A thousand years ago, our moon was home to a great civilization. The kingdom was called the Silver Millennium, and it was ruled by a graceful and beautiful Queen named Queen Serenity. Everyone lived in happiness; the whole universe was in a state of peace and tranquility.
The Moon Kingdom
The Queen had one daughter, named Serenity like herself. Princess Serenity was following in her mother's footsteps, learning to become a lady. Princess Serena* (which was a shortened name for Serenity) had a court of princesses, one the princess of Mercury, one the princess of Mars, one the princess of Venus, and one the princess of Jupiter. These young girls loved and protected Princess Serena with their hearts and souls. There were also princesses from Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. But there was more than meets the eye to these princesses.It just so happens that these princesses were sailor senshi (meaning soldiers)- female warriors with magical powers pertaining to their planets. The 5 princesses of the inner worlds (Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter) were known as the inner senshi, a.k.a. the inner sailor scouts. Sailor Mars, the senshi of fire, Sailor Mercury, the senshi of water, Sailor Venus, the senshi of love, and Sailor Jupiter, the senshi of thunder and lightning, all had the destiny of protecting Princess Serena with their lives. Sailor Uranus, the senshi of the skies, and Sailor Neptune, the senshi of the oceans, had the duty of protecting the outskirts of Galaxy. Sailor Staurn was the soldier of Death and Rebirth with the power to destroy worlds. Her kingdom was so frightened of her power that Saturn remained asleep on her planet, hopefully to be never woken up. Sailor Pluto was a lonely soldier who had to spend her life at her post, guarding the gates of time.
The Sailor Senshi
But now you ask, what about the soldier for the Earth? It just so happens that Princess Serena was in love with the prince of the Earth. He was a young and handsome man named Prince Darien (Endymion). Darien and Serena loved each other with all their heart and were soon to marry. Darien was also the male senshi for the Earth, named Tuxedo Mask. Armed with a bouquet of magic roses, he would protect Serena with his life.
Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon
With all these sailor senshi, they needed a leader. It just so happens that this leader was Princess Serena. She was known as SAILOR MOON, fighter for love and justice, and was the leader of the Sailor Scouts.
Anyway, the whole universe was peaceful and happy. At least for a while...
One day, the peace was shattered and a horrible battle began. An army of supernatural evils attacked, led by the cruel and evil Queen Beryl. Beryl and her minions came from an evil dimension- the Negaverse (Dark Kingdom). Their goal was to destroy the universe so that they could rule it, and they started by attacking the moon.
Queen Beryl became allies with the people of the earth as they turned evil and joined her side. The Moon could not trust the people from earth anymore. Everyone was changing sides; even Darien's 4 guardians joined Beryl. The Moon people were suspicious of everyone. Serena was worried that Darien might be hurt if he came to see her. But, Queen Serenity knew he wasn't a traitor and asked him to help fight against the Negaverse.
The terrible battle ensued. The Moon was being horribly destroyed. The Sailor Senshi all fought as hard as they could, but tradgedy could not be avoided. The senshi were all killed off and the Moon civilzation was destroyed. Queen Serenity watched through tears as her own daughter and her daughter's only love were killed.
Queen Serenity couldn't stand it any longer. This could not end in such a way. There was only one thing left to do. By using the most powerful weapon in the universe, the Imperium Silver Crystal, Queen Serenity blasted Beryl back to the negaverse and saved her beloved daughter, her prince, and her court.
The two royal cats, Luna and Artemis congratulated Queen Serenity, but Serenity was weeping. When the cats asked why, Serenity responded that by using the full power of the crystal, her own life must end. And, worst of all, Serena, her court, and Darien would be reborn 1000 years in the future, but with no memory of their past. The Silver Millennium, the time of peace and happiness, and Queen Serenity herself would be totally forgotten by these souls. Serena would not even know her true mother. With her last breath of life, Serenity wished them peaceful futures. Luna and Artemis were sent into the future too. The senshi would be awoken if the need should arise. And that need did arise...
*English names and anime adaptation have been used.
The senshi were awoken in the future to fight many evils. Bit by bit their memories were restored and all the senshi became a team after years of separation. The show and the manga tell that story of the senshi's lives in present day.