Death Busters
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 The Death Busters logo |
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| Universe | Sailor Moon universe |
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| Type | Scientific research group (anime) |
| Founded | Professor Soichi Tomoe, unknown date |
| Location | Infinity Academy, Tennōzu Isle, Tokyo Japan |
| Key people | Professor Tomoe Kaolinite |
| Purpose | To resurrect Mistress 9, who would release Pharaoh 90 and bring about the Silence |
| Technologies | Daimon eggs, Fire Buster flamethrower, laboratory equipment, nanotechnology |
| Subsidiaries | Witches 5 |
The Death Busters are a group of antagonists in the Sailor Moon metaseries. They are the primary villains of the third story arc, called Infinity in the manga and S in the anime. In the English dub, they are officially called the Bureau of Bad Behavior, but sometimes referred to as "The Heart Snatchers."
The goal of the Death Busters is the resurrection of Mistress 9 in order to bring the alien creature Pharaoh 90 to Earth, which would wipe out all life in an event known as the Silence. The group is led by Professor Tomoe, a handsome mad scientist, assisted by a woman named Kaolinite. They employ the Witches 5 to help carry out their schemes.
In the anime, creatures called Daimons serve as monsters-of-the-day. These life forms are bred in special pods that release monsters from the most mundane of objects, and are employed by Kaolinite and the Witches 5. They hunt down Pure Heart Crystals, which may contain the mystical Talismans, or may simply be used to give power to Mistress 9.
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[edit] Story
The Death Busters were formed after a terrible lab accident in which Hotaru Tomoe was almost killed. In exchange for her reanimation by Pharaoh 90, her father, Professor Tomoe, allows Hotaru to be partially possessed by Mistress 9, and lets himself be possessed by a being called Germatoid. Through this creature, Pharaoh 90 causes Tomoe to found Infinity Academy and the Death Busters organization. He begins to create other creatures like Germatoid, called Daimons, which also serve Pharaoh 90's purposes. Pharaoh 90 seeks to invoke an apocalyptic cataclysm (the Silence) on Earth. Mistress 9 bides her time in Hotaru's body, waiting for the strength to emerge and open a conduit to the Tau Ceti Star System, where Pharaoh 90 is waiting. As the "Messiah of Silence," Sailor Saturn, Hotaru could use the power of the Holy Grail ("Purity Chalice" in the English dub), and this was to be exploited for the Death Busters' own gain.
Pure Heart Crystals are the items sought by the Death Busters. They literally represent the purity of someone's desires (and glow with different brightness, accordingly) --if removed, the victim will lose that purity and will die soon after. Three "Chosen Ones" are believed to carry special Pure Heart Crystals known as Talismans. It is the acquisition of these Talismans, and ultimately the Holy Grail (Chalice), that fuels the Death Busters desire to seek out the Pure Heart Crystals. The three Talismans will summon the Holy Grail.
Whilst attempting to find the Talismans, the Death Busters attract the attention of the Sailor Senshi, who thwart their efforts at every chance. Meanwhile, Hotaru Tomoe becomes friends with Chibiusa. Mistress 9 becomes aware of the Ginzuishou (manga) or Chibiusa's Pure Heart Crystal (anime), and takes it from Chibiusa, which sends her into a coma (manga) or nearly kills her (anime).
During the second-to-last chapter of the battle between the Senshi and the forces of the Death Busters, Mistress 9 tricks Sailor Moon into surrendering the Holy Grail to her, whereupon she places it within a model of the Tau Ceti Star System. This releases a tremendous burst of energy designed to act like a giant homing beacon and guide Master Pharaoh 90 towards Earth.
Easily countering Sailor Moon's attacks, Pharaoh 90 utterly decimates what little remains of the Infinity Academy upon his arrival, absorbing the massive mystical energies of the Holy Grail. He sweeps up the living wall of Daimons which composed the Omega Zone barrier as well, as the bodies of the Inner Senshi - who had combined their powers in a desperate attempt to stop the monsters from expanding into the surrounding neighborhood.
With the coming of the Silence imminent, Hotaru Tomoe regains control over her own body, reasserts her own personality over that of Mistress 9, and transforms into Sailor Saturn. She plunges herself into the fiery energy core of Master Pharaoh 90's "heart" in a last attempt to stop him by battling him from within. Hotaru is soon joined by Sailor Moon, who fuses her own Heart Crystal with the Mystical Silver Crystal and borrows the energies of the other Senshi, invoking her transformation into Super Sailor Moon. In the end, the combined power of Sailor Saturn and Super Sailor Moon is great enough to destroy Master Pharaoh 90.
