The Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi has five large story arcs divided into five seasons of the original anime. The anime reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal, has those same five story arcs as well, divided into three seasons and two movies. The five story arcs are generally defined by the central antagonist, but there are also smaller interpersonal character-based arcs, generally centered around romance.
The original '90s Sailor Moon anime invented new characters and has far more filler episodes. The added smaller story arcs are great additions to the larger story arcs. Some are stronger than others, and some are incredibly nostalgic.
10 Queen Nehelenia Pulls the Strings in the Dead Moon Arc
Sailor Chibi Moon meets a magical person named Pegasus in her dreams at the beginning of the fourth season, SuperS. Pegasus hides in her dreams because he's on the run from the Dead Moon Circus, which hunts him for his Golden Crystal. While major antagonists hunting down a crystal isn't totally new in Sailor Moon, the season works well because of the new characters introduced.
The antagonists of the Dead Moon Circus all have a central character design theme. They look like circus dancers, from pastel bubblegum costumes to creepy, borderline horror circus designs. The Amazon Trio, in particular, is entertaining because they're so silly despite their evil plans. Zirconia is comical because he is so angry, and the queen he serves, Queen Nehelenia, is a great character study. She is like the dark version of Neo-Queen Serenity, and Nehelenia is also inspired by the evil queen in the fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
9 The Makai Tree & the Black Moon Clan Cause Trouble
Sailor Moon's second season is divided into two arcs, though one seems a bit stronger. The first is the Makai Tree arc; Ail and An come to earth with their dying Tree of Life, the Makai Tree (also called the Doom Tree or the Hell Tree). The plant imagery is beautiful, especially when the Sailor Guardians discover that the tree needs to feed on love and kindness rather than stolen energy.
The second part of the Season 2 arc is the Black Moon arc, and the central antagonist, Wiseman, is a truly evil and conniving villain. There are many more minor villains, each with jewel-inspired names and gorgeous character designs. The catlike Koan, who wears haute couture, is a fan favorite; she's a member of the Spectre Sisters, who are each a dark mirror image of the Inner Guardians. The strongest part of the arc is how each of the Black Moon villains have wonderful and sometimes heartbreaking redemption arcs — except for Wiseman.
8 Seiya Truly Loved Usagi
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask have an epic love story spanning back to their previous lives. No matter how many times evil entities tear them apart or hurt them, they always find each other and save each other. They're such a solid couple that it's surprising there would be a convincing romantic rival to Mamoru by the fifth season.
Seiya Kou, Sailor Star Fighter, looks a bit like Tuxedo Mask, if a bit more androgynous. They even throw a rose to save Usagi Tsukino, exactly like Tuxedo Mask's trademark roses. Queen Nehelenia abducts Mamoru, and it takes a long time to get him back. While they're trying to rescue him, Seiya is there to support Usagi. Not only does Seiya begin to develop true feelings for Usagi, but they also have a remarkable chemistry that sends fans' hearts racing.
7 Who Is Tuxedo Mask?
It's totally obvious to both the manga reader and anime viewer who Tuxedo Mask is — he and Mamoru Chiba look and sound exactly alike. That's not the important part, though. The best part of the Tuxedo Mask's true identity mystery is fun for the viewer because Usagi fixates on trying to find out who it is, and there's a lot of excitement leading up to the final reveal.
Usagi Tuskino convinces herself that Tuxedo Mask is her friend who works in the arcade, Motoki Furuhata, because he is dashing and kind, like Tuxedo Mask is. She never suspects for a moment that Tuxedo Mask is Mamoru, who she always gets into bickering spats with — though her friend, Rei Hino, rightly guesses who he is. All of Usagi's questioning and obsession ultimately pays off when she's trapped in a Dark Kingdom elevator with Mamoru Chiba, and they reveal themselves to each other.
6 Kunzite & Zoisite Have the First Villain Romance
Kunzite and Zoicite are characters straight from the original manga series, but their love story is a total invention of the '90s anime. In the manga and in Sailor Moon Crystal, Queen Beryl's four Dark Kingdom generals (Jedeite, Kunzite, Zoisite and Nephrite) were Prince Endymion's knights in their past life, and they had previous romances with each of the Inner Senshi (Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter).
