In the manga, Minako has a very distinct transformation pen that is completely different from Mercury’s, Mars’s, or Jupiter’s. It is a carryover from her old days as Sailor V. In addition, it had magical powers when used for writing; Minako occasionally used the pen to get perfect scores on tests, something Artemis heavily disapproved of.
The phone booth the Sailor Animamates use to get around in Sailor Stars is likely a reference to the TARDIS from Doctor Who.
Sailor Moon’s “Tsukini kawatte, oshiokiyo!” speech might have some factual basis!
In martial arts, you must introduce yourself before attacking. Not introducing yourself is akin to stabbing someone in the back and is considered dishonorable. Thus, Sailor Moon might feel the need to introduce herself before engaging in battle.
Tuxedo Mask was originally supposed to have the codename “Mysterious 2098 Face.” Naoko herself later expressed bewilderment at the idea.
In the Materials Collection, Naoko Takeuchi states that Ami is meant to resemble Noriko Sakai, a Japanese pop idol who was very famous in the 90s.
In the Sera Myu musicals, there was an additional Sol System Senshi named Sailor Astarte. She is based off of (and is actually the incarnation of) the ancient Phoenician goddess Astarte, who was the goddess of fertility, sexual love, and war. She corresponds to the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar and later became identified with the Egyptian Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, and others.
Sailor Astarte’s attacks included Solomon Jihad and Solomon Birth. She only appeared in Kessen/Transylvania no Mori - Shin Toujou! Chibi Moon wo Mamoru Senshi-tachi and its revision, Saikyou no Kataki Dark Cain no Nazo. Sailor Astarte also seems to correspond with a minor planet that shares the same name.
In the Codename: Sailor V manga, Minako’s best friend, Hikaru Sorano, bears a striking resemblance to Ami Mizuno.
In the original proposal for the Codename: Sailor V anime series, Makoto Kino was to be named ”Chino Mamoru.” Rei Hino was also going to be named “Yoruno Miyabi.”
In addition, there was no Usagi and Minako’s best friend, Hikaru Sorano, and her classmate, Amano (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Umino) would have also been characters. Also, the fifth girl (on the right) was named Artemis; she ultimately was scrapped. The proposed anime series would later evolve into Sailor Moon.
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In the manga, the Senshi each have their own castle orbiting their respective planets. Each castle is named after a moon of said planet (Mars has Phobos-Deimos Castle, Jupiter’s is Io Castle, Saturn’s is Titan Castle, Uranus has Miranda Castle, Neptune’s castle is named Triton Castle, and finally, Pluto has Charon Castle.)
The only exceptions are the castles of Mercury and Venus, which are named Mariner Castle and Magellan Castle, respectively. This is because Mercury and Venus have no natural satellites. Instead, their names are derived from space probes: the Mariner 10 was sent to explore Mercury in the 1970s and Magellan was sent to explore Venus in the 1990s.
In addition, only four of these castles are shown in the manga: (From left to right) Triton Castle, Miranda Castle, Charon Castle, and Magellan Castle (actually shown in Codename: Sailor V in both the first and last chapters).
In the manga, Sailor Pluto wore a chain of keys around her waist. Chibiusa stole one of these keys in order to travel back in time.
The Tau Nebula, the dimension that the Death Busters were originally from, may be based off of a real-life sun some 12 light-years away, Tau Ceti. There is some speculation as to whether or not the planets orbiting Tau Ceti may be capable of sustaining life, leading it to be listed as a target for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
The Hikawa Shrine really exists in real life! There are actually three shrines sharing the same name. They are all located in Minato-ku, Tokyo, in the Azabu, Akasaka, and Shirokane districts. The Hikawa shrine of the manga was based primarily around the shrine in Azabu whereas its anime counterpart was more influenced by the one in Akasaka.
The real life Hikawa shrines’ names are written using the kanji ”氷” (which means “ice”) for the syllable “hi,” rather than “火” (signifying “fire”). Naoko changed the kanji to make the shrine’s name highlight Rei’s connection to fire and the planet Mars.
(The Akasaka shrine)
(The Azabu shrine)
The statue that is present in episode 97 actually exists in the real world!
This statue is modeled after Kimi Iwasaki (born in 1902), a young Japanese girl who was adopted at the age of three by an American missionary couple. The girl’s mother had given her up for adoption in order to give her daughter the chance at a better life.
Just when she was about to move to America with her new family, it was discovered that she had tuberculosis, which was incurable at the time. Fearing that Kimi would not survive the long sea voyage to the United States, her adopted parents left her at a Methodist church orphanage in the Azabu-Juuban section of Tokyo. There, Kimi sadly passed away on September 15, 1911, at the age of nine.
In February 1989, a statue of Kimi was erected in Tokyo, in a shopping center in Azabu-Juuban (for those of you don’t know, the girls in Sailor Moon live in Azabu-Juuban). On the day it was first unveiled, someone left 40 yen at its feet. A charity was born, and today millions of yen have been collected and donated to UNESCO and other childcare charities.
