Showing posts with label Usagi Tsukino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Usagi Tsukino. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2010

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino Actresses and Parodies


Actresses
In the Japanese animated version, Kotono Mitsuishi voices Usagi, using a higher voice than Mitsuishi's natural voice. During the recording of the early episodes, Mitsuishi had to mentally prepare herself to play Usagi. While Mitsuishi had her appendix removed (episodes 44–50), Kae Araki, who would later play Chibiusa, played Usagi.
In the English dubbed version, successive actors take the role of Serena: Tracey Moore (episodes 1–11, 15 and 21), Terri Hawkes (episodes 12-14, 16–20, 22–82, and movies) and Linda Ballantyne (episodes 90–166). Jennifer Cihi provides the English vocals for Serena's songs in the series.
In the stage musicals four actresses have played Usagi: Anza Ōyama, Fumina Hara, Miyuki Kanbe (who played the character with a "cute and high voice"), and Marina Kuroki. The numerous musicals are frequently grouped into "stages" according to which of these actresses was currently playing Sailor Moon.
In the SuperS Musicals, Sanae Kimura, who played Sailor Uranus, provided the voice of Neo-Queen Serenity during Over the Moon, A duet between Sailor Moon and Neo-Queen Serenity, though a third, unknown person, was on stage in Serenity's Costume as both Sailor Moon and Uranus were onstage. Uncredited body doubles are common in the musicals to allow the character to appear to transform instantly.
In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Miyū Sawai plays Usagi; she also plays Queen Serenity in the Special Act though she did not provide her voice which was instead provided by Youko Soumi who previously narrated a book in Act 9.

Parodies
Comedian Samantha Bee played Sailor Moon in a live-action production at the Canadian National Exhibition.
In the popular show Robot Chicken Sailor Moon faces one of Queen Beryl's minions, where her Sailor Moon outfit is shown as a very short skirt that exposes her underpants. Sailor Moon was voiced by Scarlett Johannsen on Robot Chicken.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino Development

In the initial proposal for the Sailor Moon series, each of the five heroines had a completely unique outfit. Eventually it was determined that they would wear uniforms based on a single theme, and Sailor Moon's costume concept was the closest to that which would eventually be used for all the girls. The original did have some small differences, including color changes, an exposed midriff, and ribbons around the gloves and boots. She also had a mask, which would appear in a few chapters of the manga itself before being discarded. These aspects of Sailor Moon's costume are shown in multiple pieces of early artwork, along with a gun and cloak, which were also parts of the original concept.
Usagi's signature hairstyle derives from a "good luck charm" of the artist's; in college, Takeuchi would put her own hair up in odango before difficult classes or exams. In the initial sketches, Sailor Moon had pink hair. By the intermediate stages of development, Takeuchi planned to have the character's hair be blond in civilian form and change to silver when she transformed, but she was told by her editor that silver hair would be too plain for cover art. Nevertheless, stylistic use of differently-colored hair does sometimes appear in later artwork, and the concept of the heroines' hair changing color when transformed is used in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.
Of all the Sailor Senshi, Usagi's personality is closest to Takeuchi's own personality at the time Sailor Moon was created.
Certain background details of Usagi's character were chosen symbolically—for instance, her Western astrological sign is given as Cancer, which in astrology corresponds to the moon. In reference to a popular Japanese belief, her blood type is given as O, supposedly indicating friendliness, optimism, and carelessness.
The kanji of Usagi's surname translate as "moon" (月 tsuki) and "field" (野 no). Her given name is in hiragana usagi (うさぎ) and so its meaning is not inherent, but the word itself means "rabbit" and this is used as a pun frequently throughout the series, even in her hairstyle and possessions. Her entire name is structured as a pun, as the syllable "no" indicates a possessive, so that her name can also be understood as "Rabbit of the Moon." This derives from a Japanese folktale about the rabbit that is said to be visible in the Moon's face, much like the Western Man in the Moon. The English-language manga gives her the nickname Bunny to partially preserve this pun; many other localizations use the name Bunny as well. "Usagi" is not a common given name in Japan.
Similarly for the dubbed anime, "Serena" is probably at least in part a play on the word Selene, a moon goddess in Greek mythology who fell in love with a shepherd named Endymion. It also derives from the name of the series' moon princess, which is alternately either "Selenity" (from Selene) or "Serenity" (from the Sea of Serenity on the moon), both of which would be rendered in Japanese as [seɽeneti]. In an early DiC promotional tape that advertised Sailor Moon to television stations, Usagi was called Victoria.Another preliminary name that appeared on Kodansha's English website in an advertisement for the series was Celeste.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Sailor Moon Special Powers and Items

Sailor Moon's pre-battle taunt pose, an iconic symbol throughout the series:
"In the name of the moon, I shall punish you!"

