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The original names of the characters is shown here along with the American name(for those of who are dubbies and have only seen the dubbed version). In Japan anime names are meant to mean something(which is usually funny so they are often called name puns). In the US the names are changed so that they are easier to pronounce for small children. Also, Japanese names are always written with the last name first except for a few special cases.�
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| Japanese Name |
Meaning |
American Name |
| Tsukino Usagi |
Rabbit/Bunny on/of the Moon |
Serena |
| Mizuno Ami |
Friend of Water |
Amy Anderson |
| Hino Rei |
Spirit/Beauty of Fire |
Raye Hino |
| Kino Makoto |
Sincerety of Wood |
Lita |
| Aino Minako |
Beautiful Child of Love |
Mina |
| Chibi Usa |
Small Rabbit/Bunny |
Reeni |
| Chiba Mamoru |
Defender of Earth |
Darien |
| Tenoh Haruka |
Distant Sky/Heaven Ruler |
Amara Tenoh(Corrine) |
| Kaioh Michuri |
Full/mature/to rise Sea Ruler |
Michelle Kaioh(Nerissa) |
| Meioh Setsuna |
Instant/Moment Dark Ruler |
Trista Meioh(Celia) |
| Chibi Chibi |
Teeny,Tiny |
????? |
| Tomoe Hotaru |
Firefly of Death |
Hotaru Tomoe |
More Names and Meanings Soon!
Too see origins and reasons for names go to Myths and Origins of SM.
A Special Note:The names of the senshi are all puns, particularly Usagi's. From her name you can understand the gags and jokes about her love for rabbits everywhere, see the resemblence of her hair style to rabbit ears, and appreciate how Usagi dislikes carrots. 'Ami' in Japanese doesn't mean friend, but supposedly Takeuchi-san used the French meaning of the word. I've never heard that officially supported anywhere, but it fits the pun better than most attempted translations of "Ami". Most people translating it literally use "Beautiful Asia" (the kanji for 'a' meaning 'Asian', and the kanji for 'mi' means beautiful). Most of the enemy names originate from minerals. In the manga, the four kings (generals) even turn into stones when they die, which Mamoru uses to call upon them when he needs advice. Probably the easiest example of the mineral origins is the R second arc villains- Rubeus comes from ruby, Esmeraude from elemerald, Safiru from sapphire, and Dimando from diamonds. The Animamates have sometimes been called the Metal Knights due to direct metal references in their names- iron, aluminum, lead, and tin. As for Ail and Ann, the pun off of their names comes from when you put the two sounds together and get 'alien' more or less. Neherenia's original can be either seen coming from the mineral nephrite or from a mythological goddess.
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