A Sailor Senshi (セーラー戦士 Sērā Senshi) appears as a type of heroine in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. The name comes from sailor fuku, a type of school uniform, and senshi, which can mean "soldier" or "warrior". Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who originated the series, coined the term by fusing English and Japanese elements, and fans speaking each language have adopted it. The translation "Sailor Soldier" is also common, used not only by English-speaking fans but also appearing in the stage musicals. The live action series translates the word as "Guardian". The DiC dub of the anime used "Sailor Scout" for the majority of its run; other common titles include "Sailor Warriors," "Sailors," or simply "Senshi." Like most Japanese loanwords, the word Senshi is both the singular and plural form.
Sailor Senshi, as classic magical girl heroines, have both civilian and magical identities. Each Senshi has a transformation sequence which grants her a uniform in her own theme-colors and her own kind of elemental power;[1] these powers come from an object called a "Sailor Crystal" said to be within each of them.[2] Accessories gained with their uniform, such as Sailor Moon's tiara, can also be used as weapons.[1] According to Naoko Takeuchi, only females can be Sailor Senshi,[3] although there is at least one male with a Sailor Crystal. This is Mamoru Chiba, who is the guardian over the planet Earth and gives himself the pseudonym "Tuxedo Mask." In the manga only, he has subtle powers of psychometry.
The most iconic and well-known Senshi, Sailor Moon herself, leads the primary group of Senshi in defending the Earth (or the galaxy, if necessary) from other-worldly threats. Officially, this team consists of ten people: Sailor Moon herself, Sailor Chibi Moon, and eight planetary Senshi named after the planets of the solar system, including Pluto (but not Earth).
When referring to a group, the series itself uses the terms "Sailor Senshi" and "Sailor Team" with multiple meanings. "Sailor Senshi" may refer to the entire classification of heroines, but either term may also mean the ten planetary Senshi, or the group of five comprising Sailor Moon and her four Guardian Senshi (see below) in particular. Usually the intended group may be discerned from context, but usage of this term can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the series. English versions also use the phrase "Sailor Scouts".
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The Sailor Team often divides itself into subsets, based both on civilian age and on Senshi-related duties. The story usually makes it quite clear who belongs in which group, as they tend to work separately, so the series rarely refers to the differences. Official titles do exist to disambiguate between the groups, which this article refers to in shortened form as "Guardian Senshi" and "Outer Senshi". English-speaking fans usually use the non-canonical term "Inner Senshi" for the first group.
The stage musicals use the terms naibu taiyōkei yon senshi ("inner solar system four warriors") and gaibu taiyōkei yon senshi ("outer solar system four warriors"), but these do not appear in any other media. Still, Japanese fans occasionally use the non-canonical terms gaibu senshi (外部戦士) and naibu senshi (内部戦士). For specialized terms appearing in the manga, anime, and live-action series, see below.
Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon, though both members of the Sailor Team, do not belong in either of these subgroups. Together they are often referred to as Double Moon. In the manga, Sailor Chibi Moon is also part of her own team made up of herself and the Sailor Quartet. The Sailor Quartet do not count as part of the Sailor Team in the series. Like Chibi-Moon they come from the 30th century, but unlike her they rarely join the Sailor Team in the present.
The Guardian Senshi (often called "Inner Senshi")[4] consist of the four Senshi who serve as Sailor Moon's closest protectors, named for the four innermost planets of the solar system (sans Earth): Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. With Sailor Moon at the head, they form a sentai (a team of five), and are the primary characters of the various series. In the manga, their full group name is "The Soldiers of the Four Guardian Gods" (四守護神の戦士 yon shugoshin no senshi),[5] although this is very rarely used.
