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Sailor Moon
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Chapters 3-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: “Rei: Sailor Mars”
The narrative returns to Queen Beryl and Jadeite in a mysterious palace, which features classical Romanesque architecture. Queen Beryl informs Jadeite that he has failed her twice now, and he knows the consequences. He apologizes. Another man in military garb, identifying himself as Nephrite, the commander of North America, requests to take over. He also asks what the legendary Silver Crystal is. Queen Beryl reacts with surprise to the question and reveals that she has only ever been told about the crystal, though she knows that it is “a stone containing infinite, immeasurable power” (79), making its wielder the ruler of the universe. She gives Jadeite one last chance to destroy the sailor-suited Guardians.
The narrative moves to show a young woman dressed in traditional, old-fashioned clothing. She has long, lustrous, dark hair, and flames surround her portrait as she holds her hands together in prayer. She reflects that some “terrible calamity…is on the horizon” (80).
She watches with trepidation from the archway of a shrine as some young children board a bus at the Sendaizaka-Ue bus stop nearby, including a young girl named Mii. The children wave goodbye to her, and she tells them to take care. The bus driver is revealed to be a good-looking blonde man with a familiar, slightly malicious look.
Usagi, at school, overhears her friends talking about the six o’clock “demon bus,” an urban myth in which anyone who boards a bus at six o’clock in the evening at the Sendaizaka-Ue stop is never heard from again. Luna reminds Usagi that they have a “strategy meeting” with Ami at the arcade later that day (82).
At the arcade, Usagi reflects on how happy she is to have a fellow Guardian with her, and under Ami’s tutelage, she improves at the Sailor V game. Ami interrogates Luna about the exact nature of their mission. Luna informs her that their job is “to safeguard [their] princess…and the sacred stone—the legendary Silver Crystal” (85).
Usagi gets to level 2 in the Sailor V game for the first time, and the machine dispenses two wristwatches as a prize. Luna states that with a little modification, the wristwatches can be used as communicators. Ami, suspicious of Luna, asks if she did something to the game machine. Luna winks at the reader. Ami has to leave for test prep and invites Usagi to come along. As enticement, she tells Usagi that if she accompanies her on the five o’clock bus, she might see “this really beautiful girl” who sometimes rides the route (80).
Umino appears, warning them that the bus route they’re taking is the Sendaizaka-Ue route where the demon bus is supposed to find its victims. However, Usagi and Ami catch sight of the beautiful girl boarding the bus, and they both board after her. Usagi’s eyes turn into hearts, and after Ami disembarks to go home, Usagi follows the beautiful girl off the bus and into the shrine.
There, Usagi is immediately attacked by two big black birds. The beautiful girl clutches at her heart and runs out to confront Usagi, stating that her “formidable, otherworldly aura” must mean that she is an evil spirit (89). However, to her surprise, she only sees Usagi. She apologizes and recalls the birds, whom she calls Phobos and Deimos, the names of the moons of Mars.
Two parents, praying at the shrine, distract the girl. They are praying to have their daughter returned to them: She boarded the six o’clock bus and never came back. The parents call the beautiful girl Rei and say—within earshot of Luna—that Rei is an odd girl who performs strange rituals, keeps pet crows, and has some kind of sixth sense.
The conversation intrigues Luna. She speculates that Rei might be the princess they need to guard. As Luna speculates, Rei is portrayed with roses surrounding her face. Rei informs Usagi that Sendaizaka-Ue is a rare place where five hill slopes meet. Legend states that there is a sixth phantom slope that people and vehicles are sometimes drawn toward, and if they ascend it, they never come back.
The narrative returns to Jadeite, who is being mocked by Nephrite for “going soft” (93). Jadeite stands guard over several sleeping hostages, the victims of the demon bus. The little girl, Mii, is one of them. Jadeite states that the hostages are better than dead bodies for luring the sailors out of hiding and that they can be living sacrifices to their supreme ruler, along with the Sailor Guardians’ heads.
Usagi, frightened at the rising number of disappearances, is nervous to ride the bus again, but Luna insists. She wants to find out more about Rei and about the demon bus. Luna and Usagi speculate that Rei might be one of the Guardians, but she also might be one of the enemies.
