Yes my dear otakus, we are going to remember one of the longest fillers in the first version of the Sailor Moon’s anime. After defeating Queen Metallia, the Senshi were living normal lives again… until two aliens and their malefic tree descended on Earth to do what villains in Sailor Moon do best: drain energy from people. Alan and Ann are quite the romantic couple, but they end up infatuated with Usagi and Mamoru respectively. Of course they try their best to tear the couple apart when they disguise as humans! They also attempt to destroy Sailor Moon and the Moonlight Knight (Mamoru’s “subconscious” shadow trying to protect Usagi) whenever they interfere with their plans. Yeap, love-hate relationships have always been this complicated…

At least we can say that the last battle was interesting, with a very jealous Ann nearly defeating Sailor Moon… until the alien tree rebels and attacks them all. Ann protects Alan and they reaffirm their love, while the tree talks and states that it did not need human energy but simply… love (duh). So, after being purified by Sailor Moon, the alien family leaves the planet to find a better place to raise the tree together. That’s kinda sweet.

Does anyone remember this handsome Shitennou (Negaverse general)? Nephrite was the second of the generals to appear, and in the Sailor Moon Crystal version, he is implied to be the love interest of Sailor Jupiter in their previous lives. Nevertheless, in the 90´s version of the anime, the story was completely different.

Nephrite targeted specifical people to drain their energy out for Queen Metallia by reading the stars. He also had a human identity, that of the millionaire businessman Masato Sanjouin. When Nephrite was trying to discover Sailor Moon´s identity in the human world, he got involved with Naru Osaka, who fell in love with him. At first the proud Shitennou was using her to his advantage, but when Naru is kidnapped by Zoisite and put in danger, Nephrite goes to rescue her. In the end, he dies protecting Naru from Zoisite’s youma. Nephrite and Naru’s relationship was one of the most moving from the 90´s anime, and it still brings out the tears to fans around the world.

Let’s get further into the Black Moon arc, shall we? Who remembers the evil and sometimes comical quartet of Ayakashi sisters? Petz, Calaveras, Beruttie, and Koan (in birth order) were paired against the Sailor Senshi. In the 90´s version of the anime, they were purified one by one. The sisters truly loved each other, so they chose to lose their evil powers in order to live together as civilians. Then, guess what they chose for their career? Well, because they were portrayed as vain and caring of their looks, they became cosmetologists. The funny dynamic of the sisters who occasionally fight and annoyed each other was not lost. Hurray for the Ayakashi family!

Prince Demande still has lots of fans! With his cold gaze and elegant demeanor, Prince Demande’s most notable characteristics were his power thirst and his obsession with Queen Serenity, a.k.a. Sailor Moon. He calculated well that by going to the past, he would be able to kidnap her. Prince Demande tried to seduce her and even kissed her. The scoundrel!

Nevertheless, the guy got suspicious when Wiseman killed his brother Saphyre. After that, Sailor Moon convinced him that they all could live together and that Wiseman only wanted to succeed by breaking havoc, which was the wrong way. When Wiseman almost killed Sailor Moon, Prince Demande protected her, receiving the full power blast. This quick and dramatic moment of redemption before Prince Demande’s death was one of the best scenes in the 90´s anime version.

We still have better stories of redemption among Sailor Moon’s villains. What can be more disturbing than your own daughter turning against you in the worst possible way? Chibi Usa wanted to destroy the Earth and even stole your man! But let’s be fair with Chibi Usa: she was in a vulnerable state when Wiseman manipulated her. She wanted to belong somewhere, to be powerful, and deal with her complex emotions towards her own father (yeah, talk about an Electra Complex here).

Most interestingly, the 90’s anime version kept putting Usagi and Chibi Usa in competition for Mamoru’s attention in certain arcs, in sharp contrast with the manga and the new Crystal version… Anyway, it ultimately was Usagi (her future mother) who reached Black Lady’s and reconciled with her, purifying Chibi Usa’s heart and bringing her back to the good side.

