Dark Kingdom

Dark Kingdom
The Dark Kingdom by Naoko Takeuchi. Left column: Jadeite, Zoisite, Kunzite, and Nephrite. Right column: Queen Metaria, Queen Beryl, and Prince Endymion/Endou.
Publication information
Publisher Kodansha
First appearance Sailor Moon chapter #1: Usagi – Sailor Moon (December 1991)
Created by Naoko Takeuchi
In-story information
Base(s) D-Point (North Pole)
Leader(s) Queen Beryl
Queen Metaria
Member(s) Four Kings of Heaven
Endou
Dark Mercury
Mio Kuroki
Dark Agency
Monsters

The Dark Kingdom (ダーク・キングダム, Dāku Kingudamu) is a group of fictional characters who serve as antagonists in the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. They are the primary antagonists of the first story arc in every version of the series. They are first introduced in chapter #1 of the manga, "Usagi – Sailor Moon", originally published in Japan's Nakayoshi on December 28, 1991. In some English adaptations of the anime, the Dark Kingdom's name was changed to Negaverse.

In each variation of the series, the characters — led by Queen Beryl — attempt to gather life energy from humans and steal an artifact known as the Silver Crystal in order to release an evil entity known as Queen Metaria, who was sealed away by Queen Serenity during the battle that destroyed the Moon Kingdom in a fictional historical period called the "Silver Millennium".

Creation and conception

The Dark Kingdom is first referenced in Naoko Takeuchi's previous work Codename: Sailor V, which features Sailor Venus as the main character, who confronts a group of villains called the Dark Agency. In the final volume of Codename: Sailor V, the Dark Agency is revealed to be a subset of the Dark Kingdom, which leads to the beginning of Sailor Moon.[1] Takeuchi developed the Sailor Moon series, and the Dark Kingdom by extension, when Codename: Sailor V was first proposed for an anime adaptation. The idea was dropped, but Sailor Venus became part of a new group alongside Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, and instead of fighting the Dark Agency, they fought the Dark Kingdom.[2]

The names of Queen Beryl and the Four Kings of Heaven are derived from minerals: beryl, jadeite, nephrite, zoisite, and kunzite. In some English adaptations, Kunzite's name is changed to Malachite. Several villains from subsequent arcs follow this pattern of using minerals as namesakes.

In the DIC Entertainment English adaptation, the Dark Kingdom's name is changed to the "Negaverse", a portmanteau of negative and universe. Beryl and her cohorts use "Nega" as a common prefix to show their devotion to wickedness and to underscore their dimension's inherent negativity — e.g. "negapower", "negahistory".

Key figures

Queen Beryl

Queen Beryl (クイン・ベリル, Kuin Beriru), named after the mineral beryl, is the first main antagonist in the Sailor Moon series. Beryl has immense magical power, but she uses most of it to channel the life energy harvested by her servants into the entity called Queen Metaria. In most versions of the story, Beryl has the ability to corrupt others into her service.[note 1]

Before the events of Sailor Moon, Beryl is a young girl on Earth during the age of the Silver Millennium.[3]:Act 12 Beryl is in love with Prince Endymion, but her love is unrequited. After discovering Endymion's relationship with Princess Serenity, she sides with Queen Metaria and is corrupted.[3]:Act 12 Beryl mobilizes the Earth in a war against the Moon Kingdom, killing Endymion while he is protecting Serenity, leading to the princess' own suicide. Though killed by Sailor Venus with the Holy Moon Sword, Beryl is reborn in the 20th century, regaining the memories of her past life upon finding Queen Metaria while traveling to D-Point in the Arctic.[3]:Act 12 She becomes Queen of the Dark Kingdom, communicating with Metaria while recruiting her reincarnated generals Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite to find the Silver Crystal.[4]:Act 7 Beryl is able to summon the reincarnated Prince Endymion, Mamoru Chiba, to her side, as a lifeless thrall after he dies and is revived with a fragment of the Silver Crystal inside him.[4]:Act 10 Beryl fails in her attempt to get the Silver Crystal and is killed Sailor Venus with the Holy Moon Sword.[3]:Act 12 In Crystal, Beryl's demise was altered to have her necklace, which maintained her existence, shattered by the Holy Moon Sword wielded by Sailor Moon.

In the first anime adaptation, Queen Beryl attacks Tokyo while Usagi Tsukino and the other Sailor Soldiers are searching for the Moon Princess. She also kidnaps and manipulates Mamoru in order to force him to kill Usagi. But when he breaks free of her control and attacks her she lies in a swoon and begs Metaria for more power, which results in Metaria possessing Beryl's body, transforming her into an enormous being. Queen Beryl is soon obliterated along with Metaria when Usagi, who has transformed into Princess Serenity, combines the power of the Silver Crystal with that of the Moon Stick.[5]

In the live-action series, Jadeite and Nephrite are rivals for her affections; Zoisite is more loyal to Endymion than to her; and Kunzite sets his sights on taking Metaria's power for himself. At one point, Beryl creates a shadow of herself, Mio Kuroki, who sets out to ruin Usagi's reputation while being Beryl's eyes and ears. When she learns that Mamoru Chiba was Prince Endymion, Beryl forces him to come with her by showing him that she can easily kill the Four Kings of Heaven with Nephrite as an example. Once she has the object of her desire under her services, Beryl has Jadeite implant an item in Mamoru's body that will shorten his life when he is with Usagi. However, Mamoru still risks his life for Usagi and Beryl loses control over Metaria's actions due to the overuse of the Silver Crystal. She is killed when her castle crumbles under the stress of a distraught Princess using the Silver Crystal to destroy Earth. However, for all her sadness she is not alone, as Jadeite stays by her side after she removes her mind-control spell on him, saying that Beryl is his master by choice.

