the fight scenes are not overly physical, but "reduced to their purest form, like a mere clash of wills"; something that, according to the critic, "makes sense given the subject matter" in the manga.

Comparing the manga and the anime, Sylvian Durand first points out that the manga's illustrations are beautiful, but the storytelling is more compressed and erratic, while the anime has more character development. Durand feels that the tale of "the fall of the Silver Millennium" is told with "a greater sense of tragedy" in the manga, in turn providing more details about the origins of the Shitennō about Usagi's final battle against Beryl and Metalia.. Durand believes that the anime leaves out information that would make the story "easier to understand," but she judges the anime as more "coherent," with a better balance between comedy and tragedy; while the manga is "more tragic and more focused on Usagi and Mamoru's romance".

For the week of September 11–17, 2011, the manga's first republished volume was the best-seller on The New York Times best-selling manga list; while its prequel, the first volume of Codename: Sailor V, reached second place. The first print run of the first volume sold out after four weeks.

Legacy

Image of a cosplayers dressed as the characters of Sailor Uranus, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Neptune, respectively, and transformed into their last phase.

This anime has been cited on many occasions as responsible for the revitalization of the Shojo magical girl genre, thanks to the incorporation of dynamic heroines and storylines based mainly on action.. After its success, many other titles appeared that copied the same formula; such as Magic Knight Rayearth, Wedding Peach, Nurse Angel Ririka SOS, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sakura card captor, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne and Saint Tail. Which owe much of their success to the popularity of Sailor Moon. the ultimate in shōjo style anime for young children". Matt Thorn notes that after the appearance of this series, shōjo manga began to be sold in regular bookstores. and current, and not only in those bookstores dedicated mainly to the specialized sale of comics. Sailor Moon is credited with generating a greater tendency to read shōjo manga among girls. Gilles Poitras defines an entire generation of anime fans as "those who were first introduced to anime through Sailor Moon in the 1990s", noting that they were much younger than other fans, as well as mostly young girls.

Critics such as author Fred Patten acknowledge that Takeuchi's work had much to do with popularizing the concept of a team of Super Sentai-style warrior "magical girls", and Paul Gravett credits the series with the "& #34;revitalization" of the magical girl genre itself". ", and not "just for fun" as all previous magical girls had done until then.

In the West, Sailor Moon was sometimes associated with feminist or Girl Power movements and with speech encouraging viewers to "believe in themselves"; especially through the "credible, charismatic and independent" characterizations of its protagonists, the Sailor Senshi; which in France was interpreted in its entirety as an "unequivocal form of feminist stance". Although it is seen as a story that encourages girls to 'trust themselves', or as a series with strong feminist tendencies evident by the aggressive nature and strong personalities of its leading women, it should be noted that it is a specific type of feminist concept, in which "traditional feminine ideals [are] incorporated into characters who act in ways traditionally associated with the masculine." While the Sailor Senshi are strong and independent fighters who fight evil (which is generally a stereotype of a male character), they are also perfectly feminized from the uniform and the accessories that make up their costume as magical warriors; costume that "strongly emphasizes the presence of jewelry, makeup, as well as highly erotic outfits (plunging neckline, short skirt, and accentuated waist)".

The most notable female traits in the Sailor Senshi (and in most female characters in manga for girls) are their slender bodies; extremely long legs and, in particular, the large, rounded, beady eyes. These are commonly seen as cartoonists' main expressive device when it comes to showing a character's emotions; for example, sensitive characters tend to have larger eyes than less sensitive ones. Male characters, in turn, tend to have smaller and less bright eyes compared to female ones. The stereotype of women in Japanese culture attributes to her the role of the one who will develop "romantic and loving" feelings more intensely; for this reason, the prevalence of "hyper-feminine" like the almost transparent directness of the female eye (in manga for girls), it is clearly on display in a work like Sailor Moon. Therefore, it emphasizes a type of feminist model that combines classic masculine action with the traditional affection of women, as well as their sexuality, through its protagonists. The characters have also been described as "sardonic stereotypes". »; calling in particular the lead character, Usagi Tsukino, "not at all feminist", because her favorite class in school is home economics and her most hated class is mathematics. The creator of the series has said that, for the creation of the character of Usagi, she was based on herself; with the aim of reflecting her own reality.In 2005 TV Asahi did a survey of the 100 best Japanese anime where only the Japanese public voted; the Sailor Moon series entered the top 20 anime ranking at number 19 above Neon Genesis Evangelion and behind The Prince of Tennis.

