Cats (Sailor Moon)
Encyclopedia
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
metaseries includes three different cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
characters who act as advisors to their respective owners. Each has the power of speech, and bears a crescent moon symbol on his or her forehead. The two older cats, Luna and Artemis, lived millennia before the main plot in the Moon Kingdom
Silver Millennium
The Silver Millennium, a fictional kingdom in the Sailor Moon metaseries, lies on the moon. It provides a setting for the past lives and future selves of most of the series' major characters, and functions as a major driving force behind both plot and characterization.The series first shows the...
and acted as advisors to Queen Serenity —the third, Diana, is much younger and was born on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Because of this close association with the moon, they are each named after Greek and Roman moon goddesses (even though the cat representing Artemis is male).
Throughout the series, the cats serve as mentors and confidantes, as well as a source of information and new tools. They are able to advise the Sailor Senshi
Sailor Senshi
A appears as a type of heroine in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. The name comes from sailor fuku, a type of school uniform, and senshi, which can mean "soldier" or "warrior". Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who originated the series, coined the term by fusing English and Japanese elements,...
on their duties, on the history of the Moon Kingdom, and on ancient legends which illuminate the best course of action. In addition, they are able to produce special items that allow the Senshi to awaken, or that strengthen their powers. The feline characters are featured less prominently as the series progresses, but increased emphasis is placed on them as more than counselors. They are shown to have additional physical forms, a deeper backstory, and even an unrequited love or two.
Although Luna takes the largest role of the three, technically Artemis was the first; he figures prominently in Codename: Sailor V, the manga series which preceded Sailor Moon.
Grigsby considers the cat characters to blend pre-modern ideas about feminine mystery and modern ideas such as the lucky cat.
Luna
first appears in the first episode or act of every version of the series. In the Silver MillenniumSilver Millennium
The Silver Millennium, a fictional kingdom in the Sailor Moon metaseries, lies on the moon. It provides a setting for the past lives and future selves of most of the series' major characters, and functions as a major driving force behind both plot and characterization.The series first shows the...
, she was a servant to Princess Serenity, sworn never to leave her side, as well as an advisor to the Queen. When the kingdom fell, she and Artemis were put into a long sleep and sent down to Earth to look after the Senshi, who would eventually be reborn there. Part of Luna's memory was suppressed, in order to make her task easier; she only knew that she was supposed to find and awaken the Guardian Senshi. She found Usagi Tsukino first and taught her to become Sailor Moon, not knowing that this was merely a disguise meant to hide Usagi's true identity as the reincarnated princess. Luna has blue eyes in the manga and live-action series, but red eyes in the anime.
In the manga, anime, and live-action series, Luna provides the Senshi with many of their special items, particularly early on. The items always spring into existence, seemingly out of thin air, and it is unclear whether she is creating them herself or simply producing them from some other location. In the manga only, she demonstrates some other special abilities, such as protecting the Senshi from a deadly attack.
Over the course of the series, Luna develops a close bond with Usagi, though early on it is on uneasy terms, as Luna often upsets Usagi by giving her advice she does not want, often leading to comic results. She also becomes good friends with Ami Mizuno
Sailor Mercury
, in Japan, is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. Her real name is , a genius schoolgirl who can transform into one of the series' specialized heroines, the Sailor Senshi....
. She and Artemis have an implied romantic relationship, which is confirmed when they meet Diana, who is their daughter from the future. During the Sailor Stars
Sailor Stars
The following list of episodes of the Sailor Moon anime series covers , the fifth season of the series. Children's TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation co-produced the episodes; Takuya Igarashi directed. The series originally aired on Children's TV Asahi between March 9, 1996 and February 8, 1997...
anime, Luna also develops a crush on Kou Yaten, one of the Three Lights
Sailor Starlights
The Sailor Starlights are a group of three fictional characters introduced in the Sailor Stars of the Sailor Moon metaseries. In the manga, they were relatively minor characters, many of which appeared toward the end of the series to represent the vast number of Sailor Senshi spread out across the...
.
Luna has a special manga story devoted to her, entitled "The Lover of Princess Kaguya," in which she falls in love with a human named Kakeru. This story was adapted in Sailor Moon S: The Movie, and features Luna's first transformation into human form, which has blue eyes even in the anime. Throughout the movie, she gets a cold
Common cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
and tries to find her way home despite Artemis' plea to go with her. She ends up lying in the street until she is rescued by Kakeru from roadkill
Roadkill
Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by motor vehicles. In the United States of America, removal and disposal of animals struck by motor vehicles is usually the responsibility of the state's state trooper association or department of transportation.-History:During the...
.
In the first official Sailor Moon character popularity poll, Luna was the eighth most popular character out of thirty eight choices. One year later, now with fifty choices, Luna was the twenty-second most popular character.
In the original anime, as well as the live-action series, Luna is voiced by
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
Keiko Han
Keiko Han
is a Japanese voice actress. She attended Tōyō Eiwa Jogakuin, going on to study theatre arts at Nihon University. She gained experience in theater while attending school by obtaining work through Aoni Production, singing the theme songs in productions such as Story of the Alps: My Annette and...