Beryl appears in the first musical, Gaiden Dark Kingdom Fukkatsu Hen and its revision, in a similar plot to the series' first story arc. She is then revived in the semi original musical Eien Densetsu and its revision by Sailor Galaxia, who merely uses her as a puppet to awaken Saturn.[6] Beryl dies while protecting Sailor Moon from a stab by the evil Tuxedo Mask mud puppet, her last statement being, "This time I die for passion".[7] Similarly, in Shin Densetsu Kourin Beryl kills the evil King Endymion mud puppet to give Sailor Moon a fighting chance against Galaxia.[8] Several times in the musical, Beryl and Sailor Pluto share the song Onna no Ronsou which explains why betrayal by Endymion in the past killed Beryl's emotion of love. Each time this song is played, Sailor Pluto would always begin with "Because we are the same" or a similar phrase.[9][10][11]

In the anime series, her voice actress is Keiko Han. During recording, this contrast resulted in occasional fits of giggles among the cast when Han would change from Luna's cute, catlike voice to the deep, evil tones of Queen Beryl. Sometimes, she would accidentally play Beryl with Luna's voice.[12] In Sailor Moon Crystal, she is voiced by Misa Watanabe.[13] In the DIC English adaptation, she is voiced by Naz Edwards, with Jill Frappier as a stand-in. In the Viz Media English adaptation, her voice is supplied by Cindy Robinson. In the stage musicals, Queen Beryl has been played by two actresses: Yuri Nishina and Akiko Miyazawa (who previously played Sailor Venus). In the live-action series, she is portrayed by adult J-pop idol Aya Sugimoto.

Queen Metaria

Queen Metaria (クイン・メタリア, Kuin Metaria, called "The Negaforce" in the original English dub) is a malignant, amorphous energy being, and the true mastermind of the Dark Kingdom. She was born as a result of abnormality in the Sun.[4]:Act 10 Like all arch-villains in the Sailor Moon manga, she is an incarnation of the final arch-villain, Chaos. While the first official English release of the manga in English spelled her name as "Metalia", it was a translation error and reprints of the manga in English as well as multiple reprints in Japanese consistently depicted the character's name spelled as "Metaria" in Latin letters.[14]:Table of Contents[15]:Table of Contents

Being responsible for the fall of the Silver Millennium, Metaria used her power to corrupt the majority of Earth's population, including Beryl whose affections towards Endymion the entity exploited, into attacking the Moon Kingdom as Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity were to wed. The battle came to an end when Metaria is sealed away by Queen Serenity in the area of the North Pole known as D-Point.[3]:Act 12 In the 20th century, Metaria summons a reborn Beryl back into her service to obtain the Silver Crystal and take its power as her own.[4]:Act 7 After Endymion's reincarnated form is captured, Metaria turns the youth into a thrall to retrieve the then powerless Silver Crystal while sacrificing Beryl in the process.[15]:Act 11 When Sailor Moon's attempted murder-suicide of Endymion restores the Silver Crystal, Metaria makes her move and absorbs the crystal while wiping out all life on Earth. But after Sailor Moon and Mamoru escape with the crystal thanks to the Sailor Guardians' sacrifice, the form eventually destroys Metaria by targeting the star mark on her forehead and then uses the Silver Crystal's power to restore everyone to life.[3]:Act 12

In the first anime adaptation, Metaria is much the same, with a few exceptions. She eventually becomes powerful enough to resurrect on her own and takes possession of the dying Beryl, transforming into a towering goddess-like creature who is eventually destroyed by Princess Serenity.[5]

In the live-action series, Beryl originally intends to use the Silver Crystal to control Metaria, but later learns that the gem's power only makes Metaria stronger due to Usagi's rage being transmitted through it. This escalates to the point where Beryl can no longer control the actions of her own Monsters and fears that Metaria may destroy everything. Metaria later transfers her will into the strongest Monster in its service. In a vain attempt to stop Metaria, Endymion takes the creature into his own body with the intent of committing suicide in order to take it with him. Instead, Metaria takes control of Endymion and uses him in an attempt to force Sailor Moon to use the Silver Crystal's power. Metaria's plan succeeds, but only after Sailor Moon is forced to kill Endymion and Metaria with him. Sailor Moon revives Mamoru with the Silver Crystal's power, with Metaria gone for good.

In the anime series, her voice actresses are Noriko Uemura in the first series and Yōko Matsuoka in Sailor Moon Crystal. In the DIC English adaptation, she is voiced by Maria Vacratsis. In the Viz Media English adaptation, her voice is supplied by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. In the live-action series, she was portrayed by Miyū Sawai.

Four Kings of Heaven

The Four Kings of Heaven (四天王, Shiten'ō, lit. "Four Heavenly Kings", called "Negacommanders" in the original English dub) are the commanders of the Dark Kingdom working directly under Queen Beryl. They provide the major antagonistic force for the beginning of every version of the series. The group's title, Four Heavenly Kings, comes from Buddhist mythology. Each member has epaulettes on his uniform, which indicate their respective ranks.

