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Sailor Moon Cosmos, recently released on Netflix, not only brings the final arc of Naoko Takeuchi's manga to screens worldwide but also features villains omitted from the 90s anime altogether. The arc's main villain, Sailor Galaxia, uses special bracelets to corrupt and dispatches them to destroy the Sailor Guardians and steal their Star Seeds. These dark Sailor Guardians are some of the deadliest adversaries Sailor Moon has ever faced, and one by one they eliminate her friends and allies.
Half of Galaxia's warriors are Sailor Animamates, women from across the galaxy whose home planets were destroyed by Chaos and are now controlled by Galactica Bracelets. They kill the Sailor Guardians of their planets and assume their power in service of harvesting Star Seeds for their master. The other half are true Sailor Guardians who have lost their way and will do anything to secure their own peace, no matter who they hurt. Together they form Sailor Galaxia’s empire, Shadow Galactica, and seek to rule the galaxy with Chaos.
10 Sailor Iron Mouse
Planet Chuu
Sailor Iron Mouse is the first Animamate to attack, and she's defeated just as quickly as she appears. When the Three Lights throw a concert, Usagi and her friends attend and cheer on the musical act, who are secretly three Guardians from another star system known as the Sailor Starlights. Out of nowhere, Sailor Iron Mouse interrupts the concert and fills the auditorium with robotic mice that attack everyone there.
The Sailor Guardians transform and confront Iron Mouse, but the Sailor Starlights appear and destroy her with one hit of Sailor Star Healer's attack. Not much is known about the youngest Animamate, and she receives the least amount of screen time during the film's 160-minute runtime. Although she is the weakest of the bunch, she was smart enough to find the Starlights right away, and had she been powerful enough, Iron Mouse could have caused real damage.
9 Sailor Lead Crow
Planet Koronis
Sailor Lead Crow hails from the same planet as Sailor Mars' handmaidens, Phobos and Deimos, and she is driven by jealousy of her peers. She kills Sailor Koronis, the Guardian of their planet, in exchange for a Sailor Crystal of her own, and is promised her own planet if she harvests the Sailor Guardians' Crystals. Her Galaxia Tornado attack destroys part of Rei's family shrine, kills Phobos and Deimos, and quickly traps Sailor Mars in a headlock.
Although she has the upper hand during most of the fight, Sailor Lead Crow is disintegrated by the Sailor Starlights when they arrive flanking Sailor Moon. Her appearance is brief, but one thing distinguishing Lead Crow among not only her fellow Cosmos villains, but all characters in the series, is that she is one of the most visibly BIPOC characters. Takeuchi does a fantastic job hinting at the larger backstories behind each character, and it's a shame there hasn't been a proper sequel.
8 Mnemosyne
Planet Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne and Lethe are from conjoined planets ravaged by endless wars, and they act as the Galaxy Cauldron's outer defenses, guarding the Desert Rivers of Oblivion and Memory. Brief glimpses of their backstory show the twins holding one another as their city burns, and it becomes clear that all they want is to live in peace. Galaxia appears to them, promising them sanctuary and the power to prevent these endless conflicts.
As Sailor Mnemosyne, the Guardian of memory, she helps restore Usagi's memories of her identity as Sailor Moon, her friends, and what she's fighting for. While restoring memories may not seem like a powerful ability, Mnemosyne's act of defiance displays the extreme willpower required to break the Galactica Bracelets' hold over her and her sister. Without Mnemosyne's bravery and love for her twin, Sailor Moon may have been defeated before even reaching Galaxia's palace.
7 Sailor Lethe
Planet Lethe
Lethe is the more sinister of the two sisters, appearing to Sailor Moon and the Starlights as a cloaked figure offering them passage to Galaxia. As they float down the river, Lethe's intentions become clearer and Usagi falls under her spell. Sailor Lethe protects her sister from the gruesome acts war necessitates, and tries to kill Sailor Moon all by herself.
Mnemosyne's twin gets her name from Greek mythology as well, Lethe being one of the rivers in the underworld that causes all who drink its water to lose their memories. Cosmos leans into that inspiration when Sailor Lethe attempts to isolate Usagi from her few remaining allies and makes her forget about her role as champion of the universe. What's haunting about Lethe is the calm demeanor she uses to lull her victims into peaceful death with no resistance.
6 Aluminum Siren
Planet Mermaid
Sailor Aluminum Siren is from the watery planet Mermaid and possesses the ability to control water and marine life, like jellyfish. Her blue eyes, hair, and outfit mirror the all-red aesthetic of Sailor Lead Crow, but the demure hue is no indication of her personality. Aluminum Siren is far more maniacal than her more rational counterpart, Crow, and she revels in the opportunity to inflict pain on her targets.
Sailor Aluminum Siren is quite a formidable enemy and ensnares Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter in her hair, which she can move like an extra limb. Sailor Moon attempts to use "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss" to free them, but Siren ruthlessly destroys Mercury and Jupiter's physical bodies and steals their Sailor Crystals before Usagi can act. The Sailor Starlights transform and defeat Alluminum Siren before she can do any further damage.
