Warning: this article contains spoilers for the Sailor Moon Anime and Manga.
Sailor Moonis by far the most well-known shojo anime in the world. The series is based on the manga that debuted in 1991 and finished serialization in 1997 by Naoko Takeuchi, its author and illustrator. The original 90thSailor Moonanime debuted just one year after the manga and went on till 1997, but it took a lot of liberty regarding the adaptation. In 2014, manga got a more faithful adaptation under the name of Sailor Moon Crystal.
Sailor Moon is the story of Tsukino Usagi, a young girl who meets a cat called Luna and unlocks her special powers as a Sailor Scout, being able to transform and gain magical abilities. As the story progresses, Usagi is joined by other Sailor Scouts, notably the Inner Scouts, with some occasional help from the Outer Scouts, as well as Tuxedo Mask. With time, the Sailor Scouts grow and evolve, both power and character-wise, but true especially for Sailor Moon herself. By the end of the manga, Sailor Moon is simply unrivaled, power-wise, making her the manga’s most capable fighter.
Who is Sailor Moon?
The Reincarnation of the Moon Princess
Sailor Moon, known by her real name Tsukino Usagi, is the protagonist of the Sailor Moon anime and manga. She is introduced in the first manga chapter and the first anime episode in both anime adaptations. Usagi is a young middle school girl who is later revealed to be the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, the princess of the Moon. Her story starts when she meets a black cat with a Crescent Moon on her forehead, named Luna, who was in search of the Moon Princess. After the cat meets Usagi, she asks her to form the Sailor Scouts and find the princess, unknown to her that it is Usagi herself.
Usagi is a small-framed young girl with her iconic blond hair in two long pigtails. She usually wears her Japanese middle school uniform, but after she takes the broche from Luna, she is able to transform into Sailor Moon. Her appearance remains pretty similar but she gets some additional accessories, which include a blue skirt, red boots, and a very memorable tiara.
In the name of the moon, I will punish you! – Sailor Moon
While her soul is centuries old, Usagi keeps a childish demeanor and attitude. She’s a big crybaby, but throughout the story, she grows and matures enormously, and in her Neo Queen Serenity Era, she is seen as an adult and a great ruler. She is also a big romantic, and develops a loving relationship with Chiba Mamoru, who is later revealed as being Tuxedo Mask, who is the future husband of Neo Queen Serenity. They both have a child, as well, named Chibiusa.
Sailor Moon’s abilities
Sailor Moon Has An Array of Transformations and Powers to Defeat her Enemies
Tsukino Usagi gained all her powers after meeting Luna and acquiring the Silver Crystal.It allowed her to transform into Sailor Moon. As the story progresses, Sailor Moon’s transformations evolve alongside her, each new one being more powerful than the preceding. The most notable ones out of these transformations are her original Sailor Moon form, her Super Sailor Moon form, her Eternal Sailor Moon form, and most impressively, her Sailor Cosmos form, which is her last and most powerful.
Sailor Moon garners a lot of power abilitiesthat come through her special powers or through the equipment she possesses. Some of the most impressive ones include Moon Healing Escalation, which allows her to heal anyone, including victims of mind control. She also has her Moon Spiral Heart Attack, which is a stronger version of Moon Princess Halation, which can send a powerful blast towards enemies.
In her Eternal Sailor Moon form, she possesses an array of abilities that can both cause damage and heal, such as the Silver Moon Crystal Power Therapy Kiss. Her most powerful attack ever is Silver Moon Crystal Eternal Power, where she combines all the scouts' crystals into the Cosmos Crystal and activates the Lambada energy.
Sailor Moon’s most iconic attack is perhaps her Moon Frisbee, where she throws her tiara at the opponent and it acts like a Frisbee. While definitely not very powerful, it is one of her earliest and most memorable abilities that every fan of her will remember.
There are also powerful feats Sailor Moon has shown that are impressive. Speed-wise, she was able to travel to the center of the Cosmos in mere seconds. She also has the power to turn a gigantic, pervading being into an unfeasibly small size. As Sailor Cosmos, she basically has the ability to destroy the universe, and is unrivaled in her power.
Who Can Even Compare To Usagi In Sailor Moon?
Chaos is a Powerful Enemy
There is only a single characterthat can compare to Sailor Moonwhen she becomes Sailor Cosmos, and that is Sailor Chaos. Specifically, she is Sailor Cosmos’s nemesis, who came into existence because Usagi refused to destroy the Galaxy Cauldron and Chaos. Usagi’s future self returns to the past and asks her to destroy Chaos and the Cauldron, as she herself regrets that decision. Sailor Moon doesn’t change her mind and doesn’t destroy Chaos, leaving the future unchanged.
Moon Prism Power, Make Up! – Sailor Moon
That said, Sailor Moon is still superior to Chaos when it comes to power, with the only issue being that Chaos will always return due to the Galaxy Cauldron being the source of all life, and it not having been destroyed. Sailor Moon’s choice not to destroy this Cauldron was her acceptance that she would always have to fight and defeat this foe.
Notable Fights Sailor Moon Took On
Queen Metalia, Queen Nehelenia, Sailor Galaxia, and Chaos Are All Powerful Enemies
Sailor Moon has taken on and defeated a huge number of enemies, usually with her Sailor Scouts. Interestingly, who fought who, and who defeated whom depends on whether fans are talking about the anime or the manga. The original anime took some liberties with the adaptation and changed the story at some points. Even the Sailor Moon Crystal makes some alterations.
In the manga, Sailor Moon takes down Queen Metalia, who was fused with Beryl by using the Silver Crystal and the Silver Millennium. Queen Metalia was a powerful foe, being able to absorb energy to become more powerful, and was later revealed as an incarnation of Chaos. This fight was, of course, incredibly intense and set the marker for future villains to come.
Another powerful enemy Sailor Moon takes down is known as Queen Nehelenia, specifically destroyed by using her Eternal Sailor Moon Form. Sailor Galaxia was definitely one ofthe toughest enemies seen in Sailor Moon. However, instead of killing Galaxia, Usagi tries to save her from falling off a cliff into the Cauldron. In that moment, Galaxia loses the will to fight and dies peacefully.
And of course, the most notable enemy Usagi will always have to fight is Chaos, the one behind all the evil that Usagi has had to fight off until now. Sailor Moon will always have to fight and defeat Chaos as she will keep reincarnating and causing trouble. But, that’s something Usagi has accepted and that’s a beautiful part of her character.
