Q. What exactly does Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon mean?

A. When broken down, we get bi which is "pretty" or "beautiful"; shoujo for "girl"; senshi is "soldier"; and Sailor Moon is just obvious. The most commonly accepted translation tends to drop the girl portion, so we're left with Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. Also, it doesn't matter in Japanese if you write "Sailor Moon" or "Sailormoon"; however, the English tends to stick to the former.

Q. Why aren't there any anime pictures on this site?

A. Frankly, I like the manga much more than the anime, original and dubbed. That's not to say I don't like the anime--I just don't like it as well. It's also much easier for me to obtain pictures of the manga. In order to get picture from the anime, I'd have to buy a video capture card or take them from someone else's site. Manga pictures I can scan myself.

Q. Where do you get your information from?

A. I own all the manga volumes, and I have translations for all of them. Most of my information comes from these. Things like name translations I work out for myself using a Japanese word processing program and a dictionary. The gemstones I got from the Sailor Moon Another Story RPG game, and from Naoko Takeuchi's liner notes. Minerals/elements/gems for the villains are usually very close to their name, so I just fed those through a dictionary/encyclopedia program.

Q. How come some of your spellings of the names are different from others I've seen?

A. To find the English spelling of a name, I feed the Japanese kanji/hiragana/kana into my word processor and then map it out. Once I get the romanji, I work it out phonetically to figure out the English equivalent. For example, Small Lady's name in Japanese turns out to be Sumolu Ledei. Phonetically, it's almost identical to the English pronunciation, so it remains "Small Lady."

Q. Why do you mention the DiC/CWI dub names if this is a manga site?

A. I don't have any of the Mixx comics, but I've been told that most of the dub names are used. Therefore, I've included those names with the character information. The explanation for name changes are purely speculation on my part, but I do believe that there was some form of rhyme or reason when the dub companies chose these names.

Q. What are those words found after names?

A. In Japanese culture, suffixes are used after a person's name to denote his/her relationship with the speaker. It's almost like Mr. or Mrs. but not quite. Here is a list of suffixes and how they are used:

- chan: used for females, people younger than the speaker, and close female friends; very rarely used for males.

- kun: used for males, people younger than the speaker, and close male friends.

- san: a title of respect used for people older than the speaker and for acquaintances.

- sama: a title of utmost respect.

Q. Can I take any of your pictures to use on my own website?

A. Yes, you can take any pictures, but NOT text. I spent a lot of time researching and typing this information. Also, if you take a picture, I'd appreciate it if you'd link back to me.

Q. Will you link back to my site if I send you the address?

A. Sorry, no. The sites I've linked to are ones that I might have gotten a picture or some additional information from. If I visit you site and take something, then I'll link back to you.

Q. If I send you my fanfic, will you post it?

A. Again, sorry, no. The only fanfics I'll be posting are my own, simply because it's enough work to edit those.

Anime: a term used to describe Japanese animation. In Japan, it means any animation, regardless of the country of origin.

Fuku: uniform, more specifically, the outfits the Senshi wear.

Ginzuishou: the Mystical Silver Crystal that Sailor Moon possesses.

Gomen or gomen ne: I'm sorry in Japanese.

Henshin: a transformation. The Senshi's transformations themselves are termed "henshin" and the pens they use to transform are "henshin pens."

Hiragana: alphabetical Japanese characters. Each character represents either a lone vowel, the letter "n", or a consonant and a vowel. Hiragana is used to spell words for which there is no kanji or to spell variations of a word that has kanji.

Inners: the Senshi of the inner solar system: Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter (I know, Jupiter is not a planet in the inner solar system, but Mako is an Inner Senshi). Their job is to protect the Princess.

Ja ne: see you later in Japanese.

Kanji: Japanese characters that are derived from Chinese characters. They do not stand for letters; rather, one kanji can represent an entire word.

Katakana: alphabetical Japanese characters that are used to spell non-Japanese words. For example, Sera Muun (Sailor Moon) is written in katakana. Each character represents either a lone vowel, the letter "n", or a consonant and a vowel.

Kinzuishou: the Golden Crystal that Tuxedo Kamen possesses.

Kohai: also romanizied as kouhai; a student of sorts. When a younger person admires an older person and strives to be like him/her, the younger person is called a kohai.

Konnichi wa: hello or welcome in Japanese.

Liner notes: short "letters" to the reader from Naoko Takeuchi found in the manga.

Manga: similar to our comic books. Manga actually means cartoon, not comic book or graphic novel.

Minna: everyone in Japanese.

Odango: a rounded Japanese dumpling. Mamoru calls Usagi "odango atama" (dumpling head) because her buns look like odango.

Onii-san: literally "big brother" in Japanese. It refers to a male whom the speaker is friendly with and holds in high regard. Usagi calls Motoki (the game center guy) Onii-san, but he is not her big brother.

Otaku: a fan, more specifically, a manga or anime fan. Some find this term offensive since it has negative connotations.

Outers: the Senshi of the outer solar system: Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto. Their job is to protect the solar system.

Romaji: the letters of the English alphabet. For example, the word "senshi" is in its romaji form right now.

Sempai: a role model of sorts. When a younger person admires an older person and strives to be like him/her, the older person is called a sempai. Mako also uses the word to refer to all her old crushes.

Senshi: soldier

Shoujo: Japanese for girl. Shoujo manga is manga for girls.

Youma: Japanese for monsters. Specifically, they are the monsters used by the four generals.