The Sailor Moon
Miscellany FAQ
written and maintained by Edward Chang
send all comments, corrections, money, etc., to
EdwChang@aol.com --
please do not post corrections on the newsgroup, or if you do, also
send me an email copy -- newsgroup-only corrections will be ignored!
newest version always posted to alt.fan.sailor-moon
Revision History:
v8-27-00 Minor corrections, maintenance.
v7-21-00 Few corrections made, additional attack phrases added, and
an extra explanation of honorifics added to the, where else,
the honorifics section. Enjoy.
v6-30-00 Finally transliterated the infamous Uranus and Neptune "S"
season introductions. Happy Birthday, Usagi and Chibi-usa!
v6-29-00 Finally got my act together, got off my lazy butt, and compiled
the introductory phrases. Enjoy.
v5-05-00 Well it's been a long five months. The reason for this update:
I recently acquired more volumes of the manga, as well as a few
helpful emails. I am still on the look out for Minako's
misquotes!!! I removed the Poll section -- it wasn't really
useful for anything. It has been replaced with an "Introduction
Phrase" section.
v12-11-99 And presenting the smallest update ever, new addition to
Hayashibara Megumi's section.
v11-28-99 Well... until further notice, this FAQ is officially "frozen".
Meaning? Meaning that there will be no further updates until
I actually have some time to update this sucker, or if there
are some pressing corrections to make. If anybody, and I mean
anybody, has anything to add to the "Idioms" section, which
is rather sparse right now, I will be most grateful. Till next
time, adios.
v11-14-99 Okay, so I've been lazy recently. Real Life (tm) has been
hitting me hard. This really isn't an update; just a minor
note about Mamoru's name to the (where else?) name section.
AND something about the Kinmokusei, both courtesy of the
Amazing Rando.
v10-31-99 Happy Halloween! As you might have noticed I changed the
somewhat clumsy version numbers to just stating the date I
last updated. Other than that, no real huge updates; a few
more notes on the language from Maiti. Thanks to Racso for the
great (and obvious...) idea for the version numbers.
v1.72 Yet Another Minor Update. No, I refuse to go to thousands place
in the version number ^_^. A few comments/clarifications on
the Japanese language itself, courtesy of Maiti.
v1.71 Reordered the guest seiyuu section in chronological order; fixed
a most grievous mistake in the Theme Song section (how could I
have misplaced my favorite song Rashiku Ikimasho???? sob...)
On the same note, added "Ami-chan no Hatsukoi" and Episode 200
to that same table. Several manga attacks have been added,
courtesy of the Amazing Rando. Added a tiny section on "Yuki-
onna" to the Folklore.
v1.7 Fairly large update to the "Guest Seiyuu" section. Added a table
of opening and closing themes to "Miscellany". Also added a
rather large section about Kaguya-hime to the Folklore section,
thanks to the S Movie (Great movie! In fact, all of the movies are
great! Too bad there wasn't any Ami-chan no Hatsukoi...)
v1.65 Continuing to expand the guest seiyuu section. In somewhat
related news, I just got my subtitled movies from Amazon!
Thank you, Amazon! Thank you, Pioneer!
v1.64 Yet another minor update. Still looking for the Minako Misquote
(tm) in Episode 97. Any clues, anyone? Minor corrections, fixes,
clarifications here and there. Now being hosted at the newsgroup's
companion site,
http://hda.nethosting.com/sailormoon/ufaq/! Many
thanks to Racso. Added a "Guest Seiyuu" section to Other
Miscellany
v1.63 Added a saying to "Idioms"... I've noticed a lot of discussion
on the NG lately about both Christianity and Shinto, so those
sections have been updated in an effort to be more
"comprehensive".
v1.62 Few corrections, started the "Idioms" section. Too bad I only
have one example. Again, really minor update.
v1.61 A really really really tiny update so doesn't deserve a tenth
of a revision number. Anyway, added a few manga-only attacks,
couple of corrections, etc. Added a section on Christian
references to the Folklore section.
v1.6 Been awhile since I updated! Just bought Manga volumes 13-18... I
am a happy man! Anyway, added a couple things to this FAQ such as
THE POLL and special attacks. Added many vocabulary related to the
manga.
v1.5 I'm not sure if I ever released v1.4 to the public but oh well.
Anyway, people have stopped writing in with corrections, which must
mean that I have everything correct! Woo-hoo! In any case, that
means that this will be the last update for a long while, at least
until I get some more folklore entries in.
v1.4 More corrections, blah blah. Switched "-kun" and "-chan" in the
suffix section since I said it would be in decreasing order of
politeness. More folklore/culture entries, mostly about food. Be
sure to write in if you think of more things to put into any of
these sections (esp. Folklore/Culture).
v1.3 Added 'Folklore' Section, with entries on 'Tsukino Usagi', 'odango-
atama', the sword-mirror-jewel, and the red ribbon. More to follow
(if I can think of them that is). Couple more vocabulary. And the
true pronunciation is Minaguchi Yuuko (long uu sound).
v1.2 Reformatted the name meanings section to include both real and
"punned" names. Added some more vocabulary. Searching for the true
way to spell Minaguchi Yuko/Youko/Yoko's name (I've seen all
three on reputable sites)
v1.1 Several minor corrections added. Additional notes in the "Name
meanings" section
v1.0 First version
Introduction
This FAQ is intended to answer miscellaneous questions that aren't so
frequent about the manga and anime series Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,
known usually as simply Sailor Moon. This does not pretend to be
comprehensive. If you are looking for standard information, such as
character descriptions, series information, attacks, etc., I suggest
you refer to Ken Arromdee's EXTREMELY comprehensive FAQ, posted to the
newsgroup every now and then or available on the AFS-M companion,
http://hda.nethosting.com/sailormoon/ufaq/
(It comes in five parts, let's put it like that).
