Category Archives: Inner Senshi

Was Codename: Sailor V Inspired by a Volleyball Manga?

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Filed under Articles, Minako Aino, Other Series
Minako plays for keeps in volleyball

Minako plays for keeps in volleyball

When I say “Minako Aino,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? … after “Sailor Venus” … and  “Sailor V” … yeah, after “Artemis” too.

Okay, fine. When I say “Minako Aino” and “favorite sport that you see her engage in occasionally throughout the Sailor Moon anime and manga,” what comes to mind? That’s right, volleyball! Glad we’re on the same page.

While there isn’t really anything terribly remarkable on the surface about the fact that Minako plays volleyball, it turns out that there may actually be yet another of Ms. Takeuchi’s many hidden references when you dig a little deeper.

I hope you’re paying attention, because today we’re going to serve a volley of information your way!1

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Is There a Connection Between Rei Hino and Rei Ayanami?

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Filed under Articles, Language, Real World, Rei Hino
Rei and... Rei?

Rei and… Rei?

When you consider the sheer volume of anime, manga, and videos games that produced in Japan every year, it’s really no surprise that you’ll run across characters that share the same name. The more popular or common a name is, the more likely you are to see it elsewhere, either in other media or even in the real world!

But when you stop and consider (1) the relatively short time period in which Sailor Moon and Neon Genesis Evangelion hit the market and (2) just how uncommon a name like Rei is in the first place, it’s a little harder to write it off as pure coincidence.

Today we’re going to take a look at the interesting, behind-the-scenes connection between these two juggernauts of anime!

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Is Princess Serenity Just Another of Sailor Moon’s Transformations?

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Filed under Articles, In-Universe Lore, Usagi Tsukino
Princess Serenity against Super Beryl

Princess Serenity against Super Beryl

What, exactly, is the connection between Usagi and Princess Serenity?

For a question that sounds so simple that it’s almost stupid to even ask, it’s a lot more difficult to answer than you’d initially think. And that’s what I find so fascinating about the topic.

We all know that Princess Serenity died back in the Silver Millennium to be later reincarnated as Usagi Tsukino. That much is clear and not really open to debate. However, how does the Usagi and Princess Serenity relationship play out after she becomes aware of her past?

Today we’re going to take a look at the the idea of whether Usagi is actually Serenity, or whether Serenity is lurking inside of her — not much unlike any of her other Sailor Moon forms.

Let’s start unraveling this thread, shall we? Continue reading →

What Do the Sailor Moon Transformations Look Like to Other People?

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Filed under Ami Mizuno, Articles, In-Universe Lore, Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino
Do they really henshin in front of people?

Do they really henshin in front of people?

Though I’m not a betting man, I’d feel relatively comfortable saying that nearly every Sailor Moon fan out there that has watched the anime with a friend or family member who isn’t a fan of the genre has had to deal with the question: “why doesn’t the bad guy just attack her when she’s transforming?”

And can you blame them? It’s a really good question.

Though fans have come up with a multitude of reasons to explain this away over the years — with answers ranging from the Youma wanting a fair fight to the Sailor Soldiers teleporting away during the henshin sequence — we’re actually here to address a much more fundamental question today.

Do these transformations actually take place, or are they like the eye catches between commercial breaks, and only for the viewer’s benefit?

Stick around, it’s about to get interesting!

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Who Knows the True Identities of Sailor Moon and the Sailor Team?

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Filed under Articles, In-Universe Lore, Inner Senshi, Supporting Cast
Usagi makes the decision to transform in front of Mamoru

Usagi makes the decision to transform in front of Mamoru

To be completely honest, I love casually posing the question of who knows the Sailor Soldiers’ identities to other fans. Responses span the entire gamut of a vehement “no one!” to pretty much every member of the supporting cast, who were apparently just too nice to tell Usagi that they knew the truth.

Like all things in life, however, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes.

Join along as we take a magnifying glass to the Sailor Moon anime and manga in an attempt to suss out just who actually has figured out the secret identities of our favorite sailor-suited soldiers of love and justice!

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Was Sailor Moon the First Magical Girl to Transform With a Compact?

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Filed under Articles, Making Of, Other Series, Usagi Tsukino
The Crystal Star Compact is hardly compact...

The Crystal Star Compact is hardly compact…

With how amazingly popular Sailor Moon wound up becoming, it’s easy to forget that the series was not the first to have explored… well… practically any of the concepts that made it famous. Not to downplay the achievements Ms. Takeuchi’s genre-defining classic, of course, but nearly everything that we know Sailor Moon for nowadays had already been done in other series before it.

Many of the so-called “tropes” that 21st century fans would readily attribute to Sailor Moon were in fact already well-established before our favorite sailor-suited warriors were even conceived.

While Usagi may have made the idea of a “magical compact” famous, the great grandmother of magical girls is the one who made it a staple in the genre.

Today we’re going to take a look back to the earliest days of the “magical girl” genre and tell the story of one of its earliest pioneers!

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Why Does Sailor Moon Use a Kaleidoscope in the Dream Arc?

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Filed under Articles, In-Universe Lore, Real World, Usagi Tsukino
Kaleidomoon Scope? Moon Kaleidoscope? Who knows!

Kaleidomoon Scope? Moon Kaleidoscope? Who knows!

… and why does it look nothing like a kaleidoscope??

After watching season after season and following Sailor Moon’s adventures from one story arc to the next, we cheered along as our sailor-suited hero fought the forces of evil with various sticks, rods, and… well, more rods. It’s a simple idea with an even simpler naming scheme, so I never really thought much of it.

Well, except for the naming travesty that is the Moon Stick, but let’s put that aside for a second.

Today, we’ll be taking a look at Sailor Moon’s fourth wand — and the first one belonging uniquely to Super Sailor Moon — the Kaleidomoon Scope. While it may seem to make little sense on the surface, once you peel back a few layers, the puzzle starts to come together.

Stick around, things are about to get colorful!

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