(To be continued in second post!)
For discussion of everyone's (other) favorite magical girl show...
(Lit. 'Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon)
But most of us probably know it better as...
A dense klutz of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino, AKA Serena, gets informed by a talking cat that she's actually the princess of the long-dead Moon Kingdom, and it's her destiny to protect earth from all kinds of evil.
DiC were the ones who brought the series to the US for the most part.
They brought almost all of the first season(excluding a few episodes, including half of the final two), and most of the second; R(the last few episodes of the Dark Moon arc were never dubbed for some reason).
The dub hasn't aged well, but it's sure better than what Cloverway* pulled later on.
*The small Canadian company that, to their credit, finished off R, then localized S and Super S.
While they didn't remove nearly as much as DiC did, they did make a few changes, and their voice actors were horrible.
Season 1
The very first season. Introduces the core characters, and the first major villains.
It was released as a pricey uncut set by ADV a few years ago.
The Senshi of Season 1, in order of appearance:
Sailor Moon / Usagi Tsukino / 'Serena'
The main character. Clumsy, lazy, addicted to junk food, and an all-around slacker.
Somehow also the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, and the most powerful character in the series.
She can be a goofball, but when things get real, she comes through every time, and never wants to let anyone die. (Except herself; and she frequently fails anyway.)
Fun fact: She's voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi, who also voices ExcelExcel in Excel Saga, Misato Katsuragi in Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Katherine in Catherine(the game).
There's even an episode in Excel Saga when Excel pretends to be Sailor Moon. Best seen in the sub, since the delivery of her infamous pre-battle taunt is almost word-for-word the same.
Sailor Mercury / Ami Mizuno / 'Amy'
The second Senshi introduced. Intelligent and capable of determining enemies' weaknesses.
Interestingly enough, she probably has the most episodes about her in the series(including her own OAV), because she was among the most popular.
Fun facts:
-Although conveyed as bookwormish and shy, the anime suggests there's a lot more to her on several occasions, and has her break the trope many times.
She is the Starlights' biggest fan, for one.
-In Super S, they hint at a relationship between her and Shingo; Usagi's brother.
Who is at least seven years younger than her.
Sailor Mars / Rei Hino / 'Raye'
The third. Stubborn to a fault, and often thinks she should be the leader.
She's one of the few besides Usagi who has a constant significant other;
Yuichiro, aka 'Chad'. Although he's crazy about Rei, she frequently ignores him, though she probably returns his feelings in some form or another.
Despite that her and Usagi bicker constantly, they're probably the best friends of the group.
Fun fact: Although Usagi beat her in the contest for Mamoru's affections, she's seen more of Mamoru than Usagi ever will.
Sailor Jupiter / Makoto Kino / 'Lita'
The fourth, physically the toughest, and also considered the most... uh, 'talented'.
Fun fact: Every guy on the planet reminds her of a senior she fell in love with.
Sailor Venus / Minako Aino / 'Mina'
The fifth, believed to be the second most powerful in terms of attacks.
She was believed to be the Moon Princess for a time, despite the fact that she's from Venus.
Prior to joining Sailor Moon's posse, she had her own adventures(and series) as Sailor V.
It also has its own manga.
Fun fact: Minako is infamous for mixing up proverbs, something that is very often lost in translation, since they're usually plays on Japanese sayings.
Tuxedo Mask / Mamoru Chiba / 'Darien Shields'
Usagi's significant other. Originally a jerk, but they eventually reveal their identities to one another and the rest is history. Their relationship never gets any better than it was in the first season, just more and more complicated. He also has the same voice actor as Yamcha from Dragon Ball, which may explain why he taps asses and loses fights.
Fun fact: He has no small amount of girls that he's involved with on the side, though none are any threat to his relationship with Usagi, she always gets jealous. (Though more than a couple probably wonder why a college student is dating a middle/high schooler.)
Luna
Usagi's constant companion, a snarky cat who tries to keep Sailor Moon out of more trouble than she gets herself into. Good luck with that.
Fun facts: Replaced by a stuffed animal in the live-action series. Seriously.
Eventually gets a human form in the second film.
