At the beginning of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Tsukino Usagi is a normal jr. high student. She is - as is often noted on other web pages - a clutz, a whiner, an underachiever, and generally immature. Little does she know what awaits her...

One fateful day, she comes across a black cat with a crescent moon on it's forehead. Luna, as the cat is called, tells her that she is Sailormoon and gives her the ability to transform into the unlikely superheroine. Usagi also learns that it is her destiny to defend the Earth from evil. She soon meets up with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and the dashing Tuxedo Kamen; who join in her quest.

As she begins to adjust to this new indentity, Usagi rediscovers another: her past life as Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. A long time ago there was a majestic kingdom on the moon. It was ruled by Queen Serenity, a gracious woman who was training her daughter to rule in the same manner. But tragedy fell upon them, ending the peace of the Silver Millenium. The princess was in love with Endymion, a prince from Earth. When he was secretly visiting her one night, The Dark Kingdom attacked. Despite their efforts, the Moon fell. When Princess Serenity saw her prince killed while defending her, the grief overwhelmed her and she committed suicide. The Queen used the last of her power to send her daughter, the prince, and the children of the moon into the future to be reborn in hopes that they could live in peace. Her two feline advisors, Luna and Artemis, also went forward in time.

So Usagi is finally reunited with her prince. In present day Tokyo he is Mamoru, the face behind the handsome Tuxedo Kamen. Eventually, Sailormoon defeats the Dark Kingdom and the Earth is at peace again. Magically, the ruins on the moon are restored and Serenity is given the option to once more assume her throne. She chooses to return to Earth and still be Usagi, so the magnificent palace remaines empty for many years more.

Another of Sailormoon's identities is revealed when a pink-haired little girl drops seemingly out of nowhere. As if the shock of being Princess of a long lost kingdom wasn't enough, Usagi now learns of her future. The child is her daughter, Chibiusa. Since Usagi is one of the people of the moon, her life span is extended an incredible length of time. Chibiusa came back from a time 1,000 years in the future. At that time, Neo-Queen Serenity rules from Crystal Tokyo. And with King Endymion and the other senshi, she ensures peace on the planet. Some measure of Usagi's silly character is still there within the elegant woman...she still never bothers to learn Kanji (most Japanese children would learn this form of writing in kindergarten).

Near the end of the Sailormoon saga one more "identity" is revealed. Just as Usagi was the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, in a future incarnation she would reach her ultimate form as Sailorcosmos. In the form of a kawaii toddler, Sailorcosmos travels back in time to prevent an event that would have repurcussions in her own time. When the time comes, she chooses not to change history but to let it play out the way it was meant to.

The name Tsukino Usagi literally means "Rabbit of the Moon." Just as westerners have myths about the man in the moon or the moon being made of cheese, the Japanese have their own myths. Specifically, that the craters on the moon were formed by a rabbit on the moon that pounds mochi (a Japanese rice cake thing). When they first meet, Mamoru often calls her Usako, which roughly translates to "Bunny Child."

As the story of Sailormoon develops, so does the character of Usagi. In the beginning she is frightened and has difficulty accepting her responsibilies. She matures a great deal as the story unfolds. In time, she assumes the mantle of leadership and proves herself to be the most powerful of all the senshi. As Sailormoon, she is the soldier of love and justice. Somehow that seems perfect for her personality. She has an infinite capacity for love that she gives to everyone, even her worst enemies. Even still, she cannot bear to see injustice and will do almost anything to see that good prevails. As a normal teenager, Usagi's antics can sometimes be annoying. Personally, I find her silly side endearing. She is so sweet you cannot not like her! She is a kind and loyal friend, and that far outweighs any of her faults! ^_^