The purpose of this FAQ, then, is to answer all those more minor
questions, such as "What does Uranus's real name mean?" and so on. A
note about myself, then, is in order. I am second generation Japanese;
my mother is a native speaker. However, I am not. I do not claim to be
perfectly fluent in Japanese because I am not. On the other hand I
DO have a certain "innate" sense of the language. The short of it is,
nobody's perfect, and I might (probably WILL) make mistakes in this
FAQ. In this case please refer to the e-mail address above.
All names in this FAQ are given Japanese style (family name first)
Table of Contents
1. About Romanization
2. Character Name Meanings
3. Pronouns / Honorifics
4. Vocabulary
5. Folklore
6. Introduction Phrases
7. Special Attacks
8. Idioms
9. Other miscellany
1. About Romanization
The Japanese language uses its own writing system, and as such
transliteration to English is not an exact science. This is the reason
there are discrepancies between romanizations of song lyrics, for
instance. Japanese actually has two writing systems, or rather two
ways of writing the same character. One, hiragana, is standard, whereas
the other, katakana, is mainly used for words borrowed from other
languages. Katakana is also used in the same manner as italics.
It is standard practice to transliterate katakana in all
capital letters. For example, the romanization of the japanese word
"moon" is "tsuki", but the romanization for "princess" would be
"PURINSESU".
Hiragana is also used as "reading guides" for kanji (as readers of the
manga will be able to attest), particles, and the like.
There are multiple ways to romanize some characters. Sometimes, for
consistency, the sounds "chi" and "tsu" will be romanized "ti" and "tu".
Similarily, the sound "shi" will sometimes be romanized as "si".
The character "ha" can also be pronounced "wa" in certain situations.
If you see a lone "ha" in lyrics or other sources, 90% of the time it's
supposed to be "wa". The song often mistitled "Koibito ni Hanarenaikedo"
is *probably* (I can't confirm this as I have not seen the title in
Japanese script) is supposed to be "Koibito ni wa Narenaikedo".
The character "wo" is sometimes written as "o", as it can be pronounced
either way. "Wo" is pretty much archaic, but if you listen closely some
seiyuu will still pronounce it that way. "K" and "c" are the same but
"c"s are always hard. Finally, all "r" and "l" letters are used
interchangeably. (The actual pronunciation is between the two sounds.
For those of you who know how to pronounce "r" in Spanish, that is
fairly close to the Japanese pronunciation). Spaces are optional
between words in Japanese, so romanization usually splits up phrases
and words, although someone who doesn't know what he's doing will do
it arbitrarily or not at all.
Japanese has no articles (definite or indefinite).
There is a useful kana chart on the web at
http://members.nbci.com/mrkorb/kana/
The third "system" is kanji. Kanji are characters borrowed from Chinese;
each character represents a word, phrase, or concept. Each kanji can
have more than one reading; that is why reading guides need to be used
sometimes. "On-yomi" refers to readings that evolved directly from
the Chinese reading of the same kanji. "Kun-yomi" is the Japanese
reading for the original concept that was applied to the kanji.
2. Character Name Meanings
Okay, bowing to pressure I decided to put BOTH the "real" meanings and
the "punned" meanings of the names. Things marked with an asterisk are
'probably' type guesses.
REAL NAME REALLY MEANS PUN MEANING
Tsukino Usagi moon/field/rabbit rabbit of moon
Mizuno Ami water/field/Asia/beauty friend* of water
Hino Rei fire/field/spirit* spirit* of fire
Kino Makoto tree/field/fidelity fidelity of tree
Aino Minako love/field/beauty/?/child beau. child of love
Chibi-usa small Usagi small rabbit
Meiou Setsuna dark king/moment dark king/sadness
Ten'ou Haruka sky king/distant --
Kaiou Michiru sea king/ebb --
Tomoe Hotaru earth/sprout*/firefly friend/firefly
Chiba Mamoru earth/?/?## earth/to protect
Seiya Kou starfield/light oath/light
Taiki Kou atmosphere/light promising/light
Yaten Kou night sky/light --
Chibi-Chibi small/small --
Princess Kakyuu fireball --
Notes:
# The kanji that make up "Minako" can also be read "Binasu", which is
the Japanese pronunciation of Venus
## I know a lot of people think his name means to protect, but the kanji
isn't the same. However, the Amazing Rando has notified me that the
kanji that IS used for his name also means protect, and it turns out
that it did indeed use to mean protect. Now, however, it's pretty
much a given name only.
3. Pronouns / Honorifics
As a general note, personal pronouns are not used very often in the
Japanese language, with antecedents being used instead. One reason for
this is that pronouns may be seen as too "direct", and Japanese language
(and culture in general) is known for being humble/indirect.
There are multiple ways to say "I" in japanese, depending on situation
and the speaker. The most common ones are "boku" and "watashi", altough
there are several others. "Boku" is used mostly by boys, whereas
"watashi" is used mostly, but not always, by girls. This is a gross
simplification, but it should do for now. Note that "boku" is considered
cruder, though not necessarily ruder, than "watashi".
"Watakushi" is even more polite than "watashi". Along the same lines
"ore" is cruder than "boku". Ore is used mostly by males, whereas
"watakushi" can be used by either, but more commonly by females.
"Atashi" is a decidedly feminine variant of "watashi".
Small children, and sometimes girls who want to act 'cute', will
refer to themselves in the third person.
The pronouns "kare" and "kanojo" when used as "he/she" were invented
about a century ago to facilitate translation of foreign literature.
Generally, third person pronouns are not used, with the subject of
discussion being used instead.
As in many other languages, pronouns may be omitted when the meaning
is clear from the context. Some pronouns are even considered rude in
certain situations; the subject's name is used instead, even when
the subject is present.
