ONTD Original™: 50 Things You Might Not Know About 'Sailor Moon'

It's that time of the year, Moonies. The anime that revolutionized shoujo as we know it first aired today twenty-six years ago in Japan in 1992. So, on this anniversary, come and join other Moonies celebrate the one and only - Sailor Moon! Below are fifty bits of trivia that you may or may not know.

Sailor V & Artemis
Sailor Moon is a sequel

Before the Sailor Moon manga was ever a thing, mangaka Naoko Takeuchi created Codename: Sailor V, which starred Minako and Artemis. There were plans for an OAV series, but they decided on a Sailor Moon TV anime instead. ☽☽☽

Jupiter channels Bruce Lee
Enter the Jupiter

In episode 41 of the classic anime, Sailor Jupiter took on Dark Prince Endymion by herself while Mercury got an innocent to safety. The hand gestures Jupiter made were modeled after Bruce Lee's in the movies Enter the Dragon and Game of Death. ☽☽☽

The Girl in Red Shoes
The Girl in Red Shoes

Sailor Moon takes place in the real-life Azabu-Juban district of the Minato Ward in Tokyo. Many of the locations in the series can be found in reality. This includes the Girl in Red Shoes, a statue inspired by the "Red Shoes" poem. The poem is based on Kimi, a child who was left in the care of an American missionary couple in Japan when her birth parents were unable to take her with them to work on a farm. The Americans eventually moved back to the USA without Kimi, who was sick with tuberculosis. Kimi then died in an orphanage in Azabu, Tokyo. ☽☽☽

The Hikawa Shrine was not seen in the first Korean dub.
Korean censorship

Due to cultural and political issues between Japan and Korea at the time, many elements of the classic anime were censored or edited out of the first Korean dub. Examples include skipping episodes featuring the Hikawa Shrine (due to references of the Shinto religion), erasing the kanji on Rei's ofuda, and the complete removal of the Amazon Trio's arc in SuperS. A white bikini was painted on nude Usagi in episode 200, too (in the new dub, her and Galaxia's nude bodies are instead shrouded in a white glow). The new Korean dub, however, is less censored. ☽☽☽

The Amazoness Quartet as the Sailor Quartet.
Sailor Quartet?

In the manga, the Amazoness Quartet was revealed to be Chibi-Moon's own team of Sailor Guardians - the Sailor Quartet (or Asteroid Guardians, which is a fan-coined term). The classic anime skipped this subplot altogether and the Quartet was never mentioned again after the events of SuperS☽☽☽

Before The Bachelor made roses a thing...
No rose for you

Tuxedo Mask is known for throwing his signature red roses in battle, but it is only in the classic anime that he did this. ☽☽☽

Ail and An.
Ail and An

The success of the original anime urged a second season, but Naoko had yet to finish creating the new story. So, the anime made a filler arc for the first part of R. This included the introduction of aliens Ail and An, two characters that never appeared in the manga. Once the story was concluded, Ail and An were not seen or mentioned again. ☽☽☽

Nekonell, a Daimon, from Sailor Moon S.
No boys

In the classic anime, the majority of the monsters-of-the-day were female. In the TV series continuity alone, there were about 36 male monsters total (not counting ones whose genders were flipped for foreign dubs). The only class of monsters to be all-female was the Cardians in R. ☽☽☽

The Garnet Orb, the Space Sword, and the Deep Aqua Mirror as seen in the classic anime.
The real-life basis of the Talismans

Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto's weapons were based on the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan: the Kusanagi sword, the Yata no Kagami mirror, and the Yasakani no Magatama jewel.  ☽☽☽

The cover of Chieko Baisho's "Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni" vinyl.
"Moonlight Densetsu," cha-cha?

The melody of the iconic "Moonlight Densetsu" (Moonlight Legend) song that served as the opening theme for four out of five seasons of the classic anime is based on the 1965 song "Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni" (Goodbye at the End of the Dance) by Chieko Baisho.  ☽☽☽

Starting in episode six, the Sailor Guardians are no longer in silhouette during the opening credits.
What the veil?

