What Has Come Before...

        This was the center of trade and commerce, as well as culture, for the Twin Planets' League which, under the leadership of the Royal Family of the Twin Planets, was an alliance between all of the planets of the solar system. The formation of this league began an era of peace known as the Silver Millennium, and the kingdoms thrived. Then came the threat known as the Dark Kingdom, and the evil. In the end, this force shattered the Twin Planets' League, destroyed the civilization of the Moon, and, in a chain reaction of chaos, the other planets' civilizations. Queen Serenity of the Moon, however, saved her subjects by using the last of her energy to power the Silver Imperium Crystal and send them to our time, sacrificing her own life in the process.
        The anime series Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon (or, if you prefer it in English, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon) is the story of a young teenage girl named Tsukino Usagi who finds out, through a talking cat named Luna, that she is a Sailor Senshi named Sailor Moon sent to Earth to find and protect the Moon Princess and destroy the Dark Kingdom. Now, Usagi is a typical clutz: always late for school, trips over her own feet a lot, and is, to say the least, surprised at first. However, she takes to it readily, if not exactly successfully.
        The Dark Kingdom, however, is not interested in the Moon Princess at the moment. Empress Metallia, the Dark Force that controlled the Dark Kingdom during the Silver Millennium, was trapped in an evil altar by the Silver Crystal, and Queen Beryl, the driving force behind the Dark Kingdom now, is trying to capture the energy of humans and free her Dark Mistress. In order to complete this objective, she uses her four generals: Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite, who use the youma (monsters) of the Dark Kingdom to drain energy.
        The first general, Jadeite, uses promotional giveaways (such as a free cruise contest, a free workout gym, etc.) to trap unsuspecting humans into having their energy sucked dry. Now, while, on her own, Sailor Moon isn't an effective fighter, she does have allies in her battle against the Dark Kingdom. At first, it is only a lone warrior dressed in a cape, tuxedo and mask named Tuxedo Mask whom Usagi and the other Senshi have a huge crush on. Also discovered during this series were two more Sailor Senshi: Mizuno Ami, a genius girl who attends Juuban Jr. high with Usagi, as Sailor Mercury, and Hino Rei, a Shinto priestess who is very mean to Usagi through the entire length of the show, as Sailor Mars. Through the intervention of these characters, Jadeite is placed into "eternal sleep" by Beryl for failing in his duties, but not before learning the Senshis' identities. Also introduced in this series is the running gag of Usagi's best friend, Naru, being the main character drained by the youma and an all-around target for the rest of the series.
        Nephrite, the next general, took a much different approach to draining energy. In an abandoned chapel, he consulted the stars to find which creative humans were reaching their peak energy levels. He would then arrange an "accidental" meeting between that person and his human guise, Maxfield Stanton, and imprint a symbol on an item that was necessary for the person's trade (a photographer's camera, a cartoonist's pencil) or something that was dear to the person (a dollmaker's prize doll). The symbol would make the person become fanatical in their obsession to their craft. When the human's peak energy level was reached, the item would transform into a youma and take all of his or her energy, and about that time, the Sailor Senshi would show up and ruin Nephrite's plans. Towards the middle of this arc of the series, Zoisite shows up and starts pestering Nephrite, and we learn about Zoisite and Kunzite's relationship. We also learn of Chiba Mamoru's identity as Tuxedo Mask. Naru becomes a target, yet again, when Nephrite realizes she's in love with him and uses her to try and draw the Senshi out into the open for several confrontations. The end of the series comes with the discovery of a possible lead to the Imperium Silver Crystal, and Nephrite creates a Black Crystal that will lead him to it. Instead, it leads him to Naru yet again, and he realizes he loves her as well. However, Zoisite commands a task force of elite Dark Kingdom warriors to hunt down the traitor Nephrite, and he is mortally wounded, after rescuing and protecting Naru from them and learning Sailor Moon's identity. The Sailor Senshi then come to his rescue, but it's too late. He dies a heartbreaking death in Naru's arms.