On the bus, Usagi realizes that she’s sitting next to the tuxedoed young man. Now, he’s wearing a school uniform and a pair of glasses. He instructs Luna to talk, stating that he knows she can. She demands to know what he’s doing here, and he informs her that he’s also a student. He shows her his ID with the name Mamoru Chiba. She notices that his profile looks exactly like her “beloved Tuxedo Mask” (97). Flower patterns appear between them as Luna realizes this, and her heart starts racing. Mamoru also seems to recognize her, whispering “Guardian of justice” before denying that he said anything (98).
Usagi disembarks the bus and enters the shrine to see Mii’s frightened parents confronting Rei. They demand that she use her sixth sense to locate their child, and when she protests, they accuse her of being the kidnapper.
Rei escapes into the shrine and begins to meditate and pray. She sees a vision of Usagi being assaulted by a blonde man and realizes that Usagi is in danger. She boards the bus to try to rescue Usagi, not knowing that she was already at the shrine. She sees the blonde bus driver and realizes that he’s the same man from her vision. However, he enchants her to board the bus, and as Usagi watches in horror, the bus drives toward a wall. She sees Rei asleep on board before the bus enters a portal in the wall.
Usagi, desperate to save Rei, uses her moon power to transform into a flight attendant. Baffled, Luna inquires why she did that, and Usagi yells that flight attendants ensure a safe and pleasant trip for all passengers. She runs to pull herself into an open window on the bus, but in the process, Luna falls out. She is caught by Tuxedo Mask, who is also trying to stop the bus. Usagi watches in horror as she enters the portal and Luna and Tuxedo disappear.
Tuxedo Mask reflects on the impossible scene he just witnessed. Luna hops out of his arms and runs away.
Luna reaches Ami at the arcade and informs her of the situation. Ami then uses the communicators to track Usagi and talk to her. Usagi tells her that she just entered into a strange stone castle and that the bus disappeared from beneath her feet. She sees all the hostages sleeping and a strange blonde man seemingly trying to grab Rei.
Luna tells Ami to transform so that she can help them. Ami tells Luna to use the burst of power that results from transformation to teleport her to Usagi’s location, and Ami then transforms into Sailor Mercury and arrives at Usagi’s side while she transforms into Sailor Moon. Ami summons her mist to create cover and attempts to rescue Rei. However, the strange blonde man (Jadeite) turns the fog into little drops of ice, rendering it useless.
Sailor Moon throws her tiara, which transforms into a hoop that binds Nephrite’s arms. Sailor Mercury throws her pen at Rei, and the magic power of it allows her to transform into Sailor Mars and summon Phobos and Deimos. Her portrait shows her own sailor uniform; her long, shiny hair flowing back with the power of the magic; and the starry sky surrounding her. Sailor Mars uses her firepower to incinerate Nephrite, but the fire starts to warp the dimension and threatens to kill all of them.
Sailor Mars, confounded by her transformation, nonetheless helps the other Guardians gather the hostages in one place so that Luna can transport them back. During this process, Luna informs Sailor Mars that she is the Guardian of fire and passion.
Nephrite, witnessing all this happening through a magic crystal ball, reacts with dismay that Jadeite could be killed, asking how one of the four heavenly kings could be defeated.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Masquerade: Masked Ball”
This chapter begins with profiles of each of the main characters, taken from Luna’s computerized notes. It lists each character’s astrological sign: Usagi is Cancer, Rei is Aries, and Ami is Virgo. Each character also has an earth element: Usagi is water, Rei is fire, and Ami is earth. The notes show that Rei goes to another school. They also show Mamoru Chiba, a 17-year-old boy who attends a private high school. Luna’s notes advise to treat him with extreme caution.
The chapter’s narrative opens with Usagi’s mother reading the newspaper, musing on the mystery of the new crime-fighting vigilante Sailor Moon. She then reads a story about Princess D, the heir to the throne of D kingdom, the land of jewels. She is bringing her mythical royal treasure to Japan to display it at an embassy gala.
On her way to school, Usagi notices a bunch of police checkpoints. At school, Naru tells her that the princess is going to reveal “some secret hidden treasure that’s been in the royal family for generations” at the party (126).
Later, at the arcade, Usagi, Rei, Ami, and Luna speculate on the nature of their mission. Luna reveals that, while she can’t yet reveal the identity of the princess, she can tell them that the princess’s identity is hidden by a magical seal so that no one can find her: There’s a high likelihood that the Silver Crystal is with her. The infinite power of the Silver Crystal “is why everyone is after it” (130). Luna tells them that none of them have fully awakened as Guardians yet; when the team is completely assembled and all members are fully awakened, the seal on the princess’s identity will break, and they will know everything.