Before the events of the series, the Four Kings of Heaven originally function as the four guardians of Earth's crown prince Endymion. They are led astray during the time of the Silver Millennium, selling their souls to the Dark Kingdom and becoming Queen Beryl's servants. When reincarnated in the 20th century, they again fall prey to her and obey her every command, but retain a sense that they need to seek out their real master and aid him. They continue to appear after the first storyarc as spirit-advisors to Mamoru, the reincarnation of Endymion. In the live-action series, their past becomes more frequently seen.

In the first anime adaptation, the Four Kings of Heaven serve as Queen Beryl's servants but have no connection to Mamoru. Once they are killed, the four only appear in flashbacks afterwards. In the DIC English adaptation, the Four Kings of Heaven served as human-like beings from the Negaverse, an alternate dimension of evil, and had only a vague understanding of human ways.[16]

In Sailor Moon Crystal, the "Four Heavenly Kings" are kept alive beyond their deaths in the manga. They rediscover their past lives, but are once again brainwashed by Queen Beryl. During the final battle, Venus reveals that the Sailor Guardians and the Four Heavenly Kings were originally lovers much like Serenity and Endymion respectively. When the Sailor Guardians manage to reach the Four Kings during the former group's assault on D-Point, they regain their full memories before being obliterated by Queen Metaria for outliving their usefulness. The four then turn into stones, protecting Mamoru when Usagi attempts to kill him in an attempted murder-suicide and remain by his side as his spirit advisors.

The Four Kings of Heaven appear in several musicals. In many of them, they are paired with the Sailor Soldiers.[17] In musical adaptations of the last arc, the Four Kings are revived by Sailor Galaxia to work under her service, but in some versions they betray her.[18] The musical Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin had a group that which called themselves the Neo-Four Kings of Heaven (Neo-Shiten'ō). The members of the Neo-Four Kings of Heaven were Kunzite, Hematite, Hiddenite, and Kalunite. Hematite, Hiddenite, and Kalunite looked identical to Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite respectively. In La Reconquista, the Four Kings of Heaven disguise themselves as a boy band known as Pandemic 4. The group consisted of Kunza, Jed, Nephra, and Zoi. The band appeared in the Pandemic Love game, in which they used the game to drain energy for Beryl, and had one song, Erosion Boy (イロージョンボーイ, Irōjon Bōi).

In the Sailor Moon: Another Story video game, the Four Kings of Heaven appear as ghosts who help four of the Sailor Soldiers get the respective gems of each of the Four Kings of Heaven when Mamoru ends up injured by the Opposito Soldiers.

Jadeite

Jadeite (ジェダイト, Jedaito) is the first of the Four Kings of Heaven to appear. In her Materials Collection, Naoko Takeuchi describes him as being about 18 years old in appearance,[19] making him the second-youngest, while in the live-action series he is the youngest. He is the head of the Dark Kingdom's Far-Eastern Division[20]:Act 2 and is named after the mineral jadeite.

Jadeite's mission is to track down the Silver Crystal but eventually changes to gathering life energy to awaken Queen Metaria. He has very little interaction with the other Four Kings of Heaven, only briefly being seen with and mocked by Nephrite. He expresses an attraction to Sailor Mars and is the first one killed when Rei uses her Akuryo Taisan technique. After Jadeite's death, Nephrite vows to exact revenge as he preserves Jadeite's skeleton in a glass coffin. In the later side story Casablanca Memories, Zoisite also tries to avenge Jadeite. Jadeite is briefly revived and was able to remember the Golden Kingdom and his time as a military officer of Prince Endymion before being turned into the stone from which his name was derived. The piece of jadeite (along with the stones for the other three Kings of Heaven) are kept by Mamoru Chiba where he uses them to call upon his Kings of Heaven for advice.

In the first anime adaptation, hunting energy is Jadeite's primary mission. He is misogynistic, hostile, and antagonistic towards women. After failing numerous times, Beryl freezes Jadeite to death for his incompetence and Nephrite succeeds him. In the live-action series, Jadeite is totally subservient to Beryl, for which she rewards him with her favor, sending him on missions that range from gathering energy to spying on his fellow warriors to attacking the Sailor Soldiers directly. He disappears early in the series reverting to crystalline form due to an injury from one of his battles, but is revived by Metaria. Firmly loyal to Beryl, he rejects Endymion as his true master until the series finale where he stays with Beryl as her castle collapses around her.

In Sailor Moon Crystal, Jadeite survives the battle against Sailor Mars, but Beryl sends Nephrite to fulfill their mission. In his past life, he was the love interest of Sailor Mars. He is killed by Metaria along with the other Kings of Heaven in Episode 12. He is the Knight of patience and harmony.

In the original Japanese series, he is voiced by Masaya Onosaka. In Crystal, he is voiced by Daisuke Kishio.[13] In the DIC English adaptation, his name was changed to Jedite and is voiced by Tony Daniels. In the Viz Media English adaptation, his voice is supplied by Todd Haberkorn. In the live-action series he was portrayed by Jun Masuo, and was portrayed in the musicals by Susumu Futabashi and Yuhka Asami.

Nephrite

Nephrite (ネフライト, Nefuraito) is the second of the Four Kings of Heaven to appear. Takeuchi describes him as cocky and emotional, writing in her concept notes he will probably get himself killed right off. He is the second-oldest, estimated at about 19 years old,[19] and is in charge of the Dark Kingdom's North American division.[20]:Act 3 He is named after the mineral Nephrite.

