Q: Is it true that Venus and Mars are lesbians?
No, no, no! This is based on a misinterpretation of a scene in the manga in the June 1996 Nakayoshi, where they are actually expressing their devotion to the Princess, except that since she doesn't say any words, people reading just the translation thought they were referring to each other. I hope this stupid rumor dies soon.
Q: Why does nobody ever recognize Serena or the others in costume?
There's no real explanation. You can guess that they're magically immune
to being recognized, but we never get told that. In Japanese episode
5, and in the dub episode 15, she hides from her brother when in costume,
apparently because she's afraid she'd be recognized, so if there is
magic involved, she didn't know it. Dub episode 31 says that they can't
be recognized in their normal identities, though I'm not sure if this line
was in the original version.
Asai in episode 100 recognizes Venus.
Fiore in the R movie recognizes Tuxedo Mask.
This problem doesn't happen in the manga; they seldom appear in front of
people they know, Usagi (Serena) and Tuxedo Mask recognize each other almost
immediately, and Motoki (Andrew) does recognize them in costume (V3 p.
100, 177; V4 p. 113).
Q: Why do the villains all attack places in walking distance, of where the Sailor Scouts are? They can't teleport like the Power Rangers (they do have a Sailor Teleport group power, but they don't teleport routinely), so if the villains attacked Paris or New York, the heroines would be helpless to stop them. For that matter, why don't they ever attack when the Sailor Scouts are in class?
Boy, you're smart.
Q: Why does nobody attack the Scouts while they're transforming or charging their attacks?
Usually, the transformations don't really take any time and are there
just for the viewers' sake. (Like near the end of the first series where
Serena and Darian are attacked, and Serena completely transforms while
the attack is still in the air.)
There is an episode, however, where Jupiter does her usual motions to
attack and gets tied up in mid-gesture. In dub #32, Sailor Moon was
attacked while trying to "heal" the youma. According to the storyboard
writers, in dub #30 Usagi was embarassed at transforming in front of Mamoru
because she would be seen naked, implying the transformations do take some
time (Source: Animage 5/93, formerly translated on ftp.tcp.com)
Q: There are nine planets, so why don't we see a Sailor Scout for each one?
Darian (Chiba Mamoru) is prince of the Earth,
and his name in Japanese uses the kanji for "Earth", so he obviously
represents Earth (besides, the moon revolves around the Earth :-)) and
you'll probably never see a Sailor Scout for the planet Earth. Mamoru is
claimed to also represent the sun, with Helios (from SuperS) as his guardian,
and his astrological sign is supposedly ruled by the sun.
Sailor Pluto is technically visible in the dub series; she's the one that
Rini is talking to in her Luna ball.
Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn appear later--in the third year of the original.
They're not actually part of the team.
Sailor Mars has pet ravens named Phobos and Deimos (which are the moons
of Mars). They have been shown in human form in the manga, where they are
said to come from planet Coronis (which is not a real planet).
The black moon in Sailor Moon R is Nemesis, a dark star theorized as responsible
for comets like the one that killed off the dinosaurs.
In the manga corresponding to Sailor Moon SS, the Amazoness Quartet become
Sailor Scouts of the four largest asteroids, but not in the anime.
The Sailor Stars don't seem to be associated with particular heavenly bodies.
Q: Who is Sailor V? Does she really exist?
Sailor V is really Sailor Venus, the fifth member of the team. In real
life, the Sailor V comics were published first, before Sailor Moon. After
the Sailor Moon comic started, Sailor V was included in it as Sailor Venus.
Unfortunately, DIC messed up the dub. The first Sailor Venus episodes had
Sailor Venus appear, everyone being told she's Sailor V, with Serena happy
because Serena is a big Sailor V fan. The dub of those particular episodes
took out all reference to Sailor V except in the title.
Q: Who is Luna talking to on the computer in the early episodes?
It's Artemis, Sailor Venus's cat. Luna is rather annoyed when she finds
out.
The dub goofs here. In dubbed episode 39, Luna and Artemis inexplicably
refer to a real Central Control. I would guess the episode was dubbed by
someone who didn't see the episode where Central Control is found to be
Artemis. Anyway, ignore it. Central Control doesn't exist.
Q: Who is the Moonlight Knight?
Tuxedo Mask was split into two when revived after the battle with the Dark Kingdom. The Moonlight Knight held his love for Serena, so his regular self didn't remember anything of her for a while.
Q: Who is Rini (Chibi-Usa)?
She is the daughter of Serena and Darian, time-travelled from the future.
Q: Who is Rini talking to back in the future, through her Luna ball?
Sailor Pluto, who Chibi-Usa calls "Pu". The dub messes up the first occurrence of this by using Luna's voice and pretending Renie is talking to the ball instead of using it as a communicator to talk to another person.
Q: Why does Serena stop using some of her magic items later on? Why does everyone else stop using some of their attacks?
The attack in the first episode, where she hurts the monster by crying,
reappears in Sailor Moon SS, as a joint attack of
Usagi and Chibi-Usa.
Usagi loses the first moon stick at the end of the first storyline and
never gets it back, though she does recover and use the silver crystal
(which moves to her brooch).
There is no explanation of why she stops using the disguise pen. (It is
still around; at least, Venus uses it later in SMS
when she has to disguise herself as Sailor Moon.)
The explanation of why she can't use her moon tiara is that she has to
really want to be Sailor Moon to use it. This immediately makes you wonder
if she uses it again when her mood improves. In (Japanese) episodes 98,
100, and 123, she does use it again, although the attack is stock
footage, cut so that you can't see that she wore a different brooch when
the stock footage was drawn. She also uses it in the R movie, episode 163,
and the SuperS movie without the old stock footage. The Eternal Sailor Moon
outfit in Sailor Stars no longer includes a tiara; however, Usagi uses "Moon
Tiara Action" with a frozen pizza in 184.
