Why Sapphire?

Well, I suppose I should explain why I like Sapphire so much, since I've dedicated a whole webpage to him... ^_~ I'll start at the beginning then.

First off, my favorite jewel is the sapphire. And when I found out there was a Sailor Moon villain by that name, it caught my interest. It sounds silly, I know... Anyways, I tried to find out more about him (when I found out he was a he, it was even better ^_~). I actually found out everything about him even before I saw any episodes with him in it. And when I found out he was a reformed villain, well, that got me hooked (I'm a sucker for that sort of thing).

Before I continue, I just want to mention that there wasn't really another Sailor Moon villain that caught my attention like Sapphire did. I liked Jedite and Malachite, but Jedite got offed (sort of) and Malachite has Zoycite. Sure, there's Nephrite, and did just mention that I like reformed villains, but... Eh. I never liked him much. I think it's the voice (I like Jedite's and Mal's). I did cry when I saw Nephlite died, though (but I'd cry anything, usually *^_^*).

Now let me get to the reasons why I like Sapphire. Despite the fact he eventually reforms, he is undeniably a villain at the beginning: he wholeheartedly supports Prince Diamond's conquest of Crystal Tokyo. I think it's this loyalty to his brother that I find most appealing about him: one gets the impression that after Wiseman, Sapphire is Diamond's most trusted advisor, and would be the one the Prince listened to if Wiseman wasn't around. And Sapphire's suspicions of Wiseman aren't motivated by being supplanted by the latter, which we find out when he discovers Wiseman's true intentions: Sapphire is motivated by total devotion to his brother. But whether said devotion is unfounded, it's hard to say... It takes the death of Sapphire before Diamond realizes how much his younger brother cared about him, and causes him to doubt Wiseman.

Now, let me get to the other reason I like Sapphire. Well, to put it bluntly, he's good-looking. ^_~ Okay, all Sailor Moon villains are, but I digress... He's not just a Tuxedo Mask lookalike (why does everybody point that out?). Although... He could be seen as Diamond's protector (i.e. always looking out for his best interests), as well as being considered the Prince's "shadow". Anyhoo... He's cute. Dark blue hair, eyes a slight shade lighter (I'm a sucker for blue-eyed brunettes ^_^). And he wears that dark blue jacket with all those lovely steel rods. Those dark blue gloves he wears are pretty cool too, and those tight white slacks... Mmmm. ^_~ Sure, his costume isn't as fancy as Diamond's, but he still looks good.

Now, excuse me, as I get on my soapbox... ^_~ (There are currently five rants.)

Rant #1: Is Sapphire useless?

[Ed. note: This rant was written back in '97, when the episodes featuring Sapphire hadn't aired in the U.S. yet, and most of the info I could find on 'Net about him were critical. -_-; Of course, nowadays, there seem to be to be quite a few shrines to him (other than mine) out there. ^_~]

Okay, I have to get this off my chest. I notice that Sapphire often gets, well, not so much dissed as way too little credit. So, I'm going to try to remedy this here.

The most common misconception is that Sapphire is not as powerful compared to the other Nemesis villains. If you've been looking through all these pages, this is certainly not the case. For one thing, he's the the one who creates all the monsters or "Droids" the NegaMoon family sends against the Sailor Soldiers. Remember those crystal statues he gives to Emerald that turn into Droids? Well, it's presumable that he creates the Droids in general, right? (In the manga, he is definately the one who creates the Droids; Prince Diamond is amazed by his "alchemy").

The other thing is, he's the one that both Rubius and Emerald report to; that implies he's (at least) higher in position than they are. The fact that he's Diamond's brother implies that he's even greater in the hierarchy, possibly, only subordinate to Diamond himself (and above him Wiseman, but neither brother knows this). So he must have some power to earn that position (unless it's nepotism ^_^). In any case, he seems to do all the little tasks that such a position might imply, such as advising to the Prince, monitoring the Dark Crystal, as well as the Time Warp (thanks to the "Shrine to Safiiru" for pointing this out ^_^). Sapphire probably does all the work that Prince Diamond himself would not do, being the ruler of Nemesis; in other words, he does all the dirty work in the palace... And gets little credit for it. Sigh...

Rant #2: Why is there no Sapphire doll?

Back in '97, when the second season of Sailor Moon first aired, Irwin released dolls of various members of the NegaMoon family, including Prince Diamond, Emerald, Wicked Lady and Rubius (who, as I pointed out in the Dressing Room section, gets killed off after the first two episodes).

So, why no Sapphire? Well, my reasoning is this: I believe his oft-mentioned resemblance to Tuxedo Mask worked against him... Irwin had released a Tuxedo Mask doll previously, and along with this new set of dolls, they also released one of King Endymion (under the name of "Prince Darien"). So they were probably disinclined to released a third, similar-looking doll (despite that fact it wold be a different character), much to the dismay of Sapphire fans... Although, that didn't stop them from making a Prof. Tomoe doll that looked suspiciously like the Prince Diamond one... -_-; (I wonder if they'd make a Helios one using the same doll...?)

[Ed. note: For those of you who have never seen the Irwin dolls, here's a funny little webpage I found on the Prince Diamond one, featuring several images of the doll both inside and outside of the box. ^_^]

Rant #3: Is Sapphire a prince?

[Ed. note: I suppose this is more idle speculation rather than a rant. Oh, well...]

Some people refer to Sapphire as a Prince, but is he really? Certainly by birth he should be, since he is Prince Diamond's brother... But he is never addressed as one on the show or in the manga. When Emerald speaks to him in the Japanese version, she adds no honorific to his name, like she does for Diamond; then again, Emerald is the type who would condescend to others... Prisma (in the anime) and Veneti and Aquatiki (in the manga) both add an honorific to his name, but they are subordinates in the Black Moon family anyways. In fact, the only place that Sapphire is actually referred to as a Prince is in the CCG, in the "Young Princes" card (I believe he is also referred to as a prince in the Sailor Moon RPG, but neither source is considered reliable).

So, my conclusion is that he isn't a Prince... But why? Well, here's some possible reasons: One, is that the heirachy on Nemesis requires that there only be one Prince, the ruling Prince, which would be Diamond. Another possible reason is perhaps Sapphire doesn't bother using his title, either because his brother is the real Prince, or because he's humble. ^_~ The third and final reason I can think of is that Sapphire abdicated any rights he has to the throne in favour of his older brother; it would certainly fit in with his personality... Anyways, I'll let you decide. ^_^

Rant #4: Is Sapphire short?

An odd question, but a feasible one, nonetheless... ^_~ Sapphire is often considered the shortest of the main members of the Black Moon family (the others being Prince Diamond, Emerald and Rubius). The reason for this is probably this picture from a manga artbook (check out the bottom left-hand corner).

As you can see, Sapphire is clearly the shortest of the four, while ascending in height is Prince Diamond, Emerald and Rubius. (I find it a bit odd that Emerald is taller than Diamond though; I suspect it's those high heels she wears ^_~). So he's definately the shortest in the manga... But what about in the anime? According to this image, he's shorter than Prince Diamond, yet compared to this one, he's taller than Emerald. However, the best scene for a height comparison is one that was actually cut of the dubbed episode known as "Jealousy's Just Reward"... At the very beginning of that episode, all three villains teleport into the room at the same time, side by side. The scene clearly shows Prince Diamond as the tallest, Emerald the shortest, with Sapphire being just in between.

So my conclusion is... Yes, Sapphire's the shortest in the manga, but in the anime... Well, at least he's taller than Emerald. ^_~

For my final rant, click here.