Nephrite's primary goal is to locate the Silver Crystal, but he also takes vows to exact revenge for the death of Jadeite. He uses a female "shadow" of himself to attack his victims, simultaneously taking control over their bodies and draining their energy. Makoto Kino kills him with her Jupiter Thunderbolt technique before any harm is done. Nephrite is briefly revived and is able to remember the Golden Kingdom and his time as a military officer of Prince Endymion before being turned into the stone from which his name was derived. The piece of nephrite (along with the stones for the other three Kings of Heaven) were kept by Mamoru Chiba and he used them to call upon his Kings of Heaven for advice.

In the first anime adaptation, Queen Beryl appoints Nephrite to continue the energy hunting job after freezing Jadeite. Nephrite hypothesizes that more energy can be taken by concentrating on a single human than by drawing from a crowd as Jadeite usually did which he said that it is one of the reasons why Jadeite had failed Queen Beryl. Establishing himself in an abandoned church, he uses intonation with the stars to detect the "energy potential" of individual people before attacking them when he implants the essence of one of his Monsters into a specific person's object. Nephrite's only disguise is "Masato Sanjouin" (三条院正人, Sanjōin Masato), a wealthy businessman and socialite. Over the course of his missions, Nephrite inadvertently attracts the attention and affections of Usagi's best friend, Naru Osaka, which interferes with his progress. When Nephrite discovers that Tuxedo Mask is Sailor Moon's weakness, Beryl orders Nephrite to destroy Sailor Moon. Despite being unable to destroy Sailor Moon, he siphons some energy from Naru earlier to Beryl. The Dark Crystal he crafts to detect the Silver Crystal reacts instead to Naru's love for him. Eventually, he comes to return her love and chooses to rescue her from Zoisite at the cost of his own life.

In the live-action series, Nephrite is Jadeite's main rival for the attentions of Queen Beryl, who considers him useless. His physical appearance is drastically changed, and he is portrayed as hot-headed and violent. Repeatedly humiliated by the Sailor Soldiers, and mocked by the other Kings of Heaven, he strives to win Beryl's favor, but she kills her as a demonstration of her power. He is then reborn in Tokyo as a normal human being with all his memories intact, getting a job at the karaoke parlor and forging a tenuous friendship with Ami Mizuno, who was compassionate toward him when she was Dark Mercury. At the end of the series, he is re-established with the other Kings of Heaven as one of Prince Endymion's guardians.

In Sailor Moon Crystal, Nephrite attempts to appeal to Queen Beryl to take Jadeite's place after calling him out for his failures only for Zoisite to intervene. Later, when his Soul Shadow is destroyed by Usagi, Nephrite rejoins the other Kings of Heaven to threaten the Sailor Soldiers. He then attempts to find the Silver Crystal by using a Monster who resembles a bride. However, he is attacked by Makoto and is forced to flee. In his past life, he was the love interest of Sailor Jupiter. He is killed by Metaria. He is the Knight of intelligence and comfort.

In the Japanese series, he is voiced by Katsuji Mori in the first series and in Crystal by Kōsuke Toriumi.[13] In the DIC English adaptation, his name was changed to "Nephlite"[21] and Maxfield Stanton, and he is voiced by Kevin Lund. In the Viz Media English adaptation, his voice is supplied by Liam O'Brien. In the live-action series he was portrayed by Hiroyuki Matsumoto, and was portrayed in the stage musicals by Toshikazu Seike and Karen Yoda.[22]

Zoisite

Zoisite (ゾイサイト, Zoisaito) is the third of the Four Kings of Heaven. Of the four, his character has undergone the most drastic changes from version to version of the story. He is the youngest, at about 16–17 years of age, described by Takeuchi as the least mature and most effeminate.[19] He manages the Dark Kingdom's European Division[4]:Act 6 and is named after the mineral Zoisite.

Zoisite first mocks Nephrite after Jadeite is killed, and then cries out in anguish when he is killed. However, he also works closely with Kunzite, sharing concerns and strategies as he works. Seeking the Silver Crystal, he uses news reports and press releases to make the population of Tokyo help with his search, then resorts to taking their energy when they fail. He very nearly defeats the Sailor Soldiers, but is killed by Minako Aino's Crescent Boomerang. Zoisite was briefly revived near the end of the "Dark Kingdom" arc and was able to remember the Golden Kingdom and his time as a military officer of Prince Endymion before being turned into the stone from which his name was derived. The piece of zoisite (along with the stones for the other three Kings of Heaven) were kept by Mamoru Chiba and he used them to call upon his Four Kings of Heaven for advice.

In the first anime adaptation, Zoisite is Kunzite's lover. He is introduced along with Nephrite, mocking him in each episode. Later, he orders the Plant Sisters to kidnap Naru and kill Nephrite. After Queen Metaria's awakening, Beryl appoints Zoisite to find the Rainbow Crystals. He is more successful than either of his predecessors, obtaining the seven fragments of the Silver Crystal. Mamoru saves Usagi from certain death by intercepting Zoisite's attack. The two are then revealed to be Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion. Infuratied that Zoisite has injured Prince Endymion, Beryl fatally wounds Zoisite, who dies in Kunzite's arms. The DIC English adaptation of the anime changed Zoisite's gender to female in order to make his relationship with Kunzite more socially acceptable for the 1990s, when very few homosexual couples were portrayed in the media. This censorship has led to a great amount of criticism since then, with some pointing out that the changes were made to force the series into a heteronormative perspective.[23]

In the live-action series, Zoisite is a pianist, using magical songs to hunt for the hidden Moon Princess. In addition to his own "Requiem for a Princess", he plays such compositions as the "Fantaisie-Impromptu" and "Moonlight Sonata". He cares very little for Queen Beryl and comes to recognize Prince Endymion as his master long before the others. After being killed by Sailor Venus and later revived by the power of Queen Metaria, he ignores Queen Beryl and uses his music to attempt to reach out to Endymion and to restore the memories of their collective past life to his fellow Kings of Heaven. His loyalty to Endymion is such that he offers his own life in exchange for the Prince's, and when Queen Beryl asks for Usagi's life instead, Zoisite sets out to kill her. Diverted from this course of action by Endymion, he dies protecting Sailor Moon instead.