Usagi, barely paying attention while she plays the Sailor V game, is interrupted by Umino and the arcade worker, who are discussing the gala and the mysterious Princess D. Umino shows a picture of Princess D to everyone, revealing her as a small, unremarkable girl with huge glasses obscuring her eyes. Rei states that she has a bad feeling about the party.
Nephrite, still grieving his rival Jadeite, hears about the party from his surveillance crystal ball and is interested in the mythical royal treasure, believing it to be the Silver Crystal. Queen Beryl is enthusiastic about Nephrite’s plan. A full-length portrait depicts her as a beautiful woman with wickedly sharp fingers and pointed ears. Her hair flows upward with otherworldly power. Her back is turned to the reader as she smiles maliciously over her crystal ball.
Usagi uses her moon power to transform into a princess to attend the party incognito, accompanied by Ami and a reluctant Rei. The party is a masquerade ball, so it’s not difficult for them to mix into the crowd unnoticed. The friends get separated, and while searching for them, Usagi drops her handkerchief. It is embroidered with her real name and grade. Tuxedo Mask, also incognito at the ball, finds it and invites Usagi to dance. The depictions of their dance are surrounded by romantic flowers and bubbles. Tuxedo Mask wears a mask, and Usagi does not.
Luna interrupts the dance to tell Usagi that the rest of the team found Princess D. Luna felt nothing in her presence, however, meaning that she wasn’t their princess. Princess D, preparing for the uncovering of the jewel, asks her interpreter to take her to her room. The interpreter, a beautiful woman with a malicious expression, quickly overpowers Princess D in private and assumes her form. She steals the treasure and runs away through the crowds, screaming about how the mythical treasure is hers.
Usagi and her team hear that “Princess D has gone mad” (145), and Usagi restrains her before she jumps off a balcony, not knowing it’s actually a monster in disguise. The monster pushes her away, and she almost falls off the balcony before Tuxedo Mask grabs her hand. She continues to slip, pulling Tuxedo Mask over with her. Luna yells to her to use her pen, which transforms into a magical floating umbrella and slows their fall. Tuxedo Mask thanks her for rescuing him and then runs away before she can thank him in return. She watches him go and then transforms into Sailor Moon. She realizes that she lost her tiara in the last battle but then mysteriously feels warm: A new tiara generates on her head. She associates that feeling with the feeling of being with Tuxedo Mask.
Rei recognizes that the princess is actually an impostor, and she and Ami transform in order to keep the monster from sucking all the party guests into a dark void as sacrifices to their ruler. Sailor Mars blows up the void with her fire magic.
Tuxedo Mask returns, telling Sailor Moon that the only way to banish darkness is with an even greater light. Under Luna’s coaching, Sailor Moon uses her new tiara to generate a blast of moonlight that dispels the monster.
With the monster destroyed, the party continues. The treasure is revealed to be a 2,000-carat diamond statue of Princess D.
Usagi, exhausted by the fight, goes to the refreshment table and drinks. Her drink turns out to have alcohol in it, and she gets dizzy and sleepy. She falls asleep, and Tuxedo Mask grabs her before she falls. She tells him about how much she wanted to see him again, and he kisses her. He is overcome by a sensation of familiarity, as if they’ve known each other for a long time. Luna comes across the couple and angrily asks Tuxedo Mask why they keep running into him. He reveals that he is also searching for the Silver Crystal. Luna asks if he’s with them or against them, and he states, “Maybe I’m against you” (161).
A mysterious blonde figure, wearing a similar sailor suit to the Guardians, hears a rumbling pictured as being heard around the world. With her hand shielding her face, she states that the storm has arrived.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Makoto: Sailor Jupiter”
Chapter 5 begins with Luna waking Usagi for school. She admonishes Usagi for her careless attitude, telling her that she could stand to worry more about all the danger she’s up against. Luna brings up Tuxedo Mask, reminding Usagi that they don’t really know anything about him. Usagi thinks that even just hearing his name makes her heart pound, and the feeling is strangely familiar.
