Usagi Tsukino is one of the most beloved characters in anime and the most iconic character of the magical girl genre. As Sailor Moon, she is a leader and a friend, but she often falls short in battle and needs to be helped up by her friends.
One of the most amusing things about her, which sets her apart from other characters in the genre, is the fact that she’s not actually great at being a warrior, since she's just a teenage girl, and she’s often flighty and lazy. It’s easy as fans to get impatient with her in the series since fans know how strong she is. At the same time, there’s also plenty to love.
10 Hated: Her First Battle
Usagi is caught off guard when Luna tells her that she’s a magical warrior named Sailor Moon and that it’s her duty to protect the human race from the forces of evil. She’s pretty excited to get into battle at first since she thinks it will make her like her hero, Sailor V.
But she chokes as soon as she actually realizes that she’s in danger and starts wailing like a baby. It’s not the best show of strength from the heroine of the story.
9 Loved: Helping Luna
The reason that Luna is able to find and identify Usagi is because Usagi sees a group of kids messing with her and stops them from hurting her. After running them off, she notices that Luna has a bandage on her forehead and removes it for her, exposing the crescent moon symbol beneath it. This allows Luna to remember what she’s trying to accomplish and leads her to Usagi. It also shows how kind and brave she can be when she feels someone is being treated unfairly or unkindly.
8 Hated: Being Jealous Of Her Friends
Usagi and Mamoru have always been the endgame relationship in Sailor Moon, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t carry a torch for other characters in the series. Motoki, her crush who works at the arcade, is one such character, and the other Sailor Scouts aren’t immune to his charms. Usagi is always irritated when her friends seem like they’re trying to move in on her turf, even when she doesn’t actually have a relationship with these guys, and it makes her seem petty.
7 Loved: Befriending Ami
Ami is the first of the Sailor Scouts that Usagi befriends in the series. It’s one of the many times in the series that the audience sees just how kind and nonjudgmental she can be. While all of her classmates are talking behind Ami’s back about how snobby she is and accusing her of cheating to get good grades, Usagi sees an intelligent girl that she admires for her work ethic and wants to be more like. She changes Ami’s life by becoming her friend with no ulterior motives.
6 Hated: Being Bad At School
Not every character has to be a great student, but there is something incredibly frustrating about Usagi’s seeming determination to fail. Her friends are all fairly good students who at least are able to get by, but Usagi’s lack of motivation can be downright irritating. Even after getting horrible grades and being punished for them by her parents, she still spends all of her free time napping and playing video games instead of trying to study, even when her friends are there to help.
5 Loved: Turning Luna Into A Human
In the Sailor Moon S movie, Luna befriends and falls in love with a human man whom she wants to protect and care for. Usagi, recognizing Luna’s yearning and heartbreak, unselfishly uses her powers to make Luna human so that she can have one night with the man that she cares for.
Though her relationship with Luna is sometimes contentious, this desire to see her friend and mentor happy is one of the things fans love about Usagi.
4 Hated: Interacting With Chibiusa
Chibiusa is one of the more annoying additions to Sailor Moon anyway since no one really wants to watch a pair of teenagers have to parent their child from the future. But Usagi is horrible at being a mom anyway, and she views Chibiusa as a rival for Mamoru’s affection and attention, instead of as a little girl who’s in a brand new place with no one else to turn to for help. It makes Usagi seem childish and self-absorbed.
3 Loved: Standing Against Queen Beryl By Herself
Sailor Moon is the last Scout standing when the team goes to face off with Queen Beryl. Her teammates all sacrifice themselves to make sure that she makes it to the final battle, knowing she’s the one who can actually defeat her. Though she’s afraid and devastated by the loss of her friends, she uses the courage their support has given her to stand up against her enemy and actually win the day. It’s a powerful moment of Sailor Moon finally reaching her potential.
2 Hated: Being Obsessed With Mamoru
Usagi takes boy-crazy to the next level with Mamoru. It’s extra annoying because Mamoru isn’t especially nice to her the first few times they meet. Sure, he could be flirting with her in a “pulling her pigtails” kind of way, but developing a crush on a guy who mocks her about her grades and the way she wears her hair isn’t great. Plus, when they do get together, he decides to break up with her to protect her, treating her horribly in the process; it’s infuriating that she’d take him back.
1 Loved: Trying To Do It Alone
After defeating Queen Beryl, Sailor Moon is able to use the power of the Silver Crystal to bring her friends back to life, but none of the Sailor Scouts have any memories of their time together. Luna and Artemis eventually restore Usagi’s memories when there’s a new threat, but when they suggest getting the team back together, Usagi tells them not to. Despite being sad that she’s no longer going to be able to be a regular teenager, she wants that for her friends, and though she knows they could help her, she at least wants that for them.