Sailor Moon Villains Guide

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Cody is a writer who was shaped by manga and anime at a young age. From discovering series like Dragon Ball and Gundam, he fell in love with this medium. Though he walked away for a time in his teenage years, he came back in his adulthood to fall back in love with manga and anime. Nowadays, he can be found reading the latest manga series and catching up on all of the new seasonal anime. And, of course, writing about them at the same time.

Bottom Line Up Front

There are so many different Sailor Moon villains in the entire series. Across all of the major story arcs, there are roughly 30 or so villains that are significant enough to the plot and the story to be worthy of being on this list of all of the canon Sailor Moon villains to date.

This excludes most of the pointless monsters of the week that the Sailor Guardians take on. But also includes some of the side villains at the same time.

What Constitutes a Villain?

For starters, there is the fact that the word “villain” is used a little bit too loosely in the Sailor Moon series. There are times, especially when a new Sailor Guardian or main character is introduced when they seem like a villain. This happens time and time again throughout the various arcs.

It starts with the Sailor Guardians assembling in the first arc and some characters like Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars looking mysterious and like they could be villains when they first appear. But this is mostly Usagi (Sailor Moon) being childish and ridiculous, so they aren’t actual villains.

Characters like that were hinted at being villains but didn’t turn out to be in the slightest will be ignored here. This list is solely reserved for only those characters who truly antagonize the main characters, including the Sailor Guardians and others, at some point within the series.

With that in mind, I also made sure only to include the major villains from the series. There are almost just as many villains in the franchise as there are episodes of the anime and chapters of the manga. Most of them are throwaway villains without names or any actual motivations. They’re just there to further the plot and add an extra episode.

As such, I whittled this list down to only those villains that you truly need to know about. Let’s take a look.

All Sailor Moon Villains List

Here are all of the villains that are prominent throughout the pages of the Sailor Moon manga and anime series. Keep in mind that I am only selecting those who are canonical to the story, with only a couple of exceptions, so you won’t be seeing some of the weirder, non-canon villains that appear. This goes doubly so for the odd live-action show that is just bonkers.

If you read the core Sailor Moon manga or check out the Sailor Moon Crystal remake anime series, these are the villains that you’ll see the Sailor Guardians deal with.

If you haven’t checked out either one of those, I highly recommend you do. Not only is it an iconic series you should know about, but this list is going to be full of nothing but spoilers for villains. Turn away now if you haven’t checked out Sailor Moon yet. Otherwise, without further ado, let’s go ahead and take a look at the roughly 30 or so main villains that make up the entire series to date.

Useless Monsters

I would be remiss not to start out this list with arguably the most recurring villains in the entire Sailor Moon franchise. These are the useless monsters. While I won’t go through and name each and every one of them, they deserve a spot on this list for how relentless they are.

The faceless zombies, monsters from evil realms, aliens from outer space, and other creatures of the night are constantly a nuisance in the sides of the Sailor Guardians. Most of them are nameless, being simple monsters to move the plot forward and have a monster of the week format for most of the series.

Others are random underlings for some of the main villains below, and yet still more are filler creatures that are just there to pad out the storyline or give some extra character development for the core cast. They may not be as flashy, interesting, or necessary as some of the other villains, but they deserve an honorable mention nonetheless.

Dark Kingdom Arc Villains

Now, it is time to move to the core villains that you meet and get to know a bit in the Sailor Moon series. To give some more structure to this list, I am going to list them out by the story arcs in the series from start to finish. The first major story arc in the series is the Dark Kingdom arc.

This is the introduction to the world, lore, and characters in the Sailor Moon story. It is also one of the most complete and well-rounded arcs in the series, feeling like it could quickly start and finish the entire series right here. As such, the villains in this particular arc are some of the most notable and memorable in the entire series.

The crux of the villains here are the Dark Kingdom members, including their leader and the underlings who serve their queen. Most of them are recurring villains throughout this arc who follow a pretty predictable pattern.

Zoisite

Zoisite is the first on this list of the Dark Kingdom’s minions. Depicted quite oddly over the years, Zoisite is one of the four underlings that serve Queen Beryl. In terms of the order that he appears and is subsequently defeated, he is the third member. With striking long brown hair, this lover of Kunzite has been depicted as a female in past adaptations.

Jadeite

Perhaps the most attractive of the four guards for the evil queen, Jadeite is one of the most memorable underlings. His attractive blonde hair and youthful nature make him a fun villain, even if he is the first in the entire series. He still leaves a mark on some of the Sailor Guardians.

Nephrite

The second member of the queen’s guard to appear as a major villain in the Sailor Moon series, Nephrite is one of the more forgettable ones. He looks too similar to some of his companions, and he isn’t as notable as some of the others.