In Sailor Moon Crystal, Zoisite calls Jadeite out for his failures and is later wounded by Usagi's Moon Healing Escalation technique. However, Queen Beryl nurses him back to health. He attempts to kill both Mamoru and Usagi, only for Minako and Artemis to seriously wound him again and cause him to flee. In his past life, he was the love interest of Sailor Mercury. He is killed by Queen Metaria in Episode 12. He is also the Knight of purification and healing.

In the original anime series, Zoisite is voiced by Keiichi Nanba, with Masaya Matsukaze taking over the role for Crystal.[13] In the DIC English adaptation, his name spelled as Zoycite, he was voiced by Kirsten Bishopric as part of being depicted as a female character. In the Viz Media English adaptation, his name is spelled as Zoicite and his voice is supplied by Lucien Dodge. In the live-action series he is portrayed by Yoshito Endou, and in the musicals, he is portrayed by Toshitaka Akita, Misao Idono, Akira Tomemori and Kaname Aoki.

Kunzite

Kunzite (クンツァイト, Kuntsaito) is the fourth and final member of the Four Kings of Heaven. He carries a shortsword, and Takeuchi describes him as the greatest of the four, with the majesty of an Arabian king.[19] She also admits to being very fond of him as a character. He is about 25–26 years old,[19] leads the Dark Kingdom's Middle Eastern Division,[4]:Act 8 and is named after the mineral Kunzite. Unlike the others, he wears a white cape in addition to his uniform, with his tunic partially opened.

Before the beginning of the series, Kunzite is a military officer of Prince Endymion before being turned into the stone from which his name was derived. He is then revived by Queen Beryl. Introduced as Zoisite's advisor, Kunzite becomes Queen Beryl's henchman after the death of the other Kings of Heaven. He defeats the Sailor Soldiers at Tokyo Tower and nearly kills Usagi, but Mamoru takes the injury for her, and they are revealed to be Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion. Remembering that Endymion is his former master, Kunzite becomes uncertain about his loyalties causing Queen Beryl to plant a crystal in his forehead that reduces him to little more than a mindless slave. It takes the combined strength of all the Sailor Soldiers to defeat him. During that time, Kunzite tells Mamoru where Queen Metaria's weakness is. The piece of kunzite (along with the stones for the other three Kings of Heaven) were kept by Mamoru Chiba and he uses them to call upon his Kings of Heaven for advice.

In the first anime adaptation, Kunzite and Zoisite are lovers as well as allies. After Queen Metaria's reawakening, Kunzite assists Zoisite in obtaining the Rainbow Crystals. After losing the Rainbow Crystals, Kunzite is spared when Zoisite is killed at the hands of Beryl. She forewarns Kunzite that if he harms Prince Endymion, she will kill him. He resents being forced to work with the brainwashed Prince Endymion, feeling responsible for Zoisite's death, and Beryl favoring him. Following Zoisite's death, Kunzite plans to exact revenge on the Sailor Soldiers, and turns humans into a Monster to help him. Eventually, he captures all of the Sailor Soldiers except for Sailor Moon. Kunzite is killed when Usagi reflects his own energy blade back at him.

In the live-action series, Kunzite is first introduced in the form of an amnesiac man named Shin, whom Usagi attempts to befriend. His memories are restored by Queen Beryl, causing him to be a ruthless and powerful warrior. His efforts to reawaken Queen Metaria are largely motivated by a desire for personal gain, and he is dismissive to Beryl, sometimes to the point of insubordination. He mostly works with her toward their shared goals, and he also transforms Sailor Mercury into Dark Mercury. Kunzite is awakened early on to the memory that Endymion was his master in his previous life, but he feels extreme contempt for the prince, believing he betrayed the Four Kings of Heaven in ages past and left them for dead. Eventually, at the cost of his life, he saves Endymion from an attack by Jadeite and professes his loyalty to the prince.

In Sailor Moon Crystal, Kunzite calls out Jadeite for his failures. Later, he turns off Tokyo's power to provoke Minako into attacking him. However, he flees with Mamoru and is rejoined by the other Four Kings of Heaven. In his past life, he was the love interest of Sailor Venus, a fact which Venus desperately tries to remind him of each time they face off. In his last moment prior to being killed by Metaria, he manages to briefly acknowledge that he returns Venus's love. His spirit appears to Mamoru one final time to tell him of Metaria's weak spot. Also, he is the Knight of purity and affection.

In the original Japanese series, he is voiced by Kazuyuki Sogabe until episode 44 of Sailor Moon, and by Eiji Takemoto in all media following Sailor Moon Crystal.[13] In the DIC English adaptation, his name was changed to "Malachite" and he is voiced by Denis Akiyama, with John Stocker as a stand-in. In the Viz Media English adaptation, his voice is supplied by Patrick Seitz. In the live-action series he is portrayed by Akira Kubodera, and he was portrayed in the stage musicals by Yuuta Mochizuki, Ryuji Kasahara, Hideka Asano and Miki Kawasaki.