The attacks that the Senshi get in the Earl/Ann story are later ignored almost
completely except for Sailor Moon's. (Crescent Beam Shower shows up in #141
with a different name, and Shabon Spray Freezing is reused in #80. The
attacks also show up in the video game Another Story, but these are the only
single attacks without voice samples.) The real explanation is that these
episodes were something of a fill-in (the original comic is monthly, and the
series is weekly, so they had to stretch it out). Note that in the clips
episodes (Japanese #89 and the start of the SS special) no clips from these
episodes are shown; also, although the Another Story game uses all the old
villains and monsters up to S, it leaves out Earl and Ann.
Q: Who is Chibi-Chibi?
The manga and anime differ on this question.
In the manga, she is the early form of "Sailor Cosmos". I've heard
several stories about exactly how Cosmos is related to Usagi.
In the anime she is the "light of hope" from Galaxia's star seed.
Q: Is Nephrite really dead?
YES. No, he doesn't come back in any way, shape, or form. This is not Marvel comics.
Q: Why does Sailor Jupiter wear a different school uniform?
From a Japanese book "Secrets to Sailor Moon": because there
isn't one of the school's uniforms in her size.
Apparently in Sailor Stars (anime) and SuperS (manga) she gets the regular
Juuban uniform.
Q: What city does the series take place in?
Tokyo, even in the dub. "Kitty Chaos" mentioned the name, and the episodes derived from the second part of Sailor Moon R refer to Crystal Tokyo. That tower is the Tokyo Tower. (It's not in France.)Q: Are Alan and Ann really brother and sister? Wouldn't that make their relationship incest?
They're really children of the tree, from which their race came. In a sense, this does mean they really are brother and sister (and they admit the tree is their mother), but in another sense, they're no more brother and sister than Adam and Eve were. Take your pick.
Q: Have Serena and Darien had sex together (in the present day)?
There is a manga scene which many fans see as evidence. (act 18, manga 5), showing them kissing and lying on top of each other. Later, she shows up with the same dress she had on but with her shirt off, implying that she undressed. Nothing is shown explicitly, though.
Q: How can Rini's hair be pink when her parents' hair colors are black and blond? How is pink hair inherited anyway?
Anime hair colors are a stylistic convention and the characters' hair colors are almost never really what you see. Her hair is no more pink than Superman's is blue.
Q: Is Fiore (from the Sailor Moon R movie) from the same planet as Alan and Ann?
He certainly looks similar, and is voiced by Alan's original voice actor. It is conceivable that they're from the same race, but this is never stated. (They definitely aren't the same person.) Ikuhara Kunihiko, the director of the R series and R movie, has explained in the LD bonus for the R movie that the movie contained shared ideas with the TV series.
Q: What does the writing on Rei's shrine mean? Does such a shrine really exist in Japan?
The shrine is based off a real one. The writing reads "Hikawa shrine", with the character for "fire" (hi) substituted for the one for "ice" (also hi) in the real shrine.
Q: What does the symbol Nephrite uses mean?
It is not a kanji and has no real meaning. Some people have suggested that it is a stylized "ne".
Q: Have the Sailor Senshi ever killed anyone? Most of the enemies seem to die by other enemies killing them off, by running into their own attacks, getting caught in the destruction of their base, etc.
Metallia ("negaforce") is obviously killed at the end of the
first series. It is arguable that they killed Kunzite (Malachite), although
he really died from his own reflected attack. Many monsters of the day
die, but it's a comics/animation cliche that
if you're artificial, it's not considered killing to get rid of you even
if you are sentient.
In the manga, the Senshi do kill their enemies.
Q: Were the four main generals really friends of Tuxedo Mask once?
This idea is stated in the Sailor Moon "Friends and Foes"
children's book, in English. The idea really does come from the original
manga, though not the anime, and is also used in the Another Story video
game.
There are also pictures in the manga showing them paired with the four
Senshi. I haven't yet been given any references to them being engaged or
in love from the text, though.
Q: What happened to the parents of all the Scouts (present day)?
Sailor Moon: parents alive and shown.
Tuxedo Mask: parents dead in a car crash.
Sailor Mercury: parents separated; she lives with her mother. Her
mother is shown from the back in the SuperS movie, and her father in #151.
Sailor Mars: lives with her grandfather (mother's side). In the
manga it is explained that her mother is dead (V4) and that her father
is alive but she prefers living with her grandfather to living with him
(V11).
Sailor Jupiter: parents dead in an airplane crash; she lives by
herself. (Don't ask how, or where she gets money.)
Sailor Venus: parents alive. Shown only in manga?
Sailor Uranus/Neptune: they have an unknown benefactor (in the manga)
and live by themselves. (I've gotten some conflicting information on this,
specifically that their stuff is paid for by their parents.)
Sailor Pluto: old enough to live on her own, and if she was brought
back as an adult (in the manga) she wouldn't have parents anyway.
Sailor Saturn: mother apparently dead, father alive in anime, but
dies in manga at end of SMS story. Names are Tomoe Keiko and Tomoe Souichi.
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto act as substitute parents in the manga after her
father dies.
Asteroid senshi, Sailor Stars: not much known.
Apparently unknown.
Q: Is Sailor Jupiter a lesbian?
The episode which makes people think this #96 where she seems to have a crush on Haruka (Sailor Uranus). While some of the other characters thought it might be a homosexual attraction, it was not. It's a cultural difference; she really more looks to Haruka as a role model, and wants to be like her, but is not in love with her. The same cultural difference has made Westerners misinterpret similar situations in other series, such as Akane in Orange Road supposedly being in love with Madoka.
Q: In flashback, we are shown that Queen Serenity died immediately upon using the Silver Crystal to send the Scouts into the future. Yet we are also shown that she split up the crystal to seal away the Seven Shadows. How could these both have happened?
