Character Profile #12 ~ Luna

Luna is one of two surivors from the original moon kingdom who retains at least some of their memory from the begginning of the story. It is her job to identify four of the Sailor Senshi and locate the moon princess and her crystal. It is with Luna's discovery of Sailor Moon that the Sailor Moon saga begins and at the start, Luna is the only source of information that the senshi have. With the arrival of Artemis this role is diluted slightly as he appears to remember more that she does, however Luna remains an integral advisor to the senshi and continues to be the main issuer of orders.

Luna's relationship with the senshi alters for each girl. For Usagi, she is almost a parental figure; attempting to encourage her to do the right thing and work hard. However there are lapses when she picks on Usagi, drawing pictures of her as fat and teasing her with names. This reveals Luna's young state of mind and ensures that she does not become like the much used "aged-master" stereotype common in Asian story telling and western interpretation.

Luna treats Ami almost as an equal. She confides in her and appears to trust her judgement which is understandable given Ami's intelligence and attitude to responsibility. To Rei she shows a certain amount of deference in the manga, possibly out of respect for Rei's highly attuned spiritual powers. In the anime however, Luna functions more as a referee for Rei's pitched battles with Usagi. Again, Luna treats Makoto almost as an equal, discussing tactics and plans with her and relying on her. This may be due to Makoto's strength, both physically and of will being an asset to the Sailor team.

Luna does not have as much interaction with Minako as she does with the other girls. This may be due to the fact that Minako has always had Artemis and so there is not much call for her to advise or guide this character. Luna's relationship with Artemis though is probably one of her more interesting ones.

Luna and Artemis are obviously destined to be romantically attached. This is assumed by the viewer as they are the only cat characters in the series that are suitable for one another. It is also reinforced with the appearance, from the future (Chibiusa style!) of their daughter Diana. However from the start of the anime and the manga, their relationship is slightly fraught. Luna bullies Artemis and Artemis attempts to impress her in the silliest of ways but perhaps more importantly, Luna falls in love with a young astronaut (pictured in doll form above). This story fills the entirety of volume 11 in the manga series and it is here that we first see Luna in her human form. But what does this love mean for Artemis?

Fortunately for Diana, not much. It is a fleeting romance born of fantasy and Luna knows that she could never be in a true relationship with a human being. Having accepted this, she embraces the love for what it is worth before returning to Artemis with a new appreciation for him. It is almost like having a crush on a celebrity; it's nice to watch a film and imagine yourself in place of their love interest, but in the end you should know that you are only in love with an image or an idea. It would never work.

Luna is an interesting character. She is a cat but she lives her life almost as a human. This could lead to a confusion within her personality but thanks to Naoko Takeuchi's expert writing she retains enough cat like behaviour to ensure that this is never the case. She is however, also a female cat and carries enough traits, such as worrying about her weight, to make her accessable and understandable to a female audience. This leads to a multi-layered character who is both interesting and fun to get to know throughout Sailor Moon.

"Well, I'm a girl too..." - Luna