Character Profile #7 ~ Setsuna Meiō A.K.A. Sailor Pluto

Name: Setsuna Meiō

Birthday: October 29th

Sign: Scorpio

Bloodtype: A

Fave colour: Dark Red

Hobby: Shopping

Fave food: Green Tea

Least fave food: Eggplant

Fave subject: Biology

Least fave subject: Music

Weakness: Cockroaches

Special Talent: Sewing

Dream: To be a designer

Setsuna Meiō is the eldest of the senshi being in her 20's. This brings an adult element to the story which enables an older audience to feel included. She is the guardian of the gate of time, a vital job which gives her a very lonely existance. She is however extremely powerful, almost to the point where I as a viewer felt that she could take on Sailor Moon if she had the inclination, however, she is bound by certain rules that will take her life if broken. In both the anime and manga, she breaks the rule of not stopping time and sacrifices her life.

In the manga, the rule is broken to prevent the joining of the Silver Crystal from the past and the one from the future. Such an action would destroy the world, so Sailor Pluto stops time. It  is at the point of her death that  Chibiusa finally becomes Sailor Chibi Moon. In the anime, Setsuna stops time in order to save the lives of Sailors Neptune and Uranus who are (rather dramatically) caught up in an exploding helicopter. In each instance Setsuna makes the ultimate sacrifice with no hesitation.

This lack of regard for herself reinforces Setsuna as a surrogate mother figure. When Chibiusa travels to the past, it is Setsuna who guides and comforts her, it is also Setsuna who helps to raise the reincarnated Hotaru. Dispite her quiet and slightly aloof exterior, Setsuna is clearly capable of great love. Her ability for affection is almost overshadowed by her duties as guardian and senshi as reflected by her unrequited fondness for Mamoru.

Setsuna is also the guardian of the Garnet Orb, one of the three talismens said to awaken the messiah and bring forth the holy grail. This too is of vital importance and it is only she who knows where the other two talismens lie. In this capacity she behaves as the Minako Aino of the third series, the one who brings knowledge so that the story may continue.

Above all else, Setsuna is mysterious. We know nothing of her past, although as a guardian of time, what her past actually is may be difficult to define. She appears to come and go as she pleases and always seems to know far more than she reveals. It is my belief that this is the secret to her popularity as a character. Just as you think you know her, she slips between your fingers like the sands of time.

                               "Watching over someone from afar, is a kind of love too." - Setsuna Meiō