Servants

Prince Endymion

In the manga, the first anime adaptation and Sailor Moon Crystal, Queen Beryl discovers that Mamoru Chiba is the reincarnated Prince Endymion after being revived by a fragment of the Silver Crystal that entered his body. Beryl uses her magic to turn him into a thrall of the Dark Kingdom and has him assume the identity of Endou to aid her in her scheme to locate the Sailor Guardians' base and steal the Silver Crystal.[3]:Act 11 Sailor Moon manages to break Beryl's hold over Mamoru in the final battle. In the live-action series, Endymion willingly takes Queen Metaria into his body in order to kill himself and finish her, but she takes control of his body until Sailor Moon kills him, defeating Metaria for good and reviving Endymion afterwards.[24]

Dark Mercury

In the live-action series, Kunzite attempts an experiment in which he turns one of the Sailor Soldiers evil. In Act 20, he kidnaps Ami Mizuno, who at the time is the loneliest and most vulnerable member of the team, and exposes her to the power of Queen Metaria, changing her into her evil alter ego, Dark Mercury. A black motif is added to her uniform, and she uses "Dark" powers and an icicle sword. Kunzite keeps her fairly close, being careful to withdraw her whenever Sailor Moon attempts a healing, but he does take advantage of her newly-sadistic personality by allowing her to attend school and antagonize Usagi. While a part of the Dark Kingdom, Mercury is as arrogant as her allies, but she does extend a small amount of kindness to Nephrite. Queen Beryl finds the experiment interesting, but does not entirely trust it. In the end, Dark Mercury is very nearly able to kill Sailor Moon, but the knowledge that she has injured her friend finally reverts her back to her true form.[25]

Mio Kuroki

Mio Kuroki (黒木ミオ, Kuroki Mio) is a minor villain appearing only in the live-action series. On the outside, she was a new teenage idol whose signature song, "Change of Pace", had a following comparable to that of Minako Aino's "C'est la Vie." Also like Minako, she was good at volleyball, and claimed to be a good friend of Usagi's. The truth, however, was much more sinister. Mio was a "shadow" of Queen Beryl, created by her and Jadeite some time between Act 25 and Act 28. Her objectives in life were: to be Beryl's eyes and ears in the human world, to give Mamoru Chiba to Queen Beryl, and to generally make the lives of the Sailor Soldiers as miserable as possible - especially Usagi's. Mio was the principal player in getting Mamoru Chiba into Beryl's grasp; she also generally watched Mamoru during his time in the Dark Kingdom and mocking him and Rei about the fact that Princess Serenity will use her powers to destroy everything again. However, Mio's treatment of Mamoru inadvertently came back to haunt her when Prince Endymion was possessed by Queen Metaria, who seemingly blasted her out of existence.

However, it turned out that the attack did not completely destroy her, and it took her four years to completely recover without Beryl's power to help her.[26] She returned in the Special Act and attempted to recreate the Dark Kingdom. with her as its queen and Mamoru as the king. After realizing that Mamoru would always love Usagi even when brainwashed, she transformed into her true form: a terrifying, giant black flower with sharp vines. She was finally destroyed when the Sailor Soldiers, sans Mars (whom she had managed to defeat earlier on, rendering her incapacitated) performed the Sailor Planet Attack.

She was played by Alisa Yuriko Durbrow.

Dark Agency

In Codename: Sailor V, Minako Aino faces off with the Dark Agency, a group of villains posing as a talent and idol agency.[27] The Dark Agency manipulated idols into helping them gather energy for the Dark Kingdom. In the final volume of the manga, it is revealed that the Dark Agency was established by the Dark Kingdom. Their leader is Danburite, named after the mineral of the same name, whose real identity is Minako's love interest Phantom Ace.[1] After Sailor V defeats him, the group dissolves and the Dark Kingdom begins to act directly, thus leading into the Sailor Moon series. They are never mentioned in the Sailor Moon manga or other continuities.

Monsters

The Monsters (妖魔, Yōma) are the Dark Kingdom's army of monsters in every version of the series, serving as the monster of the week in every adaptation. In the first anime adaptation, Jadeite's and Nephrite's monsters are conjured from out of the ground, with some of them taking the form of humans (such as Morga impersonating Naru Osaka's mother).[28] These monsters are killed either by Sailor Moon using "Moon Tiara Action" or by other Sailor Soldiers' attacks at the end of each episode. Monsters such as Kunzite's minions and the Seven Great Monsters are human characters transformed by a King of Heaven using the Dark Crystal. Monsters created from humans are returned to their human form by Sailor Moon using "Moon Healing Escalation", which restores the human while destroying the monster. In the DIC English adaptation, the Negaverse refers to the monsters as their "servants", while the Sailor Soldiers and Tuxedo Mask call them "monsters" or sometimes "Negamonsters".

In the live-action series, the monsters serve much the same purpose as in the first anime adaptation. The monsters are portrayed by human actors in suits while two of them are computer-generated. They never speak and are commanded by the Four Kings of Heaven. Swarms of monsters with black hooded robes begin to appear after Sailor Moon is revealed to be the Princess. These hooded robed monsters are loyal to Metaria rather than Beryl and the Four Heavenly Kings, and their abilities include earth-swimming and fast movement. In Act 41, the remains of these hooded robed monsters merge into a single, extremely strong monster. In Act 45, Queen Metaria turns the monster into her host in order to absorb every bit of energy in the world. However, Metaria is soon forced by Sailor Venus to leave her host which is then destroyed by a group attack. This monster was capable of speech when Metaria was using it as a host.

