Luna Sailor Moon Guide - Manga Insider (2024)

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Cody Perez

Cody is a writer who was shaped by manga and anime at a young age. From discovering series like Dragon Ball and Gundam, he fell in love with this medium. Though he walked away for a time in his teenage years, he came back in his adulthood to fall back in love with manga and anime. Nowadays, he can be found reading the latest manga series and catching up on all of the new seasonal anime. And, of course, writing about them at the same time.

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Few characters are as crucial to the Sailor Moon series as Luna is. In this Luna Sailor Moon guide, I hope to present to you why this is the case. After all, without Luna, the magical talking cat, there is no way that we would have one of the most powerful and influential superhero characters of all time: Sailor Moon.

This Luna Sailor Moon guide is all about the magical black cat who made Usagi Tsukino into the one they call Sailor Moon. Though she plays such an essential role in the storyline, unfortunately, the manga and anime series do not necessarily give her the credit that she deserves.

Find out all about her history in the series, magical abilities, critical relationships with the cast, and other neat little tidbits even the most hardcore Sailor Moon fans might not have known about.

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Bottom Line Up Front

Luna is the magical talking cat companion from Sailor Moon. She is the one who helped popularize the talking animal companion who assists the team. However, there is no downplaying the importance of her character. Coming from the Moon Kingdom of long ago, it is her job to ensure that Usagi Tsukino becomes Sailor Moon.

She has magical abilities that allow her to bestow upon Usagi the ability to transform into the superhero leader of the Sailor Guardians. It turns out that Luna has her surprises in store, though, as she finds out about her future and romantic love interest as the story goes on.

Who Is Luna From Sailor Moon?

Luna is the best animal friend that Usagi Tsukino could ask for. In terms of the main characters in the cast, Luna is only the second one that we meet. In the very first chapter and an episode of the manga and anime, respectively, Luna appears as a strange black cat that follows Usagi around.

Eventually, we come to find out that she is a magical talking cat that can bestow powers upon the right person, who happens to be Usagi. In time, she is the support for the leader of the Sailor Guardians and the team as a whole. Without Luna, the Sailor Guardians would be at a loss at times.

Though Luna does not typically participate in the fights, she provides logistics and strategy so that the team can do well in their battles. She is also the mental and moral support for the group, especially in the case of Usagi, helping them to keep calm and think about what to do next.

In many ways, she is the brains behind the operation since there are some characters, like Sailor Moon herself, that can be a bit of a ditzy person at times. Luna is also one of the main characters, so she gets her unique story arcs as time goes on, especially within the longer-running anime adaptation. She may not be as glamorous as the other main characters, but Sailor Moon would not exist without her crucial presence.

Appearance

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The appearance of Luna is one of the most iconic parts of her character. She is that classic talking animal companion to the primary superhero team, so her appearance is that of a simple little animal. However, some secrets to her look that some may not realize at first glance. Here is a slight spoiler warning for this particular section.

Cat Form

First and foremost, there is the apparent cat form of Luna. When she initially appears in the first chapter and episode of the Sailor Moon series, she has the guise of a black cat. In fact, in her first scene with Usagi, where the protagonist meets Luna, she has one of her signature features covered up.

Overall, Luna looks like your standard black cat. She is thin but healthy with extraordinarily long whiskers and a decently long and flexible tail. Her ears are sharp and pointy, showing off the pink underneath. She also has an almost purple tinge to her fur, giving her a nice touch.

One of the two most noticeable parts of Luna’s appearance as a cat is her huge eyes. She has massive brown eyes that take up most of her face, likely due to that classic manga and anime style. But the most notable feature about Luna is the marking that she has atop her head.

She initially hides it from Usagi but later reveals a crescent moon-like shape atop her forehead. It is in the shape of a moon, indicating her connection to the Moon Kingdom and her true identity as Luna. However, this is not the only form that she appears in.

Human Form

If you have only watched part of the anime or the most recent series, Sailor Moon Crystal, you may not realize that Luna receives a human form later in the manga. Her human form only appears a couple of times in the series, but she certainly makes a mark on the community with her appearance.

Luna is stunning in her human form, taking many of the core ideas from her cat form and translating them into a young lady. For starters, she is a young woman with flawless looks and skin, with very long black hair that almost goes down to her ankles.

This hair is quite curly, which is interesting since her cat form has flat and straight hair. She has her hair in two tiny buns at the top and petite bangs covering only her forehead’s left and right corners. This does not cover up her signature crescent moon marking that still remains even in this form.

She has blue eyes and wears a gold and black dress. The bottom half is black, while the top half is gold. She also wears a golden ribbon around her neck and another moon-shaped pendant. Finally, if the moon motif was not prominent enough, she also has tiny crescent moon earrings.

