Of all the Sailor Scouts, Sailor Pluto is probably the one that fans know the least about. This was probably intentional on the part of Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi because Sailor Pluto tends to live a very lonely existence as the guardian of the Space-Time door. Up until Pluto reincarnated into Setsuna Meioh, she guarded that door alone, with very few visitors.
Most of what Sailor Moon fans know about Sailor Pluto comes from what Takeuchi wrote in the manga, including some very basic statistics that appeared in the back of one volume. It is evident that her name comes from Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld, so many believe that her powers are somehow tied into that, too, especially with her Dead Scream attack. When she first appears, she is also strict and unmoving in her duties guarding time to the point that she will destroy anyone who dares try to approach the door.
Before she became Setsuna, no one even knew that Sailor Pluto existed, and before Chibiusa, no one had ever even seen her. She is the most mysterious of the inner and outer scouts .
Here are 15 Things Only True Sailor Moon Fans Know About Sailor Pluto.
15. She is the daughter of the Greek god Chronos
There is a reason that the Sailor Scouts have names inspired by Roman gods, who in turn, inspired the names of the planets in our solar system (or in this case, a former planet. That’s because at least one of them is the daughter of a Roman god.
Yes, Sailor Pluto’s dad is Chronos, the god of time. Considering what fans know about the character being the guardian of the gate that allows travel through space and time, that completely makes sense.
Pluto’s name itself actually comes from a different Roman god: Pluto, who was the god in charge of the Underworld.
That explains her Scream attack, but perhaps also the isolation of the strange space where she normally resides: a space that she cannot leave, at least until she becomes a reincarnated human.
14. The first outer Scout introduced in both the manga and anime
One thing about Sailor Pluto that is consistent in almost all the Sailor Moon media, including both anime series and the manga: Sailor Pluto was the first Outer Scouts introduced in the story.
She actually appears before Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn.
Before that, there was no indication that there were other sailor scouts that represented those other than the five previously seen (Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury). But after Chibiusa traveled back in time and literally landed at Usagi’s feet, the Inner Scouts had a chance to meet the woman responsible for that time travel and guarding the gate that allowed it. It was Sailor Pluto who saved them all from certain destruction at the hand of Wicked Lady and the Wiseman.
13. She nearly destroyed Sailor Moon
Before Sailor Pluto met the Outer Scouts, she was the guardian of the gate that controlled time and space. She also took her duties very seriously and had very specific rules that she would not break, rules handed down to her by Queen Serenity.
Sailor Pluto took her job seriously, even if it meant isolating herself from the rest of the world, unable to have friendships or relationships with anyone. Then Mini Moon discovered her, and befriended her and things began to change.
She still upheld her rules, including the one that meant that she had to destroy anyone who enters her domain and tries to use the door. So when Sailor Moon shows up to do just that, Sailor Pluto very nearly takes her out until she learns who Sailor Moon is.
12. She eventually broke all three rules handed down to her by Queen Serenity
When Queen Serenity gave Sailor Pluto the task of guarding the door to space and time, she was very explicit that there were three rules that Sailor Pluto should never break.
First, Sailor Pluto could never use the door to travel through time. Second, she could never abandon her post guarding the door. Third, she could never use her powers to stop time.
However, once Wiseman and the Black Moon clan began attacking Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Pluto began breaking the rules one by one. First, she allowed Chibiusa to travel through time to get help. Then she abandoned her post when the scouts traveled through time to face off against Wicked Lady and Wiseman.
In both the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal, she stopped time to prevent Prince Demande from touching the two silver crystals together, which would destroy the world.
11. Her passing broke the curse Wiseman put on Mini Moon
The one thing that Sailor Pluto understood about stopping time to save the world is that it would result in the end of her life. Yet, she broke the rule anyway and passed away.
It was her very passing that changed the tide of the battle.
Because of her sacrifice, the spell that Wiseman used to turn Mini Moon into Wicked Lady went away and she became Mini Moon again. This was what changed the war between the Sailor Scouts and Wiseman, and what ultimately helped them defeat him.
Interestingly enough, in the original anime series, Pluto does not sacrifice herself until a little later on in the story. The Sailor Moon Crystal series, though, follows the same story arc that Takeuchi wrote in the manga.
10. She reincarnated as a human
Fortunately, in anime and manga, no one ever really stays gone - except for villains. The Sailor Scouts are special, and that includes the Outer Scouts, too. That means that they get reincarnated.
The Sailor Moon manga explains that Sailor Pluto gets reincarnated because she existed outside of time.
She got a second chance as a human named Setsuna Meioh, but that did not mean that she had to give up her powers as Sailor Pluto. Setsuna could transform like the other Sailor Scouts and fight with the same attacks that she had when she was the guardian of the Space-Time door. She goes on to become a valuable member of the Outer Scouts, who often ended up helping the Inner Scouts fight off bad guys.
9. Her love for King Endymion
It wasn’t evident in either of the anime series, but in the manga, Takeuchi hints that Sailor Pluto is in love with King Endymion. It is an unrequited love that makes her lonely existence that much sadder.
It’s a vague reference, with depictions of Pluto blushing when she’s around the King, as well as her reaction when he rushes to her side as she passes.
It is also hinted at in artwork that features her, Endymion, and Queen Serenity. In the two Sailor Moon musicals, Eien Denetsu and Shin - Densetsu Kourin, there is a song called “Onna no Ronsou” (“Woman’s Conflicts”) where the love that Sailor Pluto has for Endymion is explicitly stated. The actors in those musicals also played up those unrequited feelings.
