Sailor Senshi - Variants

Variants

As the story progresses, other Senshi eventually emerge throughout the galaxy. In the manga, the first of these to appear are the Sailor Quartet, often referred to in English fandom as the "Asteroid Senshi". These are the future protectors and companions of Sailor Chibi Moon, just as the Guardian Senshi are to Sailor Moon. Until the 30th century they are supposed to be in a deep sleep, waiting for Sailor Chibi Moon to be ready, though they are briefly forced into the services of the Dead Moon Circus.

In the fifth major story-arc, especially that of the manga, it becomes clear that Sailor Senshi number possibly in the thousands across the galaxy, protecting many of the stars, planets, and celestial bodies. This story arc focusses largely on the Sailor Wars, an ancient, epic struggle between all Sailor Senshi and the forces of darkness. The manga portrays all of Sailor Moon's previous enemies as minor figures in this galactic war, each of them having connections with the ultimate evil being known as Chaos.

The primary servant of Chaos, Sailor Galaxia, formerly the most powerful Sailor Senshi in existence, represented the great hope of the galaxy. In her effort to subdue Chaos, she was possessed by him, and went on a galactic rampage under his will. By the time she reaches Earth, she has seized starseeds from countless Senshi that she either killed or forced into service. Under her command are numerous warriors who are former Sailor Senshi that have turned to evil. In the manga, the Sailor Animamates are ordinary fighters who betrayed and killed the true Senshi of their planets in hopes of being rewarded by Galaxia.

Of all the planets Galaxia attacked prior to Earth, only one produced survivors who continued to oppose her. On this fictional world, called "Kinmoku", lived the most prominent of these "alien" Senshi, the Sailor Starlights. The Starlights are a trio of Senshi who arrive on Earth in search of their Princess Kakyuu, who they believe also survived. While on Earth, they disguise themselves as men—in the manga by crossdressing, and in the anime by physically transforming into male bodies. This plays with the notion of all Senshi being female, without technically breaking the rules. The gender-shifting idea was not approved by Naoko Takeuchi, who has often expressed shock at the change to the anime. In the manga, Princess Kakyuu, like Princess Serenity, is a Sailor Senshi herself (Sailor Kakyuu).

In both the anime and manga, a small girl named Chibi-Chibi appears during this arc. She has the ability to transform into Sailor Chibi-Chibi (called Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon on a sticker included in the manga's second run), and helps the Senshi in various ways. Chibi-Chibi is unusual in representing only an alter-ego; in the anime, she is the "Light of Hope", Sailor Galaxia's starseed. In the manga, she is actually Sailor Cosmos, the ultimate form of the future Sailor Moon. Whether this makes her the Usagi of the future is never stated. In the manga, the evil and powerful Sailor Chaos also exists in the future inhabited by Sailor Cosmos.

Other Senshi appear in the manga, such as Usagi's non-canonical second daughter, Kousagi, who appears as "Parallel Sailor Moon" in a humorous short story of the same name. Another short story, The Story of the Hammer Price Shrine, centers around two girls named Naruru and Ruruna who imitate Senshi. The Sailor Moon musicals also introduce new Senshi, including Sailor Astarte, Sailor Buttress and others.

The concept behind Sailor Senshi holds so much potential for variation that it has become an extremely common source of inspiration for fanfiction. The idea has expanded into a meme in which fans of the series create their own original Sailor Senshi, sometimes called "Otaku Senshi", with their own unique designs and often in-depth character profiles. The characters range widely in their appearance and relevance to the original story.