In the first opening credits for the classic anime's first season, there is a scene where Sailors Moon, Mercury, and Mars are flying toward the screen, wearing full-body veils. Until episode 6, though, they never revealed themselves. During the second version of that opening, Moon and her two fellow Sailor Guardians cast the veils off. ☽☽☽

The Sailor Starlights as seen in the manga.
Short hair? Nope

Naoko Takeuchi intended for the Sailor Starlights to have short hair in the manga, but Bandai insisted that she add long hair for the sake of the toy dolls. ☽☽☽

Chaos as seen in the manga.
Chaos, the origin of all evil... literally

While translations may not be entirely accurate, it is generally believed that all of Sailor Moon's principal enemies (Metalia, Death Phantom, Pharaoh 90, and Nehelenia) are aspects or even incarnations of the greatest evil in the galaxy, Chaos. This idea was left out of the classic anime. ☽☽☽

Mars performing Fire Soul.
Fire... SOUL!

Rei Hino's name (火の霊), when written in kanji, actually translates to "soul of fire." ☽☽☽

Gadzulla as seen in a movie during episode 141 of the classic anime.
It's Godzilla, it's Gamera, it's... Gadzulla?

Remember when Minako two-timed Hawk's Eye and Tiger's Eye in SuperS? Well, the movie she went to Hawk's Eye with was called 'Gadzulla' (or 'Gazula'). This was clearly an homage to both Godzilla and Gamera, two well-known giant kaiju (monster) in Japan. Gadzulla looked like Gamera yet roared like Godzilla. ☽☽☽

Mercury performing Mercury Aqua Mist.
Mercury finally kills something

Until the live-action drama adaptation, Sailor Mercury never defeated an enemy by herself (not counting Ami's First Love, which isn't even canon). The 2003-2004 series opted to give Mercury a lethal attack that actually did more than create fog or get someone wet. With her Mercury Aqua Mist, Mercury destroyed several enemies. ☽☽☽

The real-life fashion inspirations for several outfits in Sailor Moon.
Straight from the runaway

Naoko Takeuchi is a big fan of fashion. So, it's no surprise that she drew inspiration from the designs of Christian LaCroix, Thierry Mugler, Chanel, and Christian Dior. ☽☽☽

Enydmion of the Earth Kingdom is considered to be the planet's guardian.
Mamoru is Sailor Earth?

Though it has never once been stated in any adaptation that there is a Sailor Earth, Naoko Takeuchi more or less confirmed that Mamoru/Endymion is the appointed, equivalent guardian of Earth. Not only does he possess the planet's Star Seed, he also feels pain when the Earth is being attacked (i.e., when Nehelenia's power begins to attack the city in SuperS). ☽☽☽

Ikuko, Kenji, and Shingo Tsukino as seen in the classic anime.
Family matters

Usagi's Earth family consists of her parents, Kenji and Ikuko, and her brother, Shingo. Their names are based on those of Naoko Takeuchi's real life parents and brother. ☽☽☽

Mamoru's anime car and a 1990 Alfa Romeo SZ.
How did Mamoru afford that car?

For some reason, classic anime Mamoru was loaded enough to buy both a 1990 Alfa Romeo SZ and a motorcycle that resembled a Bimota Tesi 1D. His parents were dead, and there was no mention of him having a benefactor like in the live-action drama. ☽☽☽

Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter performing unknown attacks.
Missing 'Planet Power' attacks?

For the third part of the manga, known as Infinity, the four Inner Guardians received new Planet Powers. However, these upgrades were absent from the third season of the classic anime, S. In the opening animation directed by Ikuko Ito, though, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter can be seen using new attacks that fans have speculated to respectively be their "Planet Power" ones from the manga: Mars Snake Fire, Mercury Aqua Mirage, and Jupiter Coconut Cyclone. Mercury eventually got her Aqua Mirage in Ami's First Love. ☽☽☽

A promotional image for the SuperS movie.
Original SuperS movie idea influenced Utena

S and SuperS series director Kunihiko Ikuhara confirmed that the original idea for the SuperS movie was about Uranus racing on a black Pegasus to the end of the world to save a slumbering Neptune after stealing the Talismans. The story later inspired Ikuhara's series Revolutionary Girl Utena. ☽☽☽

Sailor Venus as seen in the live-action adaptation.
It's not a J-drama unless someone dies from an illness

The Minako/Sailor Venus seen in the live-action series was greatly different from the ones seen in any other adaptation. She was distant, serious, and notably hard on others when they didn't live up to her standards. Truth was, Minako kept herself at a distance from the other Guardians because she was sick from an undisclosed illness. Rei was the closest with Minako, and Minako's sudden passing wrecked her. To date, this was the first and only instance where a Sailor Guardian died of natural causes.  ☽☽☽

Slap some sense into her!
Slap her, she's Sailor Moon!