The '90s anime didn't always make great changes from the manga, like censoring the romantic relationship between Michiru and Haruka. However, putting Kunzite and Zoisite together in a romantic relationship was a great idea. It's not the only villain romance in the Sailor Moon series, but it's certainly a fan favorite. The romance was sweet despite the Dark Kingdom generals' evil alliance, and it helped humanize the characters. Kunzite and Zoisite had some of the best, tenderest romantic beats in the first season.
5 Serenity & Endymion's First Love in the Moon Kingdom
Usagi and Mamoru have a long history they're unaware of in the first season before their memories are fully unlocked. Whenever they interact as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, they experience a weird feeling of deja vu. Tuxedo Mask can't fight the instinct to protect Sailor Moon, and Sailor Moon can't help but feel that calling out to Tuxedo Mask and dancing with him feels oddly familiar.
Everything feels so familiar again, especially in the first season, because they've known each other before — when they fell in love as Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom and Prince Endymion of Earth. It was forbidden for them to associate, but they had a Romeo and Juliet romance; they couldn't bear to be apart. Their budding romance was ruined by a jealous and misguided Beryl, who worked with the manipulative Queen Metalia to take down the Moon Kingdom. The flashbacks to Serenity and Endymion's romance in the Moon Kingdom are as dreamy and beautiful as they are tragic.
4 The Death Busters Are Hilarious & Threatening
The Death Busters are a fan-favorite antagonist group because they are all hilarious characters, but the stakes are still very high in the season. The Season 3 antagonists are particularly unnerving; Tomoe is a wacky professor with his obscured eyes and heartless smile, and Germatoid's plans for his daughter are cruel and potentially earth-stopping.
Yet, Tomoe and the Death Busters have some of the best comic relief moments in Sailor Moon. The balance works well. Normally, comic relief is left to Usagi being silly, bickering between the Sailor Guardians, and humorous side characters in filler episodes. Making the more nefarious antagonists be comic relief is refreshing and rounds out the story arc nicely.
3 Fiore Tries To Find Mamoru
Fiore doesn't exist in the manga; he is an invention of a filler movie, Sailor Moon R: The Movie, The Promise of the Rose. Nevertheless, Fiore is an incredibly dynamic character with a significant backstory that sheds more light on Mamoru. Mamoru and Fiore were once childhood friends, and it's strongly implied that they were in love with each other.
It's plain that Fiore is still in love with Mamoru, but he's manipulated by the Kisenian flower, which warps his pure heart into something cruel. The Promise of the Rose has the best soundtrack and original fans still replay the finale song, "The Power of Love." The movie finale is similar to the finale in the Dark Kingdom arc, but Tuxedo Mask is far more present. It also has the most romantic kiss in the entire series.
2 Sailor Galaxia Is the Most Compelling Antagonist
Naoko Takeuchi saved the most compelling central antagonist for last. Some antagonists, like Wiseman, are attracted to Earth because of humanity's energy, and others, like Queen Beryl and Sailor Galaxia, are directly connected to Sailor Moon's previous life. Sailor Galaxia is a powerful entity, and fans who grew up with the series often describe Galaxia's pivotal scenes as palpable and unnerving.
Sailor Galaxia also has a massive reveal at the end of the series. She is the legendary strongest Sailor Guardian. Sailor Moon revered Sailor Galaxia so much in the past that she can't bear to destroy her, even though she's overtaken by the evil Chaos. Sailor Moon generally doesn't have such conflict when she's facing down a major antagonist, and it puts her in a very complicated position.
1 Queen Beryl Was the Original Iconic Baddie
Queen Beryl was the first major antagonist in Sailor Moon. She set the tone so well for seasons and villains to follow. She was the first villain to be draped in haute couture and to harvest energy from humans using minions like her Shitennou and monsters like the youma. Queen Beryl and her Shitennou also have major tie-ins with Sailor Moon's past as Princess Serenity and her love story with Prince Endymion/Tuxedo Mask.
Not only is Queen Beryl a gorgeous, dark queen, but she also has a tragic backstory. She loved Prince Endymion from afar and still covets him. Queen Beryl is the first person to steal away Tuxedo Mask, and it was a truly tear-jerking moment for fans. Just as Sailor Moon realizes that she is Princess Serenity and remembers her past with Prince Endymion, Queen Beryl rips Tuxedo Mask away. The Dark Kingdom arc is a perfect balance of classic Sailor Moon villain tropes and a romantic backstory.