Honorifics are suffixes attached to names to show levels of respect or
familiarity. In order of decreasing politeness:
-sama: extremely polite. Reserved mostly for royalty, or anyone one has
an enormous amount of respect for. Stores will often welcome
customers as "okyaku-sama". Example: Metalia-sama, Galaxia-sama
-san: polite and standard. Used for one's superiors or simply for those
not known personally, such as customers, teachers, and
others. Also used for "senpai" (see below). Example: Mamoru-san
-kun: used towards boys of the same age or younger, usually by other
boys. Also by superiors to inferiors, as in the case of a teacher
to (usually male) students. Example: Yaten-kun, Mimete-kun
-chan: used for those much younger than oneself, almost as a "cutesy"
addition. Also used for extremely close friends or significant
others. Example: Mako-chan (Makoto), Ami-chan, Chibi-usa-chan
-(none): Used by family members or extremely close friends. In some
situations, can be viewed as a term of contempt.
And a couple that don't fit into the politeness chart:
-sensei: means literally "firstborn", and is applied to teachers.
Haruna-sensei is the best example of this.
-hakase: means "doctor". For instance, I believe Tomoe Souichi was
sometimes referred to as Tomoe-hakase, and Ami has daydreamed
about being Mizuno-hakase
Now for a word on when to use honorifics. Many of you might wonder
why it is that characters can refer to Mamoru as "Mamoru-san" sometimes
and just plain "Mamoru" other times.
In order to clarify this, the concepts of "ingroup" and "outgroup"
need to be established. As a foreword, honorifics are attached to
members of the "outgroup" (optionally) but NEVER to members of the
"ingroup".
The smallest ingroup one can have is basically the person himself.
Therefore, you should NEVER attach an honorific to your own name. Now
extend the concept: you should never attach honorifics to members
of your own ingroup either. The problem with this is that ingroup and
outgroup are never clearly defined. In fact, they are constantly
changing.
Let's use a Sailor Moon example. Suppose Usagi and Ami are at
Mamoru's apartment, when the doorbell rings. They open it to find
someone they don't know. The man asks if "Mamoru-san" is in. In this
case, the man and Mamoru belong to separate groups, and therefore it
is okay, and perhaps expected, for the honorific to be used. Now if
Usagi replies, she might say that "Mamoru" is indeed in. By virtue
of their being there, Usagi and Ami are ingroup members with Mamoru,
and therefore they do not use the honorific.
Now change the situation. Usagi is walking down the street when she
is stopped by Ami. Ami now asks Usagi is she knows where "Mamoru-san"
is. Since Ami at the time has no direct connection to Mamoru, he is
an outgroup member to Ami, and she uses the honorific. Usagi basically
has two options, depending on situation. If the context of the situation
puts her in Mamoru's ingroup, then she would not use the honorific;
otherwise, she would.
Things are further complicated by the fact that Mamoru and Usagi are
romantically attached. This almost always guarantees that Usagi will
not use an honorific. However, if Usagi is directly addressing Mamoru,
then she may be considered an ingroup in and of herself only, and she
may elect to use honorifics. Again, it depends on the, for lack of a
better word, "intimacy" of the situation. Also note the formality of
whenever Sailor Moon addresses "Tuxedo-Kamen sama".
In other words, the use of honorifics is extremely tricky to master.
In fact, I've probably screwed up/neglected a couple of things myself.
Suffice to say, use honorifics only with EXTREME caution. And never
refer to yourself as "whatever-sama" on AFSM. (You can, however, call
me Edward Chang-sama if you'd like ^_^)
4. Vocabulary
Here's a VERY limited vocabulary of words one may come across often
in SM.
ai/koi: love (koi is more 'romantic' than ai)
anata/anta/kimi/omae/temae/onore/kisama: you (in decreasing order of
politeness... the later ones can be construed as swearwords)
ano: Japanese "hesitation word", can mean "excuse me", "uhh", depending
on circumstances
asatte: day after tomorrow
ashita: tomorrow
benkyou: study
chikara: strength
chikyuu: Earth (as in the planet)
(da)kara: because
demo: but
densetsu: legend
desu: (verbal) to be. forms include "da", "deshou", "deshita" etc.
dooshite: why
eien: eternity, forever
ginga: galaxy
hai: yes
hana: flower OR nose
hatsukoi: first love
hi: fire OR sun
hikari: light (esp. a bright shimmering light)
hitomebore: love at first sight
honoo: flame
iie: no
juken: entrance exam
juku: cram school
jyo-ou: queen
kagayaku/kagayaki: shining
kami: god OR hair OR paper (pronounced differently)
kanashii: sad
kanojo: girlfriend or "she" when referring to one's girlfriend
karada: body
kare(shi): boyfriend or "he" when referring to one's boyfriend
kataomoi: one-sided/unrequited love
kawai: cute
kaze: wind
kekkon: marriage
ki: tree OR spirit
kinmoku: fragrant olive (kinmokusei: fragrant olive star)
kinoo: yesterday
kirei: pretty
kiseki: miracle
koibito: lover
kuchizuke: kiss
makeru: to lose (Makenai! : Will not lose)
megami: goddess
mirai: the future
mizu: water
moshikashite: perhaps
mune: heart (literally chest or breast)
nagareboshi: shooting star
namida: teardrop
ne: particle that changes sentences to questions at the end (i.e,
"right?" or "isn't it?"