[edit] Professor Tomoe
Souichi Tomoe (土萠 創一 Tomoe Sōichi?) is generally referred to simply as "Professor Tomoe," and the English dub refers to him as "Doctor" Souichi Tomoe. He first appears in Episode 90 of the anime and Act 25 of the manga.
In the manga Tomoe is outright malevolent. He is infected after a lab incident, killing his older wife, Keiko and seriously wounding his young daughter Hotaru Tomoe. He is not redeemed and is dead after the lab accident--his body is taken over by Germatoid. He dies in the manga and does not come back.
In the anime is a more sympathetic character. He displays bizarre, but hilarously overdramatic mannerisms, which are often a source of unexpected humor. It is never specified whether these are mannerisms of Germatoid or repressed aspects of his personality, since little is known of him before or after the possession. His normal personality does show through at times, however, revealing him to be a kind and loving father.
He is voiced by Akira Kamiya in the Japanese version, and by Jeff Lumby in the English dub.
[edit] Kaolinite
Kaolinite (カオリナイト Kaorinaito?) is the loyal assistant of Professor Tomoe, and is also greatly infatuated with him. She is named after kaolinite, a type of clay mineral, and in the English dub is known as Kaori Knight. She first appears in Episode 90 of the anime, and Act 24 of the manga.
A difference between two variations is Kaolinite's treatment of Hotaru: while in the anime Kaori frequently provokes and mocks Hotaru, in the manga she shows concern towards the girl. Hotaru, however, feels that Kaori's presence in the family home is a sign that she does not know her place.
[edit] Manga
Kaolinite's role in the original manga is slightly different. As opposed to the anime, which implies that she has always been a supernatural being, it is revealed in one of Professor Tomoe's flashbacks that she became Kaolinite after being struck by random lightning during a chaotic storm that occurred as the pair attempted to reconstruct the maimed body of his daughter Hotaru. When she rises from the floor, her eyes are shining. Her title is "Magus Kaolinite", Magus being a position that all of the Witches 5 aspire to reach. A privilege of the Magus position is that the use of the Tau Star System's crystal is accessible.
In the manga, it is Kaolinite, not Tomoe, to whom the Witches 5 answer. She sees them in no way other than servants, demonstrating annoyance when Mimete appeals to her for help. It is implied that she wishes to be Pharaoh 90's partner in place of Mistress 9, something Mistress 9 is aware of and views with amusement. When Mistress 9 does awaken, she orders Kaolinite to eliminate the Sailor Senshi. She succeeds in subduing the Inner Senshi, they are freed by Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Reunited, the Senshi confront Kaolinite in the President's office of Infinty Academy, and she transforms into a Daimon. Ultimately, she is destroyed by Super Sailor Moon's "Rainbow Moon Heartache" attack.
[edit] Anime
In the Japanese anime, she is portrayed by Noriko Uemura, who also voiced Queen Metallia in the first story arc. In the English dub, she is voiced was by Kirsten Bishop, who was also the voice of Emerald, Zoycite, Telulu, and Queen Badiyanu.
In the anime, she is the first of the Death Busters to openly attack people who possess pure heart crystals, using the bio-engineered Daimons she helped create. Her goal is to find the three Talismans, which (unbeknownst to her) are possessed by Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. In episode 102, she discovers the brightness of Sailor Moon's Pure Heart Crystal and goes after it. The Sailor Senshi rally against her, and she is subsequently defeated by Sailor Uranus, whose "World Shaking" attack causes a glass related attack she was using against the Senshi to feedback on her, encasing her in a pillar of glass and causing her to fall from the Tokyo Tower.
In episode 113[1], she suddenly reappears as Kaori, Hotaru Tomoe's guardian. It is later revealed that Professor Tomoe himself had managed to revive her. However, she feels that her place has mostly been filled by the Witches 5, and is jealous of them as well as Hotaru. By episode 123 she is filled with hate, and steals the Pure Heart of Sailor Chibi Moon, Hotaru's best friend. The crystal is ingested by Hotaru's possessed form, and she awakens as Mistress 9, the "Messiah of Silence." The last words Kaolinite hears are congratulations from Professor Tomoe, before she is thrown into an electrified wall by Mistress Nine for "having served her purpose."
[edit] Master Pharaoh 90
Master Pharaoh 90 is a malevolent alien from "Tau Ceti Star System;" further details on its origins are unknown. Though appearing only as a huge black sphere, Pharaoh 90 is generally considered male.
In the manga, Pharaoh 90's goal is to merge himself with the planet Earth and make it his home. In the anime, he wants simply to destroy it by bringing about the Silence. He is the one who provided the daimon egg of Mistress 9 to Professor Tomoe, taking advantage of Tomoe's desire to save his daughter. In reality, Pharaoh 90 simply needed to provide a body for Mistress 9 so that she, in turn, could open a portal for him.
