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Queen Serenity has the crescent marking of the Silver Millennium on her forehead
The 'Silver Millennium' is a fictional kingdom in the
anime/
manga metaseries known as
Sailor Moon. It is first shown during what is described as an ancient golden age, marked by peace, prosperity, and good relations between the people of
Earth and the people of the
Moon. The English dub of the anime states that the Moon Kingdom existed one thousand years ago, but in the original manga, it was prehistoric.
[1] Despite its name, the Silver Millennium appears to have lasted much longer than a
thousand years. The Moon Kingdom itself was located in
Mare Serenitatis (The Sea of Serenity) and ruled by Queen Serenity. It was also home to
Princess Serenity and her four guardians, later to be known as the
Guardian Senshi. According to the
Sailor Moon R series, a second Silver Millennium is built on Earth some time between the
20th and
30th centuries, this time known specifically as 'Crystal Tokyo'.
The royal family of the Silver Millennium bear special markings on their foreheads, shaped like small crescent moons. These may be seen on Queen Serenity, Princess/Neo-Queen Serenity, and
Small Lady, as well as
Sailor Venus when she was
disguised as the princess, and the
moon cats - Luna, Artemis and Diana. It is assumed that this is a mark of royalty rather than of citizenship, at least in the anime, where civilians of the Moon Kingdom are shown without the symbol on their foreheads.
Silver Millennium kingdoms
The Moon Kingdom
The Moon Kingdom as seen in the anime.
The Silver Millennium, though it had a fairy-tale appearance, is demonstrated to have been technologically advanced. It was located within a dome which produced an artificial climate, and had an advanced computer called the Eternity Main System. Those who lived there had very long life spans and had two specific duties: First, they were to protect the
Silver Crystal, an extremely powerful "holy stone" which had been handed down through the generations. Second, they were to watch over the evolution of Earth and protect it from any negative influence.
People from the Earth and the Moon were not usually supposed to interact, and certainly not to fall in love. Jealousy and unrest began to grow on Earth, and were intensified when their Crown Prince,
Endymion, fell in love with Princess Serenity, the Queen's daughter. An evil force, which would later be known as
Metaria, emerged from the sun and took advantage of the resentment it found. A young woman from Earth,
Beryl, had also fallen in love with Endymion, and her bitterness made her easy to manipulate. Metaria influenced Beryl to fight against the Silver Millennium and become the Queen of a new
Dark Kingdom.
Beryl brainwashed the ''
Shitennou'', four guardians in service of Prince Endymion, and used the jealousy of the Earth people to attack the Moon Kingdom. In the ensuing war, the kingdoms of both the Earth and the Moon were completely destroyed. On Earth, evolution would start over from the beginning; on the Moon, life would end entirely. Endymion fell protecting Serenity, who committed
suicide beside his body. In the end, Queen Serenity managed to seal Metaria away using the Mystical Silver Crystal. Before dying she also used the Crystal to ensure the rebirth of the Princess, Endymion, and the
Sailor Senshi, as well as her advisors,
Luna and Artemis, on Earth in the 20th century. This time, her daughter and her daughter's love would be born on the same planet, and would be able to find happiness.
Crystal Tokyo
Crystal Tokyo as seen in the anime.
As the Queen hoped, Serenity and Endymion are eventually reborn on Earth during the
20th century. They become
Usagi Tsukino and
Mamoru Chiba and, even before their memories are intact, succeed in finding each other once again. The Sailor Senshi are reborn as well, becoming close friends; through their efforts, the reinstated Dark Kingdom and even Metaria herself are destroyed. In the manga, the Moon Kingdom and its castle are "resurrected" at the end of this conflict, but Usagi decides to continue living on Earth, with her parents and with Mamoru.
[2]
Later, in both the anime and the manga, it is revealed that a new Silver Millennium will exist in the
30th century, centered in the city of Crystal Tokyo. It will be ruled by Usagi and Mamoru under the names of 'Neo-Queen Serenity' and 'King Endymion', and they will have
a daughter.
The Guardian Senshi are not only Neo-Queen Serenity's guardians, but guardians of the entire royal family. However, the location of the Outer Senshi, other than Sailor Pluto, is never mentioned. After their awakening in the manga, the
Sailor Quartet also act as guards, but to
Small Lady. Luna, Artemis and Diana live in the palace as well.
At the center of the kingdom lies the Crystal Palace, which is where the Royal Family and the Guardian Senshi live. In the manga it is shown over water, while in the anime it is larger has another palace, Serenity Palace,
[3] located at the top middle spire. It is particularly shown in the beginning credits for the second opening sequence of ''
Sailor Moon R'', and is seen in a flashback where Chibiusa thinks that the Guardian Sailors and her parents have forgotten her birthday.
