Category Archives: Characters

What is Kazuko Tadano’s Secret to Drawing Sailor Moon?

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Filed under Anime, Articles, Characters, Interview, Making Of
The Sailor Team

The Sailor Team

One question I often (not unreasonably) get asked is: why do I so rarely talk about Sailor Moon Crystal on this blog?

Truth be told, it’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. It’s rather that bringing the Sailor Moon Crystal series into the equation introduces several key issues into what we discuss here, including:

  1. the series takes place decades after the original manga/anime ran, and the world has since changed;
  2. the story tracks closely with the manga and doesn’t add too much new information; and
  3. Sailor Moon Crystal is still a work in progress, so any theories unique to the series could still change.

Fortunately for us, with the recent announcement1 that Kazuko Tadano — character designer for the first two seasons of the 1990s Sailor Moon anime — will be reprising her role as character designer for the upcoming Sailor Moon Crystal movie, this gives us a chance to take a look back into the past to hopefully answer some questions about the series’ future.

Today, we’ll be taking a deeper look into what Ms. Tadano thought of the characters in Sailor Moon, and her philosophy in how she draws women. Stick around, because things are about to get interesting!

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Does Every Object in Space Have a Sailor Senshi?

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Filed under Articles, In-Universe Lore, Inner Senshi, Outer Senshi, Starlights
Just how many Sailor Soldiers ARE there in the Solar System?

Just how many Sailor Soldiers ARE there in the Solar System?

If you’ve been involved with the Sailor Moon fandom as long as I have, I’m sure you’re quite familiar with all the absurd rumors that were running around in the early days, rampantly mixing original characters with the actual story, making it nearly impossible to tell what was real and what was fake.

Though Ms. Takeuchi never actually directly touches on the hows, whats, or whys involved in the connection between a human, their Sailor Crystal, and their respective celestial body, I think the information we can glean from the story tells us quite a bit.

Today we’ll be looking at just where that line in the sand is between what makes a Sailor Star Maker versus a Sailor Star Faker. For all you passionate Sailor Moon fans out there making your own custom characters, this one is going to be required reading!

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Why Does Hotaru Wear a Different Mugen Gakuen School Uniform?

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Filed under Articles, Death Busters, Hotaru Tomoe, In-Universe Lore
Don't be sad, Hotaru! You can wear whatever uniform you want!

Don’t be sad, Hotaru! You can wear whatever uniform you want!

It should probably come as no surprise that we often wind up discussing school uniforms in a blog devoted to uncovering the mysteries of Sailor Moon. The title itself, in fact, is even a direct reference to the naval-inspired “sailor fuku” uniforms worn to school by young women across Japan. If that’s not a tip off to the fact that these things are important, I don’t know what is.

But today we’re going to talk about something a little bit different, about one of those details that could easily get overlooked by the untrained eye. Which, of course, doesn’t apply to any of you, my incredibly observant readers!

We’ll be taking a look today at why Hotaru’s uniform, subtle though the difference may be, doesn’t match up with the ones worn by Haruka and Michiru. As an extra bonus, this also gives us an opportunity to take a deeper look into the mysterious school that is Mugen Gakuen. Grab a lunch box, because things are about to get educational!

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What Was the Inspiration For the Three Lights’ Names?

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Filed under Articles, Language, Starlights
The Threeeeeee Lights

The Threeeeeee Lights

I’m sure you must have figured this out by now, but I absolutely love trivia — the tinier the detail, the better. Anything I can learn to extract just a little more detail about the world of Sailor Moon is awesome to me, because it helps make the story all the more “real.”

Even more so than that, learning these tiny little details helps keep this series fresh. Despite having watched and read through the various misadventures of the Sailor Soldiers countless times already, every time I learn some new little bit of information, I want to go back through the story and see if it changes how I view the characters.

In the interest of shedding a little light1 on Sailor Moon‘s fifth and final season, today we’re going to talk about the Three Lights — Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki — and the inspirations behind their names. If you’re also a huge fan of boy bands that are actually girls bands in disguise, then you’re going to want to stick around for this one!

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Are Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne Sisters?

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Filed under Articles, In-Universe Lore, Manga, Shadow Galactica
Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne

Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne

Though hardly on the same level of the brutal Sailor Moon debates we’re used to dealing with here on this blog, the subject concerning the connection between Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne is one of those seemingly simple issues that the fans can never quite agree on.

If these two are sisters, then that opens up a whole new slew of questions, such as the nature of their seemingly romantic relationship and how two related people could each have their own Sailor Crystal. If they aren’t, why do they look so much alike??

Today we’ll be taking a look at Sailors Lethe and Mnemosyne — the so-called “sister Senshi” — to see if they really are related, and just what’s going on with all this Sailor Crystal confusion. You might want to grab a science book, because this whole issue is about to get astronomical!

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What Was the Inspiration for the Dark Kingdom’s Uniforms?

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Filed under Articles, Dark Kingdom, Real World
Don't even get me started on the Nephrite color-changing issue...

Don’t even get me started on the Nephrite color-changing issue…

Since I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about the importance of school uniforms and their relevance to the series, I think it’s about time that we give some attention to what the men of Sailor Moon are wearing. And that’s what I fully intend to do.

Tuxedo Mask… wears a tuxedo. And a mask. Done.

Now that we’ve got that mystery solved, I’d like to turn your attention to something you’ve probably thought a lot less about: just where did the inspiration for the uniform’s worn by the Dark Kingdom come from? Were they completely made up, or did Ms. Takeuchi take her inspiration from the uniform of some long-forgotten army?

If this is a question that ever has crossed your mind, you’re in luck, because we’re going to take a closer look at exactly that today. It’s time to put on your sleuthing hat, because things are about to get interesting!

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Are the Sailor Moon Characters Too Old For Their School Grades?

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Filed under Articles, Characters, Real World
So how old are you REALLY, Rei??

So how old are you REALLY, Rei??

If you’re anything like me, I’m sure one of the first things you thought about as you got out of bed this morning is: “By golly, I hope there’s someone out there willing to explain to me how the Japanese education system functions, and how this fits in with the world of Sailor Moon!”

Good news! You’re in luck.

As it turns out, Ms. Takeuchi put a lot of thought into the characters’ birthdays when she was creating the Sailor Moon universe, but unfortunately had little to no actual consideration for what impact this might have on the grades the girls should end up in at school.

Today we’re going to take a look at the ages of the Sailor Soldiers upon their first appearance and see whether they actually work out in the real world, and if we can try to make some sense of all this chaos!

If all this impending math makes your head spin, don’t worry — I’ll keep this relatively painless!

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