Sailor Moon

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol. 1 by Naoko Takeuchi, translated from the original Japanese by Alethea and Athena Nibley, is the first volume in the extensive Sailor Moon manga series. A 1990s cultural juggernaut, Sailor Moon is one of the most popular shōjo, or serial manga aimed at girls and young women, of all time. Additionally, it features a female superhero protagonist, a global rarity in the 1990s. It tells a story about a girl named Usagi Tsukino who discovers that she has magical powers and must defend the Earth from shadowy evil forces while contending with a mysterious and handsome thief with an intriguing agenda of his own. 

Sailor Moon popularized the “magical girl” genre in manga and anime, which features girls or young witches who battle enemies using magical powers. The novel features themes of The Intersection of Spirituality and Technology in Modern Japan, Alternate Identities as Empowerment, and The Power of Friendship and the Limitations of Ambition.

This guide refers to the 2018 paperback edition, published by Kodansha USA Publishing.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death.

Plot Summary

The first chapter introduces Usagi Tsukino, a cheerful but lazy and scatterbrained 14-year-old girl living in Azabu-Juuban, Tokyo, Japan. On her way to school, she trips over a black cat and removes a bandage from its forehead, revealing a strange crescent-shaped mark. She continues to school, and while there, she hears about the vigilante Sailor V, who has been captivating the media lately. She also goes to her friend Naru’s mother’s jewelry store, which is having a big sale, and runs into a rude young man outside the store who chides her for getting in his way.

That evening, the cat—Luna—appears in Usagi’s bedroom and reveals that Usagi is destined to become Sailor Moon, a magical warrior tasked with protecting Earth and finding the legendary Silver Crystal.

Her first mission comes quickly: Usagi receives a vision that shows that her friend Naru’s mother has been replaced by a monster from the Dark Kingdom. This creature is stealing human energy by luring women and girls with cursed bargain jewelry, which saps their energy. Usagi, initially terrified, transforms into Sailor Moon using a brooch that Luna gives her. Guided by the cat and her own instincts, she uses her moon tiara boomerang to destroy the monster. During the fight, a masked man in a tuxedo—called Tuxedo Mask—appears, encouraging her before vanishing. His cryptic presence hints at a larger connection to the Silver Crystal.

Usagi soon learns that she is not the only Guardian. Luna identifies Ami Mizuno, a quiet, brilliant classmate with an IQ of 300, as a potential ally. Ami attends a special computer class run by the mysterious Crystal Seminar, which is secretly controlled by the Dark Kingdom’s general, Jadeite. The program is a trap to drain students’ energy. When Usagi and Luna investigate, Ami is attacked by one of the monsters. Luna gives Ami a transformation pen, awakening her as Sailor Mercury, the Guardian of water and intelligence. Sailor Mercury’s visor and mercury aqua mist attack help the pair defeat the enemy. This marks the formal beginning of the Sailor Team’s assembly.

Strange disappearances occur along a bus route near the Hikawa Shrine, drawing Usagi and Ami to investigate. There, they meet Rei Hino, a beautiful, aloof shrine priestess with psychic powers who has been sensing an evil presence. The culprit is revealed to be another of Jadeite’s monsters; it is controlling a bus that traps passengers in another dimension, possibly under the earth itself. Rei herself is targeted, but Luna throws her a transformation pen while rescuing her from the dimension, awakening her as Sailor Mars, the Guardian of fire and passion. Sailor Mars uses her fire attack to destroy the monster. Despite her serious and sometimes abrasive personality, Rei joins the mission as well.

Luna reveals that they are searching for the Moon Princess, an entity that the Sailor Guardians are sworn to protect. The Moon Princess is also likely in possession of the Silver Crystal. Luna suspects that the mysterious Silver Crystal may surface among Tokyo’s wealthy elite. Usagi learns of a high-class masquerade ball for a princess at a lavish mansion, which she attends in disguise using her transformation pen. There, she encounters Mamoru Chiba—Tuxedo Mask’s student identity—though she does not realize that they are the same person.

During the event, a Dark Kingdom operative targets the princess, imprisoning and impersonating her in an attempt to locate the crystal. Usagi transforms into Sailor Moon mid-battle, aided by Tuxedo Mask. In a moment of vulnerability, she falls from a balcony, and Tuxedo Mask catches her—an intimate gesture that foreshadows their developing bond. In the process, she pulls him down as well, and her transformation pen conjures up an umbrella that allows them to float safely down. Tuxedo Mask thanks her for rescuing him, and Sailor Moon reflects that he seems incredibly familiar to her, though she doesn’t know why.

The growing team encounters Makoto Kino, a tall, strong transfer student feared by classmates for her fighting ability. Despite her intimidating presence, she has a gentle heart and an affinity for romance.

A Dark Kingdom monster—this time under Nephrite, the next general—targets a bridal shop, using cursed mannequins to seduce unsuspecting people on the street and spirit them back to the bridal shop. Nephrite then hides their bodies in mannequins to use as sacrifices to his ruler. Makoto rushes in to protect Usagi during the fight. Luna recognizes her potential, and Makoto is awakened as Sailor Jupiter, the Guardian of thunder, lightning, and courage. Sailor Jupiter’s thunder attack annihilates the enemy, and she becomes the fourth Sailor Guardian.

The Sailor Guardians’ primary mission is finding the Moon Princess and the Silver Crystal before Queen Beryl’s forces do. Tuxedo Mask is revealed in his civilian life as Mamoru, a reserved high school student who lost his parents and his memories in a car accident when he was six years old. He is plagued by dreams of a mysterious woman calling for the crystal. While his intentions are not malicious, his goal—to obtain the Silver Crystal—remains separate from the Guardians’, creating a fragile alliance. He is just as flummoxed by the strange connection he feels to Usagi as she is, and they explore this connection further.

Queen Beryl’s generals escalate their attacks, targeting larger groups of people to harvest energy through different forms of technology, like computers, games, and videos. In response, the Guardians’ teamwork improves, but their lack of knowledge about the princess’s identity remains a pressing issue.

By the close of the volume, Usagi has grown from a reluctant, frightened girl into a braver, if still imperfect, leader. The Sailor Team—Moon, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter—stands united, prepared to face an enemy that grows more dangerous with each encounter. At the end of the volume, Sailor Moon is rescued from certain defeat by a mysterious figure, who appears to be the elusive Sailor V.