Sooo just finished up the final volume of SM for the SM Manga club and once again, I see in the scenes in Crystal Tokyo in the future that the Inner Senshi are in their basic fukus and Pluto is in her Super fuku, and it bothers me. Like, I get the meta-reasoning that Naoko never originally planned to go beyond the second arc, but she could have just kinda fixed that during the Stars arc by making them all in their Eternal fuku and just explain "oops". You know? BUt she doesn't, clearly in acts previous to showing the future scenes with Small Lady, she shows the girls in their Eternal power ups. I know one theory is that in that timeline NQS never became Eternal, but I don't think thats the case. Iirc (i need to go find where its stated if its in Dream or Stars), there is a mention of Chibiusa knowing of her most powerful form before NQS and thats Eternal.

(Also thinking on it the timelines can't be split because the stuff happening in the past is affecting the future? But then if thats the case, maybe the "Stars" stuff happened differently? Omg i'm off topic so ignore this blabber)


So, it also seems that at that point in the future, they seem to stay permanently transformed in their Sailor forms. So what if the Eternal forms are so powerful and energy draining, that they simply cannot stay in them all the time, so they revert to their previous fukus as it takes less energy. So, then why would Pluto be the only one in her Super? Well, part of my theory is that Pluto and the other outers, since they have to be stationed at their posts (Uranus and Neptune on their planets, Pluto presumably at the time gate/her planet castle, not entirely sure about Saturn tbh), they are able to gather power from their planets and keep up the Super transformation.

What do you all think? Does this make sense? XD

I remember a fanfiction that argued something similar, except the energy from the Eternal transformations were so powerful it harmed those around them, like friends and family.

Hm, I could see it maybe being harmful to regular humans and those with regular star seeds rather than Sailor Crystals or whatever kind of Star seeds Luna, Artemis and Diana are supposed to have.

I also kind of just assumed it was unnecessary to stay Eternal Senshi 24/7, like how theoretically, characters could be powered up all the time in Dragon Ball Z, but it was sort of a waste of energy and it made you more obvious.

 Maybe they stay partially transformed to make potential enemies underestimate them? Or maybe it's just too difficult to walk around without accidentally breaking stuff. XD

hmm, maybe its like there basic uniform is like there everyday guard wear or what not and when theres something bigger going down they transform into the eternal. kind of like how say a cop has there everyday uniform bu when they need to they have the extra armor and bullet proof vests? i hope this makes sense haha

Yeah that makes sense! I kinda view it like how in the musicals, Sailor Moon sort of powers up to her different forms. Like her first appearance will be as Moon and then as the situation calls for it, she'll power up to Super Moon and then for the final battle she'll become Eternal. So it makes me wonder if that applied in the manga too to some extent for the future. It would just help to explain things other than the meta reasoning of Naoko just forgot xD

Here's 2 ideas:

1. After dying in the Stars Arc, they lost the ability to be in their Super/Eternal forms, for whatever reason. Like, they were brought back down to their original abilities at the beginning of the series. However, this doesn't account for why Pluto is in her Super form, which leads me to the next one...

2. If there is a split timeline, and the future was changed because of Chibiusa going back during the Black Moon hullabaloo, maybe in that one somehow they didn't need to be in their Super/Eternal forms, but Usagi did for whatever reason (hence Chibiusa knowing about Eternal Moon). Like whatever event it was that caused the formation of Crystal Tokyo.

Ooh thats another possibility too, that the event that caused SM to become Eternal was different enough to the point where it only affected Moon. Because IIRC, when Moon becomes Eternal, it kind of upgrades everyone at the same time?

It did bother me that in the future, you don't see the senshi in their eternal fuku, but I chalk it up to being an alternative timeline and our timeline changed the future. And I'm more inclined to believe that the reason they're not in their Eternal fuku all the time would be for reasons stated: they don't need them. It exerts too much energy and would drain them. They reserve their eternal forms for whatever threat level needs them.

I mean, I'm sure Neo Queen would probably assume another form as well if she needed to join combat - I don't feel like her Neo Queen Serenity form is her best combat ready form. I mean yes, perhaps for delivering the very final blow but not getting out there and just, purely fighting the enemy, you know? Otherwise she'd be running around as Neo Queen/Princess Serenity all the time rather than Sailor Moon. Does that make sense?

Paradiso wrote:

hmm, maybe its like there basic uniform is like there everyday guard wear or what not and when theres something bigger going down they transform into the eternal. kind of like how say a cop has there everyday uniform bu when they need to they have the extra armor and bullet proof vests? i hope this makes sense haha

This is how I like to think of it. They don't always need to be fully powered up to deal with enemies, or when doing what ever else they do in Crystal Tokyo ha-ha

(double checks the manga) Damn it! I thought the Inners were in their Super form in the 30th century so I drew them like that for my doujinshi. >.< Ah well, too late to change it now...

Yeah, this part has always confused me. I have two reasons that I go with: one is the more pragmatic one, and that the change has nothing to do with plot and it's just a matter of Naoko Takeuchi not remembering to draw everyone in the same fuku. The second, plot relevant theory is basically what Small Lady has stated.

If Eternal Sailor Moon is the form closest to the Queen's level of power, then it would make sense that the Eternal forms for the other senshi are also the height of their power. Maybe once Usagi becomes Neo Queen Serenity there isn't a need for the other senshi to remain in such a high level form. Since Crystal Tokyo is suppose to be very peaceful, their Eternal form might be intimidating to the general public, kinda like how SWAT officers are more intimidating looking than normal, uniformed police officers. By going around in public in their powered down forms, the senshi might be trying to send the message that they're here to protect, but that there isn't anything specific the people should worry about.