Hotaru is some sort of ambiguous villainous figure. Deep inside she is incapable of harm, but two identities fight inside her weak body. Hotaru’s soul is the reincarnated Sailor Saturn, which is said to bring destruction when awakened. So, the other Sailor Senshi kind of turn away from her. On the other side, the ambitious Mistress 9 was implanted in Hotaru by the Death Busters. She even swallowed Chibi Usa’s Silver Crystal and opened the path for the evil Pharaoh 90 to invade Earth… until Sailor Saturn took over.

Instead of finishing the world, Hotaru sacrificed her life to defeat the Death Busters. Luckily, Sailor Moon was able to facilitate her rebirth. So, no everlasting harm done. The sweet and caring Hotaru was able to clean her image as Sailor Saturn and have a normal life at least for a while.

The Dream arc was full of ostentatious characters who worked in the Dead Moon Circus. Nevertheless, the comical Amazon Trio won our hearts. They even had their private spot at a bar to discuss their evil plans. Their personal tastes were also different: Tiger’s Eye targeted young women, Hawk’s Eye older women, and Fish’s Eye, guys. Later in the arc, it is revealed that they used to be animals who wished to be humans, so they were transformed into the Amazon Trio by Zirconia. Yeah, evil people manipulating others again…

The Amazon Trio failed so many times to find Pegasus, that the Amazon Quartet was sent to kill them. In order to protect each other, the Amazon Trio ended up helping Sailor Moon when her Dream Mirror was broken. So, Pegasus revived them and gave them their own Dream Mirrors, taking them to live on his forest realm.

The replacements for the Amazon Trio were even more dangerous, so don’t let their innocent and childish looks misguide you! Their names are VesVes, CereCere, JunJun, and PallaPalla. These girls don’t want to grow up because they think growing up will take their dreams away, so they accepted Queen Neherenia’s power, in the form of orbs, to stop the aging process. The Amazoness Quartet play lots of tricks on the Sailor Senshi. Plus, they are loyal only to themselves, as they steal Chibi Usa from Zirconia to be able to get their hands on the Pegasus.

During a battle between Zirconia and the Sailor Senshi, the first was going to absorb the Amazoness Quartet powers for the sake of winning. The Sailor Senshi convince the Amazoness Quartet to crush their orbs, which set them free from the Dead Moon Circus control. The Amazoness Quartet also stole the Golden Crystal from Queen Neherenia, substituting it with a pineapple (LOL) to give it to Sailor Moon to enhance her powers. Once the Queen flew away sealed in a mirror, the Amazoness Quartet adopted civilian identities and left without saying goodbye. Maybe they will meet the Sailor Senshi again in the future 🙂

The evil master-mind behind the Dead Moon Circus definitely had to be mentioned in this countdown! Queen Neherenia dreamt of ruling over the Moon Kingdom, so she was sealed into a mirror by the late Queen Serenity. But, when the power of the people’s dreams weakened on Earth, her Circus was released to break havoc. It is later found that Neherenia was the young queen of the Dark side of the Moon, loved and complimented by her people. Afraid of getting old, she became obsessed with beauty and stole the Dream mirrors from her subordinates to remain young forever.

Neherenia later sought the Golden crystal to win enough power to rule over the Silver Millennium and the Earth. A certain person who occupies the first spot on the countdown set her free for a second time, when she corrupted Mamoru with a mirror shard (much like in the original Snow Queen tale by Andersen). But the more Neherenia tries to make Sailor Moon hate her, the more she refuses. This prompts her change of heart, and later, purified by Sailor Moon, recovers her child form, her kingdom, and her subjects.

The number one villain in Sailor Moon has to be the vastly powerful leader of Shadow Galactica! Once a noble Senshi who sealed Chaos inside of her, she has been corrupted and became power thirsty. Sailor Galaxia invaded planets all over the Universe, stealing Star seeds and winning allies (the Sailor Animamates) on the way. Still, she also eliminates them when they fail.

Sailor Galaxia was so ruthless that she killed most of the Sailor Senshi without making a great effort, and even murdered the little Sailor Chibi Chibi, her own Star seed in human form 🙁 But even with that, Sailor Moon always hoped Sailor Galaxia had some goodness inside of her. Fortunately, in the end, Usagi reaches the good civilian side of Galaxia, expelling Chaos from her.