NAME: Hotaru Tomoe, Sailor Saturn, Mistress Nine

SERIES: "Sailormoon Stars" and "Sailormoon SuperStars", two magical-girl chapters of one of the most popular anime/manga series of all time in both Japan and America, among other countries all over the world

SERIES DESCRIPTION: A sailor-suited pretty soldier for love and justice, along with about thirteen of her *closest* friends, fight the energy-zapping powers and villians of the Negaverse while dealing with typical adolescent problems.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION (SPOILERS!): Tomoe Hotaru is a frail, weak daughter of a rich mad scientist. Although being very intelligent and having the power to heal people (which some attribute to Wicca or Witchcraft... I personally think "Sailormoon" creator Naoko Takeuchi is a Pagan herself.), the other kids at her school don't like her very much and continually taunt her for her differences, saying her powers are "weird" and "gross". She is seemingly alone in the world until she meets a small pink-haired six year old named Chibi-Usa...
Later on in the series, little Hotaru is identified as the Senshi of Death and Rebirth, Sailor Saturn. To awaken her is to destroy the Earth, which her power (of which rivals Sailor Moon's!) can easily accomplish. Sailor Saturn fights along side the other Outer Senshi: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
Mistress Nine, Hotaru's final alter ego, was the result of a freak accident at her father's lab in which she was killed. Professor Tomoe then sold his soul to Pluto for her safety, but along the way was possessed by the evil Pharoah Ninety. Mistress Nine, an older and more evil version of Hotaru, was rumored to be able to strangle and kill anything in the long strands of her hair, and almost succeeds in destroying both Earth and Sailor Moon, but is saved and dies, and is reborn as an infant Hotaru of which Michiru and Haruka (Sailors Neptune and Uranus) adopt and take care of like a daughter.

INSIGHTS: There has been much speculation over whether or not Hotaru is a goth. Is there any doubt? First, the obvious. When not in her fuku school uniform, she wears all black clothing; starting with the cute frocks and later graduating to fishnet and Doc Marten-type boots. She has black hair and pale white skin and stays inside all the time, and is misunderstood and harshly judged by her peers. Hotaru seems very sad and depressed oftentimes, and collects purple lamps for her deep plum bedroom (purple... another favorite color of the goth), which I think is a clever variation on the "my room is covered in candles" idea.

LINKS: s i l e n c e and r u i n e r: Have we a fellow Nine Inch Nails fan in our midst? Anyway, these are two great sister sites with excellent layouts, lots of information about things no other Saturn pages have, original art and poems, and lots more. Check them out.

CyberWarlock's ULTIMATE Sailor Saturn Site: The only Saturn page on the Net worthy to call itself the "ultimate" anything. It has galleries of hundreds of original and rare images, as well as biographies and multimedia. This is not only one of the best Hotaru sites, it's one of the best "Sailor Moon" pages as well.

EXTRA IMAGES: Dare you deny the gothitude of Hotaru? This picture, of her and best friend Chibi-Usa, with Chibi-Chibi in tow, may change your mind.