, the same woman who voiced Queen Beryl. Her English voice actress for the entire series was Jill Frappier
Jill Frappier
Jill Frappier is a Canadian voice actress.She was formerly known for voicing Luna in the American dub of Sailor Moon, Mrs...
, who portrayed the character with an English accent, described as "fairly old, not to mention cranky and British". Her role in the series has been compared to Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
' in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Sailor Luna
In the Pretty Guardian Sailor MoonPretty Guardian Sailor Moon
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series in the Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon metaseries originally created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is produced by Toei, the same company that produces the Super Sentai Series and the Kamen Rider Series and of which their animation firm Toei Animation, produced the...
series, Luna and Artemis are portrayed as stuffed toys rather than real cats. Usually they are represented by a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
, though CGI effects are used for complicated scenes.
In Act 27 of the series, Luna gains the ability to turn into a young human girl, given the name Luna Tsukino, and is able to become a Sailor Senshi
Sailor Senshi
A appears as a type of heroine in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. The name comes from sailor fuku, a type of school uniform, and senshi, which can mean "soldier" or "warrior". Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who originated the series, coined the term by fusing English and Japanese elements,...
. Her personality as a human girl is essentially identical to her normal self, except that she has a mild obsession with sweet foods and behaves more like a real cat, in that she runs from dogs and is easily distracted by toys. She also has heightened hearing and is able to move extremely quickly. Luna involuntarily transforms back into a plushie under certain circumstances such as sneezing, taking a direct attack from an enemy, or falling unconscious.
By dialing 6-7-2 on her Lunatia S (a special cell phone) and shouting "Luna Prism Power, Make up!" she can transform into Sailor Luna, the "Soldier of Love and Small Things." In this form she uses a special attack called "Luna Sucre Candy" which bombards an enemy in exploding sweets. Her main weapon is a "candy" wand, which looks similar to Sailor Moon's "Moon Stick" and which she can transform into various other objects, such as a paper fan or a butterfly net.
In the Special Act epilogue, Luna is the only one of the Senshi who is still able to transform without outside assistance. She is also shown living mainly as a human with Usagi's family, with whom she gets along quite well, though she still takes on her cat form when necessary. She is also shown to have taken on some of the personality traits of Usagi and her mother, such as acting in the same melodramatic manner when waking up in the morning.
The character of Sailor Luna was designed by Naoko Takeuchi
Naoko Takeuchi
is a Japanese manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime and manga fans worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga and anime products to date.-Early life:...
herself. One of the only times she appears in an outfit other than those Takeuchi designed—her Senshi uniform or her purple shirt and yellow skirt—is in the Special Act, where she serves as the flower girl
Flower girl
A flower girl is a participant in a wedding procession. Like ring bearers and page boys, flower girls are usually members of the bride's or groom's extended family, but may also be friends.Her male equivalent is the ring bearer or page boy...
at Usagi and Mamoru's wedding. Rina Koike thought that she was going to play Chibiusa until she went in for a costume fitting. However, Chibiusa never appears in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.
For Luna's plushie form, Keiko Han reprises her original role as the cat's voice. When in human form, Luna is played by Rina Koike
Rina Koike
is a Japanese actress and idol affiliated with Very Berry Production.Koike started a junior Idol career with the DVD Big Brother at age 10, when she was in 4th grade. Koike also works for Very Berry Production as a model. Koike Rina had a role on the live-action version of Sailor Moon, Pretty...
.
Artemis
first appears in Act 1 of the Sailor V manga, Act 7 of the Sailor Moon manga, Episode 33 of the anime, Episode 1 of the dubbed anime, and Act 11 of the live-action series. He is the companion to the leader of the Guardian Senshi—he trained Minako Aino as Sailor V, and remains by her side when she takes on her proper role as Sailor Venus.His memory of the Silver Millennium seems to be more intact than Luna's—in fact, before appearing in the Sailor Moon series he guides her through the Sailor V video game at the arcade, but not revealing his true identity (and giving the codename "Central Control" in the dubbed anime). When a technical problem reveals him, Luna is greatly annoyed to learn that he's been the one guiding her all along. Later, he fills in the details of her true mission. He has green eyes in the manga and live-action series, but blue eyes in the anime.
Artemis is more easygoing than Luna, and has a "big brother" relationship with Minako, although his attraction to her is sometimes implied. He also cares very deeply about Luna, often comforting her when she is distressed and stating his admiration of her. In addition, he is a good father to Diana as evidenced by her affection for him.
According to Sailor Moon S: The Movie, he feels ashamed of Luna who ends up witout him.
In the Sailor V manga and the live-action series, Artemis gives special items to the Senshi, although unlike Luna he does not seem to produce them himself. He never does this in the Sailor Moon manga or the anime. He also does not seem to mind the fact that he is named after a female goddess, even when teased about it by Minako.
In the first official Sailor Moon character popularity poll, Artemis was the seventeenth most popular character out of thirty eight choices. One year later, now with fifty choices, Artemis was the twenty-sixth most popular character.