Kunzite

The final member of the queen’s posse in the first arc of the Sailor Moon series is the iconic Kunzite. By far one of the most notable members of her guards and the strongest of them all, he is the final threat that the Sailor Guardians face of the four underlings. He is the lover of Zoisite.

Queen Beryl

The main antagonist of the Dark Kingdom Arc is Queen Beryl. The fiery queen, with her crimson red hair, staff, and long purple dress, is one of the most memorable final bosses in the Sailor Moon series as the very first. Her goal is to take the Legendary Silver Crystal for herself and give it to her master.

She also played a vital role in the backstory of the Sailor Moon series, being one of the primary villains behind the downfall of the Moon Kingdom and its citizens in the distant past. Queen Beryl returns in the core Sailor Moon series to finish the job she started with Princess Serenity in the past.

Tuxedo Mask

In the process of trying to take the Silver Crystal for herself, Queen Beryl employs one of the lowest moves: using love to tear apart the lead characters, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. She controls Tuxedo Mask’s mind and has him fight against the girl he just met and is falling in love with.

This is also a direct reference to the wedge that Queen Beryl tore between the two in the past with Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity.

Black Moon Arc

The second main arc of the Sailor Moon series, Black Moon, sees the world’s future play a massive role in the story. The villains this time around haven’t changed their motivations all that much from the Dark Kingdom.

Petz

The underlings this time around in this arc are the Ayakashi Sisters. Petz is one of the weaker of the group that uses a virus to try and take out the Sailor Guardians and their friends.

Rubeus

Rubeus is one of the last villains in this arc and the leader of the Sisters that he employs to take down the Sailor Guardians. He has a militaristic attitude and looks, appearing like a soldier with his brown tank top and camo pants.

Esmeraude

One of the stronger sisters, Esmeraude, with her emerald appearance, has her own minions that she uses to try and take down the Sailor Guardians. She has a rivalry type of relationship with Rubeus, which could be construed as romantic.

Saphir

Saphir is the sapphire-themed younger brother of Prince Dimande, one of the main antagonists of this arc. Despite his high role in the group and immense loyalty to his royal brother, Saphir is one of the weaker villains who is better suited to his leadership position.

Calaveras

The second-oldest and one of the stronger of the sisters in the Dark Moon Clan, Calaveras can summon spirits to help her fight. In this way, she can utilize the power of all of her sisters in battle.

Berthier

One of the younger sisters in the Black Moon Clan, Berthier, is the striking light blue villain. She uses intelligence as her mode of attack, choosing to go after Sailor Mercury in a chess battle but is unsuccessful in the end.

Prince Dimande

Prince Dimande or Prince Diamond, depending on which version of the series you’re enjoying, is considered the initial lead villain in the Black Moon Clan arc. Devilishly handsome, certifiably crazy, and having a penchant for crystals, he is the one commanding all of the villains up until this point.

Worse still, he is motivated by love at the same time as his obsession with Neo Queen Serenity in the far future. Too bad for him; he doesn’t realize that even he is being manipulated for someone else’s gain.

Black Lady

Black Lady is one of the last villains to appear during the Black Moon arc. Her appearance may look familiar to those who watch this arc as she happens to be (spoiler alert) Chibiusa in her older, more vile form. She is coerced by Prince Dimande to join his side and temporarily is a villain at the end of the arc.

Wiseman

The actual main villain of the Black Moon Clan arc ends up being Wiseman, the mysterious hooded man in the background. He is a wizard villain from the far past who was imprisoned and defeated once before. He uses anyone and everyone he can to get what he wants in exacting his revenge against Neo Queen Serenity and the Sailor Guardians.

Death Busters Arc

The third main story arc of the Sailor Moon series brings the series back down to earth, focusing on some of the new Sailor Guardians and the events occurring around a particular school in Tokyo. That doesn’t stop this arc from having its own fair share of supernatural villains, though.

Doctor Tomoe

Doctor Tomoe is the father of Hotaru Tomoe and one of the main villains in the Death Busters/Infinity arc. Renowned by the entire world over for his research, expertise, and genius mind, it turns out that he has nefarious plans up his sleeves.

The tragic part is that his motivation in all of his actions is to simply save the life of his daughter, Hotaru, after the death of his wife.

Kaolinite and Her Witches

Kaolinite acts as the right-hand woman to Professor Tomoe and is one of the secondary antagonists of this arc. Like Queen Beryl and Prince Dimande before her, she has her own set of villains that she commands. This time around, it is the Witches 5, which are five witches in her coven that each command different types of spells to battle the Sailor Guardians.

