If you would like your question(s) to be answered, just email me!
Section #1 = Introduction
Section #2 =Japanese television series
Section #3 = Names of characters
Section #4 = Japanese myths and cultural elements
Section #5 = Cuts, Censorship, and Changes
Section #6 = Questions about plot elements
Section #7 = Questions about the show itself
Section #8 = Movies, comics, video games, etc.
Section #9 = Episode availability
Section #10 = Character personal information
Section #11 = Episode list
In North America, DIC has made 65 episodes available for 1995-1996. Currently, there are no plans for Sailor Moon to air in the U.S. after September 6, the date at which its syndication runs out. YTV in Canada plans to continue airing Sailor Moon, but since no new episodes have been dubbed, the network will only be able to repeat the 65 episodes already available. The information in Animerica and Starlog about new episodes is outdated.
The 65th North American episode corresponds to Japanese episode 72, which is a minor breaking point (defeat of the four Black Moon sisters) but doesn't finish the story. The first time around, the episodes were shown out of order (the Alan/Ann story was supposed to go _between_ the Beryl and the Black Moon story), but the reruns (currently being shown) mostly show them in the proper order.
Sailor Moon is unique as anime that is broadcast in America, because it is moderately promoted, and was well-known to fans before it ever appeared here. (Before 1995, the last anime series that appeared nationwide on US broadcast television at all was Dragon Warrior, 13 episodes, in 1989, and before that, Robotech, in 1986?. And these didn't have 200 licensed products.) So there are many people in the US who have seen the original Japanese version of the series and know information about characters and plots that have yet to appear here, which this FAQ heavily uses.
NA Name Japanese Name Identity Birthday Planet (J) (NA) ------- ------------- -------- -------- ------ --- --- Serena Tsukino Usagi Sailor Moon June 30 Moon 1 1 Darian Chiba Mamoru Tuxedo Mask August 3 Earth 1 1 Amy Mizuno Ami Sailor Mercury September 10 Mercury 8 5 Raye Hino Rei Sailor Mars April 17 Mars 10 7 Lita Kino Makoto Sailor Jupiter December 5 Jupiter 25 21 Mina Aino Minako Sailor Venus October 22 Venus 33 29 Reeny Chibi-Usa S. Chibi-Moon June 30 Moon 60/103 54/? ? Meiou Setsuna Sailor Pluto October 29 Pluto 64/75 58/? ? Ten'ou Haruka Sailor Uranus January 27 Uranus 89/92 ? ? Kaiou Michiru Sailor Neptune March 6 Neptune 89/92 ? ? Tomoe Hotaru Sailor Saturn January 6 Saturn 110/125 ?The sailor scouts in the Sailor Moon series are all 14 years old, and all in junior high. They age a bit in the following series.
Supporting characters:
NA Name JP Names
------- --------
Luna Luna Sailor Moon's magical cat.
Artemis Artemis Sailor Venus's magical cat.
Darian Mamoru Serena's boyfriend, and Tuxedo Mask.
Sam Shingo Serena's younger brother.
Molly Osaka Naru Serena's best friend. She gets attacked by
monsters an awful lot. :-)
Andrew Furuhata Motoki Darian's friend; runs the video arcade where
everyone hangs out.
Melvin Umino Gurio Classmate of Serena and Molly.
Ms.Haruna Sakurada Haruna Serena's teacher.