The writers goofed.
The entire Seven Shadows plot was added to fill time in the anime version.
In the manga, the crystal comes directly out of Sailor Moon's tear, rather
than her tear combining the seven pieces into the crystal.
Q: Are the Starlights really male or female?
The obvious choice is that they are male and change to female, but there
are two manga references which suggest otherwise (but are ambiguous):
First, Princess Fireball asked the Starlights why they chose "this
appearance", and they responded that it was easier to find women that way.
Some people have interpreted it to mean that they chose to be male, although
it could also refer to their singing career.
Second, in manga #16, page 165-166, Tin Nyanko tells Usagi not to trust
those who are female but dress up as guys. Of course, though she is
obviously referring to the Starlights, she is not really in a position to
know much about them.
Q: What about this "live action version" I've heard of?
The half live action version was a really horrible idea that indeed
was one possible plan for a North American Sailor Moon. All they made was
a brief promo (lucky for us). The promo was first shown to the public at
Anime Expo in summer 1995. The animated part was American animation.
No, I don't know how to get a copy.
A special showing of several episodes in the USA at about Thanksgiving 1995
had the episodes introduced by a live action Sailor Moon, no relation.
Q: Why does everyone look American if this is a translated Japanese show?
It's the style used in Japanese animation. The large eyes date back to artists partly inspired by Disney. The hair is not 'really' colored the way you see it; normally, the hair color of Japanese characters in anime is always brown/black no matter what you see on the screen, and is shown as something else only to visually distinguish between the characters.
Q: Why do the heroines get their power from jewelry and makeup, if they are supposed to be fighting sexism?
Dave Barry had a field day with this question. The truth is that they aren't fighting sexism (except in the sense of having heroic female characters). The anti-sexism idea seems to come from an early press release; it described a scene (in dub episode 10) where the Sailor Scouts dodge airplanes sent after them by Jadeite and make comments about how women aren't fools, not to belittle women, etc. The speech was there, but someone took it more seriously than it should be. As a final irony, when the episode appeared in the dub, the lines were removed.
Q: Are there male monsters-of-the-episode?
The monsters of the episode are mostly female, but there is a point
where Zoisite is turning ordinary people (reincarnated youma) into monsters,
which includes several males (a priest, Raye's grandfather, and Amy's boyfriend).
Still, it's usually pretty rare. Also, in episode 18 the monster is formless
but has Nephrite's voice, and might be considered male (this episode was
adapted from a manga story, so the monster is a little unusual), and in episode
35 two skaters, one male, are changed into monsters. And in Sailor Moon
SS, Fish Eye's monsters are male. The gender of the monster of the episode
seems mostly random in Sailor Stars.
For those who are interested, the original names of the monsters of the
episode are as follows:
Episodes 1-46 (versus the Dark Kingdom): youma
Episodes 47-59 (versus Earl and Ann): cardian (also used in
the dub).
Episodes 60-88 (versus the Black Moon): droid (also used
in the dub).
Episodes 90-125 (versus Master Pharaoh 90, Mistress 9, Professor
Tomoe, and the Death Busters): daimon
Episodes 128-166 (versus the Dead Moon Circus): lemures
Episodes 167-172: mirror paredories
Episodes 173-200: phage
Q: Aren't those dolls horrible-looking?
The Japanese dolls are also horrible-looking.
Really, I think the fans who are upset over this are being a bit ridiculous.
(Hey, I write this FAQ, I get to put personal opinions in.)
Q: American voice actors/actresses (I'm not going to bother trying to phrase this as a question):
Serena/Sailor Moon: Tracey Moore (eps. 1-11, 15, 21, 41)
Terri Hawkes (all others)
Ami/Sailor Mercury: Karen Bernstein
Rei/Sailor Mars: Katie Griffin
Lita/Sailor Jupiter: Susan Roman
Darien/Tuxedo Mask: Rino Romano (1-11), Toby Proctor
Mina/Sailor Venus: Stephanie Morganstern
Luna: Jill Frappier
Artemis: Ron Rubin
Sailor Pluto/Luna Ball: Jill Frappier (58), Sabrina Grdevich (61)
Molly: Mary Long
Melvin: Roland Parliament
Andrew: Colin O'Meara
Rini: Traci Hoyt
Queen Beryl: Naz Edwards
Jedite [sic]: Tony Daniels
Neflite [sic]: Kevin Lund
Zoycite [sic]: Kirsten Bishop
Malachite: Dennis Akayama
Queen Metallia/Negaforce: Maria Vacratsis
Alan: Vince Carraza
Anne: Sabrina Grdevich
Doom Tree/Tree of Life: Liz Hannah
Catzy: Alice Poon, Mary Long
Avery: Jennifer Griffiths
Prizma: Norma Dell'Agnese
Rubius: Rob Tinkler
Wiseman: Tony Daniels
Queen Serenity: Wendy Lyon
Sammy: Julie Lemieux
Serena's Mom Barbara Radecki
Serena's Dad David Hubard
Patricia Haruna Nadine Rabinovitch
Grandpa David Fraser
Chad Steve Bednarski
Announcer: Chris Wiggins
Monster of the Day: Harvey Atkins, Lindsay Collins, Lisa Dalbello,
Tony Daniels, David Fraser, Terri Hawkes, Elva Mai
Hoover, Loretta Jafelice, Julie Lemieux, Allison
Sealy-Smith, Maria Vacratisis
Background voices: Steve Bednarski, Chris Britton, Lindsay Collins,
Tony Daniels, David Fraser, Hillary Goldhar, Loretta
Jafelice, Julie Lemieux, Roland Parliament, Alice
Poon, Nadine Rabinovitch, Greg Swanson
(one-shots)
Mr. Baxter: Chris Wiggins
Game Machine Joe: Rino Romano
Jordan (baby): Tony Daniels
Peter Fisher: Joel Feeney
Greg: Eric Kimmel
Peggy Jones: Katherine Trowell
Misha: Jeff Lumby
Jenelle: Tracey Hoyt
Mika: Kathy Laskey
Mika's Mother: Wendy Lyon
Chess Tower owner: Roland Parliament
Countess Rose: Wendy Lyon
Second English language season: ???Q: When does the series continue?
