What is the Story Behind the R in Sailor Moon R?

Posted 2015-12-03

Filed under Articles, Language, Making Of

Sailor Moon Rrrr……rrr?

One of the more enduring mysteries about the Sailor Moon anime franchise is what the “R” in the second season of the anime, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon R, actually stands for. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “hotly contested,” it is one of those questions which you’ll get a different answer for every person you ask. Before we go on, though, one thing to get out of the way is to discuss the way that Ms. Takeuchi handles this in the manga, seeing as the manga didn’t have seasons, per se, even though the themes of the stories did change in both the anime and manga around the same time and always happened around March or April of each year.¹ In the manga, the five major story arcs are named:

Dark Kingdom [February 1992 – March 1993]
Black Moon [April 1993 – March 1994]
Death Busters [March 1994 – March 1995]
Dead Moon [April 1995 – March 1996]
Sailor Stars [April 1996 – March 1997]

The anime, by contrast, in Japan is referred to as:

Mujirushi (無印; lit. ‘unlabeled’) [March 7, 1992 – February 27, 1993]
R [March 6, 1993 – March 12, 1994]
S(uper) [March 19, 1994 – February 25, 1995]
SuperS [March 4, 1995 – March 2, 1996]
Sailor Stars [March 9, 1996 – February 8, 1997]

There is some debate among fans regarding Sailor Moon S as well and whether or not it stands for Super, since it seems silly to have Super followed by SuperS, but alas, that is irrefutable due to the fact that the title is sung during the eyecatch.² You can watch and hear it for yourself here!

Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal

So that brings us back to “R” and where the title comes from! Unfortunately, the eyecatch is of no help, since it simply says “Sailor Moon R!” There are many theories floating around, including that it stands for Romance, suggesting that this is because the series takes on more of a romantic turn in the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru. However, that theory doesn’t really pan out, since the anime had to run with Cardian storyline for three months³ to allow Ms. Takeuchi to get ahead in the manga so they could follow the story.⁴ This means that they wouldn’t have known yet that the theme of the series was ‘romance’ anyway.

Other common theories are Return (since the series came back to the airwaves), Rabbit (after Usagi), Remake (since it’s theorized that the characters were reborn and the year was restarted, explaining no change in age), and Ribbon (… no idea where this came from!). One strong contender for the Return theory is that on the TV program Quiz: Hint de Pint,⁵ which also aired on TV Asahi (the same station that Sailor Moon aired on) the host, Masaru Doi, read the title of Sailor Moon R as “Sailor Moon Return” in the episode airing July 25, 1993.

Quiz: Hint de Pint

While we can’t say for sure, one thing that further adds to the mystery is that there’s another series which came out right at around the same time which to which the author also gave its sequel the “R” title after its name: the science fiction Somon Valley series by Katsuhiko Takahashi.⁶ The Somon Valley series first made its debut in 1985 and the follow-up novel, Somon Valley R⁷ was released in 1991. Now at first glance this could just be a coincidence, but it’s also worth noting that the producer of the Sailor Moon anime, Iriya Azuma,⁸ belonged to the science fiction club of Keio University (incidentally, the same university Motoki Furuta and Mamoru in the anime attend) and is apparently quite familiar with science fiction in general. It wouldn’t be too far fetched to say that Mr. Azuma was influenced by this title when name the new Sailor Moon anime series.

Regardless of which camp you fall under, it’s an enduring mystery that will keep people guessing for quite awhile longer, I’m sure, or at least until some sort of behind-the-scenes reference material comes out! Hopefully one day we’ll get an straight answer, but for now we’ll just have to enjoy theorizing!

What Do We Know About Miss Haruna’s Family?

Posted 2015-12-01

Filed under Articles, Characters, Supporting Cast

The Four Sakurada Girls

[Haruna (upper left, Sailor Moon), Akina (upper left, to the right of Haruna, PQ Angels), Natsuna (bottom left, Sailor V), Fuyuna (far right, Cherry Project), Haruna (left of Fuyuna, Cherry Project)]

Haruna – Sailor Moon

Well, we certainly do end up talking a lot about families, don’t we? The story of the rarely-discussed yet just-as-essential English teacher at Juban Junior High School is actually pretty interesting, when you realize all the thought that Ms. Takeuchi put into her. Though we don’t really know a lot about her life in general, we do know that in addition to being one of the few recurring non-main-cast characters which has been consistent across all of the various iterations of Sailor Moon,¹ we also know that she and her sisters all seem to be pulled into all sorts of super natural drama.