negai: request (onegai is sometimes used as "please")
nigate: disliked things
ningen: humans, humankind
odango: dumpling, though not the western kind. "odango-atama" (dumpling
head) is translated to "meatball-head" in the dub
onaji: same
otome: maiden
ou: king
rashiku: without frill, as oneself
ryoukai: right or yes (response)
saa: exclamation meaning approximately "okay" or "well"
sadame: destiny
-sei: star. also used to denote planets
senpai: someone's social superior. Often used by girls to refer to
someone they admire a lot (often misspelled sempai)***
sensei: literally, "first-born". Applied to experts in any field, most
commonly to teachers. Can also be applied as a suffix, i.e.,
Haruna-sensei
senshi: warrior
setsunai/setsunasa: sad/sadness
shinjiru: to believe (of course, can be in several forms)
shinu: to die
shumi: favorite things
sora: sky
sugoi: great or wonderful (often used alone as exclamation)
suishou: crystal (changes to -zuishou as a suffix)
suki: like, to like
tokugi: specialty
tsuki: moon
uchuu: universe/space
ude: wrist or arm
udewa: bracelet
un: yes (informal response)
unmei: fate
utusukushii: beautiful
wasureru: to forget
yo: particle used for emphasis at the end of sentences
yoru: night
yoshi: translated as "all right!" or "let's do it!"
yubi: finger
yubiwa: ring
yume: dream
yuurei: ghost
*** I have since been informed that the syllable "n" followed by a
-b, -p, or -m sound, the n is pronounced as a m sound. Interestingly,
I went through all the anime tapes I could find to check this out. It's
a lot harder to distinguish then you might think (check out the 1st
OAV of "Aa! Megami-sama" (Oh My Goddess) for good examples). Suffice to
say if one keeps a strict romanization based on the Japanese script, the
correct romanization is "senpai", even though it may be pronounced
"sempai".
5. Folklore/Culture Elements
Hopefully, this section will explain some of the Japanese folklore/
culture elements present in SM that foreign viewers might not
understand.
TSUKI NO USAGI (rabbit of the moon)
In Japan, instead of the man in the moon people see the rabbit in the
moon. This is typified in Usagi's name, which pun-wise means "rabbit
of the moon". According to the folklore, the rabbit spends its time
pounding 'mochi' in a barrel. Mochi is a sticky food made primarily from
rice. It can be eaten in several ways, bringing us to...
ODANGO-ATAMA (dumpling-head or "meatball-head")
As stated above "odango-atama" means "dumpling-head". However, the
dumplings are not the same as the Western notion, and are made out of
mochi.
SWORD, MIRROR, JEWEL
These are found in SM as Uranus's sword, Neptune's mirror, and Pluto's
garnet orb. Collectively they are known as the "sanshu no jingi".
According to the legend, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami, angered at
her brother Susanoo-no-Mikoto's actions, secluded herself in a cave,
thereby plunging the world into darkness. The rest of the pantheon
attempted to lure her out with singing and dancing. Ishikori-Dome-no-
Mikoto made a mirror (yata no kagami) and Tama-Oya-no-Mikoto made
jewels (yasaka no magatama) to present to her. Meanwhile Susanoo, during
an exile to the earth, slew the eight-headed serpent Yamato-no-Orochi.
Cutting the body in half, he found a sword (amano murakumo no tsusrugi)
which he presented to Amaterasu in order to make up. Finally, Amaterasu
presented the three imperial regalia to her grandson, Ninigi no Mikoto.
They have been passed down from emperor to emperor until the present
day, although damages and mishaps have forced several repairs and
replacements to be made.
RED RIBBON
Specifically, the red ribbon Minako wears in her hair. According to
folklore, future lovers are connected at birth by a red ribbon (which
of course, is invisible except to the gods). Thus, lovers are destined
to be with each other. Any matchups between two people not connected
by the ribbon are destined to fail. Therefore it is appropriate that
the senshi of love wears a red ribbon in her hair.
A euphemism for "to break up" is "ito wo kiru" -- literally, "cut the
thread".
DAYS OF THE WEEK
First of all, whereas the Western world "starts" the week with Sunday,
(it is the left-most day on a calendar), Japan and many other Asian
countries start the week on Monday. So the days of the week are
"getsuyoubi", "kayoubi", "suiyoubi", "mokuyoubi", "kinyoubi", "doyoubi",
and "nichiyoubi". Youbi means roughly the same thing as "-day". The
prefixes getsu-, ka-, sui-, moku-, kin-, do-, and nichi- mean moon,
fire, water, tree/wood, earth, and sun respectively. See a pattern yet?
It turns out the character for moon can be read "tsuki" or "getsu",
fire can be read "ka" or "hi", water either "mizu" or "sui", and so on.
Thus, Tsukino Usagi, Sailor Moon, can be associated with the "moon" and
Monday "getsuyoubi". So on for each of the others. The only one to
break this pattern is Sailor Venus, Aino Minako. "Ai" and "Kin" are NOT
the same characters. The reason for this is apparently because Sailor
V was written before Takeuchi Naoko began the naming pattern. Note,
also, that you would expect Sailor Mars to join the team first and
Mercury second, but that doesn't really matter.
If I've confused anybody, and I'm sure I have, refer to the "name
meanings" section above.
NIKUMAN
Well, I can only think of one instance this occurs in. Nikuman means
"meat bun", from "niku" meat (usually seasoned pork) and "manju" bun.
They appeared in episode 4 (JP), but the dub explained them as
"doughnuts" since nikuman don't really exist in that form overseas.
ONIGIRI
More food. Onigiri are rice balls, either filled with something like
meat or fish, or simply seasoned rice in a ball shape. I think the
dub calls them muffins.
DAIFUKU
Even more food. Daifuku are mochi cakes (see above) filled usually with
red bean paste (anko). Dub calls them chocolate cakes.
SHINTO
Shinto is the national religion of Japan. It is a polytheistic religion
and an integral part of Japanese culture and even politics (until the
end of World War II, where the emperor became a figurehead). In the
show, Rei is training to be a Shinto priestess. A couple of instances
show this influence; for instance, her robes are ceremonial Shinto
robes, she works at a "jinja" (shrine), she uses "ofuda" (translated
somewhat loosely as magic charm) to banish monsters, etc. Ofuda are no
more "magic" than most Christians would consider holy water "magic";
they are religious symbols. Also, the special stick she uses when
seeing images in the fires has a name too, but I've forgotten it...