The storyline reveals that, in their past life, these four served as the guardians of Princess Serenity from her birth and lived with her in the Moon Kingdom. When their utopian way of life was destroyed, the five were reborn on Earth in the 20th century as Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) and her best friends, Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury), Rei Hino (Sailor Mars), Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter), and Minako Aino (Sailor Venus). They are all fourteen years old when the main story begins.[6]
The Guardian Senshi typically appear more connected to their human lives, and to the world itself, than do the Outer Senshi. Although this does not always hold true, the Guardian Senshi tend to be warmer, sillier, and more open to outside help. If at all possible, they always try to save everyone they can in a fight rather than making sacrifices. They each eventually acquire accessory weapons, but these are not quite as critical or as tied to their powers as those of the Outer Senshi. The Guardian Senshi themselves are also rather less powerful as well as less mature and less experienced; nevertheless, it is often through their compassion and perseverance, rather than through force, that victories are achieved.
Modern astronomy divides the inner solar system from the outer by the location of the asteroid belt and by the groupings of terrestrial planets as opposed to gas giants. Both of these distinctions would place Jupiter in the outer system, whereas the series includes Sailor Jupiter among the "Inner" or Guardian Senshi.
The Outer Senshi, those who defend the solar system from external threats, take their names from the four planets furthest from the sun (as reckoned at the time the series was created): Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The series treats these characters very differently than do the fans—they are considered a group of three, with Saturn excluded due to her unique role in the story, however, Saturn does join them later in the series after the third arc. In the manga, they are officially called the "outer solar system warriors" (外部太陽系戦士 gaibu taiyōkei senshi),[7] and use this name to refer to themselves in the anime as well.[8] The Guardian Senshi usually refer to them as "Uranus-tachi," meaning roughly "Uranus and the others."
In the age of the Silver Millennium, Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto guarded the edge of the solar system and had instructions to fend off any alien attacks.[9] Sailor Saturn was not among them, as she is the bringer of destruction and ruin. In the manga, their backstory becomes more complicated: it had always been the other Outer Senshi's duty to prevent Sailor Saturn's birth, but when they gathered to witness the Moon Kingdom's destruction at the hands of the Dark Kingdom, the Outers inadvertently allowed Saturn to be born so that she could destroy the remnants of the kingdoms of Earth and Moon.[10] All four are then reborn as in the anime. In both storylines, Sailor Pluto plays a double role as the guardian of the Gates of Time (the manga extends her duties by hinting that she is also guardian of the underworld).
On Earth, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune become, respectively, Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh, partners and implied lovers a year older than the Guardian Senshi. They work together for some time, only later joined by Setsuna Meioh (Sailor Pluto), a college student, and by Hotaru Tomoe (Sailor Saturn), a much younger girl (whose age varies due to rebirth and accelerated growth).
The Outer Senshi appear charming, mature, and personable in their civilian forms, and the Guardian Senshi admire them enormously. However, they also demonstrate extreme dedication to their role as soldiers, and, should they determine that sacrifices need to be made, can be entirely ruthless with allies as well as enemies. While in Senshi form, Uranus and Neptune are cold, aloof, and are not inclined to trust offers of help from other groups, preferring to work alone, even to the exclusion of the Guardian Senshi, while Pluto and Saturn often help the Guardian Senshi. Pluto mediates between Uranus and Neptune and the other Senshi.[11] The manga shows that, even if the Outer Senshi prefer to exclude the Guardian Senshi, they love Princess Serenity very tenderly - to the extent that they would treat her with complete disrespect to protect her. They regard Prince Endymion with utmost courtesy and even go out of their way to care for Chibiusa.
Each of the Outer Senshi fights with a special weapon; Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto bear the three Talismans, and Sailor Saturn carries the Silence Glaive, which is capable of destroying whole worlds. In general, the Outer Senshi are more powerful and more experienced than five out of six Guardian scouts: Sailor Uranus is physically the strongest by use of her Space Sword, Sailor Neptune is granted special visions by use of her Deep Aqua Mirror, Sailor Pluto can stop time itself by use of her Garnet Rod, and Sailor Saturn is regarded as the most powerful of all, second only to Sailor Moon (she is even able to block attacks from Sailor Galaxia, one of the most powerful Senshi in the universe).[12]
At the time of the writing of the series, astronomers regarded Pluto as a planet, although astronomical authorities have since re-classified it as a dwarf planet. On the other hand, modern astrology (both Western and Eastern) divides the planets between Saturn and Uranus: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were only recently discovered, and are not visible from Earth with the naked eye, while the other planets have been known since antiquity.
