AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hello, everyone! I hope it's been a fun 300 pages or so for you, because it certainly has been for me. Author's notes is here just to give you a little bit of extra background info about Arc 1 and how Moon Senshi is set up.

For those of you who have only read Moon Senshi on fanfiction.net, Moon Senshi is divided into four arcs:

Arc 1: Senshi of Retribution (Sailor Titan)

-The arc you've just read, a sort of prologue that deals with the Moon Senshi's issues in the past and the issues of Crystal Tokyo.

Arc 2: Senshi of Change (Sailor Io)
Arc 3: Senshi of Hopelessness (Sailor Phoebe)
Arc 4: Senshi of Loyalty (Sailor Charon)

-Deals with Nemesis. Anything else is spoilers...

Arcs are grouped thematically. They are all part of one series (There is no "Moon Senshi: Unmei no Kodomo: Senshi of Change--god, that would get unwieldy...) The distinctions are merely to give the series a bit more organization, since it will probably be anywhere from 35-60 episodes long.

Also, questions/misconceptions I often get:

1. Why Sailor Pinkmoon?

In the Sailor Moon manga (in the SuperS arc) Chibi-Usa gets her own crystal that is basically a morphed version of the Silver Crystal. It's called the Pink Crystal and is given as "her very own crystal." Her transformation phrase also changes to "Pink Crystal Moon Power Make Up!" in the Stars arc of the manga, and she gets an attack called "Pink Ladies Freezing Kiss" in the same arc. Since Usako is no longer Chibi-Usa (or, for that matter, Chibi), I did not feel "Chibimoon" would be an appropriate name. "Neomoon" is also highly overused. (And, IMO, less appropriate.) I felt that Pinkmoon kept more of the feel of the manga and was more original than "Neomoon."

2. Moon Senshi is based on the anime of "Sailor Moon," and you're getting the canon all wrong!

This is untrue. Moon Senshi is based on the manga. There are several references to manga-only items or concepts. Of course, some people would argue, "Why not use the anime, which is so much more familiar to people?" the answer is, the Moon Senshi plot would literally collapse onto itself if I tried to use the universe presented in the anime. It simply does not work as a concept outside of the manga canon, for reasons that become increasingly apparent as the series progresses.

If you're really getting confused by the differences, I highly recommend waltzing on over to wikimoon, which has helped me keep all the info between the manga and anime straight on more than one occasion. Also, briefly, here are some of the Moon Senshi-relevant differences between the manga and anime of Sailor Moon:

-Several attacks appear which exist only in the manga, such as "Submarine Violon Tide" or "Pink Ladies Freezing Kiss." By extension, all Planetary Senshi are in their "star" forms, also sometimes called "eternal" forms, which are fuku not unlike Sailor Moon's eternal fuku. (Check out MangaStyle! under "Artbook 5" for pictures of this form.) Sailor Chibimoon has the Pink Moon Crystal as well (see the "Pinkmoon" issue above.)

-The Sailor Quartet appear. These are the senshi of the asteroids Pallas, Juno, Vesta and Ceres. As you might guess, they are also the healed forms of the Amazoness Quartet. Essentially, they are akin to how the Inner Senshi acted as guardians to Sailor Moon. There is no explicit canonical evidence that Ceres is their leader; this was my interpretation based on the fact that she gets more lines than any of the rest of them. Their civilian names were also my invention (and are based on the four seasons--Fuyuko=winter, Akiko=fall, Haruko=spring, Natsuko=summer.) Their names were based partly on their coloration, and partly on what little we know of their personalities.

-The concept of the three powers is something unique to the manga. I have elaborated a bit on this concept, but the idea that the Earth, the Moon, Elysion (and, by extension, their senshi/priest/knight) are all intimately tied is a manga concept from the SuperS arc. There is certainly a viable argument that the only reason Usagi was effected by the black rose sickness was because of her close bond to Mamoru. Moon Senshi does not follow this interpretation; Moons automatically share this connection with their planets, holy lands and their representatives, regardless of how close they actually are on a personal level.

-Mamoru possesses the Golden Crystal, not Usagi or Helios. In the manga, the Golden Crystal is a powerful crystal, in shape and power like the Silver Crystal, that is also Endymion's Sailor Crystal. There is little manga evidence to support the fact that this crystal is as powerful as the Silver Crystal, though there is certainly evidence that suggests it is more powerful than any other planetary crystal. In Moon Senshi, I have chosen to interpret the Golden Crystal as being (more or less) on par with the Silver Crystal in terms of power, it's inferiority being only a reflection, perhaps, of Endymion's inferior abilities to call on it's power.

-As per the manga, all Senshi's Star Seeds are referred to as Sailor Crystals. Only ordinary humans have "Star Seeds."

-There are several plot differences in Sailor Moon R that are central to how Crystal Tokyo operates. For example, the earth was never "frozen" for 900 years, so Chibi-Usa is actually 914, not just 14. The idea of imprisoning criminals on Nemesis is a manga concept as well--particularly Death Phantom's imprisonment is used as a central plot concept in Moon Senshi.

