Sailor Moon
Usagi Tsukino (known as Serena Tsukino in the US) felt like kind of a loser. She doesn't try very hard in school, she cries to get her way, and she trips over her own feet. She does try her best to be a good person, but when your favorite hobby is eating ice cream, you might have a problem. She can do well...if she can just quit being lazy.
Usagi's the last person one would choose as a heroine to help save the world, much less be a leader. But that is exactly what the talking cat Luna does. Luckily for the world in general, Usagi grows into her role as Sailor Moon, and turns out to be an excellent leader of the Sailor Soldiers. And that's when things get really interesting, as Usagi is actually the reincarnation of Princess Serenity of the Moon, who died defending her people (in the anime) or killed herself to be with her lover (in the manga). Her lover? Prince Endymion, who was also reincarnated...as Usagi's boyfriend, Mamoru Chiba, who may or may not be the mysterious Tuxedo Mask.
That red string of destiny never quits.
Naoko Takeuchi's "Codename Sailor V" was popular enough that Kodansha wanted to turn it into a series. As Sailor V was older than the target audience, Takeuchi developed a new series based around Codenam Sailor V, with a new main character based loosely on herself. She wanted to make Usagi relatable to young girls who are themselves unsure of their role and feeling somewhat inept on the cusp of adulthood. At the same time, Takeuchi was a fan of the sentai (super team) genre, which was normally considered a boys' genre--so she combined the magical girl genre with sentai, and the Sailor Moon series was born. The name "Usagi Tsukino" is a double pun--it translates to "Rabbit of the Moon," a reference to both the old Japanese myth of the rabbit on the moon and Usagi's hairstyle. The reincarnation story is based on another Japanese legend, that of Princess Kaguya.
Initially, Sailor Moon was intended to be a single manga run for 1991, after which Takeuchi would wipe the characters out in a tragic ending. After the series became wildly popular in Japan, Takeuchi was persuaded to change the ending and continue the manga, which did not end until 1997. It was adapted into an anime in 1992, which also came to the end of its original run in 1997. By that time, Sailor Moon was a worldwide phenomenon, as it had crossed the Pacific and arrived as the leading edge of the "anime wave" that hit the US in the late 1990s. Sailor Moon didn't just appeal to its target audience of teenaged girls, it also found a lot of male fans for its plot, characterization, and complex themes.
Sailor Moon remains popular, so it's by no means unusual to see cosplay of it at conventions even now. I found this Usagi/Serena cosplayer at ACen 2014, dressed as Usagi's Princess Sailor Moon form, with wings and scepter.
Sailor Moon
Usagi Tsukino (known as Serena Tsukino in the US) felt like kind of a loser. She doesn't try very hard in school, she cries to get her way, and she trips over her own feet. She does try her best to be a good person, but when your favorite hobby is eating ice cream, you might have a problem. She can do well...if she can just quit being lazy.
Usagi's the last person one would choose as a heroine to help save the world, much less be a leader. But that is exactly what the talking cat Luna does. Luckily for the world in general, Usagi grows into her role as Sailor Moon, and turns out to be an excellent leader of the Sailor Soldiers. And that's when things get really interesting, as Usagi is actually the reincarnation of Princess Serenity of the Moon, who died defending her people (in the anime) or killed herself to be with her lover (in the manga). Her lover? Prince Endymion, who was also reincarnated...as Usagi's boyfriend, Mamoru Chiba, who may or may not be the mysterious Tuxedo Mask.
That red string of destiny never quits.
Naoko Takeuchi's "Codename Sailor V" was popular enough that Kodansha wanted to turn it into a series. As Sailor V was older than the target audience, Takeuchi developed a new series based around Codenam Sailor V, with a new main character based loosely on herself. She wanted to make Usagi relatable to young girls who are themselves unsure of their role and feeling somewhat inept on the cusp of adulthood. At the same time, Takeuchi was a fan of the sentai (super team) genre, which was normally considered a boys' genre--so she combined the magical girl genre with sentai, and the Sailor Moon series was born. The name "Usagi Tsukino" is a double pun--it translates to "Rabbit of the Moon," a reference to both the old Japanese myth of the rabbit on the moon and Usagi's hairstyle. The reincarnation story is based on another Japanese legend, that of Princess Kaguya.
Initially, Sailor Moon was intended to be a single manga run for 1991, after which Takeuchi would wipe the characters out in a tragic ending. After the series became wildly popular in Japan, Takeuchi was persuaded to change the ending and continue the manga, which did not end until 1997. It was adapted into an anime in 1992, which also came to the end of its original run in 1997. By that time, Sailor Moon was a worldwide phenomenon, as it had crossed the Pacific and arrived as the leading edge of the "anime wave" that hit the US in the late 1990s. Sailor Moon didn't just appeal to its target audience of teenaged girls, it also found a lot of male fans for its plot, characterization, and complex themes.
Sailor Moon remains popular, so it's by no means unusual to see cosplay of it at conventions even now. I found this Usagi/Serena cosplayer at ACen 2014, dressed as Usagi's Princess Sailor Moon form, with wings and scepter.