Anime: My Favorite Sailor Moon Senshi List
Sailor Moon
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Sailor Moon was not only the very first anime I watched, but has stood the tests of time by remaining my favorite as well. Trust me, I've watched a LOT of anime too. Don't let the 'silly' costumes or cute feminine charm of the images fool you though... this anime can get very deep and dark sometimes. The beauty of Sailor Moon is that it has the perfect range of emotions throughout the series. It starts you off with plenty of laughter and 'aww' moments to enjoy. Then... BAM, hits you in the feels with something tragic. The characters each have their own unique personalities and history, yet come together to unite with Sailor Moon. Of course with all anime, it has its "why?" moments and things you might question... but just try to look past those things and enjoy the story for what it is, and let the characters take you away into their world.
I could easily go on and talk endlessly about this anime, but that's not the point of this blog. Just a heads up, my list will contain spoilers for the story and for the characters. So MAJOR SPOILERS WARNING!!! Don't read further if you aren't already familiar with the anime.
Disclaimer: This is MY list of favorites. You might not agree with what I say, and yes I will be leaving some characters out of the list such as the Sailor Quartet for example. Please just respect the list for what it is and enjoy the read. Thank you!
My Sailor Senshi Favorites List
#1 Sailor Venus
Those who know me might be surprised by this pick. However the more I got to know about Sailor Venus, the more I fell in love with her. She is easily one of the more tragic stories out of the senshi, and yet also has one of the most fun loving personalities. Sadness hidden by a beautiful smile. It resonates with me a lot. Sailor Venus, Guardian of Love and Beauty, always destined to be alone in love. Its irony at its finest. Her love stories are beautifully sad, and the anguish you know she feels can break your heart. Yet the love for her friends and for her Princess outweigh any loneliness she might have from not finding her destined true love.
Minako is similar to Usagi in the fact she can face all the evil in the world and still manage to keep a smile on her face and see the good in others even when they don't see it in themselves. She also understands and has the strength to face things alone. While I might not relate to her desire to be the center of attention as an Idol, I do love her reasoning behind it. She wants to spread love to others in any way she can, even music.
The first awakened Senshi, the leader, and the body double guard of Princess Serenity. Not only did she fight evil all by herself for years before Sailor Moon even awakened as 'Sailor V' but she pretended to be the Princess so that the evil trying to find Serenity would find her first and keep the Princess out of danger. In the manga story, she is also the one to obtain the sword and strike Queen Beryl dead, not Sailor Moon. She's willing to always sacrifice herself first to protect and guide the others, a true leader and my favorite Senshi.
#2 Sailor Mercury
In school, Ami was avoided because of her quiet nature and how dedicated to her studies she was. People assumed she was a snob because she was smart. Other students talked behind her back and started rumors about how weird she was. Naturally this lead to Ami burying herself even more into her passions (such as reading) to try to ignore all the scorn from others. This was me in school. Its almost like Naoko Takeuchi (creator of Sailor Moon) plucked my life and plopped it into Ami's history. Her shy nature, her introvert ways, her desire to one day help others... I adore this woman. Even after Usagi came along and helped Ami learn friendship and how to better get along with extroverts around her, she still remained the quiet and reserved woman she always was. Only now, she didn't have to be alone. When people ask me which Senshi I can relate to most, I explain that I am a mix of them. For you guys reading this blog, I'll say: consider me a mix of the top 4 of this list.
#3 Sailor Saturn
If you asked me years ago who my favorite was, it would have been Sailor Saturn. My childhood wasn't exactly the best years of my life. Watching Hotaru in her young age having to face so much tragedy and pain just connected with my own pain in life and made me love her. The only reason she is number three on this list, is because at this stage in my life I can appreciate the positive nature of Minako and Ami just a little more than the sadness of Hotaru. Growing up, I was sickly and had to deal with a lot of pain. In school, kids bullied me because I was different. So you can see how I was able to bond with and relate to Hotaru.
Her history aside, I also loved that she was always dual natured. There was Sailor Saturn, the guardian and protector who has the power to destroy worlds if fate deems it necessary. Then there was Mistress 9, a theoretical build up of her bottled up anger and sorrow she kept hidden away from others. True, it was actually an alien entity hiding in her body, but that's not the point. Despite being destined to always be part of the darkness, she still held onto her love of the light. Her Princesses, Serenity and Chibi Usagi, gave her reason and purpose to not give up. She would be the shadow and darkness that shielded the light away from those who wished to steal it. Only Hotaru can see and appreciate the need for and the beauty of darkness.
