Sailor Moon is one of the most popular franchises in the history of anime and was one of the key factors in popularizing the genre in the West.
Its reach even goes far beyond the original anime and the manga it was based on, extending into stage musicals, live-action adaptations and all kinds of merchandise, and its presence in pop culture is still powerfully felt today, thanks in part to the remake of the original series known as Sailor Moon Crystal.
With a franchise as long-running and beloved as Sailor Moon, it’s no surprise that it's filled to the brim with memorable and beloved characters, such as the title character herself, the titular Sailor Moon.
Despite her name being in the marquee, though, Sailor Moon is far from the series’ most powerful character, and in this list, we’re hoping to address the characters that leave Sailor Moon in the dust in terms of strength.
With that said, Sailor Moon is far from a pushover, so we’ll be turning our attention to the characters that she has (or could) easily defeated just to round out the proceedings.
While assembling our list, we stuck mainly to the anime, since it’s the most well known source, although we’ll be sprinkling in some references to the manga. We chose characters who are both heroes and villains, with the only major requirement being that they were main characters, at least comparatively.
Now that the rules are set for this beatdown, let’s proceed with our list of 13 Characters Stronger Than Sailor Moon (And 12 Who Are Way Weaker), Ranked!
Stronger: Sailor Venus
For a few of our entries, we’re going to be cheating a little by having Sailor Moon in her base form against a character who is either stronger or weaker. In this case, it’s Sailor Venus.
Far more experienced than the late-bloomer, Sailor Moon, Venus was fighting crime and doing battle against Queen Beryl’s forces for months.
She was so successful in these endeavors that she became something of a celebrity, but it never got to her head and she remained focused in her tasks.
Considering all of this, Venus’ experience and skills would easily grant her victory in a fight against Sailor Moon, should one ever happen.
Weaker: Sailor Mini Moon
The bottom section of our “weakest” tier is more like the “strongest of the weakest,” and the most fitting entrant for the first entry in this section is Sailor Mini Moon herself.
As the future daughter of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, this annoying scamp is somehow blessed with the ability to transform into a miniature Sailor Scout.
Not only does she have this ability, but she’s also comparable in power and arsenal to certain states of her mother, meaning that she may be a kid, but she’s still one tough cookie.
Stronger: Sailor Jupiter
Yes, Sailor Moon in her most powered up forms could likely wipe the floor with Sailor Jupiter, but what if it was just her base? Jupiter, a known brawler, would be the one doing the floor wiping, hands down.
As seen in the anime, Sailor Jupiter has a penchant for the martial arts, even mimicking famous poses and stances from the likes of Bruce Lee.
Sailor Moon, on the other hand, is usually seen flailing about.
It’s no question or contest to us: Sailor Jupiter would come out on top if pitted against Sailor Moon in a straight-forward showdown, no power-ups allowed.
Weaker: Sailor Mars
Sailor Mars was just barely edged out by Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter in the “stronger” portion of our list, but really just barely.
In the early parts of the series, Sailor Mars could, would, and did beat Sailor Moon into a pulp, even if it was only to teach a quick lesson for being a klutz.
Not only is Mars a tough fighter, she’s also smart and collected.
All in all, she probably would have been a better leader than Sailor Moon, at least at the outset of the series, but destiny had other plans, and Sailor Moon would eventually leave her in the dust.
Stronger: Tuxedo Mask
Despite the bizarre get-up, Tuxedo Mask is the de facto Sailor Earth, and he was also a prince skilled in martial arts in the distant past, along with the king of Earth in the far future.
Possessing hand-to-hand combat skills, psychic abilities, and even a Dragon Ball Z-styled energy blast, Tuxedo Mask is a force to be reckoned with.
Of course, he’s best known for throwing roses with pinpoint accuracy and then delivering cheesy advice.
Despite the inherently goofy characteristics of his design and mannerisms, he’s no slouch in the combat department and certainly usurps Sailor Moon in her base form.
Weaker: Sailor Mercury
By far the weakest of the core Sailor Scouts (sorry, bubbles just aren’t going to cut it), Sailor Mercury wouldn’t stand a chance if she were up against any of her teammates one-on-one, including Sailor Moon.
