If there is one character in the Sailor Moon series that attracts the most attention, the most rumors, the most speculation, it is Sailor Saturn. This is probably because in the North American dub, Saturn's sailor soldier form appears for a brief few moemnts at the end of the S Series, and she is not seen again in this form until the Stars Series, which has not been dubbed yet.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Sailor Saturn is that she has powers capable of destroying a planet. In the NA dub she herself says so, and the other Outers seem to agree, however when the original anime and manga are looked at, the issue becomes a bit more murky.

Suffice it to say for now that Sailor Saturn is probably the most powerful of the Sailors in her standard form, and by that I mean that Super or Eternal Sailor Moon is probably more powerful than Sailor Saturn.

However, Saturn is a charcter of opposites. When we first meet Hotaru Tomoe in the dub, she is reading in a park. Rini runs toward her chasing a straw hat that had blown away. Hotaru joins the chase and after a brief run, manages to catch the hat. When Rini catches up to her, Hotaru is on her hands and knees gasping for air.

While Sailor Saturn seems to be almost the essense of strength, Hotaru initially has almost a complete absence of it. She tires easily, she is physically frail, very shy, and somewhat lacking in self-esteem. The only time she really defends herself is when her father's assistant intrudes on her privacy.

But there's a third side to this story, and to truly understand this part of Hotaru / Sailor Saturn, you have to go back in time a little bit...to the time when Hotaru was a small girl.

Hotaru's father, Professor Siouchi Tomoe was a scientist of some renown and wealth. At one point, Tomoe was conducting some pretty delicate experiments. On this particular day, Hotaru was in the lab and gazing at the experiment, which was on the other side of a glass wall from Hotaru and her father.

Suddenly, something went wrong. An explosion ripped through the lab, killing everyone except Professor Tomoe. Beside himself with grief, Tomoe tried to get his daughter to wake up, and it was at that point that a demonic entity asked Tomoe if he wanted to save Hotaru's life. Of course, Tomoe said he did.

The price was that the demoness Mistress 9 possessed Hotaru, and Professor Tomoe fell under control of the demon, becoming a sinister mad scientist type who worked for the day when he would be able to awaken Mistress 9 from her "slumber" and then work for the dominance of the demon Pharoah 90 over the Earth.

Since two people can not inhabit one body, Mistress 9 became a parasite, leeching materials from Hotaru, thus her faility. Mistress 9 subverted Hotaru to the point that she became quiet, shy, and insular. It took the unabashedly friendly Rini to reach far enough into Hotaru and to become her friend.

Mistress 9 also alienated Hotaru by giving her a "gift", the ability to heal people. However, most of the kids her age thought that ability was disgusting and didn't want to have anything to do with her. She apparently withdrew from school.

Mistress 9 makes her presence known when her host body is in danger. On more than one occasion, a villain henchman has been severely weakened when they get too close to Hotaru. At that point, her eyes glow, and Mistress 9 is able to channel power through her. This usually leaves Hotaru very exhausted. Mistress 9 also reacts to the presence of extreme power, such as when Hotaru picked up Serena's locket. During that brief contact, Mistress 9 drained off a small amount of power from the Silver Crystal.

With the help of Sailor Moon, and her father, who had shaken off the influence of the demon, the already-eroding power of Mistress 9 over Hotaru is finally shattered. She then appears in spirit form to Darien and Rini in order to return Rini's pure heart to her, then confronts and defeats Pharoah 90 with the help of Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon emerges from the battle with Pharoah 90 carrying an infant, the baby Hotaru. (Hotaru's body was destroyed by Mistress 9.)

Hotaru is given to Uranus and Neptune at the end of the S Series.

Sailor Saturn Links

Black Hole
Dies Gaudii
Silent Walls of Destruction
The One Stop Saturn Shop