Many of the in-depth details used are from the Sailor Moon Wiki.
Background
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga maho shojo series wirrten and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for a magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal". She leads a group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers, called Sailor Guardians in later editions, as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.
The manga was adapted into an anime series produced by Toei Animation and broadcast in Japan from 1992 to 1997. Toei also developed three animated feature films, a television special, and three short films based on the anime. A live-action television adaptation, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, aired from 2003 to 2004, and a second anime series, Sailor Moon Crystal, began simulcasting in 2014. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Kodansha Comics in North America, and in Australia and New Zealand by Random House Australia. The entire anime series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.
Since its release, Sailor Moon has received universal acclaim, with praise for its art, characterization, and humor. The manga has sold over 46 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling manga series, as well as one of the best-selling shōjo manga series of all time. The franchise has also generated $13 billion in worldwide merchandise sales.
The Sailor Moon franchise has various different series that include:
| Click for the various series in the Sailor Moon series.
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The Sailor Moon manga fully titled "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon"' is the story written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi and published by Kodansha. It stars the young middle-school student Usagi Tsukino who discovers the power within herself alongside her friends as they save the world from destruction. The English title of the manga was originally "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" before the franchise was rebranded.
The Sailor Moon manga is comprised of 5 main story arcs covering 60 chapters with an additional 10 short-story chapters adding to 70 total. This increases to 86 chapters when Codename: Sailor V is included which acts as an additional prequel-arc. Codename: Sailor V is a manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It follows the young Minako Aino who uses her newfound magical powers to fight injustice guided by her feline companion Artemis. The positive reception of its first chapter spawned the entire Sailor Moon franchise.
Codename: Sailor V tells the story of Minako Aino, a 13-year-old middle school student who is outspoken, absentminded, and dreams about finding her true love one day. Her calm and normal life changes after she encounters a white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead. The cat introduces himself as Artemis and claims that Minako is a girl with the power to transform into a guardian more powerful and beautiful than anyone else. He bestows upon her a mission to protect the Earth in the name of her guardian planet, Venus.
To help her with this mission, Artemis grants her two items, a crescent moon shaped compact and a magical pen. The pen allows her to transform into her alter-ego, the sailor-suited and beautiful Guardian of Justice, Sailor V. Sailor V fights against the agents of the Dark Agency, headed by the mysterious Danburite.
At the end of the series, Minako remembers her previous life with the other Sailor Senshi and realizes that her duty to protect the moon princess is more important than romance. Shedding her identity as Sailor V, she begins her true mission as Sailor Venus."Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" is an anime series that ran on Japanese television from March 7, 1992, to February 8, 1997, on Asahi Television. The series spanned 200 episodes, three feature films, five specials, and five memorials. Following this series were two reboots: one live-action tv show and later Sailor Moon Crystal.
Every episode from all five seasons of the anime follow a similar formula:
- In every episode, the main villain tries to steal something from ordinary humans (ie human energy in season one, pure heart crystals in Sailor Moon S, Dream Mirrors in Sailor Moon Super S, Star Seeds in Sailor Stars).
- Some ordinary human would be targeted by the main villains (ie to be turned into the monster of the day or to steal something from said person).
- Each episode has a monster-of-the-day which the Sailor Senshi must fight. Such monster can normally disguise itself among humans or is a human turned into a monster or a object turned into a monster.
- Tuxedo Mask shows up to aid the senshi in battle, usually against the monster of the day, throwing his signature rose at the villains. He usually shows up mid-battle.
- Sailor Moon would finish off the monster of the day with her special attack (ie Moon Tiara Action and Moon Healing Escalation in season one, Moon Princess Halation in R, Moon Spiral Heart Attack in S).
- Most episodes tend to be filler episodes, episodes that have little to no impact on the season's overall plot.
"Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal" is a 2014 original net animation adaption of the Sailor Moon manga. Like the 1990's adaptation of Sailor Moon, the series is made by Toei Animation and is dubbed into English by Viz Media. The series serves as a more faithful adaptation to the original manga with 39 episodes over three seasons which cover the first three story arcs of the comic. The television series is followed by the two-part movies Sailor Moon Eternal and Sailor Moon Cosmos which act as Season IV and Season V respectively. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (commonly known as PGSM) is a live-action reinterpretation of Sailor Moon. It follows the Dark Kingdom arc of the franchise, with the awakening Sailor Moon and the Inner Sailor Senshi.
The show ran from 2003 to 2004. It consisted of 49 episodes, a sequel movie, a prequel video containing three mini-episodes, and a "making of" special. The "Sailor Moon Musicals" (セーラームーン・ミュージカル Seeraaa Muun Myuuikaru), commonly referred to as "SeraMyu" (セラミュー Seramyuu), is a series of live theatre productions based on Naoko Takeuchi's metaseries Sailor Moon.
