Since Sailor Moon made her debut in the early ’90s, she’s become an icon in the worlds of manga and animation. Her franchise now spans the original manga, anime, movies, live action television series, musicals, video games, and more.
The original series followed a reincarnated princess of the Moon Kingdom and her guardians, the Sailor Senshi, as they fought to protect the universe.
Every version of the story has kept the same broad strokes of the Sailor Senshi and Sailor Moon’s love Mamoru in tact. Sailor Moon, aka Usagi Tsukino, has remained a dramatic teenager who fights for love and justice, but is allowed to make mistakes.
More than 25 years later, and the love for the Sailor Senshi is still going strong.
They’ve seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to 2014’s Sailor Moon Crystal, which rebooted the anime with a story closer to that of the original manga. With a pair of movies for the “Dream” arc of the series on the way, there’s no shortage of Sailor Senshi in sight.
All of that love for the guardians of the solar system isn’t blind. Despite how much fans love the franchise, or maybe because of it, readers and audience members have spent decades dissecting some of the choices made.
There are quite a few things throughout the incarnations of the series that make absolutely no sense. (And no, we’re not talking about Luna being a stuffed animal in the live action series.)
We’ve narrowed down some of the worst offenders with these 25 Things About Sailor Moon That Make No Sense.
The Age Gap Between Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask
In the manga and the newest Sailor Moon Crystal series, Mamoru is a high school student. At just two years older than Usagi’s middle school student, their relationship works, especially factoring in their past lives as soul mates.
In the anime, this wasn’t the case.
Writers in the ’90s decided to make Mamoru much more mature than Usagi. Placing him in college, he was at least four years older than the title character of the series.
Japan’s age of consent is thirteen, and older men are seen as better able to care for their loved ones. The difference makes sense on paper.
However, in practice, Mamoru was way too mature for the childish Usagi.
Leveling Up Ends Up Tiring Them Out
Throughout every incarnation of Sailor Moon’s story, the Sailor Senshi become more powerful with every challenge faced. Each of the young women learns a new attack or achieves a new level of power.
They don’t always use this to their advantage, however.
Once the Senshi level up, they have a much more powerful arsenal at their disposal – especially Sailor Moon.
The group never uses their most powerful form of attack first. Instead, every member of the Senshi utilizes the attack they’re most comfortable with, working their way up to the big one.
The best in-universe explanation is that they have to wear the villains down first. Of course, that also means they’re wearing themselves out too.
Chibiusa’s Pink Hair And Red Eyes
When Chibiusa is introduced as Usagi’s daughter from the future, there was a little bit of head scratching amongst fans before they just accepted it.
Chibiusa is known for her bright pink hair and red tinted eyes, something that neither of her parents have.
In fact, other than a hairstyle inspired by her mother, you could argue that Chibusa doesn’t look like either of her parents at all. While this is common in anime, it still doesn’t make that much sense.
Naoko Takeuchi originally envisioned Chibiusa as a mini version of Usagi. This explains why Chibiusa shares many similarities to her mother.
In fact, original designs of Sailor Moon show her with pink/silver hair. However, Takeuchi’s editor asked her to make Usagi’s hair a bit more colorful, and thus her hair was changed to blonde. Takeuchi was able to take liberties with other characters, though, and many fans believe that this is why Chibiusa’s hair is pink.
Another reason behind Chibiusa’s looks may have to do with rabbits. Usagi’s full name is Usagi Tsukino. In Japanese, “usage” means “rabbit,” while “tsuki” means “moon.”
Chibiusa’s appearance resembles a rabbit’s, as baby rabbits are born with red eyes and a pink tinge to their ears.
However, it still seems strange that Takeuchi changed Usagi’s design, but not Chibiusa’s.
Luna-P
Gifted to Chibiusa by Sailor Pluto, Luna-P is a device that resembles Sailor Moon’s advisor Luna. Though it originally seems like nothing more than a children’s toy at first, it actually has plenty of Sailor Senshi magic.
Before it’s revealed that Luna-P can transform in objects or be used in attacks, the seemingly sentient device follows Chibiusa around.
Also, given that a cat with a crescent moon on it is pretty distinctive in the franchise, it seems random that it resembles Luna so closely.
Though other characters have mentioned the similarities, it’s unclear why it was designed to look so much like Luna and why there is only one of them. Why was a Artemis-P never created?
Sailor Mars’ Inconsistent Anger
When different writers adapt source material for a new medium, there are always going to be changes. One of the biggest changes throughout the Sailor Moon stories is the way Sailor Mars is portrayed.