[4] Later, the interior is shown, indicating that this is the part of the Crystal Palace where the Royal Family and their protectors live.
Key figures
Queen Serenity
is the mother of Princess Serenity. Though her daughter is reincarnated as
Usagi Tsukino, the earthly child of
Ikuko Tsukino, she occasionally appears as a guide to help the
Sailor Senshi remember who they are. She states in the manga that she is the figure known to ancients as the goddess
Selene,
and because of this her name is sometimes romanized as 'Queen Selenity'. In the original
anime, her voice is provided by
Mika Doi. In the English dub, she is voiced by
Barbara Radecki and
Wendy Lyon.
In the anime, Queen Serenity makes her first appearance as a
silhouette in
Episode 35, and is formally introduced in
Episode 44, when the Senshi are transported to the moon. Having sacrificed her own life long ago, she appears only in spirit, as a sort of hologram. It is she who tells the Senshi about their past lives, and about the history of the Moon Kingdom. She appears once more, in Episode 51, to give Sailor Moon a new transformation brooch and rod, and is mentioned again during the
fourth story arc, in connection with
Queen Nehellenia.
[5] Using clips from later episodes, a short sequence was added to the very
first episode of the English dub, which features Queen Serenity as well as
Artemis.
In the
manga, Queen Serenity first appears in Act 10.
Like in the anime, she appears as a hologram, and specifically mentions having saved her spirit within the computer, in order to preserve her will. She tells the Senshi of their past lives, which they begin to remember as she describes them, and tells them that they must find Metaria, who has escaped the seal placed on her and is hiding on Earth. In Act 12, Queen Serenity's spirit appears in the reconstructed Moon Kingdom, telling her daughter to find happiness with the one she loves. She appears three times more, all in flashback: Act 22, in Sailor Pluto's memories; Act 41, after the birth of Princess Serenity, confronted by Queen Nehellenia; and in Act 52, visiting the
Galaxy Cauldron.
Queen Serenity does not appear in the
live-action series, but does appear in its "Special Act." She is portrayed by
Miyuu Sawai, who also plays her daughter.
Special powers used by the Queen are:
[6]
★ ''Moon Healing Escalation'' — Serenity uses this power to push back the Dark Kingdom's invasion of the Moon. A similar power will later be used by Sailor Moon.
★ ''Maboroshi no Ginzuishou'' — Serenity speaks the name of the Mystical Silver Crystal when sending her daughter and the others to be reborn in the future. This act is called "Cosmic Moon Power" in the English dub.
Sailor Princesses
The ten Sailor Princesses in their formal gowns.
In manga Act 41, the
Sailor Team are revealed to be princesses of the
Solar System. Each one had her own castle, which she is able to call upon late in the series for power. It is this act which first enables Sailor Moon to transform into
Eternal Sailor Moon. The castles are named after moons, except for Mercury's and Venus', which seem to be named for space probes.
[7] Venus' castle is introduced long before the others', in the ''
Sailor V'' manga, but she never mentions this to them.
In Act 45, Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto actually visit their castles, which are huge structures orbiting around their respective planets. Each is equipped with viewscreens, forcefields, comm systems, and other forms of high technology; each is also protected by a Power Guardian, who appears as a miniature version of the Senshi she serves. Sailor Pluto states that she remembers her castle, and that they were given to all the Senshi by Queen Serenity at the time of their birth.
It is unclear how often the Senshi might have taken these forms in the original Silver Millennium. Flashbacks to that time show them dressed in their ordinary uniforms, but the castles, at least, seem to have existed. They take these forms on rare occasions in the ''Stars'' manga, and are pictured so in the ''Original Picture Collection Volume IV''. Takeuchi's ''Materials Collection'' artbook shows the detailed design of each princess's gown.
Silver Crystal
The Mystical Silver Crystal as it first appears.
The is one of the most important items in the ''
Sailor Moon''
metaseries. Its full name is , variously translated as "Illusion Silver Crystal," "Phantom Silver Crystal," or other names, but it is frequently referred to in the series by its shortened title. In the English-dubbed anime, it is sometimes called the ''Silver Imperium Crystal'', as well as various other names.
The Silver Crystal possesses tremendous power, capable of reviving an entire world from ruin, but the strain of using such power often costs the user her life. It is shown as the source of Queen Serenity's power during the Silver Millennium;
Usagi Tsukino and
Chibiusa each go on to inherit the Crystal in some form.
It is commonly portrayed in both the anime and manga as possibly the single most powerful artifact in the universe, able to focus the energy of its wielder to perform magnificent feats. However, there are several artifacts that rival it in strength, including the Black Crystal of the
Death Phantom in
Sailor Moon R and the Sapphire Crystal of
Sailor Galaxia. In the fifth series of the anime, the crystal also appears to double as the starseed of Sailor Moon and the manga implies that it is her Sailor Crystal. It takes on a multitude of shapes, including round, diamond, heart, star, and
lotus.