Usagi is not shown using any special powers in her civilian form. She must first transform into a Sailor Senshi by wearing a special device (usually a brooch) and shouting a special command, which activates the device. Her original transformation command is "Moon Prism Power, Make-up!" She gains a new basic transformation sequence for each of the five major story arcs. In her basic form, the command changes as she becomes more powerful and obtains new transformation devices, evoking "Moon Crystal Power" and later "Moon Cosmic Power". A transformation into Super Sailor Moon initially requires her to already be in Senshi form and to use an additional item (called the Holy Chalice/Rainbow Moon Cálice) as well as the command "Crisis, make-up!", but in the anime this saps her strength. For the fourth story-arc she gains the ability to transform directly into Super Sailor Moon via Moon Crisis, and in the fifth arc becomes Eternal Sailor Moon with Silver Moon Crystal Power in the manga, or Moon Eternal in the anime (and once in the manga). At first, she is required to be in her Super Sailor Moon form, in the anime, to become Eternal Sailor Moon, as the upgrade to her Brooch is temporary. When facing off with Nehelleina for the final time, the Brooch is permanently upgraded allowing her to become Eternal Sailor Moon directly.
Most of Sailor Moon's anime transformations involve the use of shiny red or pink ribbons which fly out of her brooch and form her uniform. Feathers and wings also figure prominently in some sequences, particularly the transformation into Eternal Sailor Moon. When she de-transforms, the ribbons reappear and unravel from around her body and go back into the brooch. Usually the clothes she was wearing before she transformed reappear, but if her de-transformation is forced, she may be left naked with the ribbons hanging loose around her body. She also has the Disguise Pen, which allows her to take on a human disguise by saying "Moon Power!" This is used very frequently in the first story arc, but is only mentioned once during the third arc.
As the protagonist and leader, Sailor Moon has the most special powers of any character in the series. Her physical attacks, usually one-offs and not always successful, include Sailor Moon Kick and Sailor Body Attack, as well as the occasional use of her hair pins as projectile weapons. In her very first battle, she cries in terror and the red hair pieces on her odango amplify the sound waves, doing damage to the enemy. Her odango ornaments can also be used to hear faraway sounds, although this is rarely ever used.
General magic attacks are her most common type of power. In each adaptation of the series she can remove her tiara and turn it into a throwing weapon, which is her first major attack and which she continues to use on occasion far into the anime series. In the anime she demonstrates the ability to control the path of her Tiara, and once, to enlarge it and then shrink it around the enemy, ensnaring them. In the manga, a powered-up tiara enables her to attack with Moon Twilight Flash while in the live-action series this move requires an item called the Moon Stick and is her primary attack, though she also sometimes uses unnamed beam attacks. In the manga and anime she only uses the Moon Stick to perform Moon Healing Escalation and return possessed humans to their normal selves; Luna says in the anime that this item belongs to the leader of the Sailor Senshi. In the anime, she once uses her tiara to purify a group of possessed people, and in the live-action series she can heal others without any incantation.
One cannot always distinguish between healing or purifying powers and attacks, as the monsters of the day in the series are usually created by corruption of an object or person. Sailor Moon has one or two primary attacks per story arc, most of which require a unique rod or wand, and in the original anime, each of them causes the target monster to shout a phrase and revert back to what it was made from (or to dust). These primary attacks are: the first series' Moon Healing Escalation, the second series' Moon Princess Halation, the third series' Moon Spiral Heart Attack and Rainbow Moon Heart Ache, the fourth series' Moon Gorgeous Meditation, and the fifth series' Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss and Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss.
A handful of powers come up only once and in critical situations; often the common repeating powers in the anime are only one-offs in the manga. In the anime, Sailor Moon uses her transformation command when battling Queen Metaria and when turning the Ayakashi Sisters into normal women. She says Moon Cosmic Power when struggling to destroy Pharaoh 90, and at the end of the series uses Silver Moon Crystal Eternal Power to fight Chaos.
Sailor Moon can be temporarily powered-up by the other Sailor Senshi lending her their powers, as shown in the climax of the Sailor Moon R movie and multiple times throughout the series. She also often attacks in tandem with her daughter, Sailor Chibi Moon, and, at critical moments, receives power from individuals such as Luna, Queen Serenity, her future self, Mamoru, ChibiChibi, and others.
By far, Sailor Moon's most important item is the Silver Crystal, which is the "holy stone" of the Silver Millennium. It figures significantly in the first, second, and fifth story arcs, as it is the proof of her identity as the Princess and the source of her power. It eventually evolves into the Silver Moon Crystal.
In terms of personal items, Sailor Moon attaches particular importance and sentimental value to her gold locket. In the anime it plays a version of "Moonlight Densetsu", the opening theme for the series. Sailor Moon finds it after it is dropped by Tuxudo Mask. It is a relic of their past lives which she had given to him as a gift. Sailor Moon uses this locket in moments of sadness caused by her separation from Mamoru.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino Aspects and Forms


