Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight; she is the one named Sailor Moon! There isn’t any other magical girl quite as iconic as Usagi (Serena in the English adaptation), as Sailor Moon set the standard for the genre. Sailor Moon started in the late 80s as Codename: Sailor V, a short story about how Minako (Mina) awoke as a Sailor guardian and learned of her mission to protect the moon princess. For over 25 years, Sailor Moon has stood out as a driving force of progressive thought. You had a large group of strong female characters, some notable characters, and a storyline that has withstood the test of time. Even today people still love the stories. Whether they got their start with the 90s anime, the manga or even the recent Sailor Moon Crystal, it’s no question as to whether Usagi and company were influential.
That being said, of course, that means that fans were and are still busy creating theories about things in the franchise. Whether it be concerning Usagi herself, the timeframe of everything or, of course, the cannon identity of Sailor Cosmos. Some of the questions fans ask won’t have an answer. But diligent fans have done an amazing job unearthing this set of 25 theories confirmed by Sailor Moon. Keep in mind for this list we’ll be using the Japanese names as opposed to the English ones, so if you’re a little rusty on who’s who, just keep in mind that the internet is your best friend here.
25 More Of A Cheerleader
Okay, Sailor Moon (nowadays, at least) is your pretty typical magical girl anime. You have your protagonist who gets most of the screen time and romantic interest. She’s the leader and always does what’s best for the group. Usagi is not quite that kind of leader, though. Instead of having Usagi be in command the whole time, she’s actually not the real leader of the group. Sailor Venus takes that role, as Usagi needs to focus on her duties as a princess.
24 Accessories Are Everything
When it comes to Usagi’s transformation, every part of it is so iconic. It has been parodied, redone, and remade. Part of her uniform is her brooch, the thing that allows her to transform into Sailor Moon.
If Usagi loses contact with her brooch, she goes back to being a civilian.
From panels in the manga and times in the anime, it has come to confirmation that Usagi needs to be touching the brooch in order to remain in her Sailor Moon transformation. Without it, she returns into her civilian clothes. If there’s ever anything not to lose….
23 Bring Your Popcorn
Tuxedounmasked.com has some great content regarding Sailor Moon theories and lore. Go check it out if you’re interested. I found an interesting piece by someone who gave some really good evidence why their transformation sequence happens in front of the enemies and not in a pocket dimension or shielded, as some people have guessed in the past. Most of it has to do with the first time Usagi transformed in front of Mamoru, and the reactions villains give when they are transforming.
22 The Dream Team
During the Dark Moon arc, we meet the Amazon Quartet. They were awakened prematurely and became part of the bad guys because of brain washing. Their true identity is actually far from that. They are to become Chibiusa’s court as sailor guardians.
Chibiusa’s court and team of guardians is made up of the Amazon Quartet.
This was a popular theory that got confirmed later on because they were just so darn likeable. The audience spent a lot of time with them, and so it only seemed right that they keep an eye out for Chibiusa in the future.
21 Mommy Dearest
Because everyone saw the Amazon Quartet become sailor guardians, the next thought was the most logical one; they must be the daughters of the guardians. As fun as this could be, it was decidedly rejected. Canonically, the guardians do not have daughters. (They do in a short story called ‘parallel moon’ where the daughters are practically clones of their mothers) Rei herself took a chastity oath in protecting Usagi. I doubt we’ll ever get to know who their parents are, but then, we don’t know anything about most of the parents in the series either.
20 A Kitty Clear Lineage
If you didn’t watch the show or read the manga when it first came out, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. Because you really only see two cats (Artemis and Luna), it’s not really any question how Diana is related. However, this fan theory implicates a whole lot more than just simply a cat’s lineage. It brings to mind the implications of time travel. They say that the future isn’t set in stone, but because of all the time travel, it helps solidify the future into the way it should be.
19 Sister From Another (Future) Mother
Okay, so this one is also a no brainer. But before you start throwing the tomatoes, hear me out. Sailor Moon has been around for over 25 years, but there was a time when the fans had no idea what was going to happen next.
It wasn't always common knowledge that Chibiusa is Usagi's daughter.
The sky was the limit, and given that Chibiusa’s English name is Rini, there wasn’t a hint that they were related. Her being Usagi and Mamoru’s daughter makes perfect sense story wise, but I was a little blind sighted.
18 Not Meant To Be
One thing I had a problem with when I first saw the original anime in the 90s was that Usagi got a relationship, but everyone else was stuck taking care of her. I imagined somehow the guardians would find someone to fall in love with. Crystal gave us both a glimmer of hope and a tragic story. Whereas Usagi fell in love with Prince Endymion, the guardians fell for his court. Because they were not reborn after the Beryl arc, it is sad to see that the guardians must continue to remain alone.
17 The Ones That Get Away
Despite being shown in Crystal as being in a relationship with Prince Endymion’s guards, poor Minako has been cursed. Many fans like myself didn’t know about the Sailor V manga that inspired Sailor Moon, so we didn’t know about Adonis’s curse. We just assumed that Venus would never find love because she was needed to protect Usagi. Our theories were proven wrong though, as Codename: Sailor V became more accessible for English speakers. I have a counter theory that Usagi would want her friends to be happy in a relationship at some time in the future.