Even though she’s technically the weakest, she still manages to bring an incredible amount of valuable aspects to the Senshi.
For one, her intellect is second to none, and she has devised countless strategies that steered the team to victory.
She also developed some majorly powerful techniques as the series progressed, but, just like Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon would far surpass her.
Stronger: Black Lady
As an evil, magically grown-up version of the normally sweet-but-bratty Chibiusa, Black Lady was a devastating and terrifying force of evil during the Black Moon Arc.
Tragically pitting mother against daughter in battle, Black Lady demonstrated an unnatural might and command of magic that wreaked havoc on the Sailor Senshi and Sailor Moon herself.
Tuxedo Mask isn’t immune to her sorcery either, falling victim to her hypnosis.
It took the ultra-powerful Sailor Pluto to actually defeat Black Lady at the cost of her own life, which is a testament to the might of this cruel incarnation of the nine hundred year-old toddler.
Weaker: Emerald
Emerald, with all her cruelty and vanity, was a memorable (and rather obnoxious) enemy from the Black Moon Clan.
Despite this, she was rather formidable, but not formidable enough.
In a fitting twist of fate Emerald would be tricked into being magically transformed into a hideous, hulking dragon sent to destroy the Sailor Scouts.
While seemingly powerful, she was more-or-less embarrassingly defeated by a rose from Tuxedo Mask-- yes, one of those roses that do nothing but scrape or stun a villain while cheesy advice is given.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sailor Moon laid waste to her with Moon Scepter Elimination.
Stronger: Sailor Neptune
The “Soldiers of the Outer Solar System,” also known as the Outer Senshi, were first hinted at by Sailor Pluto’s appearance during the Black Moon Arc, but Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune would follow later on.
In general, the Outer Senshi are far more war-like than the Inner Senshi, and are dedicated to this role.
Neptune is seemingly the “weakest” of the bunch, but even she alone would make short work of Sailor Moon without the help of her most potent power-ups.
Things would get even worse for Sailor Moon if Neptune’s lover, Uranus, stepped up to the late, which we’ll be getting to shortly.
Weaker: Queen Beryl
Queen Beryl was the first major enemy of the Sailor Scouts, and was a terrifying force to be reckoned with.
Her unsettling and eerie collection of subjects who surrounded the Queen created a grim picture of her regal might, as did her terrifying monster servants.
When it was time to finally confront Queen Beryl, she merged with the Negaforce but was still no match for Sailor Moon, who wielded the Silver Crystal and unleashed Cosmic Moon Power.
This wave of power overwhelmed the dark queen and turned her into literal moon dust, sealing her fate against her hated nemesis, Sailor Moon.
Stronger: Sailor Uranus
Like the rest of the Outer Senshi, Sailor Uranus is an aggressive soldier, and one that could easily take out Sailor Moon-- and we’re not just referring to her devastating attacks.
It’s true that Uranus’ initial attack, “World Shaking,” is an incredibly powerful one, but it’s her physical prowess that would seal the deal in a one-on-one with Sailor Moon, and probably even against the brawl-happy Sailor Jupiter.
Uranus is an incredibly strong opponent, but the most mysterious (and lonely) of the Outer Senshi would pose the greatest threat to our meatball-headed heroine.
Weaker: Prince Diamond
In theory, Prince Diamond is seemingly a rather powerful fellow. As the royal leader of the Black Moon Clan from the future, he possesses exceptional leadership abilities and commands a group of powerful forces and warships to do his bidding.
Aside from possessing the ability to wield dark energy bolts, Diamond is best known for the hypnotic powers that emanate from his concealed third eye.
While that’s impressive on paper, Prince Diamond was easily defeated by Wiseman and Sailor Moon probably could have taken him on directly if given the chance.
Stronger: Sailor Pluto
Sailor Pluto made her first, mysterious appearance in the Black Moon Arc of the Sailor Moon anime.
Like the other Outer Senshi, Pluto is a soldier, intrinsically, and eternally bound to her duties.
Charged with guarding the Gates of Time, she lives a lonely existence, secretly destroying anyone or anything that comes to find her and the aforementioned Gates.