The uniform worn by the Sailor Senshi resembles a popular style of Japanese school uniform, the sērā fuku or "sailor suit". Creator Naoko Takeuchi attributes the idea for this motif to her editor, Fumio Osano.[13] Originally, each of the Senshi had her own fairly unique outfit, related to the others only in its basic form, but in later stages of character design Takeuchi settled on a more unified appearance.[14] Within the Sailor Senshi, only the outfit worn by Sailor Venus during her time as Sailor V varies significantly from the others — most notably in the manga of the same name, which pre-dates the Sailor Moon series.
The uniforms of the Senshi not only show their femininity, they "perform it excessively in frilly, girly fashion".[15] As the Senshi gain additional powers and insights, the features of their uniforms change to reflect these advances. Most of them have unique traits to begin with[16] (such as Sailor Mars' back-bow color alternating from her front bow,[17] Sailor Pluto's lack of sleeves, Sailor Neptune's neck-pendant, or Sailor Saturn's flower-petal shaped sleeves and the spiky, star-shaped brooch on her front bow), but as the group becomes more powerful, their individual uniforms become more similar, until finally color schemes mark the only differences. The Guardian Senshi are frequently exceptions, but over the course of the series, the other characters pass through three basic phases:
When the Sailor Senshi of the 30th century appear during the second story arc, they wear their original uniforms, without any enhancement.[21] Chronologically, this was prior to the introduction of costume changes for most of the characters, so it may be a plot hole. Whether or not Takeuchi has developed an explanation is unknown.
The Sailor Quartet, although Senshi of the solar system, don't follow the standard progression of power-ups. Instead the Sailor Quartet's uniforms combine elements of those worn by the Sailor Team in their first forms and in their final forms, with the Quartet's own image colors. The uniforms have one-layer skirts, belts, chokers and back-bows like those on the Sailor Team's first uniforms, with boots, gloves, brooches, leotards, and tiaras the same as the final forms. Their shoulder pads reflect the style of the final uniforms, but in white. Each member has unique earrings.[22]
Sailor Moon, whatever form she takes, always has a more elaborate costume than any of the others. Among other things, in her first form she has hair ornaments, in her second she adds a multi-colored skirt, and in her third she gains wings and a three-layered skirt. She also gains minor, individual power-ups more frequently than any other character. Sailor Chibi Moon progresses in similar fashion, down to the hair-ornaments, and her uniform as Super Sailor Chibi Moon is almost identical to her predecessor's. Her third form, on the other hand, is more similar to that of the rest of the Sailor Team than to that of Eternal Sailor Moon.
Senshi originating from outside the Solar System generally have very different and widely varying outfits, but one single feature, the sailor collar, connects them all.
As the story progresses, other Senshi eventually emerge throughout the galaxy. In the manga, the first of these to appear are the Sailor Quartet, often referred to in English fandom as the "Asteroid Senshi". These are the future protectors and companions of Sailor Chibi Moon, just as the Guardian Senshi are to Sailor Moon. Until the 30th century they are supposed to be in a deep sleep, waiting for Sailor Chibi Moon to be ready, though they are briefly forced into the services of the Dead Moon Circus.
In the fifth major story-arc, especially that of the manga, it becomes clear that Sailor Senshi number possibly in the thousands across the galaxy, protecting many of the stars, planets, and celestial bodies. This story arc focusses largely on the Sailor Wars, an ancient, epic struggle between all Sailor Senshi and the forces of darkness. The manga portrays all of Sailor Moon's previous enemies as minor figures in this galactic war, each of them having connections with the ultimate evil being known as Chaos.