#4 Sailor Pluto
The beautiful Sailor Pluto makes number four on my list. By far she is my favorite appearance wise. Her reddish pink eyes and long green hair are just so exotic, and paired with the tall darker toned form... I just find her mesmerizing. However it isn't only her beauty that makes me love this character.
Sailor Pluto, Guardian of Time and Daughter of Chronos. There is a lot more depth to this character than I think we even have the privilege of knowing. For most of her life, she was alone. The sole guardian of the gates of time and space. One can only wonder how she didn't lose her sanity spending so many years in that emptiness with noone to talk to. Though we do get hints and peeks at her past of her spying on the royal family sometimes. Who could blame her? I'd get bored too.
Only when she finally gets reincarnated on earth after her sacrifice do we get to see who Setsuna is. Reserved, elegant, intelligent... if I had to compare her, I think she would probably be a mix of Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury in personality. Like the other Outer Senshi, she also has the strength to endure the burdens the Inner Senshi do not. Her attack 'Dead Scream' when whispered under her breath always gave me goosebumps. Her transformation and attack were my favorites in the series too.
Of all the characters, she often gets reimagined appearance wise the most too. Noone seems to settle on what they want her skin tone to be, nor her eye color. Her outfit has floated between reds and pinks as well. I find it interesting myself to see how much she shifts. After all, she's the Guardian of Time. Who is to say she didn't have many incarnations of herself in alternate realities?
#5 Sailor Moon
Princess Serenity. I admit this might be my least favorite of her incarnations even if its one of the prettiest. There were a lot of flaws to this Princess, and most of them stemmed from the fact she lived in peace her whole life (we suppose.) Queen Serenity raised her in peace on the moon, surrounded by her friends and protectors as the precious princess she was. Sweet in nature, curious, and full of joy... it was easy to see why others loved the princess so much. However, her curiosity and love of the Earth Prince literally lead her kingdom to destruction. I mean, would Queen Beryl have ever been pushed to releasing Queen Metalia in the first place, if she hadn't become jealous of King Endymion falling in love with the moon princess? Despite that, if Princess Serenity hadn't committed suicide, would she perhaps have gained the strength to fight the evil alongside her mother and make a difference? Makes you wonder. This is why Princess Serenity is my least favorite of Usagi's incarnations. I found her naive and selfish and weak.
Usagi Tsukino. Opposite Princess Serenity, this is my favorite version of Sailor Moon. Her human reincarnation on earth. Sure, she was a cry baby, clumsy, and not always the smartest... but these flaws ultimately lead to her strengths later on as she matured. Usagi has a way about her with her kindness and curiousity that lead her to never judge others before giving them a chance first. This is how she ended up drawing the other Senshi to her as well. Usagi shows her unconditional love for those she cares about by always being there for them, always supporting them in what they want to do, and cheering them up when they are down. When she was sad, she often kept it to herself. Though not a healthy way to deal with her emotions, it was because she didn't want others to worry about her. She's easily the most emotional character, in all the highs and lows. When happy, her smile makes everyone else smile. When sad, you can't help but cry along with her at her pain.
Sailor Moon. There isn't a whole lot of difference between Sailor Moon and Usagi, so I don't have too much to say on her personality. Her outfit is my least favorite of the senshi, until she becomes Super Sailor Moon. I actually like her Super outfit more than her Eternal outfit. Throw the wings on her Super outfit and it'd be absolutely perfect for me. I like the gradient color of her skirt, her shoulder wings and her rear bow better on Super, but I like her broach and wings of Eternal. My favorite was Moon Healing Escalation perhaps for its simple beauty and primary healing use. Rainbow Moon Heart Ache is a close second though.
Neo Queen Serenity. We don't get to know too much about her unfortunately. We know that apparently she lost most of her power after Chibi Usagi is born and takes on the royal position of Queen of Crystal Tokyo. The silver crystal extends the lives of the people and helps keep peace in the world. So I mean, she's powerful and beautiful and a more mature version of Usagi... I don't really dislike her, but I don't know much about her either. If you're wondering which version I prefer between her golden hair and silver hair? I prefer the silver. Yes, I think the golden 90's hair version of Queen Serenity was more mature looking, but I prefer the manga silver hair for her instead. Change the 90's version to silver hair but keep everything else? Perfect.
