Villain profile #1 ~ Queen Beryl

Queen Beryl is the enemy in the first series of every version of Sailor Moon. Queen of the Dark Kingdom, it is her mission to crush the Moon Kingdom, claim the Silver Crystal and rule the world; the basic super villain bit. In the anime she doesn't really have any other motive than her longing for power, however in the manga and live action versions she was a servent of Prince Endymion who could not bear the fact that he was in love with Princess Serenity instead of her. This underlying feeling of betrayal and heartache perhaps explains why she was so open to the corruption of Queen Metalia who becomes her mistress.

Queen Beryl's story begins before the Sailor Moon saga that we know. Before the scope of the story (although we are told about it), she helps Metalia crushthe Moon Kingdom, killing Serenity, Endymion, the Senshi and indirectly Queen Serenity. Metalia is sealed away by Queen Serenity but we are left assume that Queen Beryl was killed and reincarnated at the same time as the senshi or else her story does not make sense. It is Queen Beryl who reawakens Queen Metalia kick starting the Sailor Moon saga.

Beryl's role as a villain is strong because of her vehement hatred towards the Moon kingdom. This makes her irredemable as a character meaning that we all root exclusively for the senshi as they set about defeating her. This is unlike future villains who have deeper reasons for what they do and are thus more rounded and challenging characters. Queen Beryl's simplicity is a vital fragment of the story at this stage for two reasons. First is that Usagi and the senshi are still coming to terms with themselves and their new found powers, to expose them to a complex and deep version of Beryl would have thrown their character development off mark somewhat. Second is the fact that the Senshi are the main characters of the story. It is essential that the audience side with and love them before they begin to perform challenging or morally difficult behaviour or else there is a risk of dispersing or even losing the viewers.

"Why must you always take everything away from me, Princess?" - Queen Beryl

Location profile #3 ~ Rainbow bridge

The Tokyo Rainbow bridge was completed just as the second series of Sailormoon began to air, opening in 1993. Extending over the Tokyo port area the Rainbow Bridge was visable from Naoko Takeuchi's work room in which she drew the manga and wrote the storylines for the subsequent anime. Although it is called the "Rainbow bridge" the towers are infact white and are lit up at night creating a dazzling light display. These lights are powered by solar pannels placed on the bridge itself.

The animators of Sailor Moon used this location to great effect as a battle ground for the Senshi and the black moon sisters Petz and Calaveras. It was also used in the second season opening.

Perhaps more importantly, in the manga side notes Naoko Takeuchi speaks of the view from her window as being an inspiration to her. It may be that the Rainbow bridge is more than simply a Sailor Moon location but also a progenating force behind the creativity of the series.