The primary servant of Chaos, Sailor Galaxia, formerly the most powerful Sailor Senshi in existence, represented the great hope of the galaxy. In her effort to subdue Chaos, she was possessed by him, and went on a galactic rampage under his will. By the time she reaches Earth, she has seized starseeds from countless Senshi that she either killed or forced into service. Under her command are numerous warriors who are former Sailor Senshi that have turned to evil. In the manga, the Sailor Animamates are ordinary fighters who betrayed and killed the true Senshi of their planets in hopes of being rewarded by Galaxia.[23]
Of all the planets Galaxia attacked prior to Earth, only one produced survivors who continued to oppose her. On this fictional world, called "Kinmoku", lived the most prominent of these "alien" Senshi, the Sailor Starlights. The Starlights are a trio of Senshi who arrive on Earth in search of their Princess Kakyuu, who they believe also survived. While on Earth, they disguise themselves as men—in the manga by crossdressing, and in the anime by physically transforming into male bodies. This plays with the notion of all Senshi being female, without technically breaking the rules. The gender-shifting idea was not approved by Naoko Takeuchi, who has often expressed shock at the change to the anime.[3][24] In the manga, Princess Kakyuu, like Princess Serenity, is a Sailor Senshi herself (Sailor Kakyuu).
In both the anime and manga, a small girl named Chibi-Chibi appears during this arc. She has the ability to transform into Sailor Chibi-Chibi (called Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon on a sticker included in the manga's second run), and helps the Senshi in various ways. Chibi-Chibi is unusual in representing only an alter-ego; in the anime, her exact nature is unknown, however her existence as Sailor Cosmos from the manga is alluded to. In the manga, she is actually Sailor Cosmos, the ultimate form of the future Sailor Moon. Whether this makes her the Usagi of the future is never stated. In the manga, the evil and powerful Sailor Chaos also exists in the future inhabited by Sailor Cosmos.
Other Senshi appear in the manga, such as Usagi's non-canonical second daughter, Kousagi, who appears as "Parallel Sailor Moon" in a humorous short story of the same name. Another short story, The Story of the Hammer Price Shrine, centers around two girls named Naruru and Ruruna who imitate Senshi, along with a man who calls himself Tubby Mask. The Sailor Moon musicals also introduce new Senshi, including Sailor Astarte, Sailor Buttress and others.
The concept behind Sailor Senshi holds so much potential for variation that it has become an extremely common source of inspiration for fanfiction. The idea has expanded into a meme in which fans of the series create their own original Sailor Senshi, sometimes called "Otaku Senshi", with their own unique designs and often in-depth character profiles. The characters range widely in their appearance and relevance to the original story.[25]
A Sailor Crystal is the name of the special Star Seed given to Sailor Senshi in the manga continuity. The anime Sailor Stars calls the Star Seed carried by a Sailor Senshi a "True" or "Eternal" Star Seed.
In the manga, Sailor Crystals are introduced in the Dream Arc and fully expanded on in the Stars arc. Pegasus gives the Guardian Senshi their Crystals in the anime, but in the manga, they come from different sources. Sailors Mercury and Jupiter receive theirs from their Power Guardians, Sailor Mars from Phobos and Deimos, and Sailor Venus from Artemis. In both anime and manga, Hotaru gives the other three Outer Senshi their own Crystals. However, it is only in the manga that Tuxedo Mask receives the Golden Crystal of Elysion as his Sailor Crystal.
Sailor Moon learns about Sailor Crystals and their power in a conversation with one of the Sailor Starlights, Kou Yaten, in which she explains how Sailor Crystals were made to protect the celestial bodies they were assigned to. The manga explains that Star Seeds are created in the Galaxy Cauldron, a sacred place located at the center of the galaxy and guarded by Guardian Cosmos. Some Star Seeds grow into Sailor Crystals and are sent to planets and other celestial bodies to develop with them. Eventually, a Sailor Crystal usually takes a host, and is subsequently 'born' into a Sailor Senshi. This Sailor Senshi is then the guardian of that celestial body. Upon the death of a living being, its Star Seed returns to the Cauldron, and can choose to either remain there or be reborn.
