One of the best parts of Sailor Moon is the evolution of the Scouts' powers with every new villain they face. Each Sailor Scout's powers have themes associated with the folklore of their planet names, and some connections are more obvious than others. As the Scouts' attacks grow more powerful, it sometimes takes more unpacking to see the folkloric connections.
Attacks can be simple, like throwing a tiara like a disc, while others are like a firework show of exploding color and merging elements. Some attacks have beautiful symbolic imagery, while others can be more whimsical and may only be used for one filler episode.
10 Submarine Reflection Reveals The Enemy's Weaknesses & Attacks Them With A Powerful Wave
Sailor Neptune
Sailor Neptune's blue planet is named after the Roman god of the sea. She uses the Deep Aqua Mirror, symbolic of both the ocean's reflective surface and her gift of foresight, to direct her attack, Submarine Reflection.
Sailor Neptune can use the mirror to scry for her enemy's weaknesses and to reveal their location. She then uses the Deep Aqua Mirror to direct a great wave of seawater toward the villain. The attack can throw off a sparkly blur of blue haze and bubbles, like sunlight shining down through deep water.
9 Mercury Aqua Rhapsody Freezes The Enemy With Song
Sailor Mercury
Sailor Mercury's water powers derive from the Japanese name for her planet, Suisei, which references water. Mercury's most powerful attack is also her most musical, Mercury Aqua Rhapsody.
Sprays of water gather to form one of Sailor Mercury's special items, the Mercury Harp, which she strums for her attack. As she plays the water harp, bursts of water shoot at the enemy, overpowering and freezing them. The harp references the god Mercury and his Greek counterpart, Hermes. Hermes invented the lyre, which is an instrument like the harp.
8 Jupiter Oak Evolution Is A Gorgeous Blend Of Elements
Sailor Jupiter
Sailor Jupiter's beginning powers are associated with thunder in homage to the Roman god of thunder. Her later powers reference trees and flowers because the god Jupiter is also associated with oak trees.
Jupiter Oak Evolution involves both botanical and lightning imagery, invoking both associations of the god. Sailor Jupiter uses her weapon, Leaves of Oak, for Jupiter Oak Evolution. A massive cylinder of leaves whirls as if caught in a tornado, shot through with bolts of lightning. Sailor Jupiter then directs the mass of plant and storm energy at her target.
7 Sailor Uranus Cleaves Threats In Two With Space Sword Blaster
Sailor Uranus
Sailor Uranus wields a gorgeous blade called the Space Sword. The sword acts as both a weapon and a talisman imbued with a Pure Heart Crystal. The sword is shaped like a scimitar; sometimes, the blade is encrusted with jewels, while the blade is scarlet at other times.
Sailor Uranus uses the sword to direct her attack, Space Sword Blaster. The blade sends off a massive blast of energy that can strike many foes at once. The strike is grandiose; Sailor Uranus jumps off the ground, sword in the air, and brings down the glowing blade in a great, sweeping arc.
6 Mars Flame Sniper Always Hits Its Target
Sailor Mars
Sailor Mars' planet is called the Red Planet, and Mars is the Roman god of war. Appropriately, Sailor Mars' powers nearly always reference fire and brimstone. Her most powerful attack is an archery-based attack, invoking traditional war imagery.
The attack Mars Flame Sniper is as beautiful as it is threatening. Sailor Mars gathers flames into the shape of a bow and arrows and pulls back the string. Like a ballerina turned soldier, she poses and takes aim. The flames form a tunnel as she sends off one powerful bolt.
5 Venus Love Me Chain Ensnares The Villain
Sailor Venus
Sailor Venus' planet name comes from the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Most of her attacks are a nod to that goddess, like with Venus Love Me Chain. Sailor Venus whips a chain of light shaped into orange hearts like a lasso. The special attack upgrades later into Venus Wink Chain Sword, where her goddess light forms a mighty sword.
In Venus Love Me Chain, the hearts form a spiral around the scout as she charges the attack. She then directs the spiraling light with her hand posed in an "I love you" sign with her pinky, forefinger, and thumb extended.
4 Garlic Attack Is Perfect For Neutralizing Vampires
Sailor Scouts
The Sailor Scouts' Garlic Attack is unique in that it only appears in one episode from the original anime series, and four of the Inner Sailor Scouts participate equally in the attack. There isn't anything remotely magical about this special, but the attack makes up for the lack of magic in its resourcefulness and efficacy against its vampire target.
The Scouts snack on some garlic-heavy Korean barbecue when they realize that garlic may be helpful against vampire invasion. The four scouts, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Mars, surround Lilica Hubert in her Vampire Lemures form and breathe their garlic breath onto her, stopping the vampire in her tracks.
3 Dead Scream Summons The Powers Of Death & Darkness
Sailor Pluto
Sailor Pluto wields her greatest weapon, the Garnet Rod, to use the attack Dead Scream. She stirs the surrounding air with the Garnet Rod, summoning a windstorm, then gathers energy into a great purple sphere.
Sailor Pluto is a reserved scout whose main duty is to guard the Door of Space and Time, using the Garnet Orb, which tops the Garnet Rod as the Door's key. Dead Scream is one of her main attacks, and it causes the enemy immense pain. She won't hesitate to use Dead Scream to defeat the Sailor Scouts' enemies and guard the Door.
2 Tuxedo Mask's Roses Are More Than Just A Pretty Message
Tuxedo Mask
The reincarnated Prince of Earth doesn't have many powers. Tuxedo Mask is the definition of a supporting character; he bolsters Sailor Moon by giving her consistent encouragement and protecting her with his own body. His personality and heart are what help him hold his own in a group full of powerful, capable women.
There are a few instances where Tuxedo Mask uses magical attack powers; the best are his roses. When he throws a rose, lodging its thorned stem into the ground, it's more than a calling card. At the end of Season 1, Tuxedo Mask uses a rose to shatter a huge rock meant to obliterate Sailor Moon. The rose stabs Queen Beryl in the chest, protecting the Moon Princess.
1 Moon Tiara Action
Sailor Moon
The most lethal part of Sailor Moon's original superhero costume is her red-jeweled tiara. When she removes it from her forehead, she dances and spins with it, charging the tiara into a glowing yellow-white disc which she then flings at her attackers.
It's the first attack Sailor Moon learns and one of the most effective, often splitting enemies in half and reducing them to moondust. As her powers grow, she uses Moon Tiara Action less and less, but the special attack serves her well and truly is the move of a warrior princess.