Usagi doesn’t notice that a car is headed for her as she crosses the street. A girl suddenly lifts her up over her shoulder and dashes them both to safety. The girl sets her down and tells her to be more careful. The girl is much taller than Usagi, with blonde, curly hair in a high ponytail. Usagi notices that she wears rose-shaped earrings and smells nice.
Naru, in between classes, reveals that her cousin was planning to get married, but her cousin’s fiancé mysteriously went missing. Now, her cousin is despondent and bedridden. The tall girl passes them in the hallway. They see a teacher confront her for not wearing the uniform, and she states that the one they gave her was too small. He then asks what she’s done to her hair, and she calmly explains that it’s naturally curly. She has to lean down to speak to the teacher. Umino whispers that the new girl just transferred into class 6; there was a rumor that she has superhuman strength and was kicked out of her last school for fighting.
Usagi and Naru head out to the courtyard for lunch and run into the tall girl again. Someone playing baseball hits it into the outfield, and the ball heads for an oblivious Usagi. The tall girl leaps up and shields Usagi with her body, whacking the ball away with one hand and throwing it back to the hitter with extreme power.
She shares her lunch with Usagi and reveals that she lives on her own; most people are scared to talk to her. Usagi invites her to the arcade after school to meet the others. The tall girl introduces herself as Makoto, and the arcade worker finally introduces himself as Motoki Furuhata, allowing Usagi and her friends to call him “Furu-chan.” The tall girl identifies herself as Makoto Kino, and Usagi calls her “Mako-chan.”
While talking, they discuss a strange rumor that Ami heard: A nearby bridal shop has been rumored to be cursed. It’s purportedly haunted by a ghost bride who walks the streets at night and seduces men. They go to Rei’s temple shrine to discuss it with her, and she suggests that perhaps the missing fiancé was taken by the ghost bride. Mako heads back to the arcade alone, wanting to continue to play the Sailor V game.
That night, Furu walks home from work and is seduced by the ghost bride. She asks him to give her his heart “and then…give [her his] energy” (180). He returns to the arcade in a state of enchantment and attempts to enchant Mako, who was getting ready to leave.
Mamoru, walking by the arcade in his school uniform, sees Mako being enchanted by Furu. He changes into Tuxedo Mask and sneaks up to Usagi’s window while she sleeps. He picks her up and takes her away before Luna can stop him. She calls Ami and Rei on the communicator to help.
They arrive at the scene to see that the ghost bride, a monster in the service of Nephrite, is draining energy from victims and stuffing their bodies in mannequins to offer up as living sacrifices to the supreme ruler. The enchanted Furu and Mako are there as well, their energy still being drained. Usagi disguises herself as a groom to sneak in and bewilder the evil bride; then, all three Sailor Guardians reveal themselves. Free from her enchantment and infuriated by the deception, Mako picks up the bride and hurls her through the air. While doing so, she transforms into a Sailor Guardian. She calls upon the planet Jupiter to create a flower hurricane and call down a thunder bolt on Nephrite, who disintegrates.
Queen Beryl and her minions watch through the crystal ball in dismay. She tells the remaining kings, Zoisite and Kunzite, that they’ll have to use their heads to avoid the same fate. She curses the Sailor Guardians and says that if she only had the legendary Silver Crystal, she wouldn’t have to waste all this time collecting energy.
Luna catches sight of Tuxedo Mask leaving the scene and wonders who he really is.
Sailor Jupiter reveals that at her last school, a boy she liked broke her heart, and it was too painful to stay. She also felt as though some mysterious force drew her toward this particular school. The other Sailor Guardians console her and welcome her to the team. Luna summons a scepter with a moon on its tip and informs Sailor Moon that they have assembled four Guardians, so now she must be their leader, protect the legendary Silver Crystal, and save the Moon Princess.
Chapters 3-5 Analysis
Chapters 3-5 thread together the story’s main themes while evolving the characters’ roles. The theme of Alternate Identities as Empowerment continues as Rei’s and Makoto’s awakenings transform traits that once marked them as outsiders into valuable strengths. In accepting their uniqueness as individuals, they become stronger, more confident members of the group. For these characters, each transformation enhances their existing traits rather than replaces them. Rei, feared by some as an “odd girl” for her psychic abilities, gains social legitimacy and physical agency as Sailor Mars. Her transformation panel—hair flowing, firepower ignited, framed by a starry sky—translates her spiritual calling into active combat capability.