The chronologically last dub episode is in the middle of the Dark Moon
story. When the episodes were first run, they were shown out of order,
making the end of the Alan/Ann story the last new episode actually shown.
In reruns, they're usually shown in the proper order.
The Japanese episodes which come after the end of the dub series are
episodes 73 up. 73-81 have been fan-subtitled by VKLL with more upcoming.
New episodes up to the end of the Dark Moon story will be released, but not
in the US. There's no firm date yet.
Q: Do we ever see the Scouts transform back?
In episode 115, Sailor Uranus transforms back normally.
We also see Sailor Moon transform back twice when she loses a previous
transformation before getting powered-up, but these are arguably abnormal
transformations back that might not look like normal ones.
Q: Do we ever see Tuxedo Mask transform?
Episodes in which he transforms are 16, 22, 30, and 62 (19, 26, 34, and 69 for Japanese versions.)
Q: Why do they stop the episodes and rerun even though they're in the middle of a story?
Because that's all the episodes that have been dubbed! Try some of the synopses on Hitoshi Doi's site to see what happens next. (And/or get the Japanese episodes or fansubs).
Q: Why do we see <something> a few times and then we never see it again when we logically should? Values of <something> are: Sailor Moon's parents and other relatives, Greg (Urawa), Rita (Reika), Queen Serenity's ghost, Moon Tiara Stardust, Lizzie (Unazuki), Molly (Naru), Melvin (Umino) and Molly together, Chad (Yuuichiro), etc.
The anime was partly based on the manga, but was weekly instead of monthly, so had to be stretched out a lot. This means that one shot characters or minor characters from the manga got major roles in several stories, and it also means that several characters and subplots were completely invented for the TV series This made it look like something was a big part of the series when it really never was.
Q: When does the Another Story RPG take place? It couldn't take place after S because Saturn turned back to a baby at the end.
It tapes place right after the end of S. Saturn was specifically aged in the Another RPG story (and de-aged back to a baby at the end), but you have to read the dialog to understand this.
Q: How do I get past that boss on Ami's level in the Another Story RPG?
The fastest way is to use a manicure to raise your
attack power, then attack and heal when you start running low on hit points.
(Don't bother to cure yourself of freezing.) Many monsters around this level
provide healing items. Unfortunately, I know of no way to get a manicure
there--you'd have to buy it in advance at home before knowing you'd need it.
Raising your level a little bit helps, too.
Alternatively, raise your level to an ungodly amount so that you're doing
around 10 points of damage per round, then attack and heal constantly.
The only special attack that works on this boss is Shabon Spray. But
the animation for it takes so much time that killing the boss with Shabon
Spray (and healing and restoring items) takes forever. In any case, be sure
to wear both special accessories, and buy another one to fill the third slot.
Q: How do I survive in any of the levels where I only have one Senshi? Fighting one or two monsters takes up all my resources.
Once you fight a few monsters and barely survive, your experience level
will go up and soon you'll be able to fight them for real.
If you are on Sailor Jupiter's stage, do not go into the tree first.
The tree is closer to your starting point, but it is not your next goal and it
does not have the weakest monsters.
Q: How do I get all the puzzle pieces on the Another Story RPG?
I wish I knew. Killed monsters stop leaving them behind when you have four missing. One of the missing ones is found early in the game in Makoto's stage in a hidden area; later in the game you get sent directly to the area and can find out about the pieces, but it's too late to get them then! I have no idea about the other three.
Q: How do I get the second ending on the Another Story RPG?
You get divided into two groups. Usagi's group fights the final boss. If you lose with Usagi's group, Chibi-Usa's group comes in, and defeating the boss with her (which is hard, since you don't get a chance to control how your characters are arranged in the formation) gives you a different ending. (Knowing more Japanese than I do probably helps in understanding the differences in the endings.)
Q: What does "talent" mean (as a joke used on the Internet)? This refers to a line in the Snow White episode. Sailor Jupiter said that she should be Snow White because she has the largest breasts. In the dub, it was changed to having the most "talent". So people on the net will sometimes refer to breast size as "talents".
Q: Why are the attacks in the Mixxzine translated manga different from the ones shown in the dub?
The dub use different attack names from the original TV episodes. Also,
the original comics used different names (or even different attacks) from
the original TV episodes. The Mixxzine version is different for both of these
reasons. For instance, the original manga (and Mixxzine) uses "Moon
Frisbee", the original TV uses "Moon Tiara Action", and the dub uses "Moon Tiara
Magic". Mixx used the original; they didn't change it.
This does not apply to "cow tails", which is not from the original.
Q: Where do the movies take place, chronologically?
It isn't really possible to fit the movies into the series continuity.
In the R movie, Chibi-Usa (Rini) appears. She leaves at the end of the
R series, which means that the R movie could only happen if the Black Moon
villains are alive but for some reason not doing anything during the
movie.
In the S movie, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto appear. Pluto goes away
before the S series ends, which means that the S series villains would also have to
be alive but not doing anything. Furthermore, Hotaru does not appear in the
movie, yet in the S series she is already around when Pluto reappears.
(This movie was based on a manga story, and probably fits into manga
continuity.)
In the SS movie, Pluto appears, yet in the Sailor Stars series, the
Senshi are surprised to learn that she is alive.