        The next arc, Zoisite's arc, revolves around the re-forming of the Silver Crystal from the seven Rainbow Crystals. These are held in the bodies of humans who were once the Dark Kingdom's most powerful warriors: the Rainbow Warriors. Queen Beryl believes that, should the crystal be used by the Dark Kingdom, it will free Metallia. Using the Black Crystal which he took from Nephrite, Zoisite extracts these and sends the Rainbow Warriors against the Sailor Senshi, who always show up just a moment too late. When all is said and done, and the Rainbow Crystals have been taken, the Dark Kingdom ends up with four, Sailor Moon has one, and Tuxedo Mask has two. Through an attack that involves (who else) Naru, the Dark Kingdom takes Sailor Moon's crystal. During this arc, we also learn more of Mamoru's dreams of the Moon Princess and his reason for taking the Rainbow Crystals. Zoisite challenges Mamoru, whose identity the Dark Kingdom has learned, to a duel for the Rainbow Crystals, which he accepts. Naturally, she cheats, and Tuxedo Mask is grievously wounded when a crystal pierces his torso. However, the Silver Crystal reforms after the duel from Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's love, and Usagi is revealed to be the Moon Princess (much to everyone's complete and utter surprise). The arc ends with Tuxedo Mask's capture by the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite's death at Queen Beryl's hands, and Kunzite swearing revenge on the Sailor Senshi. Kino Makoto, a superb cook and somewhat of a tomboy, appears as Sailor Jupiter, and Aino Minako, star of the amazingly successful "Sailor V" movies, appears as Sailor Venus during this arc.
        The final arc of the series leads up to the final battle between Beryl and the Sailor Senshi. Through a bunch of translucent plans (a free hair salon, "princess school") Kunzite tries to retake the Silver Crystal. However, there is resistance from two fronts: the Sailor Senshi and Beryl's new favorite pet, Tuxedo Mask. Now also known as Prince Endymion, Mamoru fights alongside (kind of) the Dark Kingdom. His and Kunzite's bickering provides the perfect chance for the Sailor Senshi to ruin their plans.
        However, a new threat to the Dark Kingdom emerges halfway through this arc, and so begin the differences between our series and the "real" series. Natsumi Terra, a green-haired, purple-eyed girl whose parents divorced several years ago, moves to Japan and goes for her first day of school at Juuban Jr. High, befriending Usagi. When she returns home, she finds police cars surrounding her home, and finds out her mother has been brutally slashed. Already knee-deep in problems, she takes a knife, walks to the park, and brings the knife to her wrist. Of course, Usagi, who is in depression herself, is taking a walk, trips, and klutzes into Terra, saving her life. After offering Terra a place to stay, at her house, Luna learns something: Terra is Mina's twin sister and none other than another Sailor Senshi: Sailor Earth! With this revelation, and her first temple meeting, she also finds out she and Mina share a telepathic link. With the added power of being able to augment the other Senshis' attacks, the war against Beryl has just gotten easier.
        Finally, a portal was discovered to the Dark Kingdom. The Sailor Senshi, Luna, and Artemis passed through and Kunzite attacked. The cats discovered an operation taking place in the antarctic, and the Senshi were taken to the moon and learned more about their lives during the Silver Millennium by re-living much of it. When they returned to the present, they found Luna and Artemis terribly wounded by Kunzite, and attacked him without remorse. When Sailor Moon reflected one of his energy boomerangs at him and struck the killing blow, he called out to Zoisite and died. However, the stage for the final confrontation was set.
        The Sailor Senshi arrived in the antarctic, and immediately were set upon by the most elite warriors of the Dark Kingdom. One by one they were taken and killed, until only Sailor Earth and Sailor Moon were left. The Sailor Moon was captured and taken to the Dark Kingdom, and the throne room of Queen Beryl. There, she found Prince Endymion, now completely under the control of the Dark Kingdom. But, in the end, Endymion's and Serenity's love won out, and Endymion died after striking a fatal blow to Beryl. Usagi was teleported back to the antarctic, and Terra mourned her brother's loss. However, Beryl's threat was not ended. Raising a plea to Metallia, she was fortified with the Dark Empress' strength, and she grew to a tremendous size. The Earth grew dark. Only Sailor Moon and Sailor Earth stood against her, and when Beryl created a mountain of ice to engulf them, Sailor Moon was saved, but at the cost of Sailor Earth's life.
        Finally, Sailor Moon realized the only way to triumph: use the Silver Crystal as her mother had done millennia ago, and save the Earth from eternal darkness. She changed, became as she was during the Silver Millennium. Then, in an all out battle, she channeled all of her energy into the Silver Crystal, but it wasn't enough. Then she felt gloved hands join hers, all of the spirits of her friends gave her their energy, and the resulting blast was seen around the world, then, the world went dark again. When Usagi woke the next morning, she had no memory of the preceding months, only that she was late for school.
        Every human, Senshi or no, has forgotten the events of the past months. Only Luna, Artemis, and Terra remember. But, a new threat approaches Earth. Will it result in a new age of darkness? Or shall the light triumph again? Only time will tell...

Who's Who in Sailor Moon