Rei and Usagi have a contentious relationship. Despite their affection for one another, they often find themselves butting heads.
Rei is especially vocal (and sometimes violent) when she disagrees with Usagi in her original portrayal.
The ’90s anime nearly made them bitter rivals. In fact, their relationship was practically abusive, but played for laughs.
In Sailor Moon Crystal, there’s no trace of that fiery antagonism from Rei, even though she’s the Sailor Guardian of passion.
Where is the consistency?
The Connection Between Fiore, Ail, and An
The alien Fiore made his debut as a villain in the Sailor Moon R movie. He had a pretty distinctive look and a thing for flowers.
One arc created specifically for the ’90s anime featured Ail and An, who also had a thing for plants and looked almost exactly like Fiore.
There was never any mention of a connection between them.
Ail and An are said to be the only survivors of their race, but what if Fiore has people out there in the universe too? We’ll never know.
It’s entirely possible that because they were in development at the same time, animators just liked the idea of plants and elfin looks.
The Kings Of Heaven Reported To Queen Beryl and Prince Endymion
The Kings of Heaven, also called Queen Beryl’s Generals, have an interesting history that wasn’t addressed in the ’90s anime. In the manga, the foursome were also the body guards for Prince Endymion, who reincarnated as Mamoru.
If that’s not complicated enough, Sailor Moon Crystal also briefly mentioned the backstory that they were in love with the Inner Sailor Senshi… and the topic was never brought up again.
This bit of backstory would have been great to flesh out the history of the Senshi and the Kings of Heaven.
It was never discussed– except when Sailor Venus mentioned it to her past life boyfriend during a battle.
The Sailor Starlights’ Manly Disguises
A twist in the ’90s anime saw the Sailor Starlights able to transform themselves into men for their civilian identities. The live action musicals inspired by the franchise also had them undercover on Earth as a boyband.
If this was done as a way to explore the idea of transgendered Sailor Senshi in the ’90s, it would have been great.
There was, however, no real reason for it other than it being their disguise.
Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi was unhappy with the decision, as she has been adamant that Sailor Senshi can only be women.
The decision was made to depict women as heroes during a time when male characters were already in the spotlight.
Inner Senshi Personalities Are Never Explained In Crystal
If there’s one thing that the ’90s anime did well, it’s devote time to letting the audience get to know the different characters.
Each Sailor Senshi got spotlight episodes throughout the season so that the audience could get a full picture of them (and so the writers could make sure that they didn’t outpace the manga, which was being written at the same time).
The opposite is true of Sailor Moon Crystal.
The rebooted anime doesn’t allow the audience to get to know the Inner Senshi at all. Instead, the episodes speed through storylines and leave them as stereotypes.
Perhaps the writers expected that the audience would already know who they were from other incarnations of the franchise.
Usagi’s Lack Of Growth
While the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal show that Usagi has a true character arc, the ’90s anime was sorely lacking in that regard.
For better or worse, Usagi is a teenager during the bulk of Sailor Moon’s story. She’s impulsive and emotional, easily jealous, and quick to anger.
In the ’90s anime, she never gets beyond these traits, and the audience is just expected to accept it. Her outbursts are even played for laughs.
It can be a hard pill to swallow when the manga reader sees Usagi grow into the leader the Moon Kingdom deserves.
Dinosaurs Are Not Extinct
Here in the real world, we know that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago thanks to fossils in museums and the work of paleontologists. In Sailor Moon, however, dinosaurs apparently still roam the earth.
While dinosaurs weren’t spotted in the pages of the manga, one did make an appearance in the ’90s anime.
During an episode meant to fill time, the Sailor Senshi (and newly added Chibiusa) took a trip to the beach. Inexplicably, Chibiusa befriended a dinosaur in an active volcano.
However, if we’re going to believe in time travel, aliens regularly attempting to take over the planet, and dream mirrors inside of people’s bodies, maybe sharing space with dinosaurs isn’t a huge stretch.
Everyone Is Surprised That Sailor Moon Is The Moon Princess
When Luna proclaims that Usagi is Sailor Moon, she reveals that she’s also searching for the Moon Princess.
Despite her stories only talking about the Inner Senshi protecting Princess Serenity, and never including a Sailor Moon, everyone is shocked to discover that the Moon Princess and Sailor Moon are one in the same.
The same is true of every single version of the story. Everyone is always shocked by the connection until they’re hit over the head with it.
To be fair, Usagi is the opposite of what Luna thinks the princess is. She’s messy, lazy, whiney, and is nowhere near ready to be in charge of an entire kingdom.