There are three Sailor Moon movies released in Japan, with no North
American release. (There was an early, false, rumor started by Arctic Animation
about release of the R movie; they apparently misunderstood reports about
the pilot episode (#41).) The movies are probably the most commonly fansubbed
stories.
A special, "Ami-chan's First Love", was shown with the SMSS movie but
released to video separately.
Several Sailor V stories will be released directly to video in Japan.
The Japanese comic (manga) was published in a monthly collection, on newsprint,
at one chapter per issue, mostly in black and white (which is typical for a
Japanese comic), and the chapters are collected into volumes (tankoubon) about
the size and cost of a paperback book (all B&W).
There is also a Japanese Sailor V manga. These are all, of course, in Japanese
(several fan translations exist); you can get them at Japanese bookstores.
The Japanese manga ended, though the Sailor V manga is still ongoing.
Translations of the manga include French (by Glenat publishers), Chinese,
and a lot of other languages. French and Chinese keep the original notes.
Translations of the manga include French (by Glenat publishers), Chinese,
and a lot of other languages. French and Chinese keep the original notes.
Mixx is releasing the manga in English in black and white in Mixxzine (which
< also includes other Kodansha manga), hopefully not changed too much, and
keeping some of the original notes. (They are required to use DIC names,
although Sailor Moon has "Bunny" as a "nickname".)
Note: in the manga, Sailor Uranus has white hair and Sailor Pluto has somewhat
dark skin. (The other colors are basically the same as the anime.)
Over in the UK, Bloomsbury (which has translated Ironfist Chinmi cheap and in its original format) was once planning to translate Sailor Moon manga in its original format. This fell through for some reason.
There are Japanese video games for just about every system. The games
exist in the arcade and for the PC Engine Duo (TG-16), Super Famicom (SNES),
Gameboy, Mega Drive (Genesis), Game Gear, 3DO, Playdia (a Japan-only system),
Playstation, and Saturn. The Duo, Gameboy, Game Gear, and 3DO ones are
compatible with American systems. The Super Famicom and Mega Drive ones
are compatible if you remove the plastic that keeps the games from fitting
in some machines. Saturn requires an adaptor or hardware modification,
and Playstation requires a hardware modification (or may play with
disk swapping on early machines).
Most anime-based video games are terrible as games. Most of the Sailor
Moon games are no exception (though the Another Story RPG seems well-liked).
In North America, six dolls are out: Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter,
and Venus, and Queen Beryl. Some runs of the dolls have the wrong boots.
According to a Bandai representative in the July 22 1995 Washington Post,
"We discovered that some Americans thought the outfits were too sexy
for little girls. The short skirt and high heels--that means a prostitute
in the US, is that right? So we shifted to boots." Nevertheless other
toys have the proper heels.
There is no Tuxedo Mask doll despite the picture of him on the Moon Cycle
box.
There seems to be a set of pirate dolls called "Planet Girls"
which uses recolored and renamed Sailor Senshi.
The Rini (Chibi-Usa) doll has blonde hair instead of the proper pink. [Has
this changed?]
The locket is from Sailor Moon R but uses the tune from the first Sailor Moon series.
Japanese versions of the whole series have been released on videotape
and on laserdisc, about a year behind the television episodes. The laserdiscs
include brief bonuses (such as interviews). Japan uses NTSC like North
America does, and the tapes and discs will work on North American machines.
The episodes, of course, are in untranslated Japanese.
There are bunches of episodes subtitled unofficially by Japanese animation
fans. (Note: this is technically illegal.) Ask around to get these.
Don't ask me; I have no way to copy tapes and don't know where to get most
of them anyway. The episodes immediately after the end of the dub, and
the ends of R, S, and SS, have no known fansubs, so it's probably useless
trying to look for those. Commonly wanted episodes which do have fansubs
are 44-46, 73-81 (the ones after the end of the dub), the movies, the SS
special, and the Ami special.
Sailor V animation was supposed released direct to video in Japan. It's apparently on indefinite hiatus.
There is an audio tape for dub episode 12 (Unnatural Phenomena).
Another source of episodes may be Chinatown, if you have a Chinatown and can speak the right dialect (if dubbed) or read Chinese (if subbed).
Buena Vista Home Video has released dub episodes in North America at $10 a tape.The American soundtrack has been released on CD.
The Japanese information below is mostly "official", written
by Takeuchi Naoko, and is directly translated from manga #10. The exceptions
are the gemstones, which come from the Super Famicom roleplaying game,
Tuxedo Mask, from the SuperS movie Memorial Album, and the Sailor Stars,
from May 1996 Nakayoshi.
I've decided to include the gemstones from the game because the game is
mostly consistent with the official information on the rest. I have no idea
if these gemstones have anything to do with the gemstones associated with
the astrological signs.
