is a fictional character in the Sailor Moon media franchise. She is a black cat who has the ability to talk, and serves as a mentoring figure for the titular character and her companions, the Sailor Guardians. Luna makes her debut in the first act or episode of each version of the series, in which she meets Usagi Tsukino and tells her she is Sailor Moon, and gives her a brooch that allows her to transform. Luna features prominently in the first story arc, and although she becomes a supporting character for the rest of the series, she keeps providing the Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask with advice, her family relationships are explored alongside her partner Artemis and their daughter from the future Diana, and she even manages to transform into a human being at key points of the series (including the ability to transform into a Sailor Guardian in the 2003 live-action series).
Profile
Luna first appears in the series as a mysterious black cat with a crescent moon mark on the forehead that meets Usagi and tells her she is Sailor Moon, a Guardian destined to fight evil. Luna gives Usagi the mission to find her fellow Sailor Guardians and Princess Serenity, whom, unbeknown to both of them, is Usagi herself. The two of them meet Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, and Makoto Kino, whom Luna assist to awake respectively as Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter, before encountering Sailor Venus and Artemis, a male white cat that also has the ability to speak and who has been secretly providing Luna with details on her mission.
Halfway through the first arc, Luna's backstory is revealed: in the Silver Millennium, she was a servant to Princess Serenity, sworn never to leave her side, as well as an advisor to her mother, Queen Serenity. When the Moon Kingdom fell at the hands of the Dark Kingdom, she and Artemis were put into a long sleep and sent down to Earth to look after the Sailor Guardians, who would eventually be reborn there. Part of Luna's memory was suppressed, in order to make her task easier; she only knew that she was supposed to find and awaken the Sailor Guardians of the inner Solar System. Further details on Luna and Artemis' origin are revealed in the final arc of the manga, in which it is stated they were born in Planet Mau, home planet of the evil Sailor Tin Nyanko.
Over the course of the series, Luna develops a close bond with Usagi, though early on it is on uneasy terms, as Luna often upsets Usagi by giving her advice she does not want, often leading to comic results. The whole Tsukino family adopts her as a pet, even when they are unaware of her true identity. In an anime-only storyline, Shingo Tsukino is shown to be reluctant to accept Luna at first, and his animosity is enhanced by an attack from the Dark Kingdom; however, at the end of the episode, he seems to be friendly towards her. Luna also becomes good friends with Ami. Luna and Artemis have an implied romantic relationship, which is confirmed when they meet Diana, who is their daughter from the future. During the Sailor Stars anime, Luna also develops a crush on Kou Yaten, the male civilian form of one of the Sailor Starlights.
In the live-action series, Luna is portrayed as a stuffed toy rather than a real cat. Usually she is represented by a puppet, though CGI effects are used for complicated scenes.
Aspects and forms
Even when Luna does not have as many incarnations and special powers as the Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask, she nonetheless manages to get some transformations, as well as a long lifetime virtually spanned between the Silver Millennium era and the 30th century.
Human form
The character is first shown to get the ability to transform into a human being in the manga special The Lover of Princess Kaguya, which was released a month after the end of the third arc of the series. In this side story, Luna falls in love with a human named Kakeru. It is stated that Kakeru's wish is to meet Princess Kaguya someday. During the climax of the story, Sailor Moon uses the Silver Crystal to transform Luna into a human woman. At first, Kakeru thinks this woman is Kaguya, but then he notices Luna's crescent moon mark in her forehead and realizes it is her. This side story was adapted into Sailor Moon S: The Movie, which marks Luna's only transformation into a human in the first anime adaptation.
Luna's human form appears in the main story timeline in the climax of the Dream arc, after Queen Nehelenia's defeat, alongside Artemis and Diana, who also appear in their human forms. The three of them appear once more as humans in the final arc, when Tin Nyanko attacks them.