Usagi’s transformations remain playful, as when she disguises herself as a flight attendant in Chapter 3 to attack the demon bus or as a princess in Chapter 4 to infiltrate the gala. These playful choices reveal her creativity and adaptability: In her magical identity, she can use whimsy to create unconventional strategies, showing that battle, authority, and empowerment can have a lighter side. In becoming Sailor Moon, Usagi realizes that she doesn’t have to become a different person—just a more skillful version of herself.
Along with Usagi’s warrior persona, her real-world persona evolves with her transformation into Sailor Moon. The new tiara that appears in Chapter 4 when she feels a strange, powerful warmth from Tuxedo Mask links her strength to her emotions, showing that her romantic feelings will play an important role in her character arc, both as a teen and as a Guardian. Makoto’s awakening in Chapter 5 similarly reframes her frightening physical strength as heroic force. Initially isolated by her height, rumored history of violence, and independence, she is revealed as protective and affectionate—qualities amplified, not altered, by becoming Sailor Jupiter.
Rei’s introduction in Chapter 3 foregrounds The Intersection of Spirituality and Technology in Modern Japan as an important theme in this section. Her character is strongly associated with the Hikawa Shrine. As a priestess, temple guardian, and psychic, her real-world role most closely resembles her magical persona as a Guardian. Her psychic visions are steeped in Japanese spirituality and evoke the mythical figures described in historical legends. The flames surrounding her portrait visually connect her to Shinto purification rituals and hint at her Guardian identity as Sailor Mars. Rei’s traditional, old-fashioned demeanor almost marks her as a character from another time. Yet her visions blend with a contemporary urban legend—the six o’clock demon bus. In Rei’s story, Japan’s spiritual heritage—shrines, astrological associations, and mythic treasures—are consistently linked with or infiltrated by modern systems, showing that even the most traditional individuals cannot live in the past.
In less profound—but no less symbolic—ways, these chapters show that everyday items from the modern world can be infused with magic and ritual, extending the bearer’s power. Ami’s communicator watches, adapted from arcade prizes in Chapter 3, show that mundane electronics can become magical devices. This links to the motif of games as valuable beyond the entertainment they provide and the idea that power doesn’t only reside in high-tech or arcane spaces. Rei’s rescue requires the team to coordinate via these devices, again highlighting the power of low-tech devices and low-level magic in an era of rapidly evolving technical progress.
Sailor Moon highlights the hidden power of everyday items to reinforce The Power of Friendship and the Limitations of Ambition. For the Guardians, friendship is the intangible quality that synergizes modern technology and ancient spirituality. In this way, friendship creates its own magic as a collaborative and restorative force in the group. In Chapter 3, Usagi risks herself to save Rei, even before knowing her allegiance, and Ami quickly mobilizes through the communicators to assist. This implies that neither technology nor mysticism can be truly powerful without the real-world quality that derives from the playground and classroom rather than celestial bases and surveillance networks. Learning to accept their own vulnerabilities and faults and appreciate their own strengths helps the Guardians embrace those qualities in each other. In this way, they form the bonds will help them stand against super-powered enemies.
The Guardians’ commitment to friendship contrasts sharply with Jadeite’s solitary scheming, which ends in his defeat. In Chapter 4, teamwork allows the group to expose the false Princess D and repel the void. The Guardians’ synchronized attacks and willingness to adapt demonstrate that combined strengths are more resilient than individual skill. Makoto’s induction in Chapter 5 reinforces friendship as emotional refuge. Usagi’s immediate warmth and the team’s acceptance counter Makoto’s history of heartbreak and displacement. The emotional welcome parallels earlier recruitments but emphasizes healing—a quality that ambition alone cannot provide.
Ambition, embodied by Queen Beryl and her generals, is shown as both relentless and doomed. In Chapter 3, Jadeite clings to his last chance, motivated by fear of failure; Nephrite mocks him yet follows the same path, pursuing the Silver Crystal as an end in itself. Chapter 4’s infiltration of the gala by Nephrite’s forces fails because it prioritizes acquisition for its own sake: The monster’s crude theft exposes her, whereas the Guardians adapt to each shift in the battle. Chapter 5 closes with Beryl lamenting the time she spends collecting energy when the Silver Crystal would give her instant power. Her tunnel vision prevents strategic patience, leaving her forces vulnerable to the Guardians’ coordinated teamwork.
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