Note: Blood type is in Japan considered to fit certain personality types
just like astrological signs. This is only for O/A/B/AB, not + and -. From
the rec.arts.manga glossary:
In Japanese pop culture, blood type is thought to be related to personality. This belief became popular in the early '80s. Profiles of manga artists or characters from manga will often include blood type along with other statistics like age and place of birth. A very rough guide to blood types:
A nervous, introverted, honest, loyal
B outgoing, optimistic, adventurous
AB proud, diplomatic, discriminating
O workaholic, insecure, emotional
The North American version is from the back of the doll boxes. It fits
the original in some parts, and changes it in others (mostly when it's
a cultural reference like Japanese food, or when it's not in the original
at all).Japanese version:
Sailor Moon:
Name: Tsukino Usagi
Birthday: June 30
Astrological sign: Cancer
Blood type: O
Favorite color: white
Hobby: eating cake
Favorite food: ice cream
Least favorite food: carrots [note: Bwahahahaha]
Favorite subject: Home Economics
Worst subject: math, English
Has trouble with: dentists, ghosts
Strong point: brownnosing, crying
Dream: to be a bride
Favorite gemstone: diamond
Tuxedo Mask:
Name: Chiba Mamoru
Birthday: August 7
Astrological sign: Leo
Blood type: A
Favorite color: black
Hobby: reading books
Favorite food: chocolate
Least favorite food: none
Favorite subject: physics
Worst subject: none
Has trouble with: Usagi's persuasion in tears
Strong point: Lady First
Dream: to be a doctor
Favorite gemstone: (not listed)
Sailor Chibi-Moon:
Name: Chibi-Usa
Birthday: June 30
Astrological sign: Cancer
Blood type: O
Favorite color: red and pink
Hobby: collecting Usagi goods (can also be translated as rabbit goods)
Favorite food: pudding
Least favorite food: carrots
Favorite subject: drawing
Worst subject: languages
Has trouble with: taking care of the house [note: this must be hard
in a large crystal palace]
Strong point: getting people to give her things
Dream: becoming a lady
Favorite gemstone: diamond
Sailor Mercury:
Name: Mizuno Ami
Birthday: September 10
Astrological sign: Virgo
Blood type: A
Favorite color: aquamarine
Hobby: reading, chess
Favorite food: sandwiches
Least favorite food: yellow-tail tuna (hamachi)
Favorite subject: mathematics
Worst subject: none
Has trouble with: love letters
Strong point: calculating
Dream: to be a doctor Favorite gemstone: sapphire
Sailor Mars:
Name: Hino Rei
Birthday: April 17
Astrological sign: Aries
Blood type: AB
Favorite color: red and black
Hobby: fortunetelling (also reading, in the SFC RPG)
Favorite food: fugu
Least favorite food: canned asparagus
Favorite subject: ancient writing
Worst subject: modern society
Has trouble with: television
Strong point: meditation
Dream: to be a head priestess
Favorite gemstone: ruby
Sailor Jupiter:
Name: Kino Makoto
Birthday: December 5
Astrological sign: Sagittarius
Blood type: O
Favorite color: pink
Favorite food: cherry pie
Least favorite food: none
Favorite subject: Home Economics
Worst subject: physics
Has trouble with: airplanes
Strong point: cooking (listed as a hobby in the SFC RPG)
Dream: being a bride, selling cake, selling flowers
Favorite gemstone: emerald
Sailor Venus:
Name: Aino Minako
Birthday: October 22
strological sign: Libra
Blood type: B
Favorite color: yellow and red
Hobby: chasing after idols
Favorite food: curry
Least favorite food: shiitake mushrooms
Favorite subject: Phys. Ed
Worst subject: math, English
Has trouble with: mama and the police
Strong point: playing (listed as a hobby in the SFC RPG)
Dream: being an idol
Favorite gemstone: topaz
Sailor Uranus:
Name: Ten'ou Haruka
Birthday: January 27
Astrological sign: Aquarius
Blood type: B
Favorite color: gold
Hobby: driving
Favorite food: salads
Least favorite food: natto (a fermented soybean Japanese dish that even
a lot of Japanese will refuse to eat)
Favorite subject: Phys. Ed.
Worst subject: modern Japanese
Has trouble with: confessing
Strong point: racing
Dream: to be a racer
Favorite gemstone: amber
Sailor Neptune:
Name: Kaiou Michiru
Birthday: March 6
Astrological sign: Pisces
Blood type: O
Favorite color: marine blue
Hobby: collecting cosmetics
Favorite food: sashimi
Least favorite food: kikurage (a kind of mushroom)
Favorite subject: Music
Worst subject: none
Has trouble with: sea cucumbers
Strong point: violins
Dream: to be a violinist
Favorite gemstone: aquamarine
Sailor Pluto:
(Note: in the Japanese comic, Sailor Pluto is teenage, but in the animation
she is not, so much of this isn't true for the animation.)
Name: Meiou Setsuna
Birthday: October 29
Astrological sign: Scorpio
Blood type: A
Favorite color: dark red
Hobby: shopping
Favorite food: tea (o-cha)
Least favorite food: eggplant
Favorite subject: Physics
Worst subject: Music
Has trouble with: cockroaches
Strong point: sewing
Dream: to be a designer
Favorite gemstone: garnet
Sailor Saturn:
Name: Tomoe Hotaru
Birthday: January 6
Astrological sign: Capricorn
Blood type: AB
Favorite color: purple
Hobby: reading, collecting lamps
Favorite food: nihon soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)
Least favorite food: milk
Favorite subject: World History
Worst subject: Phys Ed.