The series consists of 39 musicals which have had more than 1000 performances since the first show opened in the summer of 1993. The producers generally follow and extrapolate plot concepts presented in the anime and manga; however, there are several original plot lines as well. Sera Myu influences other Sailor Moon series too where, for example, several Sera Myu songs found their way into the 90's anime.
The producers of the show have broken the musical series down into three stages ("stage" is a term widely used in the grouping of musicals). The "first stage" consisted of those in which Sailor Moon was portrayed by Anza Ooyama, the first and longest-running Sailor Moon actress. This stage ran parallel to the manga and anime, as reflected by the plot, and had nearly full graduation with all of the main actresses being replaced.
The second stage included three different Sailor Moon actresses, starting with a musical loosely based on Eien Densetsu with some changes and additions (Shin Densetsu Kourin), followed by the only fully original musical ("The Legend of Kaguya Island"), the semi-original "Last Dracul" series, and ending with a remake of the original "Final First Stage" musical "Eien Densetsu" (titled "Kakyuu Ouhi Kourin").
The third and final stage retained the last Sailor Moon actress and ran for only two musicals (Both remakes of "The Legend of Kaguya Island") and ended in January 2005.
Conversely, most Western fans break the stages down by the actresses who played Sailor Moon: Anza Ohyama, Fumina Hara, Miyuki Kanbe, and Marina Kuroki. |
Terms
- Black Moon Clan: The "Black Moon Clan" is the main group of villains in the second arc in the manga and for most of the 2nd season of the Sailor Moon anime series. They are an evil organization originating from Nemesis, the 10th planet of the solar system, in the 30th Century. Using the tremendously strong, evil powers of the Dark Crystal, they attacked Crystal Tokyo, pursuing the mighty Silver Crystal and turned all of the people into statues, and forced them into a comatose state of suspended animation, as well as the Queen herself. They eventually traveled back to 20th Century, pursuing the Rabbit. The members of the Black Moon Clan have black upside-down black crescent moons on their foreheads in comparison to the Silver Millennium's golden crescent moon-shaped symbols. Also, the members of the Black Moon have diamond-shaped earrings made out of the tremendously dark and evil Black/Dark Crystal that allow them to teleport over large distances in a flash of darkness.
- Dark Kingdom: The "Dark Kingdom" is an evil organization that seeks to spread darkness across the Earth. It was established during Silver Millennium and despite being sealed away, re-awakened in the modern day. he Dark Kingdom was the cause of the downfall of the Silver Millennium. After their defeat, it was sealed away until it was reawakened by a reincarnated Queen Beryl, and the Dark Kingdom set up a base in a cavern at D-Point in the North Pole. She found the reincarnations of Endymion's trusted knights, the Shitennou, and turned them into her commanders. They began collecting energy to awaken Metalia while searching for the Silver Crystal. Eventually, Tuxedo Mask too fell under the control of Metalia and acted as her agent, trying to obtain the Silver Crystal from Sailor Moon. After Metalia absorbed the Silver Crystal into herself, along with Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon, she grew huge, expanding around the planet, until she was permanently destroyed by Sailor Moon, ending the Dark Kingdom forever. In the Sailor V manga, the Dark Kingdom had a sub-division known as the Dark Agency. Their modus operandi was to collect energy, and their reach spread further than Japan. It was run by Danburite, a subordinate of Kunzite, and was ultimately destroyed by Sailor V before she joined the other Sailor Guardians.
- Dark Agency: The "Dark Agency" is a sub-division of the Dark Kingdom that appears in the Codename: Sailor V manga series. Unlike the Dark Kingdom and other villainous groups in the series, its actions spread further than just Japan, as the Dark Agency had a branch in Hawaii. Its resources were dedicated to gathering energy for the Dark Kingdom, mainly using idols in their plans. They were led by one of Kunzite's underlings named Danburite.