Sailor Cosmos. Is she Sailor Moon, or not? A question that has plagued fans for a long time. There is story about her in the manga, but she was left out entirely from the original anime (except one tiny glimpse of a form of her.) Thus, I don't have anything to say about her except I can't wait to see if she gets added into the Sailor Moon Crystal series.
#6 Sailor Jupiter
When I was a child, not only was Sailor Jupiter my favorite (mainly because we both had brown hair) but she starred in the very first episode of Sailor Moon I actually saw. The ice skating episode. Since I originally watched it on tv in my childhood, I didn't get to 'rewind' or start over on the series. I had to watch it in the order that it aired on TV, and if I missed an episode... tough luck.
Fun Fact: I actually taped over (VHS) most of my childhood piano talent show tape with sailor moon. Yeah, Mom wasn't too happy about that... nor am I now that I'm older. I was a stupid kid though, and sailor moon was VERY important to me! lmao. I didn't know any better.
Anyway, back to Sailor Jupiter. As I grew older I actually realized I related less and less to this senshi unfortunately. She loves to cook (I hate cooking), she adores flowers and gardening (I've no interest and have bad allergies to pollen), she's tall (I'm short)... so as you can see, this is why she is halfway down my list. Don't get me wrong though, I still absolutely adore Makoto as a character.
Her longing for love and a peaceful life as a home maker are in contrast to her incredible strength and power as a senshi. From the start she is warring with herself, having a large figure and taller than most men usually left her judged and awkward. Her desire to protect people got her into fights, and instead of admiring her courage people become afraid of her strength. So until she met Usagi she was getting used to being an outcast. You truly get to see her blossom after she gets to experience the love and friendship of the other senshi though. Though she can be as boy crazy and silly as Usagi or Minako, she also tends to be very protective and mothering.
#7 Sailor Uranus
You know... Sailor Uranus could have gone higher on the list. I don't dislike her. In fact, I adore her. I decided to put characters I could relate to a bit higher on the list though. I cannot even sit here and tell you anything I really dislike about Sailor Uranus. Its just, I can't relate to her as much as I can the previous senshi.
Sailor Uranus is both beautiful, and strong. She has no interest in gender conformity, and isn't ashamed of her love for Sailor Neptune. As one of the Outer Senshi, she has more power, and has to endure solitude in her incarnation before earth. Watching the Moon Kingdom from afar and protecting our galaxy from outside invaders. I love that her affinity is the wind, and she brandishes a sword. I prefer her manga hair color if I'm honest, but it doesn't mean her anime image isn't lovely too.
If you've ever liked the style of a "bad boy"... well, Haruka is your bad boy. She drives a motorcycle, she races, she's not afraid to knock you out in a fist fight, and she rocks leather. She even went as far as to steal a kiss from the Princess. Naughty Haruka. Jokes aside though, no matter how hard a task, even if she doesn't want to do it (killing Hotaru for example) she is willing to do her duty. She's unafraid to soil her hands with the dirty work and put the burden on her own shoulders or even sacrifice herself so the others don't have to. A true soldier.
#8 Sailor Mars
Alright... I'm not the biggest fan of Sailor Mars. Her 90's personality got on my nerves, especially the way she was always bullying Usagi. Yes yes, I know it was the passion of friendship and wanting to see Usagi do better with herself. Still... meh. I also couldn't relate much to her future goals of being an idol and a business woman too much. Now that I've gotten that out of the way though, I'll talk about the things I do like.
Rei is a shrine maiden, and I do love the fact that she has psychic powers and an affinity for magic. She is graceful, beautiful, and embraces the traditions of her shrine. As a fan of Japanese culture myself, I do really enjoy this aspect about her. She also lives with and protects her grandfather, as well as gives advice and guidance to people who seek it. Her personality in the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal I find much better. She isn't a firey brat and bully like in the 90's anime. She's more reserved, quiet, and yet willing to still speak her mind and scold Usagi if she's doing something she shouldn't. I think a guiding hand is much better than a kick to the butt.