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Personality

The personality of Luna is that of almost an overbearing but loving mother at times. At least, that is how she treats Usagi. She is a mentor for Usagi and is highly protective of her. Luna is not one to shy away from bossing around Sailor Moon and telling her what to do in situations.

She is also quick to call Usagi out on her actions and reprimand her when making mistakes. That said, there is a childish side to Luna in that she is also quick to pick fights with Usagi as well. It is with Usagi that we see the more emotional side of Luna.

Otherwise, she has a wise and caring motherly persona. She will do her best to give the most brilliant idea to the team to make sure that they do not fail in their mission to stop the bad guys. Luna is quite intelligent and a strategic genius for the group.

Key Relationships

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Luna’s most crucial relationship in Sailor Moon is with Usagi Tsukino. The pair meet early on in the storyline, and they are inseparable. Though they can fight with one another often, there is no doubting the immense love and unbreakable bond between them.

The relationship between Luna and Usagi changes with the situation. Sometimes, it is a mother and daughter-like relationship where Luna scolds her for making the wrong move. Other times, it is that of sisters where they bicker over the simplest of things. And, still, other times, it is that of best friends who will do anything to help each other out.

Outside of Usagi, Luna has a minimal relationship with most of the other Sailor Guardians. That said, she does appear to be very close friends with Ami, and Sailor Mercury, as they are similarly intelligent and kind people. Then there is her fellow talking cat, Artemis.

Their relationship is a strained and odd one at times, but it is clear that there are some romantic feelings there. This leads to her relationship with Diana, the third talking cat, to appear in the series. This one is complicated with spoilers involved, but Luna and Diana learn a lot from one another.

Voice Actor

On the Japanese side, the original voice actor for Luna was Keiko Han in the 1990s anime adaptation. You may know Keiko Han from her roles, like Lalah Sune in the original Mobile Suit Gundam and Gon’s aunt in Hunter x Hunter. However, the most recent adaptation of Sailor Moon Crystal saw Ryo Hirohashi take over for the role. You may know Hirohashi as Tails in the Sonic series and Mineta in My Hero Academia.

Jill Frappier voiced Luna in the first dub on the English dub side of the equation. Michelle Ruff took over the role of Crystal, who you might know as Rukia in Bleach, Sinon in the Sword Art Online series, and Yukari from Persona 3.

Abilities

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Luna is a cat who can talk, so some magic is happening with her. That said, Luna has a couple of critical abilities that help her assist the Sailor Guardians.

Talking Cat

Luna’s most apparent ability is the fact that she is a cat that can talk in Japanese (or English) with humans. This communication skill is one of her powers, and it allows her to understand what others are saying as well. This is likely due to her inherent magical abilities.

Magic

The magic that Luna has allows her to do much more than talk in a way that humans can understand her. In addition, she is able to use her magic to conjure up items that are useful in battle. She gives these to Usagi and the other Sailor Guardians to help them win their fights.

For instance, the magical brooch that Luna gives Usagi at the start of the series enables her to turn into the legendary Sailor Moon. There are others, too, that Luna can create using her magic. Lastly, there is the fact that she has multiple magical forms as well.

Throughout the series, there are a few instances in which Luna transforms herself into a human form. This is likely part of her magic, too. In the live-action adaptation of the series from the early 2000s, Luna is even able to channel this magical ability to transform herself into a Sailor Guardian on the team.

History

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Luna is there from the beginning of the series and plays a significant role in most story arcs. Though she may not fight as the Sailor Guardians do, she is present for the significant battles. She typically plays an essential supporting role against the evil enemies that Sailor Moon and the others fight.

Bestowing the Brooch

The story for Luna begins with the very first chapter and an episode of the series when she initially encounters Usagi Tsukino. At first, it seems like Luna is nothing more than a stray cat that Usagi stumbles upon. This is even seen in the bandage that she has on her forehead.

However, that bandage is there to cover up the fact that she has a crescent moon marking on her forehead. Later, she reencounters Usagi and reveals that she can talk. She gifts Usagi with the ability to transform into Sailor Moon.

Though Usagi is in disbelief at first, Luna also reveals a mission that she has for her. The mission is to find the other Sailor Guardians, lead them, and also find the long-lost Princess Serenity. Together, they begin to fight evil, with Sailor Moon doing the dirty work and Luna being the strategist behind the scenes.

They quickly discover other members of the Sailor Guardians together, including Ami, who becomes Sailor Mercury, Rei, who becomes Sailor Mars, and Makoto, who becomes Sailor Jupiter. Eventually, Luna and Usagi even come across a rival Guardian, who is known as Sailor V.

Not only does she look like Usagi, but Sailor V has a talking cat partner of her own known as Artemis. This creates a rivalry of sorts between Luna and this new challenger, but they all work together in the end.

