Being the smart cat that she is, Mercury asked Luna to compile a list of facts and things you might not know about the world of Sailor Moon. Here's just a few things that she found
There really is a Juuban
The majority of the Sailor Scouts live in the district of Juuban, in the city of Tokyo. In real life, this district exists
Near Shibuya in the southeastern corner of the city lies the Minato ward, which encompasses the districts of Odaiba, Roppongi (Raye goes to school in this area) and Shiba Koen (Mina lives here). Azabu-Juuban is also part of Minato ward, and this is where much of the action in the anime takes place. Creator Naoko Takeuchi lived and worked in this area
Serena's Family
In the Japanese version of the anime, the names of Serena's parents are Ikuko (a homemaker) and Kenji (a journalist), and her brother's name is Shingo (Sammy in the dub). These are the actual names of Naoko-sensei's own family members
The Connection To Naoko's Editor
Serena's friend Molly has a mother who is a jeweller. The shop is called OSA-P, a play on the name of Naoko's editor when she was doing the manga
Hikawa Shrine Maiden
As you may know, Raye (Sailor Mars) is a miko (shrine maiden) at the Hikawa Shrine where she lives. There are many denominations of the shrine around Japan. The shrine where Raye lives is based on the actual one in Azabu-Juuban, but the stairs that lead to it as seen in the anime is modelled after the shrine in Akasaka
Sisterly Connection?
Serena's teacher in the English dub is Patricia Haruna. Her surname is her first name in the Japanese anime and manga where she is known Haruna Sakurada. Some fans believe she is related to Natsuna Sakurada, the Inspector General of Police in the Codename: Sailor V manga mini-series
Meanings Behind the Names
Here's what the English equivalents are to the Japanese names of the characters:
Moon (Serena): Tsukino Usagi="Rabbit of the Moon" (after a Japanese folk legend)
Mercury (Amy): Mizuno Ami="Beauty of Water"
Mars (Raye): Hino Rei="Spirit of Fire"
Jupiter (Lita): Kino Makoto="Sincerity of Wood"
Venus (Mina): Aino Minako="Beautiful Child of Love"
MiniMoon (Rini): Chibiusa="Small Rabbit"
Pluto (Trista): Meiou Setsuna="Momentary Dark King"
Neptune (Michelle): Kaiou Michiru="Full Sea King"
Uranus (Amara): Ten'ou Haruka="Distant Sky King"
Saturn (Hotaru): Tomoe Hotaru="Soil Firefly"
Tuxedo Mask (Darien): Chiba Mamoru="Earth Protector"
Canada Before US
The first country to premiere the English dub version of the series was Canada, in August 1995, with the United States premiering it a short time later. This is due to the fact that all the original English dub voice actors are Canadian.
Original Dub Differences
Some of the episodes and details from the Japanese version were not used in the original English dub due to their content, as DiC was targeting the show towards children. Japanese episodes 45 and 46 (the final showdown with Queen Beryl) were combined into one episode for the English dub as episode 40, "Day of Destiny"
More Dub Differences
As mentioned in the previous fact, since the show was targeted towards young children, some agencies required children's programming to have some sort of educational content. Thus the original DiC dub introduced Sailor Says segments at the end of each episode of the first 82 episodes, a short lesson centered around the theme of the episode it was featured in. Topics included daydreaming, friendship, teamwork, self-esteem among others
The Makaiju (Doom Tree) Arc
In the manga, the storyline skips from the Dark Kingdom (Negaverse) arc to the Black Moon arc. To bridge the gap so the anime could catch up, the animators took it upon themselves to create a preliminary arc of the R season introducing Alan and Ann, two alien characters who come to Earth in search of energy to feed their Makaiju (Doom) Tree.
Did you know...
Keiko Han, the Japanese voice of Luna in the anime, went on to reprise her role in the live action series as the voice of the plushie toy equivalent that fell on Usagi's head in Act 1. Chieko Kawabe, who played Naru Osaka in the live action series, was the fourth actress of Sailor Mercury in the musicals.
A Voice Known Around The World
Ikue Otani voiced the character of Sailor Tin Nyanko in the Stars series, but she is better known throughout the world as the voice of Pikachu in the long-running Pokemon animated series
More Familiar Faces
In the English re-dub of the series by Viz Media, two familiar voice actors portrayed key character roles. Artemis is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch, who is best known for being the second Black Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Sailor Pluto is voiced by Veronica Taylor, who became popular as the first voice of Ash in Pokémon.
Small Lady on a Game Show?
About a decade before she would voice Sailor Chibi Moon, Sandy Fox was a contestant on the second season of Game Show Network's Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck in 2003. She won her episode and also competed in the series-ending Tournament of Champions, finishing in third place.
The Viz Dub
All of the voice actors in the Viz Media English dub are the same across the re-dub of the original series and the dub version of the new series Sailor Moon Crystal and the upcoming Sailor Moon Eternal