Sailor Moon has also been compared, in turn, to Barbie, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

James Welker believes that the futuristic setting from season two helps make lesbianism a "naturalized and peaceful" existence. Yukari Fujimoto notes that while there are few "lesbian scenes" in the story, it has become a popular subject of yuri-style dōjinshi (fan works). Fujimoto attributes this to the "cheerful" of the original work, although she indicates that "despite the fact that they seem to be surrounded by lesbians, the position of the heterosexuals is shown to be intensely assured".

In English-speaking countries, Sailor Moon became a cult object for many anime fans and male college students. Drazen believes that the Internet, a new medium that fans used to communicate played an important role in the popularity of the story. Fans could use the Internet to communicate and talk about it, organize campaigns to get it back in the US, share information about episodes that hadn't aired yet, or to write fan fiction. In 2004, a study showed that there were 3,335,000 Internet sites about Sailor Moon, compared to 491,000 for Mickey Mouse. NEO magazine suggested that part of the appeal of the animated series was that fans communicated, via the Internet, the differences between the original version and the American version (which was subjected to extensive censorship). Paradoxically, in 1997, fans of the series were once described as "small and scattered" groups. fight scenes, although when asked if Sailor Moon was a "violent" show, only two children (out of a group of twelve) answered yes, while the other ten preferred to describe the episodes as "soft" or "cute".

International relaunch

In 2004, Toei regained control of the distribution rights to the first animated version outside of Japan. On February 4, 2010, negotiations began to redistribute this series worldwide through licensing. In February 2010 the show returned to Albania in its original form. In March 2010, a new remastered Sailor Moon returned to Italian television. Toei also stated that if the series were to become popular again in Italy, an international revival would start.

However, it has not yet been announced if the English dubbed version will be re-released. It should be noted that the English version only consists of most of the episodes of the first season as well as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons (minus the special episodes of the fourth, SuperS). In 2009, Funimation announced that it was considering a complete re-dubbing of the 1990s animated series, and included that option in a survey asking people to choose what the company's next project should be. The results of the survey have not yet been announced to the public.

Ultimately it was VIZ Media who licensed the first Sailor Moon anime for the United States in 2014; For this task, the company chose to make a new dubbing from scratch, respecting the original names and producing the 200 episodes, and the first three films; without censoring scenes, chapters or characters, as the DIC Entertainment production did for the first English version of Sailor Moon.

In 2010, Toei aired 200 renewed episodes of the first Sailor Moon anime series at the MIPTV event in Cannes. August 2010 on Hong Kong's TVB J2 channel. It returned to Portuguese television in January 2011, the year for which its arrival in Africa was also decided. Toei began to license the broadcast rights of restored episodes of the series in countries where it had not been broadcast before.; among them Israel, where the show began airing in January 2011. In December 2011 this version of Sailor Moon was broadcast for the third time in Poland (the first time was in 1995 and the second, in 2000). On January 23, 2012, ABS-CBN began re-airing the original series with a new Tagalog language dub, 11 years after it first debuted in the Philippines on TV5. ABS-CBN broadcasts it daily on its main channel and also weekly, in a "marathon" for anime series, through its themed cable channel, HERO.

In 2011, Kōdansha's North American affiliate, Kōdansha USA, announced that it would publish the Sailor Moon manga in English, along with its prequel, Codename wa Sailor V >. Both comics went on sale on September 13, 2011. The manga was being published on a bi-monthly basis, so the next volumes of both series went on sale on November 15, 2011.

In 2012, the Mexican company Towers Entertainment began releasing a special edition DVD of the first anime, under the name "Talk Box". To date they have released half of the series in 5 volumes with the first two seasons and half of the third season of the series.

That same year, Toei Animation announced the making of a second anime of the work. This second anime adaptation was titled Sailor Moon Crystal and its first episode aired in Japan on July 5, 2014. Producer Atsutoshi Umezawa said that the new series is not an adaptation or a continuation of the previous one. original series. On the contrary, it is a more faithful adaptation of the manga created by Naoko Takeuchi, so the story starts over from scratch.