What Power Is Sailor Mars Invoking with Burning Mandala?

The mandala, it burns!!

The mandala, it burns!!

It certainly does seem like we keep coming back to Sailor Mars, time and again, in our effort to answer yet more Sailor Moon mysteries.

And it’s not like we don’t have a good reason for it, either.

While I’m certain that most fans the world over are perfectly capable of figuring out what a “Supreme Thunder” is, or parsing out the meaning behind a “Love and Beauty Shock,” Sailor Mars is something of a different story for the western world. Steeped in Shinto tradition, and yet having nearly no Shinto-inspired powers, the attacks wielded by the Sailor Soldier of fire have a surprisingly deep and convoluted background.

Join me as we dissect the Burning Mandala, and figure out once and for all what those symbols she’s summoning up actually mean. You may want to grab a snack, because this is gonna be quite a ride!

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Was Codename: Sailor V Inspired by a Volleyball Manga?

Minako plays for keeps in volleyball

Minako plays for keeps in volleyball

When I say “Minako Aino,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? … after “Sailor Venus” … and  “Sailor V” … yeah, after “Artemis” too.

Okay, fine. When I say “Minako Aino” and “favorite sport that you see her engage in occasionally throughout the Sailor Moon anime and manga,” what comes to mind? That’s right, volleyball! Glad we’re on the same page.

While there isn’t really anything terribly remarkable on the surface about the fact that Minako plays volleyball, it turns out that there may actually be yet another of Ms. Takeuchi’s many hidden references when you dig a little deeper.

I hope you’re paying attention, because today we’re going to servevolley of information your way!1

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Is There a Connection Between Rei Hino and Rei Ayanami?

Rei and... Rei?

Rei and… Rei?

When you consider the sheer volume of anime, manga, and videos games that produced in Japan every year, it’s really no surprise that you’ll run across characters that share the same name. The more popular or common a name is, the more likely you are to see it elsewhere, either in other media or even in the real world!

But when you stop and consider (1) the relatively short time period in which Sailor Moon and Neon Genesis Evangelion hit the market and (2) just how uncommon a name like Rei is in the first place, it’s a little harder to write it off as pure coincidence.

Today we’re going to take a look at the interesting, behind-the-scenes connection between these two juggernauts of anime!

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What Inspired the Design and Name of the Legendary Silver Crystal?

The Legendary Silver Crystal

The Legendary Silver Crystal

Discussions about the Legendary Silver Crystal are always an interesting issue because there’s simply so much we don’t know about it, and even what we do know about it changes depending on which season you’re talking about or whether we’re discussing the anime or the manga.

But interestingly enough, there’s actually some more information to be had if we step outside the Sailor Moon universe and take a good hard look at the real world. Like, specifically, where the design for the powered-up flower form of the Legendary Silver Crystal comes from.

That’s right, my friends, today we’re talking about flower power! I hope you stick around.

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How Did Figure Skating Influence Sailor Moon?

Grace isn't exactly what Usagi is known for...

Grace isn’t exactly what Usagi is known for…

If you’re anything like me – which hopefully you aren’t – the idea that there is some sort of connection between Sailor Moon and figure skating probably never even crossed your mind. But when the words are put together in the same sentence, as I’ve done here, it all kind of clicks together. Or at least it did for me once I actually started to put all my information together.

Today we’re going to take a look at how Ms. Takeuchi was influenced by figure skating, and what kind of impact that had on how Sailor Moon developed. I hope you stick around!

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How Are the Oppositio Senshi in Sailor Moon Another Story Connected?

The Oppositio Senshi (Sin, Nabu, Nergal, Marduk, Ishtar)

The Oppositio Senshi (Sin, Nabu, Nergal, Marduk, Ishtar)

Whether you’re a fan of video games or not, you have to admit that the Angel, the creators of Sailor Moon‘s one and only role-playing game for the Super Famicom, really knocked it out of the park both in terms of world-building and story-telling with their 1995 game, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Another Story.

One of the things that I loved most about the story was the Oppositio Senshi – evil Sailor Soldiers that existed before Sailor Galaxia was ever even a thing. Well, okay, so they aren’t really Sailor Soldiers, but let’s not dwell too much on that.

Today, I’m going to introduce the historical connections that tie the Oppositio Senshi together with our favorite soldiers or love and justice. Hopefully you’ll stick around!

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Why Does Ami Think Vampires Like to Eat Flowers?

Lilica Hubert (spoiler: she's a vampire)

Lilica Hubert (spoiler: she’s a vampire)

In the spirit of the season – and for all of you reading this in the future, that means Halloween – I desperately wanted to find some sort of story or mystery relating to Sailor Moon that I could talk about, but unfortunately I didn’t have much luck. There just isn’t a lot of scary things that happen in the show, unless you’re talking about Mamoru’s fashion sense or Taiki’s obnoxiously large forehead.

So I took to social media for suggestions and, as expected, I got a lot of great suggestions that never even crossed my mind. You people rock.

Today, we’ll be talking about about the story of the vampire who once graced the pages of Sailor Moon, and Ami’s seemingly bizarre leap in logic in how she determined this young girl was a blood-sucking demon of the night.

Stick around!

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