Cosmo from Sailor Moonrecently released on Netflix, not only does it bring the final arc of Naoko Takeuchi’s manga to screens around the world, but it also features villains entirely omitted from the ’90s anime. The arc’s main villain, Sailor Galaxia, uses special bracelets to corrupt and dispatches them to destroy the Sailor Guardians and steal their Star Seeds. These shadowy Sailor Guardians are some of the deadliest adversaries Sailor Moon has ever facedand one by one they eliminate their friends and allies.
Half of Galaxia’s warriors are Sailor Animamates, women from across the galaxy whose home planets were destroyed by Chaos and are now controlled by the Galactica Bracelets. They kill their planet’s Sailor Guardians and take their power in service of harvesting Star Seeds for his master. The other half are true Sailor Guardians who have lost their way and will do anything to ensure their own peace, no matter who they hurt. Together, they form Sailor Galaxia’s empire, Shadow Galactica, and seek to rule the galaxy with Chaos.
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Iron Rat Sailor
Planet Chuu
Sailor Iron Mouse is the first Animamate to attack and is defeated as quickly as she appears. When the Three Lights perform, Usagi and her friends attend and cheer on the musical act, who are secretly three Guardians from another star system known as the Sailor Starlights. Out of nowhere, Sailor Iron Mouse interrupts the show and fills the auditorium with robotic mice that attack everyone there.
The Sailor Guardians transform and confront Iron Mouse, but the Sailor Starlights appear and destroy her with one hit from the Sailor Star Healer’s attack. Not much is known about the youngest Animamate, and she receives the least amount of screen time during the film’s 160-minute running time. Although she is the weakest of the group, she was smart enough to find the Starlights right away.and if she was powerful enough, Iron Mouse could have done real damage.
9
Sailor Leader Crow
Planet Koronis
Sailor Lead Crow comes from the same planet as Sailor Mars’ servants Phobos and Deimos, and is driven by jealousy towards her colleagues. She kills Sailor Koronis, the Guardian of her planet, in exchange for her own Sailor Crystal.and is promised her own planet if she harvests the Sailor Guardians’ Crystals. His Galaxia Tornado attack destroys part of Rei’s family sanctuary, kills Phobos and Deimos, and quickly traps Sailor Mars in a headlock.
Although she has the upper hand for most of the fight, Sailor Lead Crow is disintegrated by the Sailor Starlights when they arrive flanking Sailor Moon. His appearance is brief, but one thing distinguishes Lead Crow not only among his fellows. Cosmos villains, but all the characters in the series, is that she is one of the most visibly BIPOC characters. Takeuchi does a fantastic job suggesting the larger stories behind each character, and it’s a shame there wasn’t a proper sequel.
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Mnemosyne
Planet Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne and Lethe are from Siamese planets ravaged by endless wars, and act as the outer defenses of the Galactic Cauldron, guarding the Deserted Rivers of Forgetfulness and Memory. Brief glimpses into their story show the twins holding each other as their city burns, and it’s clear that all they want is to live in peace. Galaxia appears to them, promising them sanctuary and the power to avoid these endless conflicts.
As Sailor Mnemosyne, the Keeper of memory, she helps restore Usagi’s memories of her identity as Sailor Moonher friends and what she is fighting for. While restoring memories may not seem like a powerful ability, Mnemosyne’s act of defiance shows the extreme willpower required to break the Galactica Bracelets’ hold on her and her sister. Without Mnemosyne’s bravery and love for her twin sister, Sailor Moon may have been defeated before she even reached Galaxia’s palace.
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Sailor Lethe
Planet Lethe
Lethe is the more sinister of the two sisters, appearing to Sailor Moon and the Starlights as a hooded figure offering them passage to Galaxia. As they float down the river, Lethe’s intentions become clearer and Usagi falls under her spell. Sailor Lethe protects her sister from the horrible acts that war demands and tries to kill Sailor Moon alone.
The name of Mnemosyne’s twin also comes from Greek mythology, with Lethe being one of the rivers of the underworld that causes everyone who drinks its water to lose their memory. Cosmos leans into that inspiration when Sailor Lethe attempts to isolate Usagi from her few remaining allies and makes her forget her role as champion of the universe. What is frightening about Lethe is the calm demeanor she uses to calm her victims into a peaceful death without resistance.
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Aluminum siren
Mermaid Planet
Sailor Aluminum Siren is from the water planet Mermaid and has the ability to control water and marine life such as jellyfish. Her blue eyes, hair, and clothing reflect Sailor Lead Crow’s all-red aesthetic, but the demure tone is not an indication of her personality. The Aluminum Siren is far more manic than her more rational counterpart, Crow, and she revels in the opportunity to inflict pain on her targets.