[edit] Mistress 9
Mistress 9 (ミストレス９ Misutoresu 9?) is a malevolent entity from "Tau Ceti Star System" who has come to Earth to help open a gateway for her master, Pharaoh 90. She is called the "Messiah of Silence" and possesses Hotaru Tomoe's body (to varying degrees of intensity).
[edit] Manga
In the manga, the Death Busters are frequently striving to awaken Mistress 9. When the Death Busters first visited Professor Tomoe (as he was reconstructing his daughter Hotaru's body), one of the objects they gave him was an egg that contained Mistress 9. He implanted it within Hotaru's body. The consequence of this for Hotaru is a permanently frail physical state. She occasionally suffers from seizures that are soothed at first by an amulet given to her by Tomoe (he tells her it is an heirloom, but it is more likely to be a fragment of the Tau Crystal) and later by the Ginzuishou. When Chibiusa shows it to Hotaru, Mistress 9 becomes aware of it and later grabs it from Chibiusa, sending her into a coma.
When Mistress 9 overpowers Hotaru's body, it becomes that of a grown woman. Her facial features are maniacal and there is little resemblance to the girl whose body she has taken over. Her purpose is to create an opening to the Tau Ceti Star System so that Pharaoh 90 can access and assimilate himself into Earth.
Once all of her allies have been killed and she is confronted by Sailor Moon and the Outer Senshi, her plan begins. Mugen Gakuen itself is ripped apart, throwing the unconscious bodies of Mercury, Mars, Venus and Jupiter into the air (they come to rest on a structure that Kaolinite previously used for divination). She then attempts to escape Hotaru's body (meaning that her power will be able to flow freely) but is surprised to find that the soul of Hotaru still exists within the body and is inhibiting her from leaving it. Nonetheless she swallows the souls of the Inner Senshi whereupon Hotaru retrieves their Ginzuishou along with that of Chibiusa and escapes to return them to their owners. While she is doing this, Mistress 9 is able to leave Hotaru's body, ripping it apart in the process. Her true form is of a gigantic monster with ghoulish head and an indistinct body.
The attacks of the Senshi are all absorbed as power by her and she opens the door for Pharaoh 90, who begins to smother the planet. Mistress 9 is assimilated into this lava (which presumably is Pharaoh 90) and just when all seems lost, Sailor Saturn rises from it. When she sets her Glaive into the ground, both Pharoh 90 and Mistress 9 experience intense pain and paralysis. Saturn uses the attack Death Reborn Revolution to drain their power and they both rise into the sky to escape back to Tau. Saturn follows them and commands Sailor Pluto to seal the door forever. Pluto does this and assures that Mistress 9 and Pharaoh 90 can never reach Earth again. Interestingly enough, they are the only villains in Sailor Moon to not only evade death, but essentially remain unharmed.
[edit] Anime
In the anime, Professor Tomoe allows Mistress 9 to possess Hotaru's body after a freak accident kills her so that she may live. He himself becomes possessed by Germatoid although it is unknown if Germatoid completely controls him or aspects of his original personality still exist. Mistress 9 occasionally controls Hotaru, sequences in which her eyes become blank and her hands sparkle with red energy. Strangely enough, the victims of these occurrences are usually Daimons sent to collect heart crystals for her. Eventually, she steals Chibiusa's Heart Crystal, rendering Chibiusa close to death, she becomes Mistress 9 to the shock of Uranus and Neptune, who are expecting Sailor Saturn.
She kills the underling Kaolinite, and sends Germatoid after the Senshi. She then attempts to use a large machine (similar to the one Tomoe created prior to possession) to guide Pharaoh 90 to Earth so that he may destroy it. Sailor Moon tries to stop her and Professor Tomoe, now freed from Germatoid, attempts to reach her, still seeing her as Hotaru. She attacks both of them but is injured by energy emanating from the machine. Professor Tomoe takes her in his arms and Hotaru's spirit begins to respond. Mistress 9 attempts to subdue her once again but Hotaru's memories of both her father and of Chibiusa prove to be overpowering. The black star insignia on her forehead shatters, revealing the sign of Saturn beneath it. Mistress 9's body then vaporizes, leaving Saturn in its place.
Whilst in the manga Mistress 9's human form seemed only to be Hotaru's body contorted due to the presence of the entity, the anime Mistress 9's form seems to be her genuine body, somewhat similar to Chibiusa's transformation into Black Lady.
In anime Mistress 9's voice is played by Yuko Minaguchi. In the musicals two actresses have played her: Tomoko Inami and Chinatsu Akiyama.
[edit] References
- The Oracle - Detailed information on each character
- ^ Doi, Hitoshi. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. Retrieved on October 6, 2006.
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