- Sailor Guardians: Sailor Guardians, alternatively called Sailor Senshi or Sailor Soldiers, are the leading female protagonists in all versions of Sailor Moon. Sailor Guardians are magical girls who are initially presented as super-heroes who use their powers to vanquish the forces of evil. They are each associated with an object in outer space. These celestial bodies include stars, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets among other objects. Sailor Guardians, as magical girl heroines, have both civilian and magical identities. Before transforming into their Sailor forms, the Sailor Guardians look like average girls. They use transformation items to turn into their Sailor Guardian forms through a transformation sequence that grants her a uniform in her theme-colors and her kind of elemental power; these powers come from an object called a "Sailor Crystal" said to be within each of them. Accessories gained with their uniform, such as Sailor Moon's tiara, can also be used as weapons. Usually, during their initial awakening, the Sailor Guardians would have the astrological sign associated with their respective planet display on their forehead. The franchise initially presents Sailor Guardians as heroines in a fight of light against darkness; however, their more noble characteristics are from the ideology Sailor Moon shares with her close protectors. The idea Senshi are inherently well meaning is gradually subverted throughout the series. This process is completed with the final villains being Sailor Guardians themselves who hold a different point of view. The manga takes this further and suggests Senshi are not inherently different from the villains they have been fighting and they spring from the same source. Though Sailor Guardians are all humanoid women, others can have similar magical abilities. For example, Mamoru Chiba displays many parallels. He can transform into Tuxedo Mask (a form based on his Tuxedo school uniform), is associated with a celestial body, and has an analogue to a Sailor Crystal: the Golden Crystal.
- Sailor Crystals: "Sailor Crystals" are special Star Seeds which belong to every Sailor Guardian. Everything originates in the Galaxy Cauldron and are made from Star Seeds. Newborn stars are born from star seeds themselves and have special star seeds sent to grow alongside them which mature to become Sailor Crystals which form the core of the Sailor Senshi who guard those worlds. Young sailor crystals are refereed to as seeds. Sailor Crystals contain everything that makes Sailor Guardians who they are. They are the source of their powers and are resilient. They are also linked to the Sailor Power Guardians which are an intrinsic part of Sailor Senshi and both form their core. Sailor Crystals are not necessarily the only Star Seeds Senshi have. Usagi and her friends have "human" star seeds in addition to their Sailor Crystals. Senshi typically store their Sailor Crystals in their brooches, but they can be sealed away until they fully awaken to their powers as Senshi. The Solar System Senshi can directly call upon their Sailor Crystals to transform (for example: Venus Crystal Power, Make Up). Shadow Galactica collects Sailor Crystals from across the Milky Way galaxy. Sailor Galaxia and her subordinates obliterate their victims leaving only their Sailor Crystals behind. They collect these and bring them back to Sagittarius Zero Star to be stored in Garden Crystals. Alone, these Sailor Crystals only give off a faint glow but when brought together they shine with a brilliant light. Galaxia also uses Sailor Crystals with Galactica Bracelets to empower mortals, the Sailor Animamates, with the power of a Senshi.
- Star Seed: "Star Seeds" are crystals contained in all life forms including planets, stars, and asteroids. Star Seeds played an important role only in the 5th and final season of the Sailor Moon anime. Most of the Star Seeds consisted of a small glittering sphere enveloped in a hexagonal dipyramidal-shaped transparent crystal. All normal Star Seeds are a light blue-gray color. In the case of True Star Seeds, the color corresponded to their planet color. A regular star seed resides within regular humans and once removed the light within it fades (turning the victims into phages according to the 90's anime). It is unknown why they turn into phages since they were only made to be the Monster-of-the-day for the anime but a possible explanation is that it was caused by the Galactica Bracelets which is imbued with dark energy and allows a normal living being attain an evil Sailor Guardian-like state under the control of Shadow Galactica. In the anime, Galaxia's Star Seed seemed to have attained a level of sentience; it took the forms of Chibi Chibi to get close to Usagi, the Sword of Sealing to fight Chaos Galaxia, and a bright pink butterfly to fly across the galaxy. In its common appearance, it was a pink Star Seed. If the Star Seed was retrieved, its carrier could be revived in their physical form.
- Normal Star Seed: Common people had weak Star Seeds that had a temporary shine of light upon extraction. When a human was hit by the golden energy blasts produced by Sailor Galaxia's bracelets, an orange-colored flower appeared above their head or in front of their chest and opened to reveal the Star Seed. If left exposed for too long, the seed will immediately turn dark as its shine fades turning its human host into a Phage.
- True Star Seed: Those belonging to Sailor Guardians had a permanent shine, and were called true Star Seeds, or, in the manga, Sailor Crystals. Each planetary body in the galaxy was represented by its own Star Seed, and the Sailor Guardian of that planet was its carrier. It retains their shine even with exposure to the outside and they are held within Sailor Guardians. They withhold the power of the star they protect/have the power of. If a Sailor Guardian's Star Seed was taken out of their body, the Sailor Guardian disappeared, which was equivalent to dying, as shown in episode 196.
Calculations
Knowledgeable Members
Characters
Manga
| Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| 30th Century Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| Far Distant Future Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| Sailor Guardians from Outside the Solar System
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1992 Anime
| Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| Far Distant Future Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| Sailor Guardians from Outside the Solar System
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Live Action
| Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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Musicals
| Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| 30th Century Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| Far Distant Future Sailor Guardians of the Solar System
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| Sailor Guardians from Outside the Solar System
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