As a character with different incarnations, special powers, transformations and a long lifetime which (virtually) spans the ancient Silver Millennium era and the 30th century, Usagi gains multiple aspects and aliases such as Princess Serenity, Sailor Moon, Princess Sailor Moon, Super Sailor Moon, Eternal Sailor Moon, and Neo-Queen Serenity.
First appearance
FormMangaAnimeLive-action
Usagi TsukinoAct 1Episode 1Act 1
Sailor MoonAct 1Episode 1Act 1
Princess SerenityAct 9Episode 34Act 25
Princess Sailor MoonEpisode 44Act 36
Neo-Queen SerenityAct 16Episode 68
Super Sailor MoonAct 30Episode 111
Eternal Sailor MoonAct 42Episode 168
Pure Moon PrincessAct 52Episode 200

Monday, September 6, 2010

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino Variations


Usagi often seems inconsistent from version to version within the series. In the manga, while she starts out as a crybaby, she quickly matures and learns to make decisions for herself. The series often portrays Usagi as just lazy rather than lacking intelligence. This shows when she passes her high-school exams without trouble when threatened with separation from her friends.
The anime often portrays Usagi as relatively more flaky and child-like. She often bickers with Chibiusa, begs Mamoru to buy her things and bickers with Rei very childishly, but shows just as much caring as her manga counterpart. She does evolve during the course of the series, but generally lacks the maturity of her manga counterpart except in the last few episodes of each story arc.
The dubbed version made Serena more of a ditz than Usagi, featuring for example lines such as "Hi, you look like da bomb in those kimonos", which emulates stereotypical valley-girl usage. By contrast, in the following episode, Neo-Queen Serenity talks without this pseudo-valley girl dialect, showing this was intentional and inherent to the voice actress.
Usagi in the live-action series differs slightly from her manga and anime counterparts. She appears much more outgoing and extroverted, and seems to make friends very easily, which immediately puts her personality in conflict with her fellow Senshi, all of whom were loners to varying degrees. She rarely uses formal grammar with those of her age (though she does with adults), and refers to everyone as "[given name]-chan," which is very informal and a way of expressing closeness. She even teases Ami when Ami continues calling her "Tsukino-san," a formal way of speaking to classmates, saying that it is as if they are not friends. Every time a new Senshi appears, Usagi immediately tries to make her a friend, even though almost all of them resist. However, through Usagi's influence, the other Senshi gradually begin to realize that they are stronger together than they are alone. Usagi also has a habit of forcing her interests on the people that she makes friends with. This is prominent in her relationship with Rei, when she tries time and time again to get her to sing.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino Profile

Usagi in her school uniform, as drawn byNaoko Takeuchi. Takeuchi consistently portrays Usagi as a lazy daydreamer, but one with an enormous heart.