Has trouble with: marathons
Strong point: injury treatment
Dream: to be a doctor
Favorite gemstone: fluorite
Sailor Star Fighter:
Name: Kou Seiya
Birthday: July 30
Blood type: A
Responsibilities: Lead Vocal (Keyboard, Writing Lyrics, Composing Music)
Club membership: American Football club
Hobby: American Football
Favorite subject: Physical Education
Least favorite subject: Literature
Favorite food: Hamburgers
Has trouble with: Girls
Sailor Star Maker:
NameL Kou Taiki
Birthday: May 30
Blood type: AB
Responsibilities: Guitar (Keyboard, Writing Lyrics)
Club membership: Literary club
Hobby: Reciting Poetry
Favorite subject: Literature
Least favorite subject: None
Favorite food: Sushi
Has trouble with: Arguments
Sailor Star Healer:
Name: Kou Yaten
Birthday: February 8
Blood type: B
Responsibilities: Keyboard (Arrangement)
Club membership: Homecoming club
Hobby: Cameras
Favorite subject: Art
Least favorite subject: Physical Education
Favorite food: Caviar
Has trouble with: Physical Exertion
North American Version:
Sailor Moon:
Name: Serena
Age: 14
Birthday: June 30
Likes: eating, video games
Dislikes: surprise tests in school
Hobbies: shopping
Special strengths: Loyal Friend
Favorite food: peanut butter and jelly, ice cream
Favorite color: pink
Favorite animal: bunny rabbit
Favorite subject: music
Sailor Mercury:
Name: Amy [last name possibly Anderson in the show]
Age: 14
Birthday: September 10
Likes: books, chess
Dislikes: practical jokes
Hobbies: computers
Special strengths: smart, strategist
Favorite food: sandwiches
Favorite color: blue
Favorite animal: cat
Favorite subject: math
Sailor Mars:
Name: Raye [last name Hino in the show]
Age: 14
Birthday: April 17
Likes: meditation
Dislikes: TV
Hobbies: reading
Special strengths: Dedication to Causes
Favorite food: vegetarian pizza
Favorite color: red
Favorite animal: panda
Favorite subject: classical literature
Sailor Jupiter:
Name: Lita
Age: 14
Birthday: December 5
Likes: romance novels
Dislikes: cheaters
Hobbies: cooking
Special strengths: strong, athletic
Favorite food: cherry pie, meatloaf
Favorite color: green
Favorite animal: horse
Favorite subject: history
Sailor Venus:
Name: Mina
Age: 14
Birthday: October 22
Likes: sports & dance
Dislikes: show-offs
Hobbies: playing games
Special strengths: leadership
Favorite food: any pasta
Favorite color: orange
Favorite animal: birds
Favorite subject: gymnastics
Queen Beryl:
Name: Queen Beryl
Age: Twenty-something
Birthday: November 1
Likes: Anarchy, Bedlam & Chaos
Dislikes: Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts
Hobbies: snooping, spying & sabotage
Special strengths: ability to control henchmen
Favorite food: liver
Favorite color: black
Favorite animal: scorpion
Favorite topic of conversation: world domination
SAILOR MOON (first Japanese year)
Episode Original Broadcast Date Number (North J. NA. Episode title (North America) (Japan) America) (YTV) ---- --- -------------------------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- (1) 1. A Moon Star is Born 3/7/92 9/11/95 8/28/95 (2) -- ---- 3/14/92 --- --- (3) 2. Talk Radio 3/21/92 9/12/95 8/29/95 (4) 3. Slim City 3/28/92 9/13/95 8/30/95 (5) -- ---- 4/11/92 --- --- (6) -- ---- 4/18/92 --- --- (7) 4. So You Want to be a Superstar 4/25/92 9/14/95 8/31/95 (8) 5. Computer School Blues 5/2/92 9/15/95 9/1/95 (9) 6. Time Bomb 5/9/92 9/18/95 9/6/95 (10) 7. An Uncharmed Life 5/16/92 9/19/95 9/7/95 (11) 8. Nightmare in Dreamland 5/23/92 9/20/95 9/8/95 (12) 9. Cruise Blues 5/30/92 9/21/95 9/11/95 (13) 10. Fight to the Finish 6/6/92 9/22/95 9/12/95 (14) 11. Match Point for Sailor Moon 6/13/92 9/25/95 9/13/95 (15) 12. An Unnatural Phenomena [sic] 6/20/92 9/26/95 9/14/95 (16) 13. Wedding Day Blues 6/27/92 9/27/95 9/15/95 (17) 14. Shutter Bugged 7/4/92 9/28/95 9/18/95 (18) 15. Dangerous Dollies 7/11/92 9/29/95 9/19/95 (19) 16. Who is that Masked Man? 7/25/92 10/2/95 9/20/95 (20) -- ---- 8/1/92 --- --- (21) 17. An Animated Mess 8/8/92 10/3/95 9/21/95 (22) 18. Worth a Princess's Ransom 8/15/92 10/4/95 9/22/95 (23) 19. Molly's Folly 8/22/92 10/5/95 9/25/95 (24) 20. A Friend in Wolf's Clothing 8/29/92 10/6/95 9/26/95 (25) 21. Jupiter Comes Thundering In 9/5/92 10/9/95 9/27/95 (26) 22. The Power of Friendship 9/12/92 10/10/95 9/28/95 (27) 23. Mercury's Mental Match 10/10/92 10/11/95 9/29/95 (28) 24. An Artful Attack 10/17/92 10/12/95 10/2/95 (29) 25. Too Many Girlfriends 10/24/92 10/13/95 10/3/95 (30) 26. Grandpa's Follies 10/31/92 10/16/95 10/4/95 (31) 27. Kitty Chaos 11/7/92 10/17/95 10/5/95 (32) 28. Tuxedo Melvin 11/14/92 10/18/95 10/6/95 (33) 29. Sailor V Makes the Scene 11/21/92 10/19/95 10/9/95 (34) 30. A Crystal Clear Destiny 11/28/92 10/20/95 10/10/95 (35) 31. A Reluctant Princess 12/5/92 10/23/95 10/11/95 (36) 32. Bad Hair Day 12/12/92 10/24/95 10/12/95 (37) 33. Little Miss Manners 12/19/92 10/25/95 10/13/95 (38) 34. Ski Bunny Blues 12/26/92 10/26/95 10/16/95 (39) 35. Ice Princess 1/9/93 10/27/95 10/17/95 (40) 36. Last Resort 1/16/93 10/30/95 10/18/95 (41) 37. Tuxedo Unmasked 1/23/93 10/31/95 10/19/95 (42) -- ---- 1/30/93 --- --- (43) 38. Fractious Friends 2/6/93 11/1/95 10/20/95 (44) 39. The Past Returns 2/13/93 11/2/95 10/23/95 (45)\_40. Day of Destiny 2/20/93 11/3/95 10/24/95 (46)/ 2/27/93SAILOR MOON R (second Japanese year), part 1
Episode Original Broadcast Date Number (North J. NA. Episode title (North America) (Japan) America) (YTV) ---- --- -------------------------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- (47) 41. The Return of Sailor Moon* 3/6/93 11/22/95 11/10/95 (48) 42. So You Want to be in Pictures 3/13/93 11/23/95 11/13/95 (49) 43. A Knight to Remember 3/20/93 11/24/95 11/14/95 (50) 44. VR Madness 4/10/93 11/27/95 11/15/95 (51) 45. Cherry Blossom Time 4/17/93 11/28/95 11/16/95 (52) 46. Kindergarten Chaos 4/24/93 11/29/95 11/17/95 (53) 47. Much Ado about Babysitting 5/1/93 11/30/95 11/20/95 (54) 48. Raye's Day in the Spotlight 5/8/93 12/1/95 11/21/95 (55) 49. Food Fetish 5/22/93 12/4/95 11/22/95 (56) 50. Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall 5/29/93 12/5/95 11/23/95 (57) 51. Detention Doldrums 6/5/93 12/6/95 11/24/95 (58) 52. Secret Garden 6/12/93 12/7/95 11/27/95 (59) 53. Treed 6/19/93 12/8/95 11/28/95* Aired on 9/2/95 as a special on Fox
SAILOR MOON R (second Japanese year),
part 2
(Although these episodes were shown out of order, they're not numbered
out of order; the satellite link numbers them as 54-65, just like they
should be.)