Luna’s confusion, at the very least, is forgivable.
The Lack Of Continuity
While the anime series aired, movies were also developed and released in the ’90s. Fans wanted to know just where they fit into the animated series.
In addition to the story arcs of the anime, the movies brought villains like Fiore, Queen Badiane, and Queen Kaguya to Earth to take on the Sailor Senshi.
They never lined up with events of the series, though they were released during breaks in the series run.
In particular, as the Outer Senshi vanished from the series for entire seasons, they appeared in a movie set during the time they were missing, and no one batted an eye.
Why Does No One Recognize Them?
It couldn’t escape the notice of readers or audience members that the Sailor Senshi have very distinct looks. They have very particular hair styles and colors.
Unlike Superman’s Clark Kent, they don’t sport glasses and the girls don’t wear masks either. Why doesn’t anyone recognize them?
Some fans have explained this away as the young women becoming so famous that others imitate their looks, providing them a little cover from their enemies or loved ones.
Other fans note that there must be some magic provided by the transformation sequence to allow them to keep their anonymity.
Others like the idea that their families and friends know the truth, but pretend to be in the dark.
However, it is never explained.
Do The Bad Guys Wait For The Sailor Senshi To Transform?
When the Sailor Senshi transform into their heroic selves, it’s a whole thing. Not only do they have a catch phrase, but they also get new clothing, makeup, and jewelry before battle.
The audience can see each of the Sailor Senshi get their uniforms during a dream-like sequence.
It’s an easy way for animators to reuse stock footage to fill a few minutes in the episode and it’s a trope made famous by Power Rangers.
The real question is: just how long does the transformation take? Is it instantaneous and it’s just slowed down for the benefit of the audience? Or are the bad guys waiting around?
Tuxedo Mask’s Powers
For the generation of kids who were introduced to Sailor Moon through the ’90s anime and not the manga, Tuxedo Mask was a conundrum.
He showed up, threw a rose, spouted some advice, and vanished. What were his super powers, really?
Were fans really expected to believe that tossing a rose could stop a villain in its tracks? Apparently.
To be fair, he does have powers in the manga that connect him to the Earth, and there is no rose throwing in Sailor Moon Crystal. In fact, he’s a bigger part of the team in both.
So why did the ’90s anime do such a strange job with his character?
Mamoru’s Reasons For Breaking Up With Usagi
During the “Black Moon” arc of the original anime, it seemed like the show was right on track with the manga, but the writers did a curious thing.
They decided that after Mamoru had some possibly prophetic nightmares, he would break up with Usagi to protect her.
His dreams involved watching Usagi lose her life repeatedly every time they tried to marry.
His fear made sense on the surface. In reality, though, his future self was sending him nightmares to test the bond between the two.
Many fans waved this away as perfectly reasonable, but his actions only placed her in even more danger. Usagi lost much of her will to fight without their bond.
The Time Travel Paradox
Once the stories hit the “Black Moon” arc, there was a lot of time travel. Not only does Chibiusa come from the future to find the Silver Moon Crystal, but so do the villains.
The Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Mask also travel to the future. All that back and forth has to have an influence on the present, right? Not so much.
When Sailor Moon remarks that she’ll treat the Black Moon Kingdom differently once she becomes Queen Serenity, that should have solved all of their problems – or created a strange paradox.
However, we never see either.
Perhaps the Sailor Moon franchise operates under the idea that there are certain fixed points in time that never change.
Where Did The Cardians Come From?
When Sailor Moon R began its run on television, the animators had to wait to see what was happening next in the manga.
They created the “Makaiju” arc with Ail and An as the antagonists to fill time for 13 episodes.
During the arc, the duo had a deck of cards that produced monsters of the week known as Cardians. Clearly inspired by a deck of tarot cards, the idea clashed with the overall theme of magical plants that the arc had going on.
While the English dub originally gave the Cardians a connection to Queen Beryl, the original anime did not.
Where did they come from? No one seems to know.
Why Does Pluto Protect The Time Door? Where Does The Door Come From?
When Sailor Pluto is introduced, she has a very specialized job. Unlike the other Sailor Senshi who team up and fight outside threats, she is tasked with the isolated job of guarding a door that allows time travel.
It’s said that she carries “the blood of Chronos,” the Greek god of time, and that’s why she’s chosen for this job.
Does that mean that Chronos had the job before her? If he also had to work in isolation, when did he have time to father a family line that produced Sailor Pluto?
Does this mean that Chronos created this time traveling door for the Moon Kingdom, or is it a natural phenomena?
This door creates more questions.