The meta-series introduces Usagi Tsukino as a schoolgirl living in 20th-century Tokyo. It initially depicts her as a well-intentioned but underachieving crybaby who prefers the life of a normal teenage Earth girl. Nevertheless, she continues to fight the evils of her past life and protects the Earth with the Silver Crystal, as the Champion of Justice, Sailor Moon, which provides for most of the conflict within both the manga and the anime.
Her journey begins when, while running to school, she sees some neighborhood kids abusing a cat and rescues it (in the manga she accidentally steps on the cat, and trips over it). Later, the cat comes into her room and reveals herself as a talking cat named Luna, who serves as the mentor archetype for Sailor Moon. Luna gives Usagi a magical brooch which helps her transform into Sailor Moon (the "soldier for love and justice"), and tells her that she is a Soldier who must fight for peace. She also tells her that she must find the rest of the Soldiers, as well as their princess. Though at first Usagi is portrayed as a "reluctant heroine" (in the anime she often is rescued by Tuxedo Mask) as time goes on her character grows more confident and mature. However, she still has her crybaby moments late into the meta-series.
Usagi lives in Azabu Jūban (a real district of Tokyo) with her mother Ikuko Tsukino, her father Kenji Tsukino, and her brother Shingo Tsukino. Usagi's family take their names from the real family members of the metaseries' creator, Naoko Takeuchi. Out of all the Sailor Senshi, only Usagi and Minako Aino live in conventional nuclear families. Usagi is also the only one known to have a sibling.
Usagi does not perform well at school, and often seems unintelligent (especially in the anime), though the storyline generally attributes this to naïveté and laziness rather than to stupidity. She spends her time eating, playing video games and reading comics (including RunRun, which published the Sailor V manga in real life) rather than studying. She is often portrayed as a character that is better at art than science, as with her inability to answer that apples fall from trees because of gravity.
Usagi has a boyfriend named Mamoru Chiba. Mamoru and Usagi's relationship forms an important part of Usagi's life, as well as of the series. The love they share helps Usagi make it through many challenges. Mamoru becomes Usagi's boyfriend after many trials, and they date for a long time during the series. In Sailor Stars Mamoru gives Usagi a promise ring in a shape of a heart at the airport just before he leaves for America. The ring represents a promise to Usagi that they will eventually get married.
A number of connecting episodes at the end of the first series reveal one of the biggest secrets about Sailor Moon: she realizes that she is Princess Serenity (the "crown princess" of the Silver Millennium) reborn. In the second series, Usagi learns that she will give birth to a daughter (Chibiusa) by her boyfriend and future husband. Usagi will also become a "sovereign of the Earth", known as Neo-Queen Serenity, by the 30th century.
The series shows how Usagi loves sweet foods and how easily they distract her. She loves ice-cream so much that it appears listed as her hobby in the manga, and her favorite subject is listed as Home Economics. She is also said to dislike carrots (although she eats them in the anime), and is terrible at both English and mathematics. In addition to being a genuine friend, Usagi is extremely good at brown nosing when it's needed and, of course, crying to get what she wants. She is afraid of dentists , ghosts and lightning, and her greatest dream is to be a bride. Usagi loves rabbits as well as the colors white and pink, and is apparently a member of the Manga Drawing Club at school, though her skill level varies widely when shown in the anime. She stands 150 centimeters (4 ft 11 in) tall. She also often appears bad at writing using Kanji to the point that even as Neo-Queen Serenity she still has problems.
In the manga and anime, Mamoru gives Usagi the nickname "Odango" (a kind of rice dumpling), based on her distinctive hair-style. At first this is always accompanied with the suffix -atama, meaning "head", but as time goes on it is left off. Usagi hates the name at first, but as they become close it develops into a sign of affection. Later in the series, other important male (or androgynous) figures in her life, Haruka and Seiya, adopt the name as well. Because there is no North American equivalent to odango, the English dub almost always uses "Meatball Head," once "Donut Head," and, somewhat incongruously, "Moon Face." In the English manga, Mamoru calls Usagi "buns", which is both an approximation of odango and short for Bunny.
Variations

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon (セーラームーン Sērā Mūn) is a fictional character in the Sailor Moon metaseries and the main protagonist of the franchise, as well as its title character. Her civilian name, Usagi Tsukino (月野 うさぎ Tsukino Usagi), becomes Serena Tsukino in the English-language versions. A carefree schoolgirl, she can transform herself into the de facto leader of the series' primary heroines, the Sailor Senshi.
Due to the series' widespread popularity in many countries and to her distinctive and oft-copied odango hairstyle, she has become one of the most immediately recognizable and iconic anime characters worldwide. No other character appears in all 200 episodes of the anime, and Usagi is present in all 52 acts of the manga as well as all 51 acts of the live-action series.
Serena, Usagi's given name in the English-language versions of the series, derives from "Serenity", the name Usagi went by in her past life. In the English manga she is mostly called by the nickname Bunny, which is the literal meaning of usagi. Her boyfriend for most of the series, Mamoru Chiba, calls her by the affectionate nickname "Usako" (a diminutive, the suffix -ko meaning "child").