Mistress 9

Mistress 9 is one of the latter villains in this arc, being the mix between a particular main character in the series and an alien being who arrived from outer space alongside Pharaoh 90. Her goal is to destroy everything to make way for her master.

Pharaoh 90

Pharaoh 90 is the final villain in the Death Busters arc, an alien destroyer from outer space. In search of a new home, he wishes to wipe out humanity and create his own paradise after losing his home planet.

Dead Moon Circus

In the bizarre and strange second-to-last arc of Sailor Moon, the villains take a strange turn as they now become these circus members from outer space. Though not as memorable as some of the villains in the other arcs, they win for their disturbing natures.

Zirconia

Zirconia is second-in-command of the Dead Moon Circus with a terrifying appearance. She leads most of the members of the Dead Moon Circus in hopes of doing her queen’s evil bidding in her stead. She was created by Queen Nehelenia, the main antagonist in this arc.

Queen Nehelenia

The final villain in the Dead Moon Circus arc is Queen Nehelenia, the evil alien woman behind the events that happen here. She is secretly an agent of Chaos and fulfills his goals during this arc, but this isn’t revealed until much later.

Sailor Stars Villains

Sailor Stars is the final major arc in the Sailor Moon series. It involves revelations and surprises regarding the entirety of the series and who the true villain is behind everything that has happened. There aren’t too many significant villains in this arc simply because of each of their natures.

Sailor Chi and Phi

The crux of the final arc of the series is what happens when there are genuinely evil Sailor Guardians around. Two of the minion guardians in this arc are Sailor Chi and Phi, who are no slouches compared to past underlings. They show their true power and vile nature by actually killing some of the characters in this arc.

Sailor Galaxia

Sailor Galaxia is the evil leader of the villainous Sailor Guardians in the final arc of the series and the central enemy during Sailor Stars. She is the exact opposite of the Sailor Guardians, using her powers (perhaps unknowingly) to do the evil work of Chaos.

Chaos/Chaos Galaxia

Chaos is the true enemy behind everything in the Sailor Moon series. It is revealed in the final arc to be behind everything that has happened up until now, including the Dark Kingdom up to Sailor Galaxia. It is an absolute force of chaotic destruction and the final enemy of the Sailor Guardians.

Other Villains

There are some other villains in the Sailor Moon series worth noting. Some of them are characters mentioned or shown briefly in the series or villains that appeared in side content like animated films. However, regardless of their circumstances, you should know about these couple of villains.

Queen Metalia

For the most part, the final villain of the Dark Kingdom arc is Queen Metalia. However, she doesn’t do much in the arc. She is the one pulling the strings behind Queen Beryl to have her resurrect her so that she can rampage across the world once again.

Most of the evil that Queen Metalia does, though, is in the far past. She is the one behind the destruction of the Moon Kingdom and the deaths of countless people.

Fiore

Fiore hails from the Sailor Moon R movie. Though not technically canon like everything else on this list, Fiore shines through as the best-animated film side villain in the franchise. He is a lonely alien boy who finds love and friendship with Tuxedo Mask when they are kids.

However, Tuxedo Mask forgets all about him, and he returns to earth in the film with the hopes of bringing Tuxedo Mask back with him. He is one of the most tragic and heartfelt villains, with a story worth experiencing that adds many layers to Mamoru Chiba’s character. I recommend checking this older movie out if you haven’t already for one of the most underrated Sailor Moon villains.

FAQs

Question: Who is the Best Villain in Sailor Moon?

Answer: This is subjective, but if I had to pick the best villain in Sailor Moon, I would go with Sailor Galaxia, Doctor Tomoe/Mistress 9, or Fiore. They all are unique in what they do while also being heartbreaking and really digging at the Sailor Guardians.

Question: Who is the Main Villain in Sailor Moon?

Answer: Spoiler alert, the main villain in all of Sailor Moon ends up being Chaos, who is behind everything that happens.

Question: Who is Sailor Moon’s Arch-nemesis?

Answer: This is also subjective since Sailor Moon has several enemies who could be considered an arch-nemesis. That said, if I had to pick one, it would be Black Lady. They are similar to one another, and the ways she messes with Sailor Moon are pretty unique.

Dive Deeper Into the Sailor Moon Villains

These are all of the core villains that make up the entirety of the Sailor Moon series across its main five arcs. There are so many to find out about, but it is more than worth going through the lengthy manga and anime series to see all of them come to fruition. The best part is that the older Sailor Moon manga still holds up quite well today.

But if you’re like me, you might want to check out the ongoing Sailor Moon Crystal adaptation that does a fantastic job of adapting the series into a modern format. It will end soon at the time of writing, but in the meantime, you can still see the currently released seasons that have villains like Black Lady. Since I only lightly brushed on her character on this list, you can find out more about her and everything you need to know here.