Generally speaking, Sailor Crystals are simply named for the Senshi to whom they belong (e.g. the Mercury Crystal of Sailor Mercury). Named exceptions are the Silver Moon Crystal of Sailor Moon, the Pink Moon Crystal of Sailor Chibi Moon, the Golden Crystal of Tuxedo Mask, and the Saffer Crystal of Sailor Galaxia.
In the anime the "True Star Seeds" are the main revolving point of the fifth story arc. The anime does not fully explain the nature of True Star Seeds, although it goes into detail about regular Star Seeds. The shine of a regular Star Seed fades when the Seed is separated from its owner. Star Seeds with an everlasting shine are True Star Seeds, which are sought by Sailor Galaxia and the Sailor Animamates. In order to determine a True Star Seed, a pair of golden bracelets made with the power of Chaos is used. If the Star Seed extracted by it is not strong enough to shine longer, it will turn black and its owner will become a phage or a fake Sailor Soldier. The Sailor Moon musicals have not consistently explained the nature of Sailor Crystals. They are not mentioned at all in the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon live-action series.
Sailor Moon is described largely in terms of its characters—a sustained, 18-volume narrative about a group of young heroines who are simultaneously heroic and introspective, active and emotional, dutiful and ambitious.[27][28] The combination proved extremely successful, and Sailor Moon became internationally popular in both manga and anime formats.[27][29]
The function of the Sailor Senshi themselves has been analyzed by critics, often in terms of feminist theory.[30] Susan J. Napier describes the Sailor Senshi as "powerful, yet childlike," suggesting that this is because Sailor Moon is aimed towards an audience of young girls. She states that the Sailor Senshi readily accept their powers and destinies and do not agonize over them, which can be read as an expression of power and success.[31] The Senshi have also been described as merging male and female traits, being both desirable and powerful. As sexualized teen heroines, they are significantly different from the sexless representation of 1980s teen heroines such as Nausicaä.[32] Anne Allison notes that the use of the sailor fuku as a costume makes it easy for girls to identify with the Senshi, but also for older males to see the Senshi as sex symbols.[27]
Mary Grigsby considers that the Sailor Senshi blend ancient characteristics and symbols of femininity with modern ideas, reminding the audience of a pre-modern time when females were equal to males,[28] but other critics draw parallels with the modern character type of the aggressive cyborg woman, pointing out that the Senshi are augmented by their magical equipment.[31][33][34]
Kazuko Minomiya has described the daily lives of the girls within the series as risoukyou, or "utopic". They are shown as enjoying many leisure activities such as shopping, visiting amusement parks, and hanging out at the Crown Arcade. According to Allison, Minomiya points out that the depiction of life is harder and more serious for male superheroes.[27] The characters "double" as ordinary girls and as "celestially-empowered superheroes".[1] The "highly stylized"[1] transformation that the Senshi go through has been said to "symbolically separate" the negative aspects of the characters (laziness, for example) and the positive aspects of the superheroine,[33] and gives each girl her unique uniform and "a set of individual powers".[1] Some commentators have read the transformation of the Sailor Senshi as symbolic of puberty, as cosmetics appear on the Senshi and their uniforms highlight cleavages, slim waists, and long legs,[28][35] which "outright force the pun on heavenly bodies".[36]
Differences in character between the Senshi mirror differences in their hairstyles, fashion, and magical items, which has translated well into doll lines.[31] Sales of the Sailor Senshi fashion dolls overtook those of Licca-chan in the 1990s. Mattel attributed this to the "fashion-action" blend of the Sailor Moon storyline; doll accessories included both fashion items and the Senshi's weapons.[1]
Much of the Senshi's strength stems from their reliance and friendship with other girls rather than from men.[37]
Unlike the female Power Rangers, who as the series go on become more unisex in both costume and poses, the Sailor Senshi's costumes become frillier and more "feminine".[38]
Jason Thompson sees the Sailor Moon anime as reinvigorating the magical girl genre by adding dynamic heroines and action-oriented plots. After its success, many similar titles immediately followed, including Magic Knight Rayearth, Wedding Peach, Nurse Angel Ririka and Revolutionary Girl Utena.[39]
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