-The idea that Sailor Senshi have both abstract ideas as well as elements is a concept borrowed partly from the manga, and to a lesser extent, the RPG source book by Guardians of Order. The idea of knights is also a combination of these two sources; the idea that male "sailor senshi" are masked warriors of some kind is taken from the manga; though, instead of referring to all male senshi as "Tuxedo Masks" as the manga briefly (and unclearly) implies, Moon Senshi uses the Guardians of Order moniker of "Knights" and adds on the caveat that they must be masked. (Because really, Tuxedo Masks just sounds rather silly.)

-Neherenia lives on the dark side of the moon, not on an asteroid. In the Manga, it is said "No one knew where she came from, but she said she was from the 'Dark Moon.'" As to how she got from Diana's court to the dark side of the moon, Moon Senshi is currently fanonically mute on that point. Neherenia could have been banished to this place by Diana, or even chosen to go there herself. After all, Queen Serenity merely banishes her in the SuperS manga, and that wasn't enough to keep her away...

4. Are "Erik vonDarkmoor", "The Crimson Eagle," and "Prince Arutha" taken from the books by Raymond E. Feist?

Yes. Moon Senshi is based off an RPG, and the person who played Erik was a big fan of his work, so he named his characters in tribute to those books. I couldn't see any reason to change the names--after all, Moon Senshi is already a derivative work and therefore already technically copyright infringement--so I simply stuck with them. I make no claim to them being uniquely mine. They are Mr. Feist's.

5. Do you write those lyrics?

No, my friend Ayu Ohseki does. She is very talented, isn't she?

For anyone interested in the origins of Moon Senshi, it has a bit of a history. I originally started a fanfic called "Moon Scouts" in the mid-nineties. The only things that carried over to this version were the crystals and Sailor Titan's fuku. Everything else about the original sucked. Then a few years later my boyfriend and I tinkered with the idea of an RPG based on the Guardians of Order source book. I went through with it, and thus Moon Senshi was born. In that incarnation, there was no first Arc. A year and a half later, when the RPG finished, I started the fanfiction. I cleaned up the rough spots, and the rest, as they say, is history...

Finally, I need to thank the following people, whose help was indispensable in making this fanfiction:

Foremost, my boyfriend, John, whom I wouldn't have started Moon Senshi without--and without whose help, I would have had to sit around and think for about twice the time I wrote. Also, for his unending enthusiasm for this project, and for telling me "You write Tokimo better than I played her!" ^_^

Kaylee, because I need someone to make dorky out of character comments while I edit. Otherwise, I might go insane. Now stop inserting porno music in my fic and making up Seisui x Tokimo couplings.

Ayu Ohseki, for writing AWESOME lyrics. This fic wouldn't be half as cool without you. Your lyrics are gorgeous and haunting. Seisui's comment in episode nine is just for you! I also have to thank you for your enthusiasm and encouragement. If you like my fanfiction, that is a compliment indeed! Also, for your encouragement when I was writing Moon Scouts, no matter how much it really sucked. Keep writing lyrics, not just for me but for yourself :-P

Syrinx, for editing my fanfiction even though I didn't know her before she reviewed it. ^_^ And for encouraging me. Even when you told me all the problems in Moon Senshi, I was able to go and fix them with a positive attitude because you always had so much enthusiasm. ^_^

Erin, for making everyone draw fanart and read Moon Senshi. (How about you ask them to draw something *besides* Kazeko?) If you have time to talk to her, you have time to read Moon Senshi! ;-D

Hollie, for drawing those awesome pictures, sticking up for me and even making a character of her own. ^_^ I feel speeshul whenever you draw something for me, because your drawings are so awesome!

Mike. Don't worry, Erik gets cooler. I promise.

Kristin, even though I massacred her character. Because Fubuki still wouldn't be the same without her. I hope you're not too mad at me for making her such a bitch ^_- I like her this way. She's a bitch with 'tude...

And, all of you who loyally supported Moon Senshi and linked my site. Especially Jade, Sinister/Aquarian/Smoke, and Katy. You guys are my biggest fans! There were times when I felt down about Moon Senshi or didn't feel like writing, but because I could go online and read your comments about my fanfiction, I kept going. Thanks!

For all those interested in linking me, my URL is:

http://www.moonsenshi.net/

Thanks everyone, and stay tuned for Arc 2 of MOON SENSHI: UNMEI NO KODOMO!

-Katherine Isham

Copyrights:

The Sailor Moon manga is © Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. English version is © Tokyopop Manga (aka Mixx Entertainment.) I do not own any of the characters contained within the manga or anime version of "Sailor Moon" (also known as "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.") the anime is © Toei and Kodansha. English adaptation is © DiC entertainment and Cloverway.

Please do not steal any of my fanfiction, plot concepts or characters, or I will come after you with a large pointy stick.