Before we go any further, though, we should touch on her name briefly. Her last name, Sakurada (桜田), essentially means field (田) of cherry blossoms (桜) and her first name, Haruna (春菜), means spring (春) greenery/vegetables (菜).

Natsuna – Sailor V

The Police Chief – Natsuna

It’s not incredibly uncommon knowledge that there is a character in the Sailor V manga which bears a striking similarity to Haruna—the go-get-’em Superintendent-General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Natsuna (夏菜) Sakurada (桜田). The kanji for Natsuna means summer (夏) greenery/vegetables (菜). It’s been theorized by fans for a long time that there’s quite possibly a familial relationship between Haruna and Natsuna since they not only share the same last name, but live in the same part of Tokyo. Many have claimed that it’s been officially stated by Ms. Takeuchi² that Natsuna is Haruna’s younger sister. It’s a bit hard to believe that the (young-looking) Haruna’s younger sister is in fact that Superintendent General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, but all the stories seem to be consistent in this regard (and there’s a further reason for believing this, which we’ll touch on a bit later).

Fuyuna – Cherry Project, vol. 3, p. 176

The Ballerina – Fuyuna

What is slightly less well known is that Sailor Moon is not the first time Ms. Takeuchi had used the character of Haruna. Her first appearance was in the manga Cherry Project, which was serialized in Nakayoshi magazine from October 1990 through December 1991. Much like with Sailor Moon, Haruna serves as the Chieri’s (the protagonist) homeroom teacher. Wanting to help teach the young and upcoming ice skater a sense of peace, balance, and simplicity in movement, Haruna gives Chieri a ticket to a live performance of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. It is later revealed that the star of the ballet is her younger sister, Fuyuna (冬菜) Sakurada (桜田). As with the other two, her name means winter (冬) greenery/vegetables (菜).

The Classic Literature Teacher – Akina

Last but not least, we get the fourth in the line of the Sakurada girls, Akina (秋菜) and, as with the rest, her name means autumn (秋) greenery/vegetables (菜). She exists in the PQ Angels universe, which was carried in Nakayoshi in 1997, and plays the role of their homeroom teacher and also teaches classical literature at Koganemushi Academy. Though it’s never stated that she’s related to Haruna (in fact, unlike in the rest of the universes created by Ms. Takeuchi, it seems pretty unlikely that this series exists within the same timeline as the shared universe of Sailor V, Sailor Moon, and Cherry Project), they do share the same last name and also the occupation as a junior high school teacher.

Akina – PQ Angel

Though we can’t say with 100% certainty that they’re all related, we do know that Haruna and Fuyuna are at least sisters, and that Natsuna is also likely Haruna’s younger sister. Between a police chief, professional ballet dancer, and two public school teachers, the Sakurada’s are a pretty ambitious family, it seems! As for why it may be possible that Natsuna actually is Haruna’s younger sister, I would say the best assumption is found in their names—all four girls are named after the four seasons. Though it’s nothing more than a theory, it’s possible that the girls were named in the order that they were born: Spring (Haruna), Summer (Natsuna), Autumn (Akina), and Winter (Fuyuna). Not absolute proof, of course, but in a series where Ms. Takeuchi has thought so much about names and birthdates, it is definitely possible!

What Does the P in Luna-P Mean?

Posted 2015-11-26

Filed under Articles, Characters, Supporting Cast

Luna-P Attack!

I’d hate to make you read through all of this and keep your hopes up for a definitive answer the whole time, so I’m just going to spoil it all now and say that there actually is no meaning behind the “-P” in “Luna-P.” But wait! Before you move on, you should at least stay for the back story behind this mysterious appended letter, because there’s actually a rather interesting story behind it!

Continue reading →

Why is Rei So Different in the Anime and Manga?

Posted 2015-11-24

Filed under Articles, Characters, Making Of, Rei Hino

Rei and Her Split Personality

This is a question that has been asked both by Japanese and international fans of Sailor Moon since time immemorial… or at least since the series first debuted in 1992. While there are little differences here and there in the intricacies of all the other characters’ personalities, Rei stands out in being simply so completely different between the anime and manga. How is it that the mature, self-assured, lady-like, and self-proclaimed man-hating¹ young woman in the manga became the boy-hunting foil for Usagi in the anime? Even Ms. Takeuchi herself had complained about how the anime changed the character. So, what happened?

