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Sailor Moon remains one of the most famous magical girls from anime and manga. Manga series come and go, but this story about a reborn moon princess who fights for love and justice continues to find fans despite its release 30 years ago. Even long-time fans like to look back on their older manga editions and rediscover the original anime on Hulu. And with a remake of Kodansha USA in 2021, this popular series is sure to find new audiences. Even so, you can’t beat an iconic magical girl without enemies, and this is where the best Sailor Moon villains come in.
Sailor Moon – or Usagi Tsukino, as she is called when she is not wearing a sailor’s guard uniform – faces many people over the course of the manga. All of them have different backstories. Some are bad. Some are obsessed. Some are brainwashed. (So many brainwashed Sailor Moon characters!) The exact details will vary depending on whether you are reading the manga or watching the anime, but the heart stays the same. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the best Sailor Moon villains from the series.
The best Sailor Moon Villains
10. Mistress 9
Let’s start with the Sovereign of Silence. Mistress 9 has a complicated backstory. She owned the body of Hotaru Tomoe as part of a desperate attempt to save Hotaru’s life. Why do you ask? To help their master, Pharaoh 90, destroy the earth. The complication? Hotaru Tomoe is today’s incarnation of Sailor Saturn, one of the Outer Sailor Guardians. As you can imagine, this created a conflict between Mistress 9 and the original owner of the body.
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9. Kunzite
Queen Beryl, who later appears on this list, orders four generals to bid. Kunzite is the leader and most powerful of these generals. Not only does he send minions to fight the Sailor Guardians, but he also kidnaps Usagi’s love interest, Mamoru Chiba, for his queen. The irony? In a previous life, Kunzite served Prince Endymion, Mamoru’s previous incarnation. In fact, an old Sailor Moon art book by Naoko Takeuchi teased that Kunzite’s previous incarnation was Sailor Venus’ lover, a detail that has since become canon. Talk about allies who have become enemies.
8. Black lady
Parents don’t always agree with their children, but not many parents have to fight their adult children from the future! Black Lady is the adult version of Chibiusa, the future daughter of Usagi and Mamoru. It’s complicated. What is Sailor Moon not? Depending on the version, Black Lady was manipulated by feelings of guilt, loneliness or unlovedness. These emotions later determine their decisions and actions as adults. That’s bad enough, but it gets worse when she shows a downright inappropriate romantic interest in Mamoru … who is her father. No thanks!
7. The Amazon Quartet
The Amazon Quartet continues the theme of characters being corrupted, manipulated, or brainwashed to serve evil. It is the most powerful servant of Queen Nehellenia. (Who? Don’t worry. You’ll meet her later.) The Amazon Quartet are eternally young girls who have some serious skills. Sounds like something out of a horror novel, doesn’t it? But what really worries them is that they are supposed to be the future guardians of Chibiusa, much like the inner sailor guardians – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus – are the protectors of Princess Serenity, AKA Sailor Moon. Oh man.
6. Prince inquiry
Prince Demande is the leader of the Black Moon Clan. He’s one of those villains you empathize with. Sure, Prince Demande is the leader of his clan, but he’s just a puppet to help achieve someone else’s goals. Nobody likes to be manipulated, so it is inevitable when they rebel against this unwanted control. Unfortunately for everyone, he fails and has a nervous breakdown. Why is this bad for everyone? Because it almost destroys the space-time continuum.
5. Queen Beryl
No one should be surprised if this woman appears on a list of Sailor Moon villains. She is probably the first person that comes to mind when we think of Sailor Moon’s enemies. Queen Beryl is the series’ first major antagonist. In a past life, she fell in love with Prince Endymion and her unrequited feelings fueled her hatred of the Moon Realm and everything – and everyone – related to it. In the present day she corrupts the reincarnations of the former generals of Prince Endymion to serve her. She kidnaps and even brainwashes Mamoru (the reincarnation of Prince Endymion) to destroy Sailor Moon! Definitely one of the best Sailor Moon villains in the series.
4. Queen Nehellenia
Sometimes the best of enemies serve as our dark mirrors. Nehellenia is the queen of the dead moon and sees herself as the rightful ruler of the lunar kingdom. She cursed Usagi’s previous incarnation to die before she could ascend the throne – something that came true. In the present day, Nehellenia found Chibiusa’s future guardians and turned them into her loyal soldiers, the Amazon Quartet. There is nothing more terrifying than a bad guy who wants to take everything that is dear to you.
3. Wiseman
Never be told that a deep resentment cannot motivate you to great heights. In the distant future, Wiseman Crystal destroys Tokyo, the utopian city that Usagi and Mamoru ultimately create. But was he satisfied with this truly vicious accomplishment? No! He travels back in time to rewrite history. Forget about destroying Crystal Tokyo. He wants to make sure it never happens. The manga even implies that he influenced the next villain on this list. Really a dangerous force.
2. Sailor Galaxia
We can argue about whether Sailor Galaxia should take 1st or 2nd place in this completely subjective ranking. It was close, I have to admit. Galaxia is the most powerful Sailor Guardian in the entire universe. In the manga, she destroys entire worlds in order to become stronger. In the anime, she seals in chaos – the source of all evil in the universe. The choice was not made lightly. She hoped she could contain the chaos and prevent it from causing further damage, but that proved pointless. She eventually became corrupt and Chaos became the most effective and destructive soldier. Galaxia’s strength is undeniable, but she also knows a thing or two about psychological warfare. The things she does to break Usagi are really terrible. Truly one of the best Sailor Moon villains ever.
1. Chaos
Yes, chaos is high on the list. Who else could it be? All Sailor Moon villains come from this primal force. Chaos corrupted Sailor Galaxia. Queen Beryl was a Chaos Agent. Queen Nehellenia was one of her many incarnations. What makes Chaos the creepiest enemy of Sailor Moon is that it cannot be destroyed. Destroying the chaos means that no stars would ever be reborn. Nobody wants that. Instead, we can only hope to weaken the mess. But the reality is that chaos always returns. And isn’t that the most villainous of them all?
And that rounds off this list of the best Sailor Moon villains. As you can see, many of them are characters who have been manipulated to serve evil. But anyone who has read manga for a long time will find that shades of gray run through the medium. Sailor Moon is no different.