Serena's Ikuko and Kenji
parents
Villains: Many villains are named after various gems and minerals, a trend
continuing at least into the fourth year of the original episodes (Sailor
Moon SS)
NA version JP version ---------- ---------- Queen Beryl Queen Beryl Jedite Jadeite Neflyte Nephrite Zoycite Zoisite Malachite Kunzite Negaforce Queen Metallia -- Alan Earl Ann Ann -- Catsy Cooan Birdy Beruche Avery Calaveras Prisma Petz Rubeus Rubeus Wiseman Wiseman
Sailor Moon's Japanese name (Tsukino Usagi) means "rabbit on the moon", specifically referring to an Asian legend of a rabbit on the moon pounding the mochi (a rice cake). There are several jokes based on this name: she wears and uses rabbit designs all the time; her hair visually suggests rabbit ears; Luna's computer password is "the rabbit on the moon pounds the mochi"; Chibi-Usa is referred to as "the rabbit" by villains (DIC even kept this a few times); Usagi's _least_ favorite food is carrots, etc. The jokes mostly go over the head of audiences who don't know about the original, though the North American version does claim (on the doll boxes) that her favorite animal is the bunny rabbit. Some dubs in other languages translate her name to keep the jokes; for instance, in the French, German, and Italian versions she's named "Bunny".
Japanese schools: The Japanese school system is uniformly 3 grades of middle school and 3 of high school, so Serena is in the equivalent of 8th grade when in second year middle school.
Uniforms are standard for Japanese public schools, including sailor suits for girls in many places. Both boys' and girls' uniforms were derived from the uniforms worn by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Meiji era (1868-1912).
There is a fierce high school and college entrance exam competition in Japan, and what college you go to ultimately determines a great deal of your standing in your whole life. The exams are nothing like entrance exams in America; they are long and involve a lot of regurgitation. Many students go to special cram schools (juku) for years solely to study for these exams; Amy goes to one (explained as "computer class" in the dub). School is very difficult, and students get hours of homework a day (having much less time for socializing than usually shown in Japanese animation), up to college; college itself is often easier than in America.
Zoisite is a man in the original. The dub changes Zoisite to a woman.
There seem to be several cuts of violence: Raye slapping Serena (twice), Serena spanking Reeny, Reeny shooting Serena with a toy gun, and one episode where a monster strangles Serena.
Episodes 45-46. These episodes end the first series. In them, all the Sailor Scouts are killed (though they're revived in time for the next series). Japanese TV stations were deluged with calls from angry parents when the episodes first came on. The dub combines 45-46 into _one_ standard length episode, and in it nobody dies.
By some fluke of probability, or perhaps by someone sneaking them through, the Sailor Says segments use the cut scenes rather often.
Other changes, not due to censorship per se:
The North American version doesn't use the original Japanese opening or ending credits. It uses the original opening melody (though not the original music) as both the opening and closing, with new words.
The computer graphics scene transitions don't exist in the original.
Essentially all music in the series has been removed, including the music used when Tuxedo Mask appears, the music used for the transformation scenes, and the flute used by Alan (Earl). The flute is especially weird because the replacement flute music is the same for about 8 notes, then suddenly mutates.
All the dialogue has been completely rewritten, as if the person writing it just had a 5 line synopsis and had to make everything up. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern; it can change a serious scene to a joke or the reverse. Exception: episode 10-11, 15, 19, 20, 23, 32-35, 42-8, 55, 60, 64-5.
The dub adds a moral at the end, titled "Sailor Says". (Television stations in the US are required to have a certain percentage of kids' shows with educational content.)
Any scenes where Queen Beryl sees a scene in her crystal ball were dub inventions (except episode 29). Likewise, any scenes which are shown framed did not have frames in the original.
Episodes in the dub with songs in them _did_ have songs in the original. The exception is dub episode 17, where the song was deleted. The dub songs are often from the series, but not necessarily from the same episode.
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. This problem doesn't happen in the manga (they don't appear in front of friends and relatives unless the friends and relatives are unconscious).
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....
Q: There are nine planets, so why don't we see a Sailor Scout for each one?
The ones for the other planets appear later--in the third year of the original, so you won't see them until the season starting Fall 1996. They're not actually part of the team.
The exception is Earth. 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 as his guardian, and his astrological sign is supposedly ruled by the sun.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Reeny (Chibi-Usa)?
She is the daughter of Serena and Darian, time-traveled from the future.