Learning About Family

It is later revealed in the Dark Kingdom arc of the series the truth of who Luna really is. Though she knows about her magical powers and the mission that she has been given, there is little else that she is aware of about her past. She comes to find out, alongside Usagi, that they are from the past.

Luna originally came from the Moon Kingdom thousands of years ago and was the servant of Princess Serenity. It turns out that the princess that she has been looking for has been reincarnated as Usagi. After destroying the Moon Kingdom, Luna and her fellow cat friend Artemis were sleeping.

They were sent to Earth with the mission to find the Sailor Guardians when they woke up and save the world. However, Luna’s memories were lost in the process, so she did not even know her origins at first. With this knowledge now known, she is able to help the Sailor Guardians in their mission fully.

After defeating the Dark Kingdom, a new challenger arrives in the form of Chibiusa and her partner Diana from the future. Diana is the third talking magical cat to appear in the series, further confusing Luna and the others. Over time, Luna begins to have feelings for Artemis and Diana reveals why this is.

It turns out that Diana is the far-future daughter of Luna and Artemis after they get married. Finally, Luna eventually finds out the true birthplace of her at the end of the manga when it is revealed that she did not originally come from the Moon Kingdom. Instead, she is from the planet Mau. With this, she finally knows the whole truth about her life, including what will happen in the future.

Luna in Other Media

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Given how popular Sailor Moon the series is, there are countless other adaptations, spin-offs, video games, and more that the franchise has. Luna appears in many of these, with one of the most notable adaptations being the live-action series that took place in the early 2000s.

In this version of the series, Luna is, hilariously, just a stuffed animal that is a stand-in for the talking character. There is a little bit of CG that is used for Luna at times, but other than that, she is just a talking puppet. However, she does get some interesting roles in this series, including a live-action form rather often.

There are also collaborations that she has starred in like the video game Monster Hunter Generations. In this Capcom game, there is a crossover with Sailor Moon where the player can have their Felyne companion dress up as Luna. There is also the mobile game Sailor Moon Drops that featured Luna and followed the plot of the main story.

There is even a musical stage play version of Sailor Moon where Luna is featured, plus so much more. Some have even taken on the task of cosplaying as her.

Fun Facts About Luna in Sailor Moon

Here are some fun facts about Luna that you may not have known about already:

  • Luna appears in the 2003 live-action series as mentioned and has a human form there. Interestingly enough, though, this is also the only series where she becomes a Sailor Guardian known as Sailor Luna and fights alongside Usagi.
  • The original Japanese voice for Luna, Keiko Han, not only did the voice for Luna in the original Sailor Moon anime but she also voiced the main villain Queen Beryl at the same time. Han also voiced Luna in the aforementioned live-action series.
  • Strangely enough, the depiction of Luna in the English dub changed greatly over time. Originally in the 1990s anime version, the English versions had Luna with an older British lady’s voice. This may have been due to the older motherly figure that Keiko Han gave off in Japanese. However, in the original manga, Luna has a more youthful attitude and personality. In Sailor Moon Crystal, Luna’s vocal depiction matches the manga more, being much younger.
  • The planet Mau that Luna and her romantic partner Artemis are from means “cat” in Egyptian. So, in a way, you could say that Luna is from the planet Cat.

FAQs

Question: Is Luna a boy or girl in Sailor Moon?

Answer: Luna is a girl magical cat in Sailor Moon.

Question: Who is Luna in love with in Sailor Moon?

Answer: Remember that this will be considered spoilers so avoid this answer if you don’t want any. Luna ends up in love with fellow talking cat, Artemis. This is revealed earlier than it happens, with the arrival of the third cat, Diana. In the far future, Luna and Artemis will get married and someday have Diana as their daughter.

Question: Is Luna a human in Sailor Moon?

Answer: There are slight spoilers for this one as well. This is a tricky question to answer. As mentioned above in the main guide, there is a human form of Luna. Later towards the end of the manga, it is revealed that Luna and Artemis originate from a far-away planet. It is presumed that they are “humans” from that planet but the whole cat thing is also confusing. Perhaps people from their planet are humans who can turn into cats or vice-versa?

Luna Sailor Moon Guide: Conclusion

Luna is, undoubtedly, the unsung hero of the Sailor Moon series. There is so much that happens in the story that would not have if it weren’t for her. Hopefully, this Luna Sailor Moon guide was able to shed some light on the most underrated character of the entire manga and anime series. After all, we would not even have a Sailor Moon if it was not for Luna.

If you want to find out just how great Luna’s impact was on other characters in the Sailor Moon series, look no further. Our Usagi Tsukino Sailor Moon character guide is all about the leading girl herself. Find out more about how she became Sailor Moon and the events that she plays a role in, from saving her friends and characters like Luna to saving the world and galaxy as a whole. Even diehard fans might learn something new with our fun trivia facts as well.

Luna Sailor Moon Guide - Manga Insider (2024)
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