Shinto's main beliefs are as follows: all natural phenomena are
personified as "kami" (which we will translate here as 'divinity').
Certain "specialized" kami exist, such as Amaterasu no Omikami,
"goddess" of the sun, and so on. The Shinto pantheon is structured
in an imperial fashion, but no "chief deity" exists. Each kami
has a force called a "tama" -- the closest translation is "life-force".
People, too, have "tama", but theirs, unlike those of kami, are
exhaustible, and when they are indeed exhausted, the person dies.
Shinto, according to many, is "compatible" with other religions in
that it is not exclusive; however, in the 15th century a division
of Shinto known as Yuiitsu Shinto (Only Shinto) appeared that strived
to make Shinto an exclusive religion, mostly to preserve the divinity
of the emperor.
JUKEN
Japanese school is twelve years long but is divided differently than
American schools. High school is three years long, as is middle school.
To get into high school students must take 'juken', or entrance exams.
The exams are critical to the future of the taker; 'more important
than the SAT' is an understatement. The studying for juken forms the
background for three side stories in Manga Volume #13, which are, in
order, "Mako-chan no Yuuwatsu" (Mako-chan's Depression), "Ami-chan
no Hatsukoi" (Ami-chan's First Love), and "Rei to Minako no Joshikou
BATORU" (Rei and Minako's Girl's School Battle). "Ami-chan no Hatsukoi"
was made into a short, 15-minute animated feature to go with the Super
S movie.
CHRISTIANITY
A lot of astute viewers have noticed Christian imagery in SM, such as
Rei attending a Catholic school, the Messiah, Holy Grail, the one
scene where everybody's strung up on crosses... in fact, the entire
S season... Anyway. Christianity does exist in Japan, but on nowhere
near the levels as here in the U.S. In fact, Japan is fairly secular,
despite Shinto shrines, appearance of Buddhism, and a history of
repression of Christianity.
First let's handle Rei's attending of a Catholic school. At first
this seems an obvious contradiction since she is a Shinto shrine
maiden, etc. Catholic schools in Japan are not necessarily for Catholics
only; it has been suggested that Rei goes there because her father
wanted the "best of education" for his daughter.
Crosses seem to pop up often as well. Haruka is sometimes shown as
wearing one, then there was that episode of R... anyway, crosses
*probably* (not that I can speak for Takeuchi-san) carry no religious
symbolism with them. They seem to be a "decoration" more than anything
else, just as Yin-Yangs or Lotus Flowers may appear in Western eyes.
The S season, on the other hand, does seem to be strongly influenced
by Christianity, what with the Messiah and the Holy Grail, etc. etc.
Even the appearance of "Christmas" does not mean that Japan is a
Christian country. In Japan, Christmas is a mostly commercial holiday,
celebrating "the spirit of giving" rather than the birth of Christ.
It is much the same way as how St. Valentine's Day has lost much of
its previous religious meaning in the Western world.
Overall, let's just put it that Sailor Moon may have many influences
both from Christianity and Shinto, but it wasn't meant to be preaching
anything, and let's just enjoy it as it is.
KAGUYA-HIME
Kakeru in the S Movie refers to the legend of the "bamboo taker".
There once was an old bamboo cutter who, with his wife, was childless.
Together the couple prayed to the gods for a child. One day, the
bamboo cutter was collecting bamboo when he noticed a glowing stalk.
Looking inside, he discovered a miniature girl. The couple adopted her.
Also, from that day, the bamboo cutter began discovering gold in
bamboo stalks, so the couple never worried about money again.
Eventually the girl grew up into a beautiful, normal-sized woman,
known as "Kaguya-hime". Her beauty was so great, in fact, that no less
than five princes asked for her hand in marriage. Not wanting to
marry any one of them, Kaguya-hime sent them all on a quest, each to
find a different rare item (the Buddha's begging bowl, a flame-proof
fur robe, etc.) Each one tried to trick Kaguya-hime and/or failed
to find the object. Eventually Kaguya-hime attracted the attention of
the Emperor's son himself. He courted her for months, to no avail.
One day, Kaguya-hime informed her parents that she would soon have to
leave the Earth and return to the Moon Kingdom (see the parallel ^_^)
The Emperor's son, angered at the audacity of the Moon Kingdom folk
who demanded Kaguya-hime back, stationed guards at her house.
Despite the guards, Kaguya-hime left with the Moon Kingdom entourage,
leaving behind only a shawl and a few drops of the Elixir of Life.
The Emperor's son, saddened at the loss, ordered a trusted courtier
to find the highest mountain in Japan and burn the shawl and the drops
on the summit in Kaguya-hime's honor. The courtier did so, and the
mountain that he was on was called "Never Dying" in light of the
smoke that still seems to curl up from its top. The mountain is better
known as Mt. Fuji. (Ohhhhhh... you all say ^_^)
YUKI-ONNA
Just a small note to go with that last one. Princess Snow Kaguya in
the S movie seemed more like the Japanese legend of the Yuki-Onna
(lit. "snow-woman") who appeared to men caught in blizzards and
consumed their blood/energy (your choice). There is also a legend
about a kindlier Yuki-onna, but it's kind of long, and not really
all that relevant, so...
6. Introductory Phrases
Introductory phrases refers to what the characters say when they
suddenly appear and introduce themselves to the enemy. These ones
below, with translation, are culled from the manga and the movies.
Actually, I'm not sure that the inner senshi have introductory phrases
at all in the anime...
Sailor Moon: "Ai to seigi no, seeraa fuku bishoujo senshi, Seeraa
Muun!" etc. "Tsuki ni kawatte, oshioki yo!"