Artemis
Sailor Venus' guardian. This means he has it even harder than Luna.
He gets a human form as well, but only in the manga.
Main Villains: The Dark Kingdom
Queen Beryl, and her entourage of the Dark Kingdom('Negaverse')
They seek energy to revive Queen Metallia, and rule the universe, or something like that.
There's also Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite ('Malachite'), her four generals.
And a brainwashed Endymion for one episode, if that counts.
Fun facts:
-The final episode, originally two, was cut in half, to cut out
-Zoisite was changed into a female, mostly because of his relationship with Kunzite/Malachite(dub).
-In the manga, each of the four generals was a guardian for one of the Inner Senshi; it was also implied they had a relationship with them.
-Jadeite is the only one of the four who doesn't die; he's just put into eternal sleep.
Season 2: R
(for 'Romance', supposedly)
Introduces more Senshi, and Usagi's daughter from the future.
Most of the villains are from other planets, the future, or both.
Also released by ADV, sub-only. My third favorite season.
The new characters of R:
The Moonlight Knight
Tuxedo Mask's 'replacement' for the Doom Tree Arc.
An alter-ego of Mamoru created because he had no memory of being Tuxedo Mask or Endymion. He spouted just as much poetic nonsense in the sub as he did in the dub.
Sailor Chibi('Mini') Moon / Chibi-Usa Tsukino / 'Rini'
She's Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's daughter, so she's slightly less detestable than the usual character of this type.
Fun facts:
-Sailor Moon S(Season 3) uses her mostly worthless 'Pink Sugar Heart Attack' to hilarious effect, mostly interrupting their attacks and speeches.
-Her brief stint as The Black Lady almost makes up for everything stupid she's ever done.
Sailor Pluto / Setsuna Meioh / 'Susan'
The guardian of time. Speaks softly, carries a big stick. The first 'Outer' Senshi introduced in the series.
Fun fact: Chibi-Usa's guardian-helper, Luna-P was her creation.
She's probably Chibi-Usa's main guardian, since her mother and father were too busy ruling the world and all that.
Main Villains(two arcs): the Doom Tree & the Dark Moon
Doom Tree Arc
Ail and En ('Alan and Ann')
Seek energy to revive the Doom Tree. Disguise themselves as sibling students, who appear at the same time that new victims do. Not suspicious at all!
Fun facts: another member of their 'family' is the antagonist in the Sailor Moon R movie.
Ail's flute playing has its own unique tune in the dub.
Black Moon Arc
Wiseman, an avatar of Death Phantom, who wants to rule the universe.
Was kicked out of the future Crystal Tokyo by Neo-Queen Serenity, along with his subordinates(who think he works for them).
He controls the mostly moronic Dark Moon family, who in turn dispatch Rubeus and his equally worthless subordinates, the Ayakashi Sisters.
(Prince Saffir, Demande)
(Esmeraude, Rubeus, Wiseman)
(Koan, Bertier, Calaveras, Petz)
Fun facts: Wiseman is pure evil. Beryl wants Endymion, and the later villains all become redeemed in some form or another, but not Wiseman. He wants to destroy everything, end of story.
Demande actively pursues young Usagi because the older one won't return his affections. Not creepy at all!
The Ayakashi Sisters are among the only villains in the series who not only get redeemed, but continue to make appearances in later episodes of R. (No later seasons, of course.)
They're the only villains who take on all the Senshi as a group, quartet against quartet. (Rubeus fights Sailor Moon in the meantime.)
Season 3: S
The S stands for 'Super'. Which probably wasn't a bright move in hindsight.
New soldiers appear from the outer rims to seek something called the Talismans, while the best villain in the entire series uses science to fight them.
Published in the US by Geneon/Pioneer, with the horrible dub and uncut subs.
You never want to hear Haruka's dub voice. Michiru's wasn't too bad. No one from the original cast was involved, except for Luna and Artemis' VAs. The new Serena tries to impersonate the original VA, and mostly fails.
The new Senshi of S:
Sailor Uranus / Haruka Tenou / 'Amara' & Sailor Neptune / Michiru Kaioh / 'Michelle'
The guardian of the sky, or wind, and the guardian of the seas, or ocean, respectively.
