In the second arc/season of Sailor Moon, we are given a glimpse into the utopian future known as Crystal Tokyo, ruled by the future forms of Usagi and Mamoru, Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion respectively. This answered the question of what happens to our beloved Senshi after the series, but also left questions. The biggest question fans have regarding Crystal Tokyo is the timeline in between the 21st and 30th Century. The answer is different in both the anime and the manga, so I'm going to gather the evidence separately.

Manga:

In Act 19 of the manga, King Endymion tells us this very valuable information. Here are two different translations, from the original and the reprint.

Original:



Reprint (Courtesy of Miss Dream)




Neo-Queen Serenity ascended to the throne in the 21st Century at age 22, and gave birth to Chibiusa that same year. After these events, Usagi/Serenity ceased to age and the era of Crystal Tokyo began. This means that Crystal Tokyo has existed since the 21st Century, making Usagi, Mamoru, and the city as a whole at least 9 centuries old.

Chibiusa's age supports this:



In the very last act of Sailor Moon, after the Galaxy has been saved and Usagi reunited with her loved ones, we see this:



This implies that Crystal Tokyo is being built at that moment.




We then jump to the much-anticipated wedding of Usagi and Mamoru, complete with the 8 Senshi as bridesmaids. Usagi then says something very important;



Usagi is saying that she is pregnant with Chibiusa. Remember, Usagi ascended to the throne and gave birth to Chibiusa at age 22. Despite the jump to the wedding, and how it seems it happened right away, at the very least the wedding occurred at least four years after the events of Stars. Usagi is 16/17 when she saves the galaxy. At the very least, she's 21 when she gets married because it would have taken 9 months for Chibiusa to be born, by which point Usagi would have already turned 22.

That's just what I believe happened, based on the events of the manga. Please feel free to voice your own theories!

Well thought out! Bravo. I have to agree.

Wow, Azoth, you're REALLY smart!

I remember King Endymion saying this in the Black Moon Arc...

It seems that Chibiusa's slow aging is very odd and unusual for the inhabitants of Crystal Tokyo. It's because she's born of the Earth (Mamoru) and the Moon (Usagi). Her apparent age and her mental age are the same.

I got it. She doesn't mature physically or mentally, because she's destined to replace her mother. She could be an anomaly in the Star Heart mythos. It's not until she suffers the death of her mother, that she can actually grow.

I imagine.

Well also remember, she kind of needed to be awakened to her powers in the R arc. I think some of it may have been because of her insecurities as a heir to the throne and so on. Or maybe because there was such a long time of peace before the Black Moon Clan attacked, she didn't grow because she wasn't needed as a guardian yet.

oh, also another little technicality, I realize Usagi is from the moon because shes a reincarnation of Princess Serenity and she has the powers of the crystal, but Usagi is still born from the Earth. Wouldn't that still make her of Earth when giving birth to Chibi-Usa? Or maybe when she became the Queen, her body assumed the powers of the Moon and so on. I dunno where i'm going with this or if i'm explaining it correctly at all.

From what I took from the manga was she couldn't grow because she had lost her own Star Seed. Her own Sailor Crystal, later on in that Arc she is able to release it and she grows instantly than, into a much older version then the small little kid we saw in the beginning. She is around the same as Hotaru at that time, not the 5 year old.

I think Chibiusa's immaturity and inability to transform is actually very similar to Princess Serenity's inability to transform during the Siver Millennium. When you think about it, the two were in similar situations- they lived in prosperous utopias under enough protection that their own efforts to do so would've been unnecessary. So they just... didn't. When Chibiusa goes to live with Usagi and learns to harness the power of the Silver Crystal, she learns to transform, and finally starts growing again. Just look at her appearance in Sailor Stars and compare it with the images from R earlier in the thread-



Of course, that doesn't explain why Serenity didn't stay a little kid forever. Maybe she decided to grow up so she could go to Earth?

I think you raise a really excellent point, Ella. The notion of Serenity nor Chibi Usa maturing due to a peaceful lifetime is one that I too agree with. It was also a reason as to why I think Neo Queen Serenity's silver crystal power diminished during her reign of 30th c. Crystal Tokyo. I think that when they are not challenged or forced to grow that their powers slowly wane. I think Chibi Usa was "stuck" because she had yet to "activate" her senshi powers/crystal.

Quote :

Of course, that doesn't explain why Serenity didn't stay a little kid forever. Maybe she decided to grow up so she could go to Earth?

Well, I think Chibi Usa was meant to be a senshi, and when those powers were halted, it also halted her growth. Serenity on the other hand was never meant to be a senshi. She was protected by her senshi but she herself was never meant to be one. Also, it is never mentioned if she is ever supposed to have a silver crystal as well. Perhaps there was nothing to hold her back and prevent her from growing.

I wonder though, do we ever actually find out how old Serenity is in the Moon Kingdom though? She looks quite young in a lot of the panels (the same age when we first meet Usagi, at age fourteen) and in a few later scenes with her and Endymion she looks a bit more mature. I do not know if that is a drawing style though or if it is to convey an actual timeline.