Q: Who is Reeny 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 Reeny is talking to the _ball_ instead of using it as a communicator to talk to another person.
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.
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.
Q: How can Reeny'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: 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 youmas, etc. die, but they probably fall under the usual animation/comics rule that if you're artificial, it's not considered killing to get rid of you even if you _are_ a sentient being.
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: Who are the North American voice actors/actresses:
Serena/Sailor Moon: Tracey Moore (eps. 1-11, 15, 21, 41)
Terri Hawkes (all others)
Amy/Sailor Mercury Karen Bernstein
Raye/Sailor Mars Katie Griffin
Lita/Sailor Jupiter Susan Roman
Mina/Sailor Venus Stephanie Morgenstern
Darien/Tuxedo Mask Rino Romano, Toby Proctor
Reeny Tracey Hoyt
Luna Jill Frappier
Artemis Ron Ruben
Molly Mary Long
Melvin Roland Parliament
Andrew Colin O'Meara
Sammy Julie Lemieux
Serena's Dad David Hubard*
Serena's Mom Barbara Radecki*
Raye's Grandfather David Fraser
Queen Beryl Naz Edwards
Jaedite Tony Daniels
Neflite Kevin Lund
Zoicite Kirsten Bishop
Malachite Dennis Akayama
Alan Vince Carazza
Anne Sabrina Grdevich
Queen Serenity: Wendy Lyon
Monster of the Day: Lisa Dalbello
Announcer: Chris Wiggins
*Spelling uncertain.
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 shown in the proper order.
Currently there are no plans for the North American dubs to continue.
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.
There are three Sailor Moon movies released in Japan. There have been no announcements of North American release for these. Yet. Several Sailor V stories will be released directly to video in Japan. The rumor that the Sailor Moon R movie has been released was apparently started by Arctic Animation, who misunderstood reports of the pilot episode (#41 US) as being the Sailor Moon R movie.
There is no American comic. The Japanese comic (manga) is very different from American comics. It is published in a monthly collection, on news-print, at one chapter per week, mostly in black and white (which is typical for a Japanese comic), and the chapters get collected into volumes (tankoubon) about the size and cost of a paperback book (all B&W) whenever there are enough. There is also a Japanese Sailor V manga. These are all, of course, in Japanese (a fan translation exists of the first Sailor Moon chapter); you can get them at Japanese bookstores. There is a French translation of the manga, supposedly fairly good; it is done by Glenat publishers. 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.)
There are many Japanese video games for just about every system. The The games exist in the arcade and for the PC Engine Duo (TG-16), Super Famicom (SNES), Gameboy, Mega Drive (Genesis), Game Gear, 3DO, and Playdia (a Japan- only system). There aren't any games for the Playstation or Saturn (though one for each is upcoming). 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, and Playstation _may_ play with disk swapping on early machines.
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.
Japanese animation fans have had subtitled versions of the original Japanese versions since _long_ before the American version, avoiding the cuts and the changes. You'll have to ask around to get these, since it's technically illegal to copy even shows that are broadcast for free. (Besides, I don't know where to get them myself. If you have some, please tell me....)
Sailor V animation is being released direct to video in Japan. No news yet on North American versions.
There is an audio tape for US episode 12 (Unnatural Phenomena).
Another source of episodes may be Chinatown, if you have a Chinatown and can speak whatever dialect the episodes are dubbed in. (Or if you can read Chinese and find a Chinese-subbed one.)
Buena Vista Home Video has released episodes in North America on tape. Volume 1 includes episodes 1 and 2. Volume 2 includes episodes 5 and 7. Volume 3 includes episodes 9 and 14. They are $10 each. So far, this is a Toys 'R' Us exclusive.
The American soundtrack has been released on CD.
The info is from the back of the NA 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).