8. Her unusual tiara
Most fans know that the gemstones in the Sailor Scouts’ tiaras match each Scout’s signature color. For example, Sailor Venus sports an orange gemstone, Sailor Jupiter sports a green gemstone, Sailor Mercury has a blue gemstone and so forth.
Sailor Pluto’s signature color is actually black, but her gemstone is not black; it’s garnet.
This garnet color not only appears on her tiara, but it is also the color of the gem dangling from the choker around her neck and the large gemstone that sits across her bow. Even her earrings are garnet. In some iterations, her bows are also garnet. This is all in line with the Garnet Orb that sits within her large staff, which is basically the source of her power.
7. She has several different names, including the “Soldier of Change”
Sailor Pluto is not just known as the “Guardian of Time” in the Sailor Moon manga. She has other titles as well that turn up throughout its pages, and these may eventually become something seen on Sailor Moon Crystal as more seasons of that series arrive.
Mini Moon actually refers to her as “Puu,” but she has other names that are a little more regal.
In the manga, she is also known as the “Guardian of the Underworld,” which makes sense given her namesake. The manga also calls her “Guardian of Change” at times, perhaps hinting that the Space-Time door that she guards could change time and space. She was also called “Soldier of Afterlife,” again hinting at her namesake, as well as “Soldier of Revolution.”
6. She was Princess Pluto during the Silver Millennium
The Silver Millennium was a time of great prosperity and peace on the Moon Kingdom during what would have been Earth’s prehistoric times. Every planet in the solar system existed in harmony, as well as all the people that existed within it.
The royal family of the Moon Kingdom presided over all, with Sailor Moon being Princess Serenity. Guarding her were the Sailor Guardians, who were also princesses in their own right. The manga specifically mentions that during this time, Sailor Pluto was also a princess, and was known as Princess Pluto.
As princess of her home world (the now ex-planet Pluto), it was her duty to protect the solar system from invasion. Instead of a Sailor Scout uniform, she wore a long black gown.
5. All of her attacks require the Garnet Orb talisman
Sailor Pluto is one of the few Sailor Scouts who carries a prop, but this prop is particularly important. Her staff contains the Garnet Orb, which is what not only powers her attacks - which seem to focus on the Underworld, mortality, and time - but is also the source of all her power. This is why, as previously mentioned, that the gemstones on her costume are not her signature color black, but garnet red.
The garnet orb is a talisman that has the power to summon Sailor Saturn later on, but in the manga, it has the power to summon the Holy Grail itself, along with the other talismans.
In the anime, Sailor Pluto uses the orb to pull the talismans from the hearts of the other Outer Scouts.
4. As a university student, she majored in theoretical physics
Although Sailor Moon fans probably know a lot less about Sailor Pluto than any of the other Sailor Scouts, there were some statistics given in one volume of the manga that suggested that she had a great interest in physics. This sort of makes sense as she does seem the kind of person who would love science, and she is often depicted as one of the more intelligent and serious Sailor Scouts.
After she reincarnates and becomes Setsuna Meioh, she is a college student, majoring in theoretical physics.
This branch of physics uses mathematical models to predict things like the very nature of the universe.
Given her powers that revolve around space and time, this seems the perfect area of study for her.
3. She also loves to sew and once thought of becoming a fashion designer
Those statistics in that one volume of manga, though, also reveal a few other little known facts about Sailor Pluto. This might provide a more surprising twist for fans of the character: she also likes sewing and once thought that she might go into fashion design. That’s a long way from theoretical physics.
It almost seems as if Takeuchi just wanted to throw something random into her facts to make fans confused.
There is nothing else that suggests that this is something that Sailor Pluto, as Setsuna, is interested in, but it’s listed as a skill that she has. Other things these statistics mention is her love of green tea and shopping. She also doesn’t like cockroaches and eggplant. Other than that, though, Sailor Pluto remains a mystery.
2. Setsuna’s last name translates roughly to “dark” and “king”
In Japanese, letters are kanji, symbols that represent certain words. The kanji for Setsuna’s last name “Meioh” actually mean the words “dark” (冥 mei) and “king” (王 ō). Those words together, though, are close to the Japanese word for Pluto, the planet (now ex-planet) “Meiōsei.” The kanji for Pluto is 冥王星, which roughly translates to “dark king star.”
Setsuna is a little more difficult to translate, but roughly, the word itself could mean either “moment” or “split time,” both of which correlate with Sailor Pluto’s relation to time and space. It is also, though, derivative of the Japanese word for “painful,” which is “setsunai.” Whatever it’s meaning, the name fits the guardian of space and time, as well as a senshi associated with the Underworld and mortality.
1. When she uses her Scream attack, she whispers it
One thing Sailor Moon fans will noticed is that when Sailor Pluto issues her most offensive attack, “Dead Scream,” she doesn’t yell it like the other Sailor Scouts yell their offensive attacks. Instead, she whispers it, which makes the effects of the attack all that much more intense.
This is a conscious choice made to illuminate her powers that are associated with mortality and the underworld, although it also alludes to the power of Sailor Pluto herself.
The attack sends a large burst of purple energy at an opponent, usually knocking them flat on their backs and leaving them screaming in pain.
It does have the power to kill, as demonstrated when she used it to destroy Tellu, one of the Witches 5 that attacked Mini Moon.
Do you have any other trivia to share about Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon? Leave it in the comments!