Two of the other Outer Senshi, Haruka is considered the most powerful among them in terms of abilities and strength. Michiru's no slouch, either.
Their romance was altered to make them 'cousins' in the dub.
Cloverway made no effort to hide scenes that suggested this obviously wasn't the case.
Fun facts: Haruka has both a motorcycle and a car, much like Mamoru. Except she's a better driver.
Most of the Inners thought Haruka was a guy, and fell for him on sight.
Haruka and Michiru are both shameless flirts with the same gender, though they go about it in different ways. Only Haruka seems to get jealous.
Sailor Saturn / Hotaru Tomoe (unchanged!)
The Soldier of Silence, Saturn is by far the deadliest of the ten: she has an attack that can destroy an entire planet, at the cost of her life.
Her father, Soichi Tomoe, is largely responsible for everything bad(and awesome) that happens in S.
Main Villains: Science!
(Mistress 9 and the Witches 5)
Professor Tomoe, actually Hotaru's father possessed by a Daimohn.
Still the most hilarious villain in the entire series.
He serves Mistress 9, who in turn serves some all-powerful deity called Pharaoh 90, who's never seen. He keeps Hotaru around to be a host for Mistress 9. Soichi was possessed by a daimohn when he made a deal with Pharaoh 90 to keep him and Hotaru alive after an explosion in his lab.
Tomoe and his posse, the Death Busters, seek pure hearts to help revive Mistress 9.
Kaorinite, his personal assistant.
He also has the best villain clique in the series. The Witches 5.
They're so awesome they deserve individual sections.
Eugeal, the first Witch. Drives a stationwagon and has a gun which she blasts people's hearts out with.
The next Witch kills her by cutting her brakes.
Mimete, a rabid fangirl who only targets celebrities.
They start dropping like flies after these two.
Telulu, Witch 3. Pulled the plug on Mimete.
Gets eaten by a giant plant of her own creation. Killed in her second episode.
But wait, it gets better.
Byruit, Witch 4. Dismembered by nanomachines. In her first episode.
Cyprin and Petirol, Witch 5. They share one mind and one body.
The Senshi actively work together, and cause them to kill each other.
Fun facts:
Tomoe never kills any of his subordinates, or gets angry at them.
He even plays Twister with them.
They don't really need his help to thin their numbers, anyway.
Season 4: Super S
*shrug* Super Super? Super Soldiers? Super Shipping?
My least favorite of the five seasons.
Hardly a total waste, but it focuses on Chibi-Usa and her love affair with a pegasus.
I wish I was kidding.
Also published in the US by Geneon/Pioneer, with the horrible dub and uncut subs.
Villains: The Dead Moon Circus
Lead by Zirconia, an old woman who becomes an old man in the dub for some reason.
They're after the pure dreams of innocents, because that's where Pegasus resides.
Zirconia has two cliques of villains, both hilarious for different reasons.
The Amazon Trio: Hawk's Eye, Tiger's Eye, Fish Eye
Hawk likes older women. Tiger likes younger women. Fish Eye likes guys and dressing like a girl.
They're all male. Fish Eye was made female in the dub for obvious reasons.
They like to capture their victims in style.
Fun facts:
-Their disguises are never elaborate. The Senshi never recognize them despite that they always ditch their disguises in front of them.
(This trope happens over the course of the series, to be fair)
-At first, the episodes try to suggest Fish Eye might be female, then dispense with that ruse entirely.
After they screw up too many times, Zirconia replaces them with....
The Amazoness Quartet
(PallaPalla, VesVes, JunJun, and CereCere)
Their attempts at capturing mirrors usually involve hilarious mishaps with magic.
Of course, Zirconia works for an even bigger bad...
Queen Nehelenia
Obsessed with pure dreams and living in a fantasy world. The only villain who carries over into the next season, because she works for an even bigger bad. (Sort of)
For discussion of everyone's (other) favorite magical girl show...
(Lit. 'Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon)
But most of us probably know it better as...
A dense klutz of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino, AKA Serena, gets informed by a talking cat that she's actually the princess of the long-dead Moon Kingdom, and it's her destiny to protect earth from all kinds of evil.