Rei Hino

One of the simplest explanations for the change — and one that probably explains at least half of the story behind it — is that while the focus of the manga was on the story of young love and young girl fighting against the forces of evil (at least in the first season), the focus of the anime was more on friendship and the relationship between the five girls. The strength of their friendship, for example, is what gave Sailor Moon the strength to defeat Queen Metalia in the end.

Another contributing factor was due to the slightly younger intended audience of the anime and the fact that, unlike the solitary nature of a manga (where the reader engages in it by themselves), a television program is typically a group experience, perhaps watched with your family or with friends. For this reason, the anime team went with a decidedly more comedic route than what you saw in the original manga. Rei — the soldier of fire — seemed like as good of a candidate as any, I suppose, to play the opposite of Usagi and constantly push her, argue with her, and fight for the attentions of their shared love interest, Mamoru.

Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin – the Base for TA Catholic School

But perhaps there’s a slightly deeper reason for this, another reason why it is that the anime staff envisioned Rei as more of a wild, outgoing girl. There very well may be, and that reason could very well be tied directly into where the story takes place (and — more specifically — where Rei lives and plays).

Rei is said to go to T.A. Catholic School (a private all-girl’s school)² which seems to be based on Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin (T from Toyo and the ei in Eiwa is pronounced “A” in Japanese, which would explain the name TA chosen by Naoko).³ The school is located in a part of Roppongi where there are quite a few embassies, high class restaurants, and has a vibe of what one could call the “upper crust part of town.”

Incidentally, TV Asahi (the station which carried the Sailor Moon anime during its original run) is also located in Roppongi, though despite being in the same area, the feeling of the town is incredibly different. Particularly at that time, in the late 1980s and early 1990s (and even today, to be honest), Roppongi was known for its discos and wild night-life entertainment. Late night drinking, women in short skirts, and dance clubs running late into the night were and are the norm. The most famous of which, Juliana’s,⁴ was located in Shibaura, in the same Minato ward and nearby to Roppongi.

Juliana’s Tokyo in the Early 1990s

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it was a misunderstanding by the anime staff when they were deciding how to interpret the characters from paper to the airwaves, I think the staff working on the series definitely had a different impression when they heard the words “Roppongi girl,” which could have led to at least some of the differences we see in Rei’s personality. While Ms. Takeuchi’s association was likely more in line with the private Catholic girls school, the embassies, and sky-rise apartments, the day to day experience of the TV Asahi directors and writers would have been very different and more akin to the night club life that Americans would more closely associate with Las Vegas.

This difference ultimately sorted itself back out in the live action show and Crystal, so it’s fair to say that the manga is obviously what would be considered to be the “correct” Rei Hino, but I for one find them both to be interesting in their own ways. Even if it was unintentional, I think it gives you a chance to enjoy the same character twice, even if I admittedly do prefer the manga!

What is the Buddhist Connection With the Four Kings of the Dark Kingdom?

Posted 2015-11-22

Filed under Articles, Characters, Dark Kingdom

The Four Kings and Their Buddhist Counterparts

What many people don’t realize at first glance is that Ms. Takeuchi is not only a talented manga artist, but has an impressive background in the sciences.¹ From joining the astronomy club in her high school days to majoring in chemistry (and later becoming a licensed pharmacist) in university, she had a very diverse base of information to draw upon when creating the Sailor Moon universe. The Four Kings (Shi Ten’Ou; 四天王) of the Dark Kingdom – Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite – are no different.

As with the names of each of the Sailor Soldiers (and many of the other characters in the series), the names of the Kings are no accident and have a deeper meaning behind them. Before we can get into the importance of their names themselves, though, we’ll need to first discuss where the concept of the “Four Kings” comes from in the first place. The “Four Heavenly Kings” comes from a Buddhist belief in four gods governing over each of the four cardinal directions: North, South, East, and West.² Though the names of each of these kings (and the group themselves) differs by country, it should be safe to keep the scope of this conversation limited to its background in Japan due to this being where the series takes place.

Continue reading →

How did the Ministry of Education Change Sailor Moon?