It seemed like a pastime in the classic anime to slap Sailor Moon. Mainly from her immediate Sailor Guardian pals. Mars, Mecury, and Uranus have all slapped Moon once. 

Rei holds a bag with Wapiko, the pink goldfish from the anime Goldfish Warning!
Pink goldfish?

The series director for seasons one and two of the classic anime, Junichi Sato, also directed Goldfish Warning! This is why there are random references to the series throughout the first season of Sailor Moon☽☽☽

Sailor Moon R: The Movie.
R movie - a remake?

Fans have always wondered why the first movie's villain Fiore resembles Ail and An. Series director Kunihiko Ikuhara explained that the R movie was intended to be a renewal/remake of the Ail and An story.  ☽☽☽

Saturn performing her lethal technique in Crystal.
Reborn or Ribbon?

Fans still get confused over whether Saturn's ultimate special move is Death Reborn Revolution or Death Ribbon Revolution. In Viz's streaming translation of Crystal's Act 37, they subtitled the attack as "Ribbon." However, the manga spells the word as "ribōn," (リボーン) which is the Japanese transliteration of "reborn." Both versions of the attack names are used in the related '90s video games. ☽☽☽

Mercury and Nephrite - OTP?
Mercury & Nephrite: OTP?

In the manga, Naoko Takeuchi envisioned past-life Mercury and Zoisite to be a romantic couple. Yet in the live-action series, Mercury and Nephrite had a flirtatious relationship. ☽☽☽

The four tallest Sailor Guardians.
Tallest Sailors?

Many sources have varying stats for the four tallest Sailor Guardians in the franchise, but the fact remains is that Jupiter (5'6"), Uranus (5'8-510"), Pluto (5'9"-5'10"), and Star Maker (5'10"-6'2") are all the tallest of the bunch.

Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, a manga-only villain.
Sailor mothers?

Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon of Shadow Galactica had a child, which made her one of two known Sailor Guardians to have children (the other being Moon).  ☽☽☽

In the name of the Moon, "I love you!"
"I love you"

The hand gesture (pinky and index fingers up, middle and ring fingers down, and thumb out) Sailor Moon makes during her iconic speech means "I love you" in ASL. ☽☽☽

Sailor Tin Nyanko and Luna and Artemis.
Meow Mau!

In the manga, it is revealed that Luna and Artemis and Sailor Tin Nyanko are all from the same planet - Mau. Tin Nyanko murdered Sailor Mau, the true Sailor Guardian of their home planet, and took her Sailor Crystal.  ☽☽☽

The gang tries to sober Usagi up.
Usagi is a cheap date

In the classic anime, Usagi got drunk off one alcoholic drink twice - in season one and then again in season three. The legal age to drink in Japan is 20, but apparently that's not heavily enforced?  ☽☽☽

Rei/Mars was based on J-pop singer and idol Alisa Mizuki.
Real-life inspiration for Rei

Naoko Takeuchi confirmed that Rei was visually based on J-pop idol Alisa Mizuki, who sang the ending theme for Sailor Stars. There was a character coincidentally named Alice Itsuki in that same season. ☽☽☽

Makoto without her trademark ponytail.
Let your hair down

It was incredibly rare to ever see Makoto without her hair up in a ponytail. She only let it down in episode 78 of R. In the live-action series, though, Makoto had various hairstyles. ☽☽☽

Chieko Kawabe as Sailor Mercury.
Naru is Mercury?

Naru's live-action series actor Chieko Kawabe previously portrayed Ami/Mercury in several of the musicals. ☽☽☽

The Amazon Trio as seen in SuperS.
The Amazon Trio

The classic anime decided to extend the Amazon Trio's roles. Whereas in the manga, the three were one-time minions created by PallaPalla. ☽☽☽

The heroines of Wedding Peach.
Wedding Peach

The character designer for the first two seasons of the classic anime, Kazuko Tadano, later worked on another magical girl show, Wedding Peach. The voice actor for Usagi/Moon, Kotono Mitsuishi, even played one of the Wedding Peach villains - Potamos. ☽☽☽

Manga Rei pictured with her favorite flower.
Casa Blanca lily

Naoko Takeuchi chose the Casa Blanca lily as Rei's favorite flower because it's her classic voice actor Michie Tomizawa's favorite.  There is a manga side story about Rei called "Casa Blanca Memory." ☽☽☽

Haruka's Lip Rod.
You get a wand, you get a wand, everyone gets a wand!