[1]
Use in the manga
The Silver Crystal is used several times in the manga, often in battle to defeat the final "boss villain". The crystal has two primary powers: the ability to generate a powerful magical attack and the power to rejuvenate. The crystal seems to have both more control and more focused power attached to the Moon Stick. It often blooms into a lotus shape which indicates a more powerful version of the same crystal. However, it is not officially a
Sailor Crystal until it evolves for the user.
It was first used by
Queen Serenity to remove negative influences from the Earth and also to send Princess Serenity and her court to Earth. It was also used to send the souls of her fallen subjects into the future to be reincarnated, which cost the queen her life. It also extends the life of the user and those around them if they do not use it to its limit.
It eventually evolves into the next form--a
Sailor Crystal. For Sailor Moon, it evolved into the Silver Moon Crystal. For Chibiusa it evolved into the Pink Moon Crystal.
The Silver Crystal is also considered the most powerful crystal next to its evolved forms.
Use in the anime
The anime adds a few extra powers to the Silver Crystal, for instance, the
Sailor Moon R movie showed that it could be used to construct a shield, as it did in the first season when Princess Serenity was battling
Queen Beryl with the Moon Stick. In conjunction with the Moon Stick it is also used to heal people back to their normal forms. Most of the other properties of the Silver Crystal are the same of the manga. It is used in the anime far more than the manga. In the anime, specifically in Episode 83 of Sailor Moon R, the Crystal was not only powerful enough to restore the Earth and its people to life after the planet was devastated by some unspecified ecological catastrophe, it also created the metropolis of Crystal Tokyo.
[2]
The Silver Crystal, however, was never used to remove any negative influences from the Earth.
Rainbow Crystals
In the anime, there are seven rainbow crystals that had the sealed into them. They are the most powerful youma in the
Dark Kingdom. Thanks to the power of Queen Serenity, they were sealed within seven separate shards of the Silver Crystal and carried to Earth where they were reincarnated centuries later, with no memories of their prior existences. All seven rainbow crystals were needed to recombine into the Silver Crystal.
These are the seven carriers of the Rainbow Crystals:
[8]
★ : The keeper of the red Rainbow Crystal, he was a cyber-youma reborn as Crane Joe, a pro at arcade games. His name is short for "
game center."
★ : The keeper of the orange Rainbow Crystal, he was a winged,
boxing youma reborn as a priest who
Naru was with at a cemetery. His name is a pun on ''bokushi'', meaning "minister" in Japanese, and ''bokushingu'', meaning "boxing."
★ : The keeper of the yellow Rainbow Crystal, he was a reptilian youma reborn as
Ryo Urawa, who developed a crush on Ami. Though the beast awakened, Urawa attempted to retain control over himself and attacked
Zoisite, only to end up completely under his control.
★ : The keeper of the green Rainbow Crystal, she was an angelic plant youma reborn as local artist Yumeni Yumeno. Her attacks are art-based.
★ : The keeper of the blue Rainbow Crystal, she was a youma reborn as Motoki's girlfriend,
Reika Nishimura.
★ : The keeper of the indigo Rainbow Crystal, he was an
Oni-like youma who is reincarnated as
Rei's grandfather.
★ : The keeper of the violet Rainbow Crystal, he was a beastly youma reborn as the cat Rhett Butler, who had a thing for
Luna, even in youma form.
Use in the live-action series
As in the manga, the Silver Crystal is originally concealed within Usagi's body. But the Crystal is a double-edged power: even in the possession of Sailor Moon, its excess power could not only energize Metaria but, if enough is exerted through it, could destroy the entire planet. It is shattered in the series finale, causing all of the Senshi's transformation devices to vanish.
External links
★
Neo Nobility - Information about Crystal Tokyo
★ http://thetour.animehunters.com/mareingenii/anime/locations_silvermillennium.html
★ http://www.serapii-kisu.net/ginzuishou/
★ http://henshin.anime-myth.com/bssm_notes1.html -Mythology behind the Silver Crystal
★ http://www.wikimoon.org/index.php?title=Silver_Crystal
References
1. Naoko Takeuchi. ''Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon'' manga, Act 10. The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko
2. Naoko Takeuchi. ''Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon'' manga, Act 14. The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko
3. Anime artbook, Sailor Moon R.
4. Episode 85.
5. The Oracle - Queen Serenity
6. Biggs, Gina. Bunny's Tour of the Silver Millennium A list of Queen Serenity's magical powers.
7. The Oracle - Castles
8. Bunny's Tour Through the Silver Millennium
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