Posted 2015-11-15

Filed under Articles, Characters, Language, Making Of, Minako Aino

Ministry of Education Orders Sailor Venus to Change Name

Though on the surface that may seem completely unrelated, you’d be surprised to know that – at least in some minor way – the Japanese Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)¹ had an effect on the characters of the Sailor Moon universe, at least in Japanese.

First, a little bit of background…

Japanese is pronounced in vowel and vowel-consonant² pairs. The five vowel sounds: a, i, u, e, and o. The consonants are: k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, and w (though there are voiced and unvoiced pairs for k/g, s/z, and t/d and a a voiced and unvoiced bilabial pair for h/b/p).³ Whenever a foreign word has been brought over into Japanese, it traditionally needed to fit into this pronunciation system in order to become a proper gairaigo (borrowed word)⁴ though there have been some concessions since the early 20th century to adapting the Japanese language to accommodate new sounds.⁵

Sailor Venus’ first appearance in Sailor Moon (October 1992 ed. of Nakayoshi; p. 80)

So, what changed?

As you’ve probably already figured out from our list of available sounds, we’ve got a slight problem with not having a “v” sound in Japanese. After WWII when the writing system was being re-standardized in 1954 for the fledgling remodeled education system, it was determined by Japanese Language Council that the “v” sound should be written consistently with the similar-sounding “b.”⁶ As the world became more international and Japanese exposure to foreign words increased, it became apparent that this approximation was insufficient, and the Council decided in 1991 to re-adopt an older approximation used, which was pronounced similar to the English “v” but written as a voiced “u” (ウ/u – ヴ/v).

And that’s where our question comes in: as you see above, when Minako first introduces herself in the Sailor Moon manga as “Sailor Venus” (and not “Sailor V” or “the Princess”), Ms. Takeuchi used the newer writing style of セーラーヴィーナス (Sērā Vīnasu). As you may recall, though, Sailor V pre-dates Sailor Moon by a little less than a year. So how did she give her name back in 1991?

Sailor Venus' First Appearance (August 1991 ed. of RunRun; p. 59)

Sailor Venus’ First Appearance in Sailor V (August 1991 ed. of RunRun; p. 59)

As suspected, in her introduction (left side, middle of the page) she gives her name as セーラービーナス (Sērā Bīnasu), the way of writing it prior to when the order was passed by the Ministry of Education on June 28, 1991.⁷ Since the official order was given out in late June and the manga published in August, it’s very likely that Ms. Takeuchi had already finished and sent it out for proofing and editing. Still, it’s interesting to see that even stuffy, boring acts of the government can have even a minor impact on the anime and manga we all love!

Why Are Sailor Moon’s Titles Almost All the Same Length?

Posted 2015-11-10

Filed under Articles, Making Of

TV Listings in May 1992 Edition of Kitami Shimbun

Or, for those of you who didn’t know already… yes, nearly all of Sailor Moon‘s episode titles are the same length in Japanese.¹

You wouldn’t really notice at first glance, but once you start reading through the titles, you’ll notice that the phrasing is a little off (i.e., some words seemingly forced in) or that kanji will be used or not used inconsistently, which just stands out. My original theory on the issue what that possibly it had to do with the fact that Japanese is typed in full-width, each character taking up the same amount of space (monospaced fonts² are an example of this in English), and with balancing how much “white space” is taken up on the title card. But after reading into this a bit more, it looks like there’s a more specific reason for this.

Dec. 1993 Issue of Animage

According to my research, Animage³ ran a column interviewing the staff who were producing the series and were able to get the scoop on why the titles seemed to be a near perfect match.

It turns out that the staff behind the Sailor Moon anime wanted their titles to fit in exactly in the space provided in the daily/weekly TV listings in the newspapers of the day⁴ and so they purposefully rewrote the episode titles to try to fit that character limit exactly. If you went over, it would be cut off (and viewers wouldn’t know what the episode was about) and if you went under, it would leave empty space. You can see in the example at the top of this post, Sailor Moon is the program starting at 7pm (incidentally, that’s episode 12), though the title was abbreviated here.

It’s pretty amazing to see that the staff actually went to such great lengths for such a small detail! In case you’re curious about the numbers, here they are:

**Episodes, by Number of Characters in Episode Title**
Total	<15	15	16	17	18	18<
200	1	10	136	50	3	1

Tuxedo Unmasked

The Real World Stories Behind Sailor Moon

Tag Archives: Hidden History