The Sailor Moon manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Naoko Takeuchi. The series takes place in Tokyo, Japan, where the , a group of ten magical girls, are formed to combat an assortment of antagonists attempting to take over the Earth, the Solar System, and the Milky Way galaxy. Each Guardian undergoes a transformation which grants her a uniform in her own theme colors and a unique elemental power. The ten Sailor Guardians are named after the planets of the Solar System, with the exception of Earth but including its moon. While many of the characters are humans with superhuman strength and magical abilities, the cast also includes anthropomorphic animals and extraterrestrial lifeforms.
The series follows the adventures of the titular protagonist, Sailor Moon, her lover Tuxedo Mask, her cat advisor Luna, and her guardians and friends: Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. They are later joined by Chibiusa (Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's daughter from the future) and four more guardians: Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. The series' antagonists include the Dark Kingdom, the Black Moon Clan, the Death Busters, the Dead Moon Circus, and Shadow Galactica.
Takeuchi's initial concept was a story called Codename: Sailor V, in which Sailor V discovers her magical powers and protects the people of Earth. After the Codename: Sailor V manga was proposed for an anime adaptation, Takeuchi changed her concept to include ten superheroines who defend the galaxy. The manga's anime, live-action, musical, and video game adaptations feature some original characters created by the production staff and not by Takeuchi.
Creation and conception
Naoko Takeuchi initially wrote Codename: Sailor V, a one-shot manga which focused on Sailor Venus. When Sailor V was proposed for an anime adaptation by Toei Animation, Takeuchi changed the concept to include Sailor Venus as a part of a "sentai" (team of five) and created the characters of Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter.
The name "Sailor Senshi" comes from sailor fuku, a type of Japanese school uniform that the main characters' fighting uniforms are based on, and the Japanese word senshi, which can mean "soldier", "warrior", "guardian", or "fighter". Takeuchi created the term by fusing English and Japanese words. The DIC Entertainment/Cloverway English adaptation of the anime changed it to "Sailor Scout" for most of its run. According to Takeuchi, only females can be Sailor Guardians. In the anime's fifth season, the Sailor Starlights are depicted as men transforming into women when changing from their normal forms into Sailor Guardians, rather than just being women disguising as men as they appear in the manga.
Takeuchi wanted to create a series about girls in outer space, and her editor, Fumio Osano, suggested that Takeuchi add the "sailor suit" motif to the uniform worn by the Sailor Guardians. Takeuchi settled on a more unified appearance in later stages of character design. Among the protagonist Sailor Guardians, Sailor Venus (during her time as Sailor V) has the only outfit that varies significantly from the others. Sailor Moon, whatever form she takes, always has a more elaborate costume than any of the others. She also gains individual power-ups more frequently than any other character. Sailor Guardians originating from outside the Solar System have different and varying outfits; however, one single feature – the sailor collar – connects them all.
Most of the antagonists in the series have names that are related to minerals and gemstones, including Queen Beryl and the Four Kings of Heaven, the Black Moon Clan, Kaolinite and the Witches 5, and most of the members of the Dead Moon Circus. Members of the Amazoness Quartet are named after the first four asteroids to be discovered. The Sailor Animamates have the prefix "Sailor" (despite not being true Sailor Guardians in the manga), followed by the name of a metal and the name of an animal.
Main characters
Sailor Moon
is the main protagonist of the series. Usagi is a careless fourteen-year-old girl with an enormous capacity for love, compassion, and understanding. Usagi transforms into the heroine called Sailor Moon, the Guardian of Love and Justice. At the beginning of the series, she is a self-described immature crybaby who resents fighting evil and wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. As the story progresses, however, she embraces the chance to use her power to protect those she cares about. Her theme color is pink.