Not only is she a better fighter than Sailor Moon, but she’s also a master of time.
This means that she can stop time cold if need be, which is just another point added to her already impressive powers.
Weaker: Queen Nehelenia
During the fourth season, Queen Nehelenia was the supreme villain, and an interesting one at that, particularly in the manga.
As the leader of the Dead Moon Circus, Queen Nehelenia is a powerful magic-user and something like an evil version of the noble Queen Serenity.
After being sealed into a mirror, Nehelenia freed herself and began plotting her vengeance, but was soon stopped by not only Sailor Moon, but by Tuxedo Mask and their shared power of love.
Despite receiving the help of Tuxedo Mask and his Golden Crystal, the situation didn’t appear to be dreadfully dire, and it seemed like Sailor Moon would come out on top regardless, as she did in the anime.
Stronger: Doom Phantom
As a terrifying, wraith-like enemy, the Doom Phantom, commands an incredible amount of evil magic and might.
At first, he posed as the Wiseman, but it was later revealed that his true identity was that of the planet Nemesis itself, and he tossed aside his Wiseman gimmick for one with an infinitely more metal sound: the Doom Phantom.
While it’s true that the Doom Phantom, the true villain of the Black Moon Arc, was legitimately defeated by Sailor Moon, it’s incredibly likely that he would have come out victorious if not for the second Silver Crystal.
Weaker: Rubeus
Rubeus was high-ranking member of the Black Moon Clan, and employed his four sisters to do his evil bidding in the assault on present-day Tokyo.
As a powerful fighter, he gave Sailor Moon a run for her money with constant, brutal energy blasts, but he would eventually meet his fate upon their ultimate encounter on his starship.
During their final encounter, Sailor Moon made up for her mistakes in their first encounter and seemingly would have come out victorious.
This was even without the help of Chibiusa (or Rini, depending on your dub preference) thanks to his overconfidence.
Stronger: Mistress 9
Mistress 9 is an agent of the Death Busters, and was hatched from an egg within Hotaru Tomoe, the latent Sailor Saturn.
Her main goal is to open the gateway for Pharaoh 90, an impossibly evil and destructive force that we’ll be getting to shortly.
Mistress 9 was extremely dedicated to her task, and wielded incredible power against the Sailor Scouts, going so far as to destroy Sailor Moon’s Holy Grail.
In fact, the only reason why Mistress 9 was defeated was because of the awakening of Sailor Saturn, which destroyed the villain.
Weaker: Negamoon Sisters
The Negamoon Sisters, also known as the Ayakashi Sisters in the original Japanese, were a team of four villainesses from the Black Moon Clan who attacked Tokyo.
Prone to bickering with each other and often competing for praise from their elder brother, Rubeus, their plans were always blown to pieces by the Sailor Scouts.
Each one of these troublesome foes would voluntarily surrender to the Sailor Scouts, specifically Sailor Moon, in order to be cured of the curse of the Black Crystal and lead normal lives as kind human beings.
Stronger: Pharaoh 90
Pharaoh 90 is one of the most terrifying and evil forces in the entirety of the Sailor Moon franchise, and one that sent chills down the spines of all who watched its horror.
Hailing from the unknown reaches of space, this being of pure evil plans on unleashing “Silence” against the entirety of existence.
Those reasons alone should put this fiend at the top of our list, but it was defeated by someone far more powerful than it could ever hope to be.
This means that Pharaoh 90 remains just shy of the top three entrants stronger than Sailor Moon.
Weaker: Alan And Ann
Two villains in the series’ second season, Alan and Ann, were extraterrestrials who were given life by the “Makaiju,” a large, alien tree.
The duo would summon monsters through magical cards in order to steal human energy and feed it to the Makaiju.
The two and their tree were powerful enough, but nowhere near the threat of Beryl or the future threat of the Black Moon Clan.
In the end, it turned out that the Makaiju wasn’t actually malevelont, and it only needed the energy of love to survive.
This lead Alan and Ann to willingly reform, heading out to parts unknown, leaving them among the weakest of adversaries compared to Sailor Moon.