I. Plot
II. Protagonists
II-A. Inner Senshi
II-B. Outer Senshi
II-C. Tuxedo Mask
II-D: Starlights
II-E: The Chibis
II-F: The Cats
III. Antagonists
III-A. Dark Kingdom
III-B: Ali & Ann
III-C. Black Moon
III-D: Mistress 9
III-E: Dead Moon Circle
III-F: The Shadow Galactica
IV. Versions
IV-A: Manga
IV-B: Anime
IV-C: Musicals
IV-D: Live-Action
V: Recommendations
I. Plot
Sailor Moon is an early 90's Shojo manga written by Naoko Takuechi. The story follows Usagi Tsukino, a hopeless 14 year girl who meets a cat called Luna and discovers that is "Sailor Moon" a superheroine. With the aid of her allies and the mysterious Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon battles the forces of evil!
II. Protagonists
Note: Personalities may vary depending on the version.
II-A. Inner Senshi
Left to Right: Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, & Sailor Venus.
Ami Mizuno is Sailor Mercury, a highly book-smart person who fights with water. Rei Hino is Sailor Mars, a Miko who fights with fire. Makoto Kino is Sailor Jupiter, a tall fighter who fights with lighting. Minako Aino is Sailor Venus, who was originally a crime fighter under the name of Sailor V.
II-B. Outer Senshi
Left to Right: Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Pluto
Haruka Tenou & Michiru Kaioh are Sailor Uranus & Neptune, a lesbian couple who are the Guardian of the Sky and the Guardian of the Seas respectively. Hotaru Tomoe is Sailor Saturn, the Soldier of Ruin and Birth and Setsuna Meioh is Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time.
II-C. Tuxedo Mask
Mamoru Chiba is Sailor Earth, who can transform into Tuxedo Mask and aid Sailor Moon in battle.
II-D: Starlights
Left to Right: Yaten Kou, Seiya Kou, and Taiki Kou.
The Starlights are females who disguise themselves as male to search for their Princess, Kakyuu.
II-E: The Chibis
Left to Right: Chibichibi, Sailor Moon, Chibiusa.
Chibiusa is the daughter of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, and her Chibi version. Chibichibi is more like the Pokemon version, who just says her name over and over again.
II-F: The Cats
Left to Right: Arthemis, Diana, & Luna.
The first one guides Sailor Venus, the last one guides Sailor Moon, and the middle one if the result of their affection for each other.
III. Antagonists
Note: Personalities may vary depending on the version.
III-A. Dark Kingdom
Queen Beryl and her Shitennou of Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, & Kunzite seek energy to revive Queen Metallia
III-B: Ali & Ann
Ali & Ann, two aliens who are essentially evil counterparts of Usagi and Mamoru, come to the Earth as humans seeking energy for their Doom Tree. They only appear in the 90s anime.
III-C. Black Moon
Wiseman is an avatar of Death Phantom who wants to rule the universe. He works with the Dark Moon family, who in turn dispatch Rubeus and the Ayakashi Sisters.
III-D: Mistress 9
Professor Tomoe serves Mistress 9, who in turn serves some all-powerful deity called Pharaoh 90. His henchmen include the wonderful Witches 5.
III-E: Dead Moon Circle
Led by Zirconia, he is looking for the Golden Crystal to free Queen Nehelenia. Their underlings include the Amazon Trio and the Amazoness Quartet.
III-F: The Shadow Galactica
A group of villains that want starseeds, the essence of a human. Sailor Galaxia is the most well known villain of the bunch, even Lady Gaga impersonates her.
IV. Versions
IV-A: Manga
The original medium for the series. Sailor V, a series where Minako Aino battles crime on her own, was the original series and then later the series became Sailor Moon. While Sailor V followed a Monster of the Week format like the 90s anime did, the Sailor Moon manga is more plot-driven and serious. The manga moves at a fast pace, meaning there is not much room for character interaction, and it generally focuses on Usagi and Mamoru. Due to these differences, the manga meets with a mixed reception among fans of the anime.
IV-B: Anime
Junichi Sato adapted the Dark Kingdom storyline for Toei Animation in the early 90s, and his version of the Dark Kingdom closed all plot points. In order for Toei to adapt the Black Moon arc, the Ali & Ann arc was made as an anime-original storyline to serve as a bridge between the Dark Kingdom arc and the Black Moon arc. Once Toei got around to the Black Moon arc, Kunihiko Ikuhara took over as the lead director, although Sato still helped work on the show. Ikuhara remained the series lead director until the final season Sailor Stars, where he retired from working on the franchise and Takuya Igarashi took over. In 2014, Toei made a new Sailor Moon anime named Sailor Moon Crystal, which served to be a more faithful adaptation since the 90s TV Series was more of a loose adaptation.
IV-C: Musicals
Various productions have been made to tell the story of Sailor Moon in the context of a musical.
IV-D: Live-Action
Prolific screenwriter Yasuko Kobayashi wrote an adaptation of the Dark Kingdom storyline for Toei as a Tokusatsu in 2003. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon keeps a balance between keeping elements of the manga while staying to the pace of the original anime, but the production values leave a lot to be desired.
V: Recommendations
[For fans of the Manga]: The Cherry Project is the only other one that really went on long enough.-Zoe
[For fans of the Anime]: Well, there's Goldfish Warning if you want Satou and Ikuhara to be in the same show, but the works they did afterward separately are stronger. Utena for Ikuhara, and Ojamajo Doremi for Satou/Igarashi, both have legitimate arguments for being the best magical girl show ever made, if one considers Utena to be magical girl anyway.-Hitokage
[For fans of the Live-Action]: Ryuki and OOO are good starting points for Kobayashi's works. They both have tragedy and comedy, and explore some similar themes of desire. For Sentai, Shinkenger and Go-Busters are my recommended choices, but only because they're recent. Go-Busters may not be for everyone (and is an odd duck for Sentai in general), while Shinkenger is above average, if a bit drifty in the middle. I don't know much about Gingaman or Timeranger, and Toqger isn't finished so I can't make a final judgment on it, but it's alright. Den-O is a bit tough to recommend, but only because it has so much extra material due to its extreme popularity boost for itself and Rider in general. Ryuki is still being resubbed, and OOO is completely done by Over-Time. OT is still working on Shinkenger, but they've finished Go-Busters completely.-Midonin