"[For] love and justice, [the] sailor-suited pretty
soldier, Sailor Moon!" etc. "For the moon, [I will]
punish [you]!" (or the dub version, "In the name of the
moon, I will punish you!!"
Sailor Chibi-Moon: (pretty much the same, except she says "Seeraa
Chibi-Muun!" and her other phrase is "Mirai no tsuki ni
kawatte, oshioki yo!" which means "In the name of the
future moon, I will punish you!")
Sailor Mercury: "Mizu no hoshi, suisei wo shugo ni motsu, chi no
senshi, Seeraa Maakyarii!"
"Protected by Mercury, planet of water, the warrior of
intelligence, Sailor Mercury!"
Sailor Mars: "Hi no hoshi, kasei wo shugo ni motsu, tatakai no senshi,
Seeraa Maazu!"
"Protected by Mars, planet of fire, the warrior of
fighting, Sailor Mars!"
Sailor Jupiter: "Ikazuchi no hoshi, mokusei wo shugo ni motsu, hogo
no senshi, Seeraa Jupitaa!"
"Protected by Jupiter, planet of lightning, the warrior
of protection, Sailor Jupiter!"
Sailor Venus: "Bi no hoshi, kinsei wo shugo ni motsu, ai no senshi,
Seeraa Binasu!"
"Protected by Venus, planet of beauty, the warrior of
love, Sailor Venus!"
Sailor Uranus: "Tenkuu no hoshi, tennousei wo shugo ni motsu, kisei no
senshi, Seeraa Uranus!"
"Protected by Uranus, planet of the atmosphere, the
warrior of flight, Sailor Uranus!"
"Arata no jidai ni sasowarete, Seeraa Uranus, karei ni
katsuyaku!"
"Invited by the new age, Sailor Uranus, fighting for
magnificence!"
Sailor Neptune: "Shinkai no hoshi, kaiousei wo shugo ni motsu, uuyou
no senshi, Seeraa Neputuun!"
"Protected by Neptune, planet of the deep sea, the warrior
of affinity, Sailor Neptune!"
"Onaji arata no jidai ni sasowarete, Seeraa Neputuun,
yuuga ni katsuyaku!"
"Likewise invited by the new age, Sailor Neptune, fighting
for elegance!"
Sailor Pluto: "Jikuu no hoshi, meiousei wo shugo ni motsu, henkaku no
senshi, Seeraa Puruuto!"
"Protected by Pluto, planet of time and space, the
warrior of reformation, Sailor Pluto!"
Sailor Saturn: "Hametsu no hoshi, dosei wo shugo ni motsu, chinmoku no
senshi, Seeraa Sataan!"
"Protected by Saturn, planet of destruction, the warrior
of silence, Sailor Saturn!"
7. Special Attacks
By Special Attacks I mean certain attacks that appear in the manga but
not in the anime, since more people are familiar with the anime. There
are but a couple here... sources listed in parentheses. Those marked
"SV" are from the "Codename wa Sailor V" manga, which obviously only
has Venus' attacks.
Sailor Moon -- Moon Twilight Flash (manga)
-- Moon Frisbee (other name for Moon Tiara Action)
Sailor Chibi-moon -- Pink Lady's Freezing Kiss (manga)
Sailor Mercury -- Mercury Aqua Mirage (did show up in Ami-chan no
Hatsukoi)
-- Shine Snow Illusion (manga)
Sailor Mars -- Mars Snake Fire (manga)
Sailor Jupiter -- Jupiter Coconuts Cyclone (manga)
Flower Hurricane (manga)
Sailor Venus -- Venus Wink Chain Sword (manga)
Rolling Heart Vibration (manga)
Venus Sulfur Smoke (SV)
Venus Iron Muscle Punch (SV)
Venus Brand Mosquito Coil Typhoon (SV)
Venus Ten Billion Volt Rocking Rouge (SV)
Venus Love Megaton Shower (SV)
Sailor Uranus -- Space Turbulence (manga)
Sailor Neptune -- Submarine Violin Tide (manga)
Sailor Pluto -- Chronos Typhoon (manga)
-- Garnet Ball (manga)
Sailor Saturn -- Death Reborn Revolution (actually used in manga)
Tuxedo Kamen -- Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber (manga)
Sailor Kakyuu (manga only) -- Starlight Royal Straight Flush
-- Kinmoku Fusion Tempest
Galaxia's Minions -- Galactica Cannon (manga)
-- Galactica Gale (manga)
-- Galactica Planet Attack (manga)
Sailor Galaxia -- Galactica Inflation (manga)
-- Galactica Superstring (manga) (somebody knows physics)
Sailor Quartet (manga only) -- Amazoness Jungle Arrow (manga)
Tuxedo Kamen and Chibi-moon -- Pink Sugar Tuxedo Attack (manga)
8. Idioms
This section is meant to catalog some of the idioms whose meanings
aren't especially clear to those who do not know Japanese. Also, it
will list oft-used sayings. It lists the saying in Japanese, it's
translation, and if applicable, how Minako screws it up :).
I know there's an example in Episode 97, but I don't have the
original Japanese phrase -- if someone could send me this I would
be most grateful. Any other phrases as well!
"Inochi mijikashi, koi seo otome."
(Life is short, fall in love, young maiden.)
Minako says -- "Inochi mijikashi, koi wo taki nobori."
(Life is short, carp climbing waterfalls.)
--from Ami-chan no Hatsukoi and the R movie
"[Ami-chan no tame ni], hitohata nugoi jyanaino [kono Minako-sama ga]."
([For Ami's sake], [Minako] will give her a helping hand!"
Minako says it the same way, but she interprets "nugoi" as "take off
clothes" and begins to do so (since the verbs sound the same...)