DiC were the ones who brought the series to the US for the most part.
They brought almost all of the first season(excluding a few episodes, including half of the final two), and most of the second; R(the last few episodes of the Dark Moon arc were never dubbed for some reason).
The dub hasn't aged well, but it's sure better than what Cloverway* pulled later on.
*The small Canadian company that, to their credit, finished off R, then localized S and Super S.
While they didn't remove nearly as much as DiC did, they did make a few changes, and their voice actors were horrible.
Season 1
The very first season. Introduces the core characters, and the first major villains.
It was released as a pricey uncut set by ADV a few years ago.
The Senshi of Season 1, in order of appearance:
Sailor Moon / Usagi Tsukino / 'Serena'
The main character. Clumsy, lazy, addicted to junk food, and an all-around slacker.
Somehow also the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, and the most powerful character in the series.
She can be a goofball, but when things get real, she comes through every time, and never wants to let anyone die. (Except herself; and she frequently fails anyway.)
Fun fact: She's voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi, who also voices ExcelExcel in Excel Saga, Misato Katsuragi in Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Katherine in Catherine(the game).
There's even an episode in Excel Saga when Excel pretends to be Sailor Moon. Best seen in the sub, since the delivery of her infamous pre-battle taunt is almost word-for-word the same.
Sailor Mercury / Ami Mizuno / 'Amy'
The second Senshi introduced. Intelligent and capable of determining enemies' weaknesses.
Interestingly enough, she probably has the most episodes about her in the series(including her own OAV), because she was among the most popular.
Fun facts:
-Although conveyed as bookwormish and shy, the anime suggests there's a lot more to her on several occasions, and has her break the trope many times.
She is the Starlights' biggest fan, for one.
-In Super S, they hint at a relationship between her and Shingo; Usagi's brother.
Who is at least seven years younger than her.
Sailor Mars / Rei Hino / 'Raye'
The third. Stubborn to a fault, and often thinks she should be the leader.
She's one of the few besides Usagi who has a constant significant other;
Yuichiro, aka 'Chad'. Although he's crazy about Rei, she frequently ignores him, though she probably returns his feelings in some form or another.
Despite that her and Usagi bicker constantly, they're probably the best friends of the group.
Fun fact: Although Usagi beat her in the contest for Mamoru's affections, she's seen more of Mamoru than Usagi ever will.
Sailor Jupiter / Makoto Kino / 'Lita'
The fourth, physically the toughest, and also considered the most... uh, 'talented'.
Fun fact: Every guy on the planet reminds her of a senior she fell in love with.
Sailor Venus / Minako Aino / 'Mina'
The fifth, believed to be the second most powerful in terms of attacks.
She was believed to be the Moon Princess for a time, despite the fact that she's from Venus.
Prior to joining Sailor Moon's posse, she had her own adventures(and series) as Sailor V.
It also has its own manga.
Fun fact: Minako is infamous for mixing up proverbs, something that is very often lost in translation, since they're usually plays on Japanese sayings.
Tuxedo Mask / Mamoru Chiba / 'Darien Shields'
Usagi's significant other. Originally a jerk, but they eventually reveal their identities to one another and the rest is history. Their relationship never gets any better than it was in the first season, just more and more complicated. He also has the same voice actor as Yamcha from Dragon Ball, which may explain why he taps asses and loses fights.
Fun fact: He has no small amount of girls that he's involved with on the side, though none are any threat to his relationship with Usagi, she always gets jealous. (Though more than a couple probably wonder why a college student is dating a middle/high schooler.)
Luna
Usagi's constant companion, a snarky cat who tries to keep Sailor Moon out of more trouble than she gets herself into. Good luck with that.
Fun facts: Replaced by a stuffed animal in the live-action series. Seriously.
Eventually gets a human form in the second film.
Artemis
Sailor Venus' guardian. This means he has it even harder than Luna.
He gets a human form as well, but only in the manga.
Main Villains: The Dark Kingdom
Queen Beryl, and her entourage of the Dark Kingdom('Negaverse')
They seek energy to revive Queen Metallia, and rule the universe, or something like that.