Sailor Moon Sailor Mercury Sailor Mars
----------- -------------- -----------
Name: Serena Amy Raye
Age: 14 14 14
Birthday: June 30 September 10 April 17
Likes: eating, books, chess meditation
video games
Dislikes: surprise tests practical jokes TV
in school
Hobbies: shopping computers reading
Strong point: loyal friend smart, strategist Dedication to Causes
Fav. food: peanut butter and sandwiches vegetarian pizza
jelly, ice cream
Fav. color: pink blue red
Fav. animal: bunny rabbit cat panda
Fav. subject: music math classical literature
Sailor Jupiter Sailor Mercury Queen Beryl
-------------- -------------- -----------
Name: Lita Mina Queen Beryl
Age: 14 14 20+
Birthday: December 5 October 22 November 1
Likes: romance novels sports & dance Anarchy, Bedlam & Chaos
Dislikes: cheaters show-offs Sailor Moon and
the Sailor Scouts
Hobbies: cooking playing games snooping, spying
& sabotage
Strong point: strong, athletic leadership ability to control
henchmen
Fav. food: cherry pie, meatloaf any pasta liver
Fav. color: green orange black
Fav. animal: horse birds scorpion
Fav. subject: history gymnastics world domination
The first run of Sailor Moon was originally broadcast in the US from 9/11/95 to 12/8/95, while on YTV (Canada) it appeared from 8/28/95 to 11/28/95.
SAILOR MOON (first Japanese year)
Original Current
Episode Japanese Broadcast
Number Broadcast
J. NA. Episode title (North America) YTV U.S.
---- --- -------------------------------- ---------- ---------- ----------
(1) 1. A Moon Star is Born 3/7/92 5/31/96 6/10/96
(2) -- ---- 3/14/92 --- ---
(3) 2. Talk Radio 3/21/92 6/3/96 6/11/96
(4) 3. Slim City 3/28/92 6/4/96 6/12/96
(5) -- ---- 4/11/92 --- ---
(6) -- ---- 4/18/92 --- ---
(7) 4. So You Want to be a Superstar 4/25/92 6/5/96 6/13/96
(8) 5. Computer School Blues 5/2/92 6/6/96 6/14/96
(9) 6. Time Bomb 5/9/92 6/7/96 6/17/96
(10) 7. An Uncharmed Life 5/16/92 6/10/96 6/18/96
(11) 8. Nightmare in Dreamland 5/23/92 6/11/96 6/19/96
(12) 9. Cruise Blues 5/30/92 6/12/96 6/20/96
(13) 10. Fight to the Finish 6/6/92 6/13/96 6/21/96
(14) 11. Match Point for Sailor Moon 6/13/92 6/14/96 6/24/96
(15) 12. An Unnatural Phenomena [sic] 6/20/92 6/17/96 6/25/96
(16) 13. Wedding Day Blues 6/27/92 6/18/96 6/26/96
(17) 14. Shutter Bugged 7/4/92 6/19/96 6/27/96
(18) 15. Dangerous Dollies 7/11/92 6/20/96 6/28/96
(19) 16. Who is that Masked Man? 7/25/92 6/21/96 7/1/96
(20) -- ---- 8/1/92 --- ---
(21) 17. An Animated Mess 8/8/92 6/24/96 7/2/96
(22) 18. Worth a Princess's Ransom 8/15/92 6/25/96 7/3/96
(23) 19. Molly's Folly 8/22/92 6/26/96 7/4/96
(24) 20. A Friend in Wolf's Clothing 8/29/92 6/27/96 7/5/96
(25) 21. Jupiter Comes Thundering In 9/5/92 6/28/96 7/8/96
(26) 22. The Power of Friendship 9/12/92 7/1/96 7/9/96