Sailor Aluminum Siren is a formidable enemy and traps Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter in her hair, which she can move like an extra limb. Sailor Moon tries to use “Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss” to free them, but Siren mercilessly destroys Mercury and Jupiter’s physical bodies and steals their Sailor Crystals before Usagi can act. The Sailor Starlights transform and defeat Alluminum Siren before she can do any more damage.
5
Tin Nyanko
Bad Planet
Sailor Tin Nyanko is one of the strongest and most cunning Sailor Animamates. She is the only one among her classmates to assume a human identity and infiltrate the Sailor Guardians’ school to get closer to them. When she finally takes off her disguise, Tin Nyanko also reveals her shared past with Luna and Artemisanother hidden weapon in his arsenal.
Nyanko, or “kitten” in Japanese, is originally from the planet Mau, as are Luna and Artemis, and her attack on them feels personal. She admonishes them for abandoning their world to serve Princess Serenity and uses their anger to fuel her golden beams of energy. She can also duplicate her body to multiply her attacks, but apparently they cannot act independently or hit other opponents. She is one of the few Animamates to survive his encounter with the Starlights and is destroyed by the Galaxy itself for its failure.
Cocoon Planet
Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, the butterfly warrior from Shadow Galactica, makes her anime debut in Cosmos. Papillon does not appear in the 90s iteration of Sailor Moon. This is likely due to how many new and complex characters have been added to the Sailor Moonthe final arc and the anime’s decision to deviate from the manga’s ending. Cosmos fixes this by giving Papillon a solo confrontation with Sailor Moon, Princess Kakyuu, and Chibi Chibi Moon, in which she physically and psychologically tortures them.
When Sailor Moon arrives at the cemetery of celestial bodies, they find Papillon tending the tombs of the Starlights and preparing new plots for Usagi and her allies. Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon crucifies the three heroineswrapping them in thorny vines and taunting them about the hopelessness of their situation. Fortunately, Sailor Chibi Moon and her Sailor Quartet arrive just in time to destroy Papillon with their “Amazoness Jungle Arrow” combo attack.
3
Sailor Phi (Φ)
Sagittarius Star Zero
Another pair of nearly identical sisters, Phi and Chi, are named after Greek letters, which are used to name specific stars in an astronomical naming convention called Bayer designation. They are the Guardians of the Zero Star of Sagittarius, or Cauldron of the Galaxy, a supermassive black hole from which all celestial bodies are born. Like Mnemosyne and Lethe before them, Phi and Chi are not Animamates, they are true Sailor Guardians with specific functions outside the Galaxy’s plans.
The sisters are Galaxia’s most powerful minions and with their combined attack they successfully destroy the Sailor Starlights and steal their crystals. The trio of Guardians easily defeat all the other villains in Cosmos, but they are no match for a direct hit so powerful that it kills all three at once. It’s easy to see why Sailor Phi is the leader of the Animamates, delivering Galaxia’s orders in her name.
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Sailor Chi (X)
Sagittarius Star Zero
Sailor Chi pushes Phi away simply because she dealt the killing blow to Sailor Kakyuu. As Sailor Moon finishes Phi off with her “Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss”, Chi uses the distraction to hit Kakyuu at the base of the neck with her staff, and steps on the princess’s back with all her strength. Although her sneak attack is brutally effective, she is still no match for the ultimate power of Sailor Moon, who destroys her in one hit.
Sailor Chi and Sailor Phi do not appear in the 90s anime, as does Sailor Heavy Metal Papillonmaking its debut in Cosmos highly anticipated. The wait was worth it as they are brought to the screen with the expected power and presence and feature a unique and complex style. Their hairstyles are similar but distinct from each other, and their clothes, while decidedly superhero costumes are the most translatable designs to real-world fashion.
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Sailor Galaxy / Chaos
Galactic Shadow
It’s no surprise that Sailor Galaxia, possessed by Chaos, is the strongest villain in Cosmo from Sailor Moon. She’s dressed in glamorous golden armor that would make Wonder Woman jealous, and has an army of beautiful warriors to do her bidding, including brainwashed copies of the Sailor Guardians. She has everything Sailor Moon has, except the love and kindness that inspire Usagi’s loved ones to risk their lives to protect her.
At the climax of CosmosIn the final act, Galaxia pushes Mamoru into the Galaxy Cauldron and his Starseed is assimilated by the universe’s primordial ooze, erasing him and Chibiusa from existence. Queen Beryl, Death Phantom, Pharoh 90, Nehellenia, and Galaxia trick Sailor Moon into succumbing to hatred and rage by destroying her loved ones, and they all fail. At the end, Chaos and its latest host, Galaxia, are no match for Sailor Moon’s ultimate power and your infinite capacity to love.