There's also Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite ('Malachite'), her four generals.
And a brainwashed Endymion for one episode, if that counts.
Fun facts:
-The final episode, originally two, was cut in half, to cut out
the Senshi being killed in the first episode('captured by the Negaverse' in the dub), and Endymion/Mamoru smacking Sailor Moon around for most of the second.
-Nephrite's brutal death was not edited in the dub.
He's also the only one with a car.
He's also the only one with a car.
-Jadeite is the only one of the four who doesn't die; he's just put into eternal sleep.
Season 2: R
(for 'Romance', supposedly)
Introduces more Senshi, and Usagi's daughter from the future.
Most of the villains are from other planets, the future, or both.
Also released by ADV, sub-only. My third favorite season.
The new characters of R:
The Moonlight Knight
Tuxedo Mask's 'replacement' for the Doom Tree Arc.
An alter-ego of Mamoru created because he had no memory of being Tuxedo Mask or Endymion. He spouted just as much poetic nonsense in the sub as he did in the dub.
Sailor Chibi('Mini') Moon / Chibi-Usa Tsukino / 'Rini'
She's Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's daughter, so she's slightly less detestable than the usual character of this type.
Fun facts:
-Sailor Moon S(Season 3) uses her mostly worthless 'Pink Sugar Heart Attack' to hilarious effect, mostly interrupting their attacks and speeches.
-Her brief stint as The Black Lady almost makes up for everything stupid she's ever done.
Sailor Pluto / Setsuna Meioh / 'Susan'
The guardian of time. Speaks softly, carries a big stick. The first 'Outer' Senshi introduced in the series.
Fun fact: Chibi-Usa's guardian-helper, Luna-P was her creation.
She's probably Chibi-Usa's main guardian, since her mother and father were too busy ruling the world and all that.
Main Villains(two arcs): the Doom Tree & the Dark Moon
Doom Tree Arc
Ail and En ('Alan and Ann')
Seek energy to revive the Doom Tree. Disguise themselves as sibling students, who appear at the same time that new victims do. Not suspicious at all!
Fun facts: another member of their 'family' is the antagonist in the Sailor Moon R movie.
Ail's flute playing has its own unique tune in the dub.
Black Moon Arc
Wiseman, an avatar of Death Phantom, who wants to rule the universe.
Was kicked out of the future Crystal Tokyo by Neo-Queen Serenity, along with his subordinates(who think he works for them).
He controls the mostly moronic Dark Moon family, who in turn dispatch Rubeus and his equally worthless subordinates, the Ayakashi Sisters.
(Prince Saffir, Demande)
(Esmeraude, Rubeus, Wiseman)
(Koan, Bertier, Calaveras, Petz)
Fun facts: Wiseman is pure evil. Beryl wants Endymion, and the later villains all become redeemed in some form or another, but not Wiseman. He wants to destroy everything, end of story.
Esmeraude isn't fortunate enough to be killed by her superior; she gets turned into a crazed dragon, then killed.
The Ayakashi Sisters are among the only villains in the series who not only get redeemed, but continue to make appearances in later episodes of R. (No later seasons, of course.)
They're the only villains who take on all the Senshi as a group, quartet against quartet. (Rubeus fights Sailor Moon in the meantime.)
Season 3: S
The S stands for 'Super'. Which probably wasn't a bright move in hindsight.
New soldiers appear from the outer rims to seek something called the Talismans, while the best villain in the entire series uses science to fight them.
Published in the US by Geneon/Pioneer, with the horrible dub and uncut subs.
You never want to hear Haruka's dub voice. Michiru's wasn't too bad. No one from the original cast was involved, except for Luna and Artemis' VAs. The new Serena tries to impersonate the original VA, and mostly fails.
The new Senshi of S:
Sailor Uranus / Haruka Tenou / 'Amara' & Sailor Neptune / Michiru Kaioh / 'Michelle'
The guardian of the sky, or wind, and the guardian of the seas, or ocean, respectively.
Two of the other Outer Senshi, Haruka is considered the most powerful among them in terms of abilities and strength. Michiru's no slouch, either.