(27) 23. Mercury's Mental Match 10/10/92 7/2/96 7/10/96
(28) 24. An Artful Attack 10/17/92 7/3/96 7/11/96
(29) 25. Too Many Girlfriends 10/24/92 7/4/96 7/12/96
(30) 26. Grandpa's Follies 10/31/92 7/5/96 7/15/96
(31) 27. Kitty Chaos 11/7/92 7/8/96 7/16/96
(32) 28. Tuxedo Melvin 11/14/92 7/9/96 7/17/96
(33) 29. Sailor V Makes the Scene 11/21/92 7/10/96 7/18/96
(34) 30. A Crystal Clear Destiny 11/28/92 7/11/96 7/19/96
(35) 31. A Reluctant Princess 12/5/92 7/12/96 7/22/96
(36) 32. Bad Hair Day 12/12/92 7/15/96 7/23/96
(37) 33. Little Miss Manners 12/19/92 7/16/96 7/24/96
(38) 34. Ski Bunny Blues 12/26/92 7/17/96 7/25/96
(39) 35. Ice Princess 1/9/93 7/18/96 7/26/96
(40) 36. Last Resort 1/16/93 7/19/96 7/29/96
(41) 37. Tuxedo Unmasked 1/23/93 7/22/96 7/30/96
(42) -- ---- 1/30/93 --- ---
(43) 38. Fractious Friends 2/6/93 7/23/96 7/31/96
(44) 39. The Past Returns 2/13/93 7/24/96 8/1/96
(45)\_40. Day of Destiny 2/20/93 7/25/96 8/2/96
(46)/ 2/27/93
SAILOR MOON R (second Japanese year), part 1
Original Current
Episode Japanese Broadcast
Number Broadcast
J. NA. Episode title (North America) YTV U.S.
---- --- -------------------------------- ---------- ---------- ----------
(47) 41. The Return of Sailor Moon* 3/6/93 7/26/96 8/5/96
(48) 42. So You Want to be in Pictures 3/13/93 7/29/96 8/6/96
(49) 43. A Knight to Remember 3/20/93 7/30/96 8/7/96
(50) 44. VR Madness 4/10/93 7/31/96 8/8/96
(51) 45. Cherry Blossom Time 4/17/93 8/1/96 8/9/96
(52) 46. Kindergarten Chaos 4/24/93 8/2/96 8/12/96
(53) 47. Much Ado about Babysitting 5/1/93 8/5/96 8/13/96
(54) 48. Raye's Day in the Spotlight 5/8/93 8/6/96 8/14/96
(55) 49. Food Fetish 5/22/93 8/7/96 8/15/96
(56) 50. Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall 5/29/93 8/8/96 8/16/96
(57) 51. Detention Doldrums 6/5/93 8/9/96 8/19/96
(58) 52. Secret Garden 6/12/93 8/12/96 8/20/96
(59) 53. Treed 6/19/93 8/13/96 8/21/96
*Aired on 9/2/95 as a special on Fox
SAILOR MOON R (second Japanese year), part 2
(60) 54. Serena Times Two 6/26/93 8/14/96 8/22/96
(61) 55. The Cosmetic Caper 7/3/93 8/15/96 8/23/96
(62) 56. Sailor Mercury Moving On? 7/10/93 8/16/96 8/26/96
(63) 57. Gramps in a Pickle 7/24/93 8/19/96 8/27/96
(64) 58. Trouble Comes Thundering Down 7/31/93 8/20/96 8/28/96
(65) 59. A Charmed Life 8/14/93 8/21/96 8/29/96
(66) 60. A Curried Favor 8/21/93 8/22/96 8/30/96
(67) -- ---- 8/28/93 --- ---
(68) 61. Naughty 'N' Nice 9/11/93 8/23/96 9/2/96
(69) 62. Prediction of Doom 9/25/93 8/26/96 9/3/96
(70) 63. Enemies No More 10/2/93 8/27/96 9/4/96
(71) 64. Checkmate 10/16/93 8/28/96 9/5/96
(72) 65. Sibling Rivalry 10/30/93 8/29/96 9/6/96
Home
Images, songs, character names, titles, etc.
are copyrighted by their respective rights holders
© Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, Toei Douga