--from Ami-chan no Hatsukoi
9. Other miscellany
LIST OF SEIYUU (voice actors/actresses)
Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon Mitsuishi Kotono
Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury Hisakawa Aya
Hino Rei/Sailor Mars Tomizawa Michie
Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter Shinohara Emi
Aino Minako/Sailor Venus Fukami Rika
Chibi-usa/Sailor Chibi-moon Araki Kae
Meiou Setsuna/Sailor Pluto/Sakurada Kawashima Chiyoko
Haruna/Tsukino Shingo
Ten'ou Haruka/Sailor Uranus/Petz Ogata Megumi
Kaiou Michiru/Sailor Neptune Katsuki Masako
Tomoe Hotaru/Sailor Saturn Minaguchi Yuuko
Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen Furuya Touru
Luna/Queen Beryl Han Keiko
Artemis Takato Yasuhiro
Seiya Kou/Sailor Star Fighter Niiyama Shiho
Taiki Kou/Sailor Star Maker Tsurada Narumi
Yaten Kou/Sailor Star Healer Sakamoto Chika
THEME SONGS
SEASON OPENING CLOSING
Classic Moonlight Densetsu Heart Moving
Princess Moon
R Moonlight Densetsu Otome no Policy
R Movie Moonlight Densetsu Moon Revenge
S Moonlight Densetsu (Moon Lips) Tuxedo Mirage
S Movie Moonlight Densetsu (Moon Lips) Moonlight Destiny
SS Moonlight Densetsu (Moon Lips) Watashitachi ni Naritakute
'Rashiku' Ikimasho
SS Movie Moonlight Densetsu (Moon Lips) Morning Moon de Aimashou
Ami-chan no Ashita mo Mata Jitensha ** 'Rashiku' Ikimasho
Hatsukoi
Stars Sailor Star Song Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto
Ep. 200 Sailor Star Song Moonlight Densetsu
** Not the exact song, but the melody is the same.
IMAGE SONGS W/ ALBUM (by character)
if you need any specific information about albums I HIGHLY suggest
you refer to Beej's Compleat Sailor Moon CD List at
http://www.
anime-alberta.org/~Compleat/
Sailor Moon Ai Kotoba wa Moon Prism Power Make Up!
(Ai wa Dokoni Aruno)
Yume Miru Dakeja Dame (In Another Dream)
Ai wa Enery (Maiden's Poem)
I Am Sailor Moon (Mirai he Mukatte)
Ai no Shinjiteru (Stars single)
Sailor Mercury Someday... Somebody (In Another Dream)
Koibito ni wa Narenaikedo (Maiden's Poem)
Onaji Namida wo Wakeatte (Mirai he Mukatte)
Ashita mo Mata Jitensha (Stars single)
Sailor Mars Eien no Melody (In Another Dream)
Watashi no Hito Gingahen (Maiden's Poem)
Sho Hi Ai ~Fire Soul Love~ (Mirai he Mukatte)
Honoo no Sogekimono (Stars single)
Sailor Jupiter Anata no Seijanai (In Another Dream)
Wasureru Tameni Koi wo Shinaide (Maiden's Poem)
Starlight ni Kisu Shite (Mirai he Mukatte)
We Believe You (Stars single)
Sailor Venus Anata no Yume wo Mitawa (In Another Dream)
Setsunakuteii (Maiden's Poem)
Route Venus (Mirai he Mukatte)
Ai no Megami no How to Love (Stars single)
Tuxedo Kamen Dakishimete Itai (Mirai he Mukatte)
Sailor Chibi-Moon Yume wo Ijimenaide (Uranus, Neptune, Chibimoon-
Plus)
Bye-bye te itta (Stars single)
Sailor Uranus Kaze ni Naritai (Uranus, Neptune, Chibimoon-Plus)
Initial U (Stars single) (NOT sung by Ogata
Megumi; sung by Ooki Risa)
Sailor Neptune Unmei wa Utsukushiku (Uranus, Neptune, Chibimoon-
Plus)
Senshi no Omoi (Stars single)
Sailor Star Fighter Ginga Ichi Mibun Chigai na Kataomoi (Stars single)
Sailor Star Maker Chikara wo Awasete (Stars single)
Sailor Star Healer Mayonaka Hitori (Stars single)
Galaxia Golden Queen Galaxia (Stars single)
Luna Luna!
Queen Beryl Ai no Energy wo Ubae!
SEIYUU GUEST STARS
Character Seiyuu Also known as...
Diana Nishihara Kumiko Angela (Dragonball Z)
Umino Gurio/ Nanba Keiichi Sugishita Shunichi (Blue Seed)
Zoisite Komatsu Seiji (Kimagure Orange
Road)
Yuuichirou Shimada Bin Zangulus (Slayers), Hargen (Saint
Seiya), Daimonji Sentaro (Ranma
1/2)
Queen Serenity Doi Mika Megumi (Rurouni Kenshin), Hayase
Misa (Macross), Principal (Mamono
Hunter Yohko)
Beruche/ Amano Yuri Gold Digger (Cutey Honey),
Cerecere Ifurita (El Hazard), Raika (Galaxy
Fraulein Yuna), Alcione (Mahoukishi
Rayearth), Kiyone (Tenchi Muyou!)
Elise (Vision of Escaflowne)
Yukimura Keiko (Yuu Yuu Hakusho)
Karaberas Hiramatsu Akiko Nene Romanova (Bubblegum Crisis),
??? (Maison Ikkoku), Girl in car?