Their romance was altered to make them 'cousins' in the dub.
Cloverway made no effort to hide scenes that suggested this obviously wasn't the case.
Fun facts: Haruka has both a motorcycle and a car, much like Mamoru. Except she's a better driver.
Most of the Inners thought Haruka was a guy, and fell for him on sight.
Haruka and Michiru are both shameless flirts with the same gender, though they go about it in different ways. Only Haruka seems to get jealous.
Sailor Saturn / Hotaru Tomoe (unchanged!)
The Soldier of Silence, Saturn is by far the deadliest of the ten: she has an attack that can destroy an entire planet, at the cost of her life.
Her father, Soichi Tomoe, is largely responsible for everything bad(and awesome) that happens in S.
Main Villains: Science!
(Mistress 9 and the Witches 5)
Professor Tomoe, actually Hotaru's father possessed by a Daimohn.
Still the most hilarious villain in the entire series.
He serves Mistress 9, who in turn serves some all-powerful deity called Pharaoh 90, who's never seen. He keeps Hotaru around to be a host for Mistress 9. Soichi was possessed by a daimohn when he made a deal with Pharaoh 90 to keep him and Hotaru alive after an explosion in his lab.
Tomoe and his posse, the Death Busters, seek pure hearts to help revive Mistress 9.
Kaorinite, his personal assistant.
He also has the best villain clique in the series. The Witches 5.
They're so awesome they deserve individual sections.
Eugeal, the first Witch. Drives a stationwagon and has a gun which she blasts people's hearts out with.
The next Witch kills her by cutting her brakes.
Mimete, a rabid fangirl who only targets celebrities.
They start dropping like flies after these two.
Telulu, Witch 3. Pulled the plug on Mimete.
Gets eaten by a giant plant of her own creation. Killed in her second episode.
But wait, it gets better.
Byruit, Witch 4. Dismembered by nanomachines. In her first episode.
Cyprin and Petirol, Witch 5. They share one mind and one body.
The Senshi actively work together, and cause them to kill each other.
Fun facts:
Tomoe never kills any of his subordinates, or gets angry at them.
He even plays Twister with them.
They don't really need his help to thin their numbers, anyway.
-Kaorinite dies not once, but twice.
-Mimete doesn't actually die; much like Jadeite, she's just left to a fate worse than death.
-Professor Tomoe is the only villain in the series who not only redeems himself, but appears in later seasons.
-Mimete doesn't actually die; much like Jadeite, she's just left to a fate worse than death.
-Professor Tomoe is the only villain in the series who not only redeems himself, but appears in later seasons.
Season 4: Super S
*shrug* Super Super? Super Soldiers? Super Shipping?
My least favorite of the five seasons.
Hardly a total waste, but it focuses on Chibi-Usa and her love affair with a pegasus.
I wish I was kidding.
Also published in the US by Geneon/Pioneer, with the horrible dub and uncut subs.
Villains: The Dead Moon Circus
Lead by Zirconia, an old woman who becomes an old man in the dub for some reason.
They're after the pure dreams of innocents, because that's where Pegasus resides.
Zirconia has two cliques of villains, both hilarious for different reasons.
The Amazon Trio: Hawk's Eye, Tiger's Eye, Fish Eye
Hawk likes older women. Tiger likes younger women. Fish Eye likes guys and dressing like a girl.
They're all male. Fish Eye was made female in the dub for obvious reasons.
They like to capture their victims in style.
Fun facts:
-Their disguises are never elaborate. The Senshi never recognize them despite that they always ditch their disguises in front of them.
(This trope happens over the course of the series, to be fair)
-At first, the episodes try to suggest Fish Eye might be female, then dispense with that ruse entirely.
After they screw up too many times, Zirconia replaces them with....
The Amazoness Quartet
(PallaPalla, VesVes, JunJun, and CereCere)
Their attempts at capturing mirrors usually involve hilarious mishaps with magic.
Of course, Zirconia works for an even bigger bad...
Queen Nehelenia
Obsessed with pure dreams and living in a fantasy world. The only villain who carries over into the next season, because she works for an even bigger bad. (Sort of)
