Sailor Moon spans 200 episodes, several movies, and the reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal, which closely retells the manga by Naoko Takeuchi. Not only are there high stakes and many creative antagonists, there are many moments of revealing backstory which hit hard emotionally and add additional depth to both the heroes and villains. Even the reveal moments that are heavily foreshadowed are still shocking.
Sailor Moon has a huge cast of characters, but each new character is introduced in a well-paced, thoughtful way. Since the series gives the proper time to introducing and developing the characters, the audience can suspend their disbelief enough to be shocked and delighted. Sailor Moon is a wild ride with many twists and turns which are carefully crafted so they feel authentic.
10 Sailor Venus' Introduction
Sailor Venus is the last of the Inner Senshi to be introduced, but her appearance has been foreshadowed since episode one. Usagi idolizes Sailor V; she reads her comics and plays video games about her. It's a perfect moment when the Senshi are truly in a bind and none other than the famed Sailor V comes flying to the rescue.
Not only is the famed superhero an Inner Senshi, she's the leader of the Senshi. And she looks similar enough to the Moon Princess that they start to speculate that they may be the same person. She's also the only Senshi aside from Sailor Moon, at this point, who is guided by a cat from the moon (Artemis).
9 The Shitennou Reveal
Sailor Moon Crystal captures this moment in the manga far more than the original '90s anime. Toward the conclusion of the Dark Kingdom arc, it's revealed that the Senshi aren't the only ones with hidden, former identities. Their enemies, the Shitennou that act as Beryl's minions were once noble knights.
Nephrite, Zoisite, Kunzite, and Jadeite were all once knights who served Prince Endymion of Earth. They were also called the Four Heavenly Kings. This reveal isn't just shocking but heartbreaking because they remember their former lives too late to save themselves, and they remember that they and the Inner Senshi remember were once in love.
8 Chibi Usa's Introduction
At the end of the Dark Kingdom arc, Usagi and Mamoru share a rare peaceful moment. But just as they find a moment to breathe, a new chaos rains down from the skies. Chaos comes in the form of a small, pink-haired child named Chibiusa who threatens Usagi with a weapon to her head.
Usagi's daily life is thrown into a tailspin when they must figure out what to do with the child who seems to be another Senshi. She has a mission, too, and many secrets that are bound to rock Usagi and Mamoru's world even more. Her entrance is a great entre into the next Sailor Moon story arc.
7 Nephrite Switches Sides
Nephrite's character arc in the original anime isn't part of the manga. But the two-part episode that covers his redemption arc is remarkably hard-hitting, despite the event's deviation from the manga. Nephrite is one of the stronger Shitennou, so it's a shock when sweet Naru wins his heart and unlocks his more noble nature.
Nephrite seems to stop at nothing when it comes to serving the Dark Kingdom. He enjoys the edge his powers and ability to read the stars gives him, and he loves to toy with the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask. When he sacrifices himself, gladly, to save the human Naru, it's as surprising as it is heartbreaking.
6 Luna In The Slim City Episode
The first two seasons of the original Sailor Moon anime, especially, have many, many filler episodes. Filler episodes aren't a bad thing, they give a lot of room for fun, Scooby Doo-like antics with mini mysteries and places where side characters can really shine outside pushing the central plot. The episode Slim City is a filler episode that's shocking in a somewhat unsettling way, though.
The messaging behind the episode seems oddly mixed. The Dark Kingdom concocts a scheme to siphon energy from gym-goers by convincing them that they need to lose weight as fast as possible. It makes sense to attribute such an awful scheme to the bad guys, but what doesn't make sense is Luna's characterization in this episode. Luna is nearly always one for "tough love," but she goes way too far in advising Usagi. She shames Usagi for her habits and goes so far as to draw a mean caricature of her to freak her out.
5 Tuxedo Mask In The Negaverse
Sailor Moon is used to taking on Queen Beryl's minions in the mortal world, so she's a bit in over her head when she's alone in the Negaverse. Just when she thinks all is lost, someone shows up. Not only is Mamoru there, the guy who always teases and chides her, he suavely reveals himself as Tuxedo Mask and defends her.
The Tuxedo Mask reveal itself isn't a total shock to the audience. It's obvious that Mamoru and his alter ego look and sound exactly the same. What's shocking is that he finally reveals himself – and at such a crucial moment to Usagi.
4 Mamoru's First Abduction
Naoko Takeuchi specifically wrote Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask so that their traditional gender roles are reversed. Sailor Moon does need help once in a while, but Tuxedo Mask is the support role to her hero role, and he tends to be the damsel in distress. Just as Serenity and Endymion realize who they truly are to each other, it's all snapped away.
Tuxedo Mask is gravely injured and then abducted by the Dark Kingdom. It makes sense when it's revealed that Queen Beryl has been in love with him since the Moon Kingdom days. Not only is he taken at such a crucial moment, but he's then brainwashed like his former Shitennou. Seeing him fight against Sailor Moon as Dark Endymion is truly gut-wrenching.
3 Hotaru Is Reborn
One of the greatest, most epic battles of the entire series is largely fought by Hotaru, Sailor Saturn. Sailor Saturn is so powerful and her gifts are death-based, so she frightens even the other powerful Senshi. The last Senshi has the power to destroy entire planets, and she wins the great battle with Mistress 9, the Messiah of Silence, but destroying Mistress 9 takes her life.
It's hard to envision such a terrifyingly powerful Senshi dying. But the event is a double-punch. Not long after Sailor Saturn is destroyed, she's reborn again. This has happened before with the Senshi, but never in this way. Sailor Saturn is reborn as a tiny baby who Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus take on and raise as their adopted child.
2 A Rose Breaks Beryl's Fatal Attack
It's often joked about by fans that Tuxedo Mask is useless in battle. And to be fair, he was written as more of an emotional support to Sailor Moon than a fighter. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a few tricks up his sleeve, though.
Queen Beryl is a powerful villain who has been biding her time. When she bears down on Sailor Moon, the threat is real –she's about to kill Sailor Moon. But just as she's about to decimate Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask throws a rose, and it actually injures Beryl at a crucial moment.
1 The Inner Senshi Dying
There are several heartbreaking moments leading up to the first season finale of Sailor Moon. People actually die as the events reach a critical point, like Zoisite and Nephrite. Tuxedo Mask gets abducted and brought to an unknown place.
But nothing could have prepared the audience for what happens to the Inner Senshi when they fight the Doom and Gloom Girls. They're picked off one by one. Their deaths are so jarring and haunting that they were softened, or completely censored out, for the American release.