In the manga, the four Inner Guardians stopped using wands to transform after the Black Moon arc. The Outers never used wands to begin with. The classic anime made sure transformation items were always a thing; Crystal wasn't as consistent, despite following the manga more closely. The Inners continue to use wands whereas Haruka and Michiru do not. ☽☽☽

The live-action Secret Base's table with five chairs.
Assigned seating

The table in the live-action series' Secret Base had five chairs: one for each Guardian (pink/Usagi, purple/Rei, blue/Ami, green/Makoto, white/Minako or Luna). The fifth one was white until Act 47 when Minako finally joined the group. The now orange chair eventually was abandoned once Minako died. ☽☽☽

A view of the Tau Star System in Crystal.
Tau is real?

The Death Busters are from Tau Star System. Yet does this place really exist? Sort of. Fans assume the Death Busters are from Tau Ceti, which is real, but the Death Busters being from there is not confirmed. ☽☽☽

Pluto's castle, Charon.
Castles in the sky

In the manga, the other Guardians have their own respective castles: Mercury/Mariner, Mars/Phobos Deimos, Jupiter/Io, Venus/Magellan, Uranus/Miranda, Neptune/Triton, Pluto/Charon, and Saturn/Titan. With the exception of Venus and Mercury, all the castles are named after the planet's moons. ☽☽☽

Pluto & Saturn as seen in the classic anime.
Pluto & Saturn - one and the same?

Some fans think that Pluto and Saturn are inspired by the same mythological figures. The confusion comes from the name misnomers. Roman Pluto's Greek counterpart is Hades (God of the Underworld) and Roman Saturn's is Cronus (Titan of the Harvest). Since Pluto's attack is called Chronos Typhoon, fans mistake her mythological inspiration to be Chronos, when it's actually Hades. ☽☽☽

Sailor Moon as seen in Toon Makers' remake.
The Sailor Moon remake that never happened... thankfully

Before DiC adapted the original anime into English, Toon Makers and Renaissance Atlantic tried to create a new show altogether based on the source material. This version, which was never picked up, was a mix of live-action scenes and original animation. Poor quality footage leaked years ago and it can be seen here. ☽☽☽

The creator of Sailor Moon holding a toy.
More Moon than Neptune

In a 1996 interview with North American anime magazine Animerica, Naoko Takeuchi shared that of all the Sailor Guardians, her own personality was closest to that of Usagi's. The one most unlike her was Neptune.  ☽☽☽

Kae Araki, the voice actor for Chibi-Usa and temporarily Usagi in the classic anime.
Why does Sailor Moon sound different in these episodes?

For episodes 44-50 of the classic anime, Kae Araki stood in for Kotono Mitsuishi (Usagi/Moon) because Mitsuishi was ill. Araki later returned to play Chibi-Usa. In this series, Usagi was the only Sailor Guardian to be voiced by more than one actor, not counting childhood flashbacks where younger actors were used. ☽☽☽

The belt that Sailor Venus wore.
Love beads

Other than in the first anime, Sailor Venus usually wore a ruby-adorned chain called the Venus Chain (later upgraded to the Love Whip). She used it to perform several attacks, including Venus Love-Me Chain, in the manga, Crystal, and the live-action series. It is inspired by the golden girdle worn by Aphrodite/Venus.  ☽☽☽

The Sailor Starlights as seen in the classic anime.
The difference between the manga and anime Starlights

In Sailor Stars, the Sailor Starlights were men that transformed into women. Yet in the manga, they were always women (who happened to dress as men). Naoko Takeuchi was not pleased with this change as her big rule was that Sailor Guardians were always female. However, Seiya's crush on Usagi is consistent in both mediums. ☽☽☽

Super Sailor Moon holding baby Hotaru.
A mother to us all

In the R movie, Chibi-Usa told the cats that Sailor Moon is everyone's mother. What did she mean by this? Director Kunihiko Ikuhara explained that in that continuity, Usagi/Moon was surprisingly insightful and able to see the good in people when others didn't. This may explain why she insisted on healing/saving enemies more than killing them, which her manga equivalent did without much hesitation. Like a mother can be, Sailor Moon can be surprisingly understanding. Not to mention, forgiveness and restoration could be considered to be more powerful than death and destruction.  ☽☽☽

This poll is closed.

Who is your favorite Sailor Guardian?

Sailor Moon
Sailor Mercury
Sailor Mars
Sailor Jupiter
Sailor Venus
Sailor Chibi-Moon
Sailor Uranus
Sailor Neptune
Sailor Pluto
Sailor Saturn
Sailor Starlights

How did you first come across Sailor Moon, ONTD?
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