16 I Wanna Be Where The Guardians Are
One of the biggest questions that people have in nearly every super hero show or movie is why the villains attack a particular city even though they know that there are people there who can defeat them. For Sailor Moon, the answer lies actually in the series itself.
Bad guys attack where the crystals are.
During one arc the villains are trying to prevent Crystal Tokyo from rising; something that requires Tokyo out of the picture. For other arcs, it’s because important items or people like the Silver Crystal and Pegasus have been known to be in the area.
15 Looks Can Be Decieving
Giving backseat to cartoon logic, fans had some questions about how Chibiusa is depicted. For much of the first time we see her, she looks to only be about 7, but that’s not exactly the truth. In reality, she is over 900 years old. Given how long Queen Serenity has been around, it’s not a surprise at all. Chibiusa is the first of her kind, being part immortal from her mother and part mortal from her father. She does grow a bit more as the series goes on, especially with the black lady arc.
14 A Jewel Of Her Own
One of the most iconic tools Usagi has at her command is the silver crystal. Many of the theories around it is that Chibiusa will one day inherit it.
Chibiusa gets her own silver crystal.
However, that all changes when Chibiusa seemingly creates her own pink crystal. The design of both crystals differ, supporting the theory. It is referred to the pink moon crystal. Of course it only brings up new questions about the ability to create powerful crystals, but that’s something for another list.
13 What's In A Name?
Whereas many fans of the original anime associate Chibiusa with the moniker ‘chibi moon,’ that was actually not what the character’s guardian transformation is known as. On some occasions, her transformation is called ‘the successor of Sailor Moon.’ But since Chibiusa traveled back in time and is helping her mother fight the monster of the week, she is called chibi moon to avoid confusion. Crystal Tokyo civilians never refer to her as Chibi moon, so we know it’s a nickname.
12 A Tragic Villain
Just because a person is set up to be the villain does not actually mean that they are bad for bad’s sake. Sailor Galaxia fits that bill. She is a clear antagonist through most of the season and so many viewers theorized that she was just bad.
Sailor Galaxia wasn't aiming to be a villain.
But upon further investigation, she also was a victim of the villain Chaos. Sailor Moon was able to help her out, which I think is a huge tieback to the theme of love and friendship for the show.
11 'Mau'-t Of This World
As a kid watching the show, I never really gave thought to why or how Luna and Artemis (and later Diana) were able to talk. It was just using cartoon logic, and that was that. As I got older, however, I realized that Luna and Artemis weren’t random at all. They were aliens from a planet named Mau. It’s a good theory as to why there are no other talking animals in the show, and I think a lot of fans figured since space was a thing, it was highly possible.
10 A Sailor Of Our Own
If I had a nickel for every Sailor Earth original character in the world, I would be one wealthy woman. Since the very beginning of the show, fans have noticed the lack of sailor Earth and have wondered if or when she’d appear.
Mamoru is Sailor Earth.
Turns out we had been waiting for the wrong thing all along. Naoko Takeuchi herself has been known to say that only females can be sailor guardians. Because Mamoru has the Sailor Crystal for the earth, it seems that there will never be a formal Sailor Earth.
9 Two For The Price Of One
Given that Tuxedo Mask has the Sailor Crystal for the earth; it may make you wonder if there is a Sailor Sun. After all, it is also a large heavenly body, and those tend to have some sort of guardian in tow. However, since the sun and the earth are connected, Mamoru has power from both. It makes sense, since the Sun is one of the things that allows for life on earth. He is the gold to Usagi’s silver.
8 Perhaps In Another World
This entry is more to dispel a theory than to confirm one. There was a theory that Queen Nehellenia (you know, woman who singlehandedly destroyed the ENTIRE moon kingdom and some of the Earth kingdom!) and Queen Serenity are sisters. It would be a nice dichotomy, as one sister rules the light side of the moon and the other the dark side. However, given how Sailor Moon works, someone would say something about the family relation. Not to mention it would have been the perfect opportunity for a short (and wanted) backstory on Queen Serenity.
7 Famous Father
It’s no secret that there aren’t many men in this show, and even fewer who are shown in a fatherly perspective. We don’t know anything about any of the fathers of the guardians; Princess Serenity’s included! However, there is one scout we happen to know a lineage for. Sailor Pluto. She is canonically the daughter of the titan Chronos from Greek mythology. It explains her powers over time and how she has survived watching the gate of time for so long. It’s also a cool theory as to why Pluto’s skin is a bit more tan than the other guardians.
6 A Minor Detail
I know this seems more like a tidbit of information, but I did stumble on a website asking if Rei was left handed. It has been confirmed that Mars is a southpaw, but that’s in retrospect. The reason why this is so important has nothing to do with being interesting and everything to do with a deep character analysis. Granted, Mars is vastly different in the anime than she is in the manga. But either way, her being a lefty adds to the feeling of being different and mysterious, which describes her manga personality a bit.