What Real World School Uniforms Inspired the Designs in Sailor Moon?

What inspired these uniform designs?

What inspired these uniform designs?

When you consider just how much inspiration Ms. Takeuchi took from the real world when creating the Sailor Moon universe, it seemed almost certain that the school uniforms in the series must have come from somewhere. However, no matter how hard I looked, I was never able to come up with a solid lead as to what actual schools could have served as the base for the Juban Junior High School uniform design.

That is, until this weekend.

In an interesting turn of events, what I thought would be a quaint, uneventful museum visit wound up solving one of the oldest open questions I’ve been researching off and on since this blog was first started.

And better yet, the question was answered by none other than Ms. Takeuchi herself.

Stick around, we’re about to take a trip down memory lane!

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Why Can Makoto Wear Her Old Uniform at Azabu-Juban Junior High?

Makoto will NOT change for anyone

Makoto will NOT change for anyone

If I had to go on record and choose only one thing that made Makoto such a great character, it’d probably be the fact that she manages to so perfectly balance on that line between being a rough-and-tumble tough girl, all the while maintaining a delicate side to her.

And Makoto’s school uniform, worn defiantly in the face of her teachers and fellow classmates without even a hint of shame, is a perfect example of Makoto’s self-assuredness and determination. She doesn’t have time for stupid little rules, but when it comes to helping her friends, she’ll be the first one there at your side.

So in honor of Makoto’s school uniform, today we’re going to talk about just exactly how she got away with this act of defiance, and whether it’s just an anime myth, or if there’s some real world truth behind it.

Grab your lunch boxes, we’re going on a field trip!

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What Is Under That Sailor Skirt?

Sailor Moon and Her Original Petticoat Design

Sailor Moon and Her Original Petticoat Design

There’s really no way to broach this topic without sounding a bit creepy, so let’s get the first (and most important) fact out of the way: what you’re seeing under the Sailor Solider uniform is the bottom half of the bodysuit/leotard. But what we’re discussing today is why that is, how it came to be, and what the inspirations were for the makeup of the design we all know and love today.

First off, it’s worth noting that the uniforms for all of the Sailor Soldiers can be broken down into nine basic components, which you can see broken up (literally and figuratively) pretty well in episode 27 of the anime, when Sailor Mercury is battling against Urawa as Bunbo.

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