From: 7514P%NAVPGS.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu (Chris Swett)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: Sailor Moon summary
Date: 5 Sep 92 00:41:45 GMT
To: Anime-L <ANIME-L@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU>

From: Chris Swett <72736.433@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Sailor Moon summary

     Some folks have requested more Sailor Moon information so I decided to
update and re-post my summary. Use as you see fit...

 Sailor Moon is a Bandai television series that premiered in March 1992 and was
initially aimed at 14 year-old girls. The main characters are Tsukino Usagi,
Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei and Kino Makoto (true through episode 25). Usagi is a
ditzy blonde with looong ponytails and was the first of the girls to become a
"se-ra- fuku bishojo senshi", or sailor-suited cute girl warrior. The character
designs/costumes of these "cute girl fighters" picked up male fans fast. Ami,
Rei and Makoto joined the team in later episodes, numbers 8, 10 and 25,
respectively. Sailor Venus will be introduced in an episode yet to come.
 In episode 1, a cat named Luna gave Usagi a brooch that can transform her into
a super-hero dedicated to fighting the forces of the "Dark Kingdom". Her
costume is an abbreviated, mini-skirt version of her school uniform and is
based on the attire of the heroine in a new video game. Her superhero name is
Sailor Moon. Ami becomes Sailor Mercury, Rei becomes Sailor Mars and Makoto
becomes Sailor Jupiter. Luna tries to coordinate the efforts of these girls
while reporting back to his superior via a video game console in the local
arcade.
 The girls gain special attack powers that derive from the kanji that spell the
planet their name represents (their real names are spelled with the same kanji,
by no coincidence). Thus, Tsukino Usagi is Sailor Moon and
throws her crescent-shaped moon tiara (which glows and acts like a killer
frisbee). Sailor Mercury (Mizuno Ami) can hurl bubbles of fog to confuse and
disorient. Sailor Mars (Hino Rei) throws fireballs and can also use written
prayers, occasionally irreverently referred to as "killer post-it notes" by
American fans. Sailor Jupiter (Kino Makoto) throws a deadly whirwind of roses.
 Sailor Moon runs about 40 pages per installment in the monthly shojo manga,
"Nakayoshi". The series is being collected and re-released periodically as
tankoubon. The manga story departs significantly from the television series,
perhaps due to the problems associated with keeping a monthly manga current
with a weekly television program. In any event, the manga includes some extra
information not found in the television series or that can't be accurately
picked out of the dialogue.
 The bishojo senshi aren't the only superheroes arrayed against the Dark
Kingdom. A lone male hero, Tuxedo Kamen, often shows up just in time to rescue,
and thus rally, the girls. Of course, they all fall instantly in love with him
and rivalries erupt between them over who he might ask on a date. Tuxedo
Kamen's transformation is somehow triggered involuntarily by the girls shifting
into superhero mode.
 Who are these evil Dark Kingdom people? Well, they're your typical demon horde
who exist just around a right angle corner from reality. They are ruled by
Queen Belle (spelled BE-RE-RU), though the manga makes her a minion of an even
more sinister, formless entity. She has a number of bishonen-type bosses whose
duty it is to collect human life energy. The first of these, Jedaito, gets
stomped by the bishojo senshi one too many times and is "retired" by Queen
Belle at the end of episode 13. Queen Belle's bosses each have their own
minions and it's no particular surprise that they expend one of these minions
each week. Occasionally they face the bishojo senshi in person. They're
virtually unbeatable in one-on-one faceoffs and Queen Belle has called Jedaito
back to the Dark Kingdom when he appeared to have been acting unfairly. Each
boss has his own methods and rivalries.
 So, what's the appeal of this apparent formula-driven, otherwise average
animated series? Cultlike addiction, perhaps. In spite of frequent adherence to
nearly lock-step presentation of monsters-of-the-week at the beginning of the
series, the show managed to parody the entire genre of "magical girl" anime. In
episode 21 the bishojo senshi even visit an animation studio and battle demons
off the cellulose page. The bishojo senshi are also kinda cute in their
mini-skirt costumes, though the series has yet to air any nudity and is
unlikely to do so. Such is the draw of the series that at the August '92 Comic
Market in Tokyo, bishojo senshi costumes were among the most popular displayed.
Sailor Moon doujinshi were also already common. The weather was so hot that
many girls fainted from the heat. The Dark Kingdom's influence was widely
blamed for having a hand in stealing their life energy.

 Here is a character summary:

Name           Senshi Name      Age  1st Ep   Attack

Tsukino Usagi  Sailor Moon      14     1      Moon tiara.. action!
Mizuno Ami     Sailor Mercury   14     8      Shabon... spray!
Hino Rei       Sailor Mars      14     10     Fire... soul!
Kino Makoto    Sailor Jupiter   14     25     Flower... hurricane!
Aino Minako    Sailor Venus     14            <unknown>

    I left out the blood types in this posting.