Sailor Mars is the senshi of fire, and Guardian of War. She has a lot of attack power, and isn't afraid to fight on the front lines in battle. Often times she is the last one protecting the princess before getting taken down. Her desire to protect of Sailor Moon is probably the most obvious out of the senshi, and above all else she is always there to take a blow for Sailor Moon. I do love her fire arrow attacks.
#9 Sailor Chibi Moon
So here we are... the bottom of the list and my least favorite senshi. Of these two, I'll start with Sailor Chibi Moon. I'll begin by saying her 90's version was annoying, and obnoxious. I didn't like her at all. And don't get me started on the incest tendencies. We later on learn that these irritating qualities stemmed from her being a little too spoiled growing up, and the fact she was stuck as a child for 900 years. This doesn't mean there aren't at least a few things I DO like about this character.
The manga and Sailor Moon Crystal redeemed this character for me. I like her 100x more than her 90's version. Sure, the 90's version had a lot of humor and she was quirky. It felt cheap though, and she lacked any real substance to me. Flash forward to Crystal (or read the manga) and you get a whole new Chibi Usa. Despite her age, she gets the courage to literally travel back in time to get the help of Sailor Moon, the hero she was told bedtime stories of, in order to save her parents. She also bonds with the lonely time guardian Sailor Pluto and finds a friend in her, as well as recognizes their shared loneliness. Chibi Usa is a bit more tragic than its first let on. She doesn't age for 900 years... and she is bullied for that fact by other children as well as having no power unlike her beautiful and powerful mother Neo Queen Serenity. Can you imagine always longing to be an adult, and never getting the chance? This would also explain a lot of the... well, mental problems Chibi Usa has.
She falls in love with her father (probably because he is the only grown man to show her love, and she's always longed to be like her mother and feels she never will. At 900 years old, its no wonder she'd not find interest in boys her own age. She also falls in love with a horse. Okay, a pegasus... and he's awesome. Who doesn't love Helios? Yet this is also a sign of her desperation for love no matter where it comes from.
Then there is Hotaru, which is probably one of the few "normal" choices for her to fall in love with. Yeah yeah, this is a huge debate among fans... "friend or love." I'm on the love train, sorry. I ship Chibiusa and Hotaru. They also have that whole both having been evil and trying to destroy the world thing in common.
So there are some of the things I like and dislike about Sailor Chibi Moon. Future Neo Princess of Crystal Tokyo, and leader of the Sailor Quartet (who are cool in their own right but wont be on this list.)
#10 Sailor Neptune
Then there is Sailor Neptune. I have a feeling some of you are either surprised, or going to hate me for the fact she's on the bottom of my list. First I'll talk about what I dislike... then I'll be fair and talk on some of her redeeming qualities.
Michiru... Sailor Neptune... stuck up, sassy, judging. She has many personality traits I try to avoid in other people. Perhaps its because she's rich (no I don't hate rich people), or perhaps it was the fact she was alone as a Senshi for a long time. She purposefully flirts with others to make Haruka jealous (remember the scene with Seiya?) but in fairness, Haruka isn't much better in that regard as a flirt. She looks down on others because she thinks she's better than them (how many times did we see that with her and the inner senshi?) She's also always saying mean or rude things in a 'joke' format, which I didn't find funny (like calling Haruka fat.) Before you hate on me, yes, I understand that this was all in contrast to her better qualities and helped make the character unique and 'sassy' but it just wasn't for me. It simply made me like the other characters more.
Now in fairness there is a lot to like about Sailor Neptune too. First off, she's gorgeous (and she knows it.) I do love her color scheme and fashion. She's also very artistically talented which I can relate to. The violin is one of my favorite instruments and I adore classical music. The tragic paintings she makes are swoon worthy too. She was willing to selflessly fight alone so that Sailor Uranus didn't awaken to their sad fate as senshi. Like Sailor Mars, she is psychic, and able to get visions within her mirror talisman. And her affinity is the sea, which I was born next to myself and I love the ocean. So yes, there are things I like about her. Its primarily her personality that bothers me. If she was a little bit less judging of others, I might like her more. Who knows, maybe if I see a bit more about her in Sailor Moon Crystal, my opinion could change like it did with Chibi Usa.
There you have it everyone! The list of my favorite senshi from most to least and why. I hope you liked my list, even if you didn't agree with it. Thank you for reading my blog. Who is your favorite and least favorite senshi and why? Feel free to leave a comment to share!
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