Seven Great Monsters

The Seven Great Monsters (最強妖魔七人衆, Saikyō Yōma Shichininshū) are a group of monsters who appear only in the first anime adaptation as the most powerful monsters in the Dark Kingdom. Before being reawakened by Zoisite, the monsters are sealed within seven separate shards of the Silver Crystal known as "Rainbow Crystals" and carried to Earth by Queen Serenity where they are reincarnated centuries later. Zoisite reawakens them one by one, only for Usagi to heal them with "Moon Healing Escalation" and revert them to their current incarnation while destroying the monster form.[29] In a later episode, Beryl instructs the brainwashed Endymion to capture the hosts of the Seven Monsters in order to combine them into one powerful monster. However, before Endymion gets to Rei's grandfather, Sailor Mercury destroys the crystal holding the other six hosts.[30]

Name Human reincarnation Episode Japanese voice actor DIC English dub Viz Media English dub
Gesen (ゲーセーン, Gēsēn) Crane Joe 25 Masaaki Okura Rino Romano Grant George
Boxy (ボクシー, Bokushi) Unnamed priest 26 Hideyuki Umezu David Huband Kyle Hebert
Bumboo (ブンボー, Bumbō) Ryo Urawa 27 Shinichiro Ohta Harvey Atkin Vic Mignogna
Veena (ビーナ, Bīna) Yumeni Yumeno 28 Yuriko Fuchizaki Maria Vacratsis Tara Sands
Rikoukeidar (リコケイダー, Rikokeidā) Reika Nishimura 29 Rica Fukami Kirsten Bishop Erica Mendez
Jiji (ジジ) Rei's grandfather 30 Tomomichi Nishimura Harvey Atkin Michael Sorich
Bakene (バケーネ, Bakēne) Rhett Butler 31 Masahiro Anzai Roland Parliament N/A

DD Girls

The DD Girls, who target the Sailor Soldiers in Episode 45.

The DD Girls (ディーディー・ガールズ, Dī Dī Gāruzu) are a group of five high-ranking monsters who work directly for Queen Beryl. When Queen Beryl asks her monsters which of them would like to dispose of the Sailor Soldiers (when they attempt to find their location) and earn their place in Dark Kingdom history, the DD Girls volunteer to kill the Sailor Soldiers. They create illusions of people the Sailor Soldiers care about (namely Tuxedo Mask for Usagi, Motoki Furuhata for Makoto and Ryo Urawa for Ami) in danger or pain, to lure the Soldiers into a trap. The Sailor Soldiers destroy the DD Girls at the cost of their lives, ensuring Sailor Moon reaches Beryl.[31] In the DIC English adaptation, the storyline is altered that the Monsters only captured Sailor Moon's allies.[32]

In the first anime series, their voice actresses are Naoko Nakamura and Asako Satou. In the DIC English adaptation, their name is changed to the "Doom and Gloom Girls" and are voiced by Tracey Hoyt, Mary Long, Tracey Moore, Barbara Radecki, and Nadine Rabinovitch. In the Viz Media English adaptation, they are voiced by Tara Platt and Wendee Lee.

The DD Girls appear in the Sailor Moon: Another Story video game where they are a reincarnated Queen Beryl's last line of defense.

Three DD Girls appear in the first musical, Gaiden Dark Kingdom Fukkatsu Hen, played by Hisako Doubayashi, Yuko Nishi and Mayumi Maikuma, and in its revision, played by Yuriko Nishiyama, Kaori Ishikawa and Ai Suzuki.

Reception

When analyzing the contrast between young heroines and evil older women in manga, Kathryn Hemmann noted that "Queen Beryl is in no way girlish" and that, while the Sailor Soldiers have enormous eyes, Beryl's "are narrow and shaded."[33] Mie Hiramoto also established a contrast between Beryl and the Sailor Soldiers in an analysis of anime and intertextualities, explaining that while the Soldiers use Japanese women's language, Beryl uses the more formal Standard Japanese more frequently than any other character, which is typical of villains in other anime series.[34] The inclusion of Beryl as an evil character in a line of dolls for girls has been described as a "radical idea".[35]

Author Patrick Drazen described DIC's name change for Nephrite's disguise, Maxfield Stanton, as "ridiculously soap-opera."[36]:281 However, Drazen later made a later review about Nephrite's death at the hands of Zoisite's monsters, and stated that this scene must have been an unexpected development for viewers used to happy endings. Drazen also cited Nephrite's death in Naru's arms as a scene of redemption, saying that him smiling and laughing during his death "would have been beyond him in the past, but love is turning him human."[36]:284 Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice actress of Usagi Tsukino, said she was particularly touched by this sequence.[37] Sara Roncero-Menendez from The Huffington Post stated that the homosexual relationship between Zoisite and Kunzite in the first anime adaptation was censored in the English versions by changing Zoisite's gender from male to female.[23]

In 1993, Animage made a male anime character popularity poll, in which Zoisite was the tenth most popular, and Nephrite was the joint seventeenth, tying with a character from Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh.[38] The first official Sailor Moon character popularity poll ranked Zoisite as the twentieth most popular character, Kunzite was the twenty third, Nephrite was twenty fourth, Jadeite was twenty sixth, Endou was twenty ninth, Beryl was thirtieth and Queen Metaria was thirty fourth, out of thirty eight choices.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ In the manga, it is revealed that the Four Kings of Heaven were once the bodyguards of Prince Endymion, and in most versions of the story, Beryl is able to use her powers to sway Endymion himself into her service.