5 Tin Nyanko
Planet Mau
Sailor Tin Nyanko is one of the strongest and most cunning of the Sailor Animamates. She is the only one among her peers to assume a human identity and infiltrate the Sailor Guardians' high school to get close to them. When she finally sheds her disguise, Tin Nyanko also reveals her shared past with Luna and Artemis, another hidden weapon in her arsenal.
Nyanko, or "kitty" in Japanese, originates from the planet Mau, just like Luna and Artemis, and her assault on them feels personal. She admonishes them for abandoning their world to serve Princess Serenity and uses her anger to fuel her golden bolts of energy. She can also duplicate her body to multiply her attacks, but they apparently cannot act independently or target other opponents. She is one of the few Animamates to survive her encounter with the Starlights and is destroyed by Galaxia herself for her failure.
Planet Cocoon
Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, the butterfly warrior of Shadow Galactica, makes her anime debut in Cosmos. Papillon does not appear in the 90s iteration of Sailor Moon. This is most likely due to how many new, complex characters were added to Sailor Moon's final arc, and the anime's decision to stray from the ending of the manga. Cosmos rectifies that by giving Papillon a solo confrontation with Sailor Moon, Princess Kakyuu, and Chibi Chibi Moon in which she tortures them physically and psychologically.
When Sailor Moon arrives at the graveyard for celestial bodies, they encounter Papillon tending to the graves of the Starlights and preparing new plots for Usagi and her allies. Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon crucifies the three heroines, wrapping them in thorny vines and taunting them over the hopelessness of their situation. Luckily, Sailor Chibi Moon and her Sailor Quartet arrive just in time to destroy Papillon with their combined "Amazoness Jungle Arrow" attack.
3 Sailor Phi (Φ)
Sagittarius Zero Star
Another duo of nearly identical sisters, Phi and Chi are named after Greek letters, which are used to name specific stars in an astronomy naming convention called the Bayer designation. They are the Guardians of Sagittarius Zero Star, or the Galaxy Cauldron, a supermassive black hole from which all celestial bodies are born. Like Mnemosyne and Lethe before them, Phi and Chi are not Animamates, they are true Sailor Guardians with specific duties outside of Galaxia's plans.
The sisters are the most powerful of Galaxia's flunkies, and with their combined attack, they successfully destroy the Sailor Starlights and steal their Crystals. The trio of Guardians easily defeat every other villain in Cosmos, but they're no match for a direct hit so powerful it kills all three at once. It's easy to see why Sailor Phi is the leader of the Animamates, delivering Galaxia's orders on her behalf.
2 Sailor Chi (X)
Sagittarius Zero Star
Sailor Chi inches out Phi simply due to her delivering the death blow to Sailor Kakyuu. As Sailor Moon finishes Phi with her "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss," Chi uses the distraction to strike Kakyuu at the base of her neck with her staff, and stomps on the princess' back with all her might. Although her sneak attack is brutally effective, she's still no match for the supreme power of Sailor Moon, who destroys her with one hit.
Sailor Chi and Sailor Phi do not appear in the 90s anime, just like Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, making their debut in Cosmos highly anticipated. The wait was worth it, as they are brought to the screen with the appropriate power and presence expected, and boast unique and intricate styling. Their hairstyles are similar yet distinct from one another, and their outfits, while decidedly superhero costumes are the most translatable designs to real-world fashion.
1 Sailor Galaxia / Chaos
Shadow Galactica
It's no surprise that Sailor Galaxia, possessed by Chaos, is the strongest villain in Sailor Moon Cosmos. She's decked out in a glamorous suit of gold armor that would make Wonder Woman jealous, and has an army of beautiful warriors to do her bidding, including brainwashed copies of the Sailor Guardians. She has everything Sailor Moon has, except the love and kindness that inspires Usagi's loved ones to lay their lives on the line to protect her.
At the climax of Cosmos' final act, Galaxia pushes Mamoru into the Galaxy Cauldron and his Star Seed is assimilated into the primordial ooze of the universe, erasing him and Chibiusa from existence. Queen Beryl, Death Phantom, Pharoh 90, Nehellenia, and Galaxia bait Sailor Moon into succumbing to hatred and anger by destroying her loved ones, and all fail. In the end, Chaos, and its latest host, Galaxia, are no match for the supreme power of Sailor Moon and her endless capacity for love.
Teenager Usagi Tsukino is an ordinary clumsy schoolgirl until she meets a talking cat named Luna, who transforms her into Sailor Moon, a soldier destined to save Earth from the forces of evil. Usagi must find the moon princess and protect Earth with other girls awakened as Sailor Soldiers. Together, they fight to prevent otherworldly and mystical forces from wreaking havoc, all while balancing the everyday challenges of being a teenager in school.
Cast Kotono Mitsuishi , Aya Hisakawa , Michie Tomizawa , Emi Shinohara , Rika Fukami , Tôru Furuya , Keiko Han , Kae Araki , Yasuhiro Takato
Release Date March 7, 1992
Seasons 5
Writers Sukehiro Tomita
Directors Junichi Sato , Kunihiko Ikuhara
Creator(s) Naoko Takeuchi
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English (US) ·