Sailor Moon: 10 Questions About Sailor Mercury, Answered

Since 1992, Sailor Moon has remained a large part of the pop culture consciousness. Even though it’s been nearly 30 years since the manga debuted, related works are still going strong. The ’90s anime gave way to movies and video games. Today’s Sailor Moon Crystal means a whole new generation is ready to debate which of the Sailor Senshi they most identify with.

The Sailor Senshi were originally meant to protect the princess of the Moon Kingdom. When the kingdom fell and reincarnation brought them to the modern day, the teenage girls — including Sailor Mercury — became protectors of the planet. Ami Mizuno is often seen as the weakest of the Sailor Senshi because she’s not as quick to leap into a fight, but her brain and defensive maneuvers got the team out of trouble more than once. She’s a fan favorite who can sometimes be overlooked.

10 When Did Sailor Mercury Make Her First Appearance?

Usagi was the first character in the Sailor Moon franchise fans saw “wake up” to her superhero identity. (She wasn’t actually the first chronologically, as that honor went to Minako.) Ami was the first young woman Usagi met who also became a Sailor Senshi.

Ami became Sailor Mercury in the second chapter of the manga, called, fittingly, “Ami — Sailor Mercury.” Like her character in the manga, she appeared early on in the anime as well. Usagi didn’t have a lot of time on her own before Ami joined her in “Is The Genius Girl A Youma? Brainwashing School Of Terror.” Nothing says fast friends like saving each other’s lives.

9 What Does Her Name Mean?

The kanji that make up the name Ami Mizuno have many meanings. While “A” can mean Asia, it can also reference someone coming in second. The “mi” syllable typically references beauty. While some fans think this means Ami is meant to be “Asian beauty,” it could also be a literal reference to her being the second member of the Sailor Senshi the audience sees.

Her surname is comprised of the kanji for “Mizu” and “no.” “Mizu” references water, while “no” has a few different meanings. It can reference fields or civilian living, but it also has a grammatical function. Using the kanji for “no” often indicates possession in Japanese, making her surname translate to “of the water.”

Interestingly, that could make her name a hint to the arrival of Sailor Uranus later in the series, as Ami’s name would then translate to “second beauty of the water,” indicating another Sailor Senshi with water-based powers woke before her.

8 Why Does She Have An Odd Number Of Earrings?

In the manga, Ami originally had three earrings in one ear and one in the other when she transformed. That was eliminated in the first run of the anime, replacing the mismatched number with just a simple one in each ear. Those earrings, however, had a function.

The extra earrings enabled Ami to access different pieces of technology associated with being Sailor Mercury. One earring allowed her access to her holographic visor, while another enabled a microphone used to communicate with the other Senshi. 

It took a few seasons before the number of earrings changed, but Sailor Moon Crystal brought those extra earrings back again.

7 Where Is Her Father?

In every version of the Sailor Moon story, Ami’s mother is referenced. A wealthy doctor, Ami’s mother was often too busy to spend large amounts of time with her daughter. Despite that, the two had a good relationship, and Ami wanted to grow up to be a doctor like her mother. Her father, however, rarely got referenced.

In the manga, it appeared that the two didn’t keep in contact. He was an artist who decided not to return to his family after going out into the forest to paint, but he did send Ami postcards from his remote location. Other than that, there was no contact between them, and his exact location never came up.

6 Has Sailor Mercury Ever Defeated A Villain Alone?

One trope that’s apparent in Sailor Moon is that the title character gets the finishing blow. That means that in nearly every confrontation, it’s up to Sailor Moon to put an end to it. It’s rare for any of the other Sailor Senshi to defeat a villain, but it does happen. 

In fact, Ami’s defeat of a villain on her own was spotlighted in a manga short about a secret admirer sending her love letters. A villain took advantage of the energy she was expelling and attacked her. Needing no help from the rest of the Senshi, Ami finished them off.

5 Is She Telepathic?

While Ami wouldn’t be able to sit in class and read another student’s thoughts, she does have a certain degree of telepathic ability. All of the Sailor Senshi do.

One thing that fans were reminded of throughout the series is the bond among the Sailor Senshi and Sailor Moon. When Sailor Moon was in trouble, the rest of the team could feel it. They could even telepathically send her messages of encouragement. It’s an ability that appeared to activate — whether in civilian or Senshi mode – in times of extreme stress.

4 Is She Really Allergic To Love Letters?

It seems impossible for someone to be allergic to words on a piece of paper, but that’s what appeared to be going on with Ami in the manga short included in “Exam Battle.” 

When Ami received a letter from a secret admirer, she developed a rash nearly immediately. While the idea of a rash from a love letter is played for laughs in the anime version of the short, it’s more indicative of Ami’s personality than one might think. Ami, who kept her life very structured and focused on two things — studies and saving the world — didn’t leave herself time to fall in love. The stress of the possibility of all that lost productivity would be enough to make a character like Ami break out.

3 Are All Of Her Powers Used For Defensive Strategy?

Most of Sailor Mercury’s powers are used defensively. As the team’s strategist, Sailor Mercury usually obscures the field to give her teammates an advantage. Mist, snow, and ice make for great cover.

There are, however, a few of her abilities that can be used as more than just a way to hide the good guys from view. The first of those is Shine Aqua Illusion. In the manga, Sailor Mercury used it to create projectiles out of ice that she could launch at her enemy. In the anime, it was blasts of water. Depending on how powerful the strike was, it could either slow an enemy down or destroy them completely. 

2 When Did She Use A Sword?

Fans of the anime and manga might be surprised to discover Sailor Mercury had her own sword. They’d be hard-pressed to find it in any artwork. That’s because it appeared in the live-action series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

The series gave the Sailor Guardians a few new tricks. One of Sailor Mercury’s was her Water Sword. She also had one dubbed the Mercury Sword, and when she was brainwashed, the Dark Sword. Sailor Mercury could create the weapons out of water or ice, and as a result, she had the most weapons in the live action series, even though her abilities are usually the least offensive.

1 Does Sailor Mercury Have Any Powers In Civilian Form?

As Sailor Senshi, the teenage girls typically only have powers in uniform. There are a few cases of abilities manifesting in their civilian forms.

Ami is one of those. Because she has a special affinity for water as Sailor Mercury, she can actually sense water in the world around her. She can “douse,” which is a real-world method of finding water, even when she isn’t powered up. In the real world, there are many cultures who believe people have a gift for finding water, but there are just as many people who believe it to be pseudoscience. 

Just like Sailor Mercury often bridges the gap between science and art in the series, she does it with science and magic here.

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