Happy Birthday Rei! (courtesy of Sweet Bee)
Whether you know Rei best as the cool, silent priestess-type from the manga or the bossy counterpoint to Usagi in the anime, this character managed to strike a very personal chord that still resonates with me today.
In honor of Rei Hino’s birthday, I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight five interesting facts about the high-heeled Senshi of passion and her role in Sailor Moon. Happy Birthday, Rei!
1. Is Rei Hino / Sailor Mars Part Demon?
What probably sounds like a pretty clickbait-y title is a surprisingly legitimate question — at least as far as the anime is concerned. Keeping in mind that Rei’s grandfather is actually a holder of the indigo Rainbow Crystal, and thus one of the Seven Great Youma, this would make Rei 1/4 Youma herself.
Could this explain some of her spiritual powers?
2. What Does Rei’s Akuryo Taisan Chant Mean?
Probably the most interesting thing for me about researching this topic was the debate surrounding whether or not Michie Tomizawa, Rei’s voice actress, actually said the chant correctly or if the flubbed the lines. Though a decent argument can be made for it still being technically correct, the fact that her pronunciation later changed suggests it was a flub.
If you’ve ever been interested in Rei’s more spiritual side, this is a must read!
3. Is Rei’s Grandfather From Her Mother or Father’s Side?
Speaking of Rei’s monster-infused grandfather, have you ever wondered just what side of the family he comes from? Rei’s jerk father, or the surviving relative of her deceased mother?
What should be a seemingly easy question to answer turns out to be absurdly difficult due to conflicting information that appears throughout the series — and that’s not even worrying about the fact that the manga and anime Grandpa Hino are two completely different people.
4. Who Was Responsible for Rei’s Change in the Anime?
Would you be even remotely surprised if I raised my fist into the air, shook it aggressively, and screamed out “Ikuharaaaaaaaaa!!”? I’m guessing not. Well, spoiler!, you’re absolutely correct.
What’s more interesting about this question, though, is less the who, but the why. Just why was Director Ikuhara so intent on changing Rei’s character?
5. Why Did Rei Go to a Christian School?
At first blush, it seems at odds with her very role as a Shinto priestess that Rei would be attending a Christian school. Even if Shinto were okay with it,1 you’d think that the Christian school would have some strong opinions about her attending.
However, not only is this a non-issue, but it’s actually surprisingly common in Japan!
Our Eager Miko
While I definitely love all of the Sailor Senshi in their own unique way,2 I’ve always been something of an unapologetic Rei fan at heart. Granted, there’s a lot of drama surrounding her character due to how many liberties the anime took with her personality, there’s something I love about her. In fact, the different versions of her just give me more to enjoy.
If you have any questions you’d like me to look into about Rei, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
References:
Just a head’s up, the Akuryo Taisan hyperlink links to the Rei’s anime change one!
Ouch, you’re totally right. Thanks for letting me know! I’ve fixed it now.
Actually there is an iterview with her, I have seen it on youtube where Michie admit she said it wrong for a few episodes.
It’s one of those weird issues where it is an accepted reading, so she technically wasn’t wrong. However, it’s an uncommon and generally not used reading, so odds are that it was a mistake.
Since they later changed it, I’d definitely agree it was a “mistake.”
Sailor Mars is awesome! 🙂
Rei is the best and most interesting Senshi. I LOVE Sailor Mars