That said, shall I begin?
We all know that Sailor Moon is not an American based cartoon (yes, I will stop stating the obvious in a moment); it is actually anime, or Japanese cartooning. This, in turn, is based on Naoko Takeuchi's manga of the same name. Thus said, we all can pretty much deduce that the original was in Japanese.
Finally, to the point. Ever since my sis first picked up a Japanese dictionary, I've been looking up the names of my Sailor Moon Characters. Couldn't find some of them; now, though, thanks to the absolutely KICK! resource above, I have.
Just a note: Due the fact that often a word can be the same in romanji (quick def: english version of their words), but with different kanji (their character writing style), I am not sure which definition is the ABSOLUTE right one. Especially since I haven't seen the character's names in kanji (HELP!). So I'm fitting them to the character. Also, this may be different from some other defs given; I am going as exact as possible based on my resources. UPDATE: Thanks to an unnamed source (for now), I am going to soon be starting a revamp of this whole page--and perhaps adding the pages I promised sometime back, neh? Ummm...that would be if I could find unnamed source's e-mail with the pertinent information. But meanwhile, enjoy all the new pretty pictures! They're from Kelly's Sailor Moon Gallery and the Galleries of Senshi.net. Links will be provided at the bottem, 'kay? K. Onto to it!
The word "Mizuno" is actually two parts (and this is common in the inners): "Mizu" meaning "water," and "no" meaning "of". "Ami" actually has a couple of meanings, but I chose either "net" or "friend." So, altogether:Mizuno Ami="Friend of Water" or "Net of Water"
Hino Rei="Soul of Fire"
Besides being a somewhat revered word, "Ki" has two meanings, along with some conotations. Both straight meanings fit: "tree" and "spirit", the first due to the affliations with Jupiter and Raiden she picks up in the last two seasons. "Makoto" means "truth or sincerity," which fits pretty darn nicely.
Ergo, quite poetically, we get:Kino Makoto="Tree of Truth" or "Spirit of Sincerity"
Aino Minako="Love of Everyone"
If you're a really in-depth SM fan (as I seem to be, no?), you probably already know this one. But, just in case...her last name must be subdivided, and so we get "tsuki," which means "moon." "Usagi" means rabbit. So..:Tsukino Usagi="Rabbit of (the) Moon"
Kawaii, yes. Dreamy, yes. Interesting name...well, partially. "Chiba" is just listed as a family name, a last name. "Mamoru" (which, according to my nifty name page, IS a guy's name)(just in case you ever doubted) means "to protect; to guard." In this case, there's really no put together-the-two-together meaning, just one that makes a LOT of sense.
The Outers, as usual, have a hidden catch to their names, but I'll get into that later. It is also a little difficult to get an EXACT trans of their names. The Inners are fairly self explanatory once you see the translations; the Outers are not. But you'll see.
The word "haruka" isn't really a problem; it has one relatively simple meaning: "far away, distant, remote" (etc. etc.). It's the "tenoh" or "tennou" or "ten'ou" that gets you in trouble. (Yes, there can be three different ways to spell the name.) For you fans of "tenoh," I regretfully say that I cannot find the word singularly (for there are times when it shows up in the middle of a word). For "ten'ou" there is no DIRECT spelling, but there is "ten'on," which means "blessings of heaven and such." It's in "tennou" that there may be a meaning. You see, attached to the ending -sei, it means "uranus." Straight trans. Without that, it means emperor. So, (finally), we get:Tennou Haruka ="Remote Uranus" or "Distant Emperor"
Wa-hoo, a name that isn't TOO difficult. With "kaiou", you run into the same sort of thing as with "tennou," and I don't mean numerous spellings. With a -sei attached to it, it means "Neptune." (Just a side note: "nisankaiou" means "sulfer dioxide".) It is also a given name, a person's name, and a place name. "Michiru" means "to be full, to rise (tide)"; it is also a female first name, and a given name. So, taking meanings, we get:Kaiou Michiru="Full of Neptune" or "Rising Tide of Neptune"
"Tomoe," her last name, appears to be just that: a name. Though it can mean "big comma design," I just don't think that works. "Hotaru," though, means "butterfly" or "firefly" and in light of all the sparkling bug imagery in the S series, I think that's darn fitting.
Check this out: if you add a -sei to "meiou," know what you get? Yep, it means "Pluto." Told you there was a catch. "Setsuna" I find almost painfully ironic, considering her station in life. It means, "moment, instant, or juncture." Now, we have:Meiou Setsuna="Pluto's Moment" or "Juncture of Pluto".
I have had the worst trouble with the Starlights, as will be seen shortly.
When I first looked up "kou," I found the server giving me twenty-six meanings, plus telling me it could be both a first name and a last name. And I'm not a huge fan of the Starlights, so between that and not knowing the actual kanji...eh. (That pic is so ironic, NO?)(By the one, none of the meanings is "light".) I finally settled on "entertainment" for "kou," and Seiya (another true name, by the way) means "starlit night", so we get:Kou Seiya="Starlit Night Entertainment"
Having made it through Seiya, I was hoping not to run into any more trouble. I got lucky with Taiki (no, Ami-chan, do NOT rush me with the bat! His name, his name!) though, because once I had decided on what meaning of "kou" to take, I was set. "taiki" itself can also be a first or last name, by the way; it can mean either "vigilant" or "atmosphere." Being that they're starlights, I chose the later. Now we have:Kou Taiki: "Atmosphere (of) Entertainment"
When I went to check on the spelling of this name, I read the character description, and found out this man is RUDE. Like the PMS-crossed-over-the-disguise rude. Well, he's more than that. His name doesn't seem to exist! I tried splitting it up, but all I get is "Sky Arrow" or "Heaven Arrow", and neither seem right. If you can help me in anyway with this obstinante name, I'd be more than grateful! Domo arigato!