References

  1. 1 2 Takeuchi, Naoko (1997). Codename: Sailor V: Volume 3. Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN 4063228347.
  2. ↑ McCarter, Charles. "Public Interview with Takeuchi Naoko". EX. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original (Q & A Interview) on 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Takeuchi, Naoko (April 6, 1993). Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Volume 3. Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN 4061787446.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Takeuchi, Naoko (October 6, 1992). Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Volume 2. Tōkyō: Kodansha. ISBN 4061787314.
  5. 1 2 Kunihiko Ikuhara (director); Sukehiro Tomita (writer) (1993-02-27). "Usagi's Eternal Wish: A Brand New Life". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 46. Toei Animation.
  6. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical 1998 Eien Densetsu kaiteiban, after Galaxia Gorgeous Galaxia gets a vision of Hotaru sadly saying she cannot transform and protect the princess, and Galaxia decides to use the Queen of Darkness (Beryl)
  7. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical 1998 Eien Densetsu kaiteiban, before Mou ii No (Its alright)
  8. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical 1998 Shin Densetsu Kourin after Onna no Ronsou
  9. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical 1998 Eien Densetsu kaiteiban
  10. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical 1998 Shin Densetsu Kourin
  11. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical 2004 Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin
  12. ↑ "Sailor Moon Omake Making Of". Sailor Moon. Season 2. Tokyo. May 8, 1993. Toei.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sailor Moon Crystal Cast Adds Misa Watanabe, Daisuke Kishio, Kousuke Toriumi, More". Anime News Network. 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
  14. ↑ Takeuchi, Naoko (January 17, 2012). Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Volume 3 (Reprint ed.). Kodansha. ISBN 9781892213068.
  15. 1 2 Takeuchi, Naoko (September 22, 2003). Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Perfect Edition Vol. 2. Kodansha. ISBN 9784061787315.
  16. ↑ Kunihiko Ikuhara (director); Katsuyuki Sumisawa (writer) (1995-09-21). "An Animated Mess". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 17. DIC Entertainment.
  17. ↑ Sailor Moon Musical, 1997 Eien Densetsu, during Itsuwari no Forevermore
  18. ↑ Sailor Moon Musicals, 2003 Starlights - Ryuusei Densetsu, before Prince of Earth
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Takeuchi, Naoko (October 1999). Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Materials Collection. Tōkyō: Kodansha. ISBN 4063245217.
  20. 1 2 Takeuchi, Naoko (1996). Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Volume 1. Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN 4061787217.
  21. ↑ Takeuchi, Naoko (October 2000). Sailor Moon Scout Guide - Meet Sailor Moon: Crystal. Tokyopop Press. ISBN 189221332X.
  22. ↑ Yoda, Karen. "Profile". Administrative Scrivener Karen Yoda Office. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  23. 1 2 Roncero-Mernandez, Sara (May 21, 2014). "Sailor Neptune and Uranus Come Out of the Fictional Closet". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  24. ↑ Ryuta Tasaki (director); Yasuko Kobayashi (writer) (2004-09-25). "The Five Sailor Senshi Surpassed Their Previous Lives". Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 49. Toei Company.
  25. ↑ Ryuta Tasaki (director); Yasuko Kobayashi (writer) (2004-04-24). "Welcome Back, Ami!". Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 28. Toei Company.
  26. ↑ Ryuta Tasaki (director); Yasuko Kobayashi (writer) (2004-11-24). "We're Getting Married!!". Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode Special Act. Toei Company.
  27. ↑ Takeuchi, Naoko (December 18, 1993). Codename: Sailor V Vol. 1. Kodansha. ISBN 4063228010.
  28. ↑ Junichi Sato (director); Sukehiro Tomita (writer) (1992-03-07). "The Crybaby: Usagi's Beautiful Transformation". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 1. Toei Animation.
  29. ↑ Kazuhisa Takenouchi (director); Shigeru Yanagikawa (writer) (1992-09-05). "Jupiter, the Powerful Girl in Love". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 25. Toei Animation.
  30. ↑ Yūji Endō (director); Katsuyuki Sumisawa (writer) (1993-01-23). "I Won't Run Away from Love Anymore: Ami vs. Mamoru". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 41. Toei Animation.
  31. ↑ Kōnosuke Uda (director); Shigeru Yanagikawa (writer) (1993-02-20). "Death of the Sailor Guardians: The Tragic Final Battle". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 45. Toei Animation.
  32. ↑ Kōnosuke Uda (director); Shigeru Yanagikawa (writer) (1995-10-24). "Day of Destiny". Sailor Moon. Season 1. Episode 40. DIC Entertainment.
  33. ↑ Hemmann, Kathryn (2014). "Short Skirts and Superpowers: The Evolution of the Beautiful Fighting Girl". U.S.-Japan Women's Journal. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  34. ↑ Hiramoto, Mie (December 1, 2010). "Anime and intertextualities: Hegemonic identities in Cowboy Bebop". Media Intertextualities. John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  35. ↑ Clark, Beverly Lyon; Higonnet, Margaret R. (2000). Girls, Boys, Books, Toys: Gender in Children's Literature and Culture (1st ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 173. ISBN 0801865263.
  36. 1 2 Drazen, Patrick (October 2002). Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1880656728. OCLC 50898281.
  37. ↑ "Sailor Moon Omake Making Of". Sailor Moon. Season 2. Tokyo. 1993-05-08. Toei.
  38. ↑ "月刊アニメージュ【公式サイト】". Wayback Machine. 2009-03-06. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
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