(Tonari no Totoro ^_^)
Ail/Fiore Midorikawa Hikaru Hide (Sazan Eyes), Number 16 (DBZ),
Zelgadiss (Slayers), Tamahone
(Fushigi Yuugi), Mikage (Shoujo
Kakumei Utena)
Ann/Kisenian Touma Yumi Urd/Young Belldandy (Aa! Megami-
sama), Cho-ly (Miyuki-chan in
Wonderland), Deedlit (Record of
Lodoss War), Sofia (Toshinden),
Ninomiya Hinako (Ranma 1/2), Yui
(Fushigi Yuugi)
Esmeraude Koyama Mami Se Himiko (Vampire Princess Miyu),
Mendou Ryouko (Urusei Yatsura),
Shaina (Saint Seiya), Mine Fujiko
(Lupin III), Lunch (Dragonball)
Tomoe Souichi Kamiya Akira Mitaki Shun (Maison Ikkoku),
Ashram (Record of Lodoss War),
Algol (Saint Seiya), Mendou
Shuutaro (Urusei Yatsura),
Kazamatsuri Shinnosuke (Yawara!)
Eudial Kawamura Maria Naga (Slayers), Jung Freud
(Gunbuster), Asuka's mother
(Shinseiki Evangelion)
Mimete Kanai Mika Panda (Ranma 1/2), Shimu (Vampire
Princess Miyu)
Tellu Honda Chieko Kasuga Kurumi (Kimagure Orange
Road), Ogawa Chikako (Mamono
Hunter Yohko), Misako (Yuu Yuu
Hakusho)
Cyprine Fuchizaki Yuriko Morisato Megumi (Aa! Megami-sama),
Yagami Ibuki (Maison Ikkoku)
Viluy Takamori Yoshino Kanzaka (Maison Ikkoku), Ine
(Project A-ko), Honami Sayaka
(Yawara!)
Kakeru (S Mov.) Kikuchi Masami Saru (Sazan Eyes), Morisato
Keiichi (Aa! Megami-sama), Hino
Yusaku (Kimagure Orange Road)
Masaki Tenchi (Tenchi Muyou!)
Himeko (S Mov.) Hayashibara Megumi As if you need to ask... Tiramisu
(Bakuretsu Hunter), Ayanami Rei
(Shinseiki Evangelion), Lina
Inverse (Slayers), Saotome
Ranma (Ranma 1/2),
Musashi
(Pokemon), many others
Fish Eye Ishida Akira Nagisa Kaoru (Shinseiki Evangelion)
Xelloss (Slayers)
Iron Mouse/ Hara Eriko Hiyama Hikaru (Kimagure Orange
Unazuki Road), Ayako (Slam Dunk!),
Kazumi (Yawara!)
Junjun Watanabe Kumiko Alfreed (Heroic Legend of Arslan),
Rouge (Megami Paradise)
Pallapalla Toyoshima Machiko Tattsuu (Pokemon), Student (Slam
Dunk!)
Aluminum Siren Inoue Kikuko Belldandy (Aa! Megami-sama), Tatora
(Mahoukishi Rayearth), Tendou
Kasumi (Ranma 1/2), Rya (Slayers)
Queen of Hearts o_O (Miyuki-chan
in Wonderland)
Tin Nyanko Otani Ikue Hasegawa Sora (Aa! Megami-sama),
Pikachu ^_^ (Pokemon), Shura
(Yuu Yuu Hakusho)
Galaxia Horie Mitsuko Upa (Dragonball), Hilda (Saint
Seiya)
Princess Kakyuu Tamagawa Sakiko Gilda (El Hazard), Pirotess
(Record of Lodoss War), Dotter
(Bakuretsu Hunter)
Takuya (192) Hayami Sho Mayor Light (Cutey Honey), Orson
(Record of Lodoss War)
Various Itou Miki Announcer (Aa! Megami-sama), Irene
(Bubblegum Crisis), Number 18 (DBZ)
Nova (Mahoukishi Rayearth), A-ko
(Project A-ko)
CREDITS
First of all...
To Takeuchi Naoko, for... well, you better know!
To Racso for graciously agreeing to host my FAQ at his site
And then...
To Aureal for correction of the Three Lights' given names, and some
songs, and some seiyuu guest stars.
To Ken Arromdee for Ami's name's meaning and other name miscellany, and
of course his wonderful SM FAQ.
To Gally Vincent for many corrections here and there (too many to list)
To Srichanth for numerous clarifications
To Alex Lau for input on pronouns/honorifics
To Geoff for even more input on Ami's name
To Andy Hock for additional pronoun information and some clarification
of Mamoru's name
To Korb for Minako name input, corrections on Kinmokusei, and the kana
link.
To Satoshi for several vocabulary and many other comments.
To Jennifer for correction on the UNC-Plus album
To Princess Serenity, for additional manga attacks
To Catherine Johnson for the note about the Amazon Trio names
To Robert Hutchinson for many spelling corrections, phonetics, etc.
To the Amazing Rando for several manga attacks
To Maiti for several notes about language, grammar, etc.
To Dr. Cain for several useful suggestions
To Tenshi for a confirmation
To Tom Brutus for the Sailor V attacks
Well, that's it for now. If I've missed anything (and I'm sure I have)
please feel free to send me a mail and yell/berate/scream at me for
missing something. Although politeness increases the chances I'll
thank you in the credits :). Hope you enjoyed this.
Copyright 1999-2001 by Edward Chang. Not to be altered without author's
permission. You may distribute it freely as long as nothing is changed
and I am credited. Not for sale or resale.
Edward Chang
Unofficial keyboardist for the Skuld Sledge Hammers
"Watashitte yappari tensai!" -- Skuld, Aa! Megami-sama
"I don't like the word, 'dude'." -- Rose, Legend of Dragoon
Sailor Moon Anime:
美少女戦士セーラームーン
©1992-2008 武内直子・講談社・テレビ朝日・東映動画
Sailor Moon ©1992-2008 Takeuchi Naoko, Kodansha, TV Asahi, Toei
Animation
Sailor Moon Live Action:
©2003-2008 武内直子 / PNP · CBC · CAZBE · 東映AG · dentsu · 東映
©2003-2008 Takeuchi Naoko / PNP · CBC · CAZBE · ToeiAG · dentsu · Toei