(60) 54. Serena Times Two 6/26/93 11/6/95 10/25/95 (61) 55. The Cosmetic Caper 7/3/93 11/7/95 10/26/95 (62) 56. Sailor Mercury Moving On? 7/10/93 11/8/95 10/27/95 (63) 57. Gramps in a Pickle 7/24/93 11/9/95 10/30/95 (64) 58. Trouble Comes Thundering Down 7/31/93 11/10/95 10/31/95 (65) 59. A Charmed Life 8/14/93 11/13/95 11/1/95 (66) 60. A Curried Favor 8/21/93 11/14/95 11/2/95 (67) -- ---- 8/28/93 --- --- (68) 61. Naughty 'N' Nice 9/11/93 11/15/95 11/3/95 (69) 62. Prediction of Doom 9/25/93 11/16/95 11/6/95 (70) 63. Enemies No More 10/2/93 11/17/95 11/7/95 (71) 64. Checkmate 10/16/93 11/20/95 11/8/95 (72) 65. Sibling Rivalry 10/30/93 11/21/95 11/9/95
Newsgroups:
rec.arts.anime discusses Japanese animation in general. This group has
been renamed to rec.arts.anime.misc.
alt.fan.sailor-moon specifically
for Sailor Moon. Note: the existence of this group does not
mean that Sailor Moon discussion doesn't belong in rec.arts.anime or its
subgroups.
World Wide Web and FTP sites in English:
(Note: I haven't really checked these for a while, and will probably be
going through and listing only exceptional links, because there are just
too many Sailor Moon pages around. Most of which suck. And my net
access is mainly at a service provider, so I won't be able to check out
pages with tons of graphics.)
Japanese series sites:
The best site for the original Japanese series is Hitoshi Doi's page.
The original is located at http://www.win.or.jp/~doi/smoon/smoon.html
and mirrors are at ???.
http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~knzarysk/sm.html
is the site for lots of Sailor Moon links (so many that I can't
possibly check them all out and put them here).
http://suematsu.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~ino/chibiusa.html
is a page in Japan (in English).
http://129.79.146.87/iskandar/sstars.html
is a Sailor Stars page.
North American series sites:
http://www.cyberspc.mb.ca:80/~lchu/SailorMoon/
has sound clips from the US series.
http://www.voicestars.com/ deals with the American voice actors.
Other:
http://www.dsi.unimi.it/Users/Students/ferenczi/indsmen.html
is a page (in English) about the Italian version. Since this page is in
Italy, expect it to be slow.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~cpoon
is a Sailor Moon original sounds page. Some sounds are from the Cantonese
version, but that does use the original music.
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~pkgreen/anime/anime.html
has pictures of the toys, both North American and not.
http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/espie/anime/sm/index.html
covers the French version. (This page is in English, but located in France,
so also expect it to be slow unless you are there.)
Mailing lists:
Send mail to majordomo@taronga.com
with the text "subscribe sailor-moon".
sailor-moon@indiana.edu is another list; less censored (send to majordomo@indiana.edu
with "subscribe sailor-moon")
There is a third list (the Looney list). I don't recommend this list because
of the censorship, which is worse in most ways than the Taronga list. You
are not permitted to discuss religion or homosexuality, which in a show
with a Messiah and five gay characters is rather restrictive, and everything
must be G-rated. The maintainer refuses to let me give the address of his
list in this FAQ on the grounds that I have a biased view and am trying
to claim that Sailor Moon is a "gay show". He also has an abridged
version of this FAQ (which I do not endorse) which has, among other changes,
all references to homosexuality removed.
Fan fiction:
ftp ftp.cs.ubc.ca
in archives/anime-fan-works/Sailor-Moon, for Sailor Moon fan fiction posted
to rec.arts.anime.stories.
If Hitoshi Doi tells you that fansubs do not exist, don't believe him.
There is some translated manga on
http://www.angelfire.com/pages0/sarahk/smmanga.html
(chapters 1-9, and some later chapters). The translator of chapters 1-9
does not wish to release any more translations. (Warning: The 1-9 translations
mistranslate many of the attack names, which were originally different
from the anime names--for in- stance, "Moon Tiara Action" is
really "Moon Frisbee".)
Alex Glover's page which translated a lot of Sailor Moon and Sailor V manga
has been removed by request of Mixx. This page used to be at http://www.nwlink.com/~kurozuki/manga.htm
. There is a translation of the first story from the anime manga there.