In the original anime, Artemis is voiced by Yasuhiro Takato
Yasuhiro Takato
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.-Film and television:*Saruo in Dōbutsu no Mori , the film adaptation of the Animal Crossing video game series.*Mesopotamion Guy and Haou in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo*Jean in Captain Tsubasa...
. He is portrayed by Ron Rubin
Ron Rubin
Ron Rubin is the name of:*Ron Rubin , Canadian voice actor known for Artemis in Sailor Moon*Ron Rubin , American bridge player...
in the English dub with no particular accent, in contrast to Luna. He appears in the first Sailor Moon musical, played by a cat-suited Keiji Himeno. In the live-action series, he is represented as a toy, stuffed cat, and is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi
Kappei Yamaguchi
, better known by his stage name of , is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Fukuoka, affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox.He is best known for the roles of Ranma Saotome , Jackson Neil , Tombo , Yattaro , InuYasha , Ryuichi Sakuma , L , Usopp...
.
Diana
is the third of the feline characters to appear, though the circumstances of her introduction vary. In the manga, she first appears when the Senshi travel to the 30th century in Act 18. There, she is revealed as the child of Luna and Artemis, and when the Senshi return to the 20th century in Act 23, she goes with them.In the anime, she does not appear until Episode 126 (English dub), and Episode 133 (Japanese) of the SuperS series, when the grey kitten suddenly jumps out of the bushes, calls Artemis her Daddy, and nuzzles up against him. Artemis is shocked and confused to find out that he has a daughter, while an angry Luna accuses him of an affair with another female cat and scratches him across the face before running off, leaving him alone with a puzzled Diana. Only later it is revealed that Diana has come from the future and that her mother is Luna. In both versions of the series, Diana has pink eyes.
Just as Luna and Artemis guide Usagi and Minako, Diana acts as a guardian to Chibiusa. She is very curious, eager to help, and deeply polite, always addressing Usagi and Mamoru with the Japanese honorific "-sama" and calling Chibiusa by her formal title, Small Lady. She is also able to help the Senshi on occasion, despite her youth, and often because of the knowledge she has gained in the future. In Act 46 of manga, having returned to the future along with Chibiusa, she is able to sense the danger her parents are in and go back in time to save them from being killed.
On one occasion, Diana goes to Sailor Pluto and asks her to go to Sailor Moon's aid. When Pluto tells her she is unable to leave her post, Diana tells her that she will watch it in her place.
In the second official Sailor Moon character popularity poll, Diana was the sixteenth most popular character out of fifty choices.
Kumiko Nishihara
Kumiko Nishihara
is a Japanese voice actress who was born in Chigasaki, Kanagawa and works for Aoni Production.-Notable anime roles:*Ayane's High Kick *Cool Devices *Digimon Frontier *Dragon Ball Z...
provides the voice of Diana for the original anime. She is voiced by Loretta Jafelice
Loretta Jafelice
Loretta Jafelice is a Canadian voice actress. She voiced Eudial and Diana in the English version of the Japanese anime Sailor Moon.-Sources:* http://www.tv.com/loretta-jafelice/person/194865/summary.html...
in the English-dubbed series, and by Naomi Emmerson for the English Sailor Moon SuperS movie. She does not appear in either the musicals or the live-action series.
History
Bun (hairstyle)
A bun is a type of hairstyle, typically worn by women, where the hair is pulled back from the face, twisted or plaited, and wrapped in a circular coil around itself, typically on the back of the head or neck. They can either be secured with a hairpiece, a hairnet and bobby pins. They may be...
incorporated into their hairstyles, probably modelled after Usagi.)
The reason for their transformation is not discussed until Act 46 of the manga, in which the three are attacked by Sailor Tin Nyanko. She calls them traitors, using her power to change them once again into humans, and then chasing them and trying to kill them. When she introduces herself to Sailor Moon, Luna realizes who she really is—a false Senshi from their original planet, Mau (named after the real cat species the Egyptian Mau
Egyptian Mau
Egyptian Maus are a small-medium sized short-haired cat breed. Along with the Bahraini Dilmun Cat, they are one of the few naturally spotted breeds of domesticated cat. The spots on an Egyptian Mau are not only on the coat; a shaved Mau has spots on its skin...
), which had once been protected by Sailor Mau. Artemis terms it a peace-loving world, but Tin Nyanko informs him that after he and Luna "abandoned" it, its people were wiped out by Sailor Galaxia. At this point, Diana, also in human form, arrives from the future and tries to intervene, but Tin Nyanko hits all three of them with blasts from her bracelets, and they shift to ordinary cats, unable to speak.
Later, as they care for the badly injured cats, Princess Kakyuu tells Usagi that the three of them have powerful starseeds, as brilliant as Sailor Crystals. In Act 47, it is revealed that their inability to speak is a result of injuries to the crescent moon symbols on the cats' foreheads, and before leaving to fight Galaxia, Usagi leaves them in the care of her mother. In the next Act, they are brought to the River Lethe and killed by Sailor Lethe. They are reincarnated at the end of the series with everyone else.