Neo Queen Serenity can't transform into Sailor Moon. Though the Sailor Senshi are able to awaken in their "basic" form initially on their own, Sailor Moon has always been present (somewhere, even if not directly) while they power up. Their powers are established to be basically linked together-- Sailor Moon needs nearly all the Senshi together to obtain the Grail to become Super Sailor Moon. It's possible that the reverse is true also, therefore with no Sailor Moon, there is no advanced transformation for the rest of them.

Additionally, with the exception of the couple of run-ins with Wise Man and his followers, Sailor Senshi have not really been needed. The new Silver Millennium is an era of peace, therefore higher powered transformations may not be needed.

I wonder if they're still able to use their more advanced attacks in their basic forms, though, or are those only attainable through advanced transformations? That would be interesting to find out. If they can, it would imply that they're actually a LOT more powerful than they look.

TS Sailor Cronus wrote:

Their powers are established to be basically linked together-- Sailor Moon needs nearly all the Senshi together to obtain the Grail to become Super Sailor Moon. It's possible that the reverse is true also, therefore with no Sailor Moon, there is no advanced transformation for the rest of them.

But if this were the case, then why would Sailor Pluto be in her Super transformation but the Inners are not?

Small Lady wrote:

But if this were the case, then why would Sailor Pluto be in her Super transformation but the Inners are not?

Ummm... Not sure. When/ where did this happen?

I think, in my theory, that after Infinity Arc when they got their Super form, they pretty much separated from their Senshi-selves. Think about it, they weren't able to transform until their Guardians guided them- so it was basically a form of re-awakening. I have a theory that when when they've separated from their Senshi-selves, the Senshi part went into a deep sleep. Since Sailor Pluto is the Guardian of Time and Space, I have a feeling she returned to her post in the Time Door, so she's in her Super form. However, when Setsuna re-awakened, she was now a completely separate entity from Sailor Pluto of the Time Door, so basically there's another Sailor Pluto who roams time, and a Pluto who guards the door. Both are in their Super form, but due to several changes in the past, the Sailor Pluto that roams time reached another level.

As for the other Senshis, I get the feeling that the reason why they were on their original Sailor Fukus was because it posed an idea that there's a chance they might never have reached Eternal Form. It was meant to symbolize that something bad could happen to Sailor Moon, thus undoing pretty much everything that has been done due to Sailor Moon. Remember, they were in the end of the universe, where time also does not exist (I think), so basically, it was the idea that if sailor moon were to die in the Galaxy Cordon, then the whole of 30th century wouldn't exist and pretty much Sailor Moon herself would be non-existent, thus erasing the possibility of reaching Eternal form. But Sailor Pluto on the otherhand is outside time and space, so none of what's happening in the timeline is affecting her. She came to the post in Super, so she remains in Super.

But you know, that's just my theory 

TS Sailor Cronus wrote:

Small Lady wrote:

But if this were the case, then why would Sailor Pluto be in her Super transformation but the Inners are not?

Ummm... Not sure. When/ where did this happen?

Its in the final volume of Sailor Moon. I don't have my manga on me or I could tell you exactly when, but it's during one of the first scenes of Chibiusa in Crystal Tokyo sensing something is wrong in the past.

Neo-King Kronos wrote:

I think, in my theory, that after Infinity Arc when they got their Super form, they pretty much separated from their Senshi-selves. Think about it, they weren't able to transform until their Guardians guided them- so it was basically a form of re-awakening. I have a theory that when when they've separated from their Senshi-selves, the Senshi part went into a deep sleep. Since Sailor Pluto is the Guardian of Time and Space, I have a feeling she returned to her post in the Time Door, so she's in her Super form. However, when Setsuna re-awakened, she was now a completely separate entity from Sailor Pluto of the Time Door, so basically there's another Sailor Pluto who roams time, and a Pluto who guards the door. Both are in their Super form, but due to several changes in the past, the Sailor Pluto that roams time reached another level.

As for the other Senshis, I get the feeling that the reason why they were on their original Sailor Fukus was because it posed an idea that there's a chance they might never have reached Eternal Form. It was meant to symbolize that something bad could happen to Sailor Moon, thus undoing pretty much everything that has been done due to Sailor Moon. Remember, they were in the end of the universe, where time also does not exist (I think), so basically, it was the idea that if sailor moon were to die in the Galaxy Cordon, then the whole of 30th century wouldn't exist and pretty much Sailor Moon herself would be non-existent, thus erasing the possibility of reaching Eternal form. But Sailor Pluto on the otherhand is outside time and space, so none of what's happening in the timeline is affecting her. She came to the post in Super, so she remains in Super.

But you know, that's just my theory 

That is a possibility too. Your theory actually made me think about another aspect. What if being reborn from the Cauldron, which is what happens at the end when Usagi finds everyone in the Cauldron, they are kind of reset a bit? Like they may still be as powerful as they were with the Eternal transformations but didn't have a need to go that far? Also like you said the outers got their Super forms differently which could explain Pluto. Good ideas!!

Small Lady wrote:

Its in the final volume of Sailor Moon. I don't have my manga on me or I could tell you exactly when, but it's during one of the first scenes of Chibiusa in Crystal Tokyo sensing something is wrong in the past.

Uhh... Yep, you're right. Act 56, page 20. Soooo... I dunno, then. :/

I still can't get my mind behind the multiple Sailor Plutos thing.