In the world of Sailor Moon, the title character’s Sailor Senshi aren’t the only guardians of truth and justice in the universe. As creator Naoko Takeuchi’s world built up in the manga, she added Sailor Senshi from different star systems with many different powers.
As a result, there are nearly three dozen Sailor Senshi named throughout the franchise. Most come from Takeuchi’s manga, but there are many that are exclusive to live action, musicals, and video games.
In addition to Sailor Moon’s team, there are also Princess Kakyuu and her Sailor Starlights as well as Sailor Galaxia and members of her Shadow Galactica empire.
Not all of the Sailor Senshi remain heroes throughout their tenures.
All of the Sailor Senshi have a few things in common. According to Takeuchi herself, they are all female. They are all considered princesses of their own planets/asteroids/moons.
Each of them have unique attacks and power sets, but they all draw from the same idea. The Sailor Senshi all convert pure energy into attacks designed around specific elements. Some manipulate water, while others manipulate fire, earth, lightning, or even in rare cases, time.
Fans have long determined that the Outer Senshi of our solar system are more powerful than the Inner Senshi, but just who really has the most power out of those core nine might surprise you. With more than a dozen other Sailor Senshi in canon, the solar system team aren’t all powerful either.
We’ve examined Sailor Moon canon and fan theories to bring you Every Sailor Senshi Ranked From Least To Most Powerful.
Honorable Mention: Tuxedo Mask
Tuxedo Mask isn’t technically a member of the Sailor Senshi, as Naoko Takeuchi specified that only women can take on that role, but because he represents the planet Earth, he’s earned an honorable mention here.
Tuxedo Mask possesses his own crystal, much like Sailor Moon. He also has a supernatural power set, just like the Sailor Senshi.
He’s able to channel his power into Sailor Moon, but he’s also able to connect with the Earth and know when someone is in trouble.
He might not have as many flashy powers as the Sailor Senshi, but he’s still a hero.
Shadow Galactica Victims
When Galaxia began her attempt to steal the power of all the Sailor Senshi she met, her empire became the Shadow Galactica.
Many Sailor Senshi became a part of her empire and were placed under her control, but many more were sacrificed so that she could steal their power.
Among the sacrifices were Sailor Mau (from the home planet of Luna and Artemis), Sailor Cocoon, Sailor Coronis, Sailor Mermaid, and Sailor Chuu.
Though we never get to know any of these Sailor Senshi, we know that they protected their corners of the universe as best as they could.
Sailor Luna
The live action series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon took quite a few liberties with the characters from the manga and anime.
Luna was a stuffed toy cat instead of an alien that happened to look like a cat. However, one storyline turned her into a Sailor Senshi.
This particular storyline had Luna transform from a stuffed cat to little girl.
Her power set was similar to Sailor Chibi Moon (who never appeared in the live action series) at first glance. There was, however, one big difference.
Luna couldn’t actually hold her Sailor Senshi form.
A sneeze, a fall, or a sharp hit could cause her to transform back into a stuffed toy.
The Asteroid Senshi
Fans of the anime never got to see these four in the Sailor Senshi form. Manga fans, however, discovered that they were Sailor Chibi Moon’s future team.
Introduced as the Amazoness Quartet in both the manga and the anime, this foursome worked for the Dead Moon Circus.
As brainwashed villains, they were more powerful than originally expected. They were actually placed in charge of other minions in the Circus.
As Senshi, we didn’t get to see a lot of them in action, but we do know that they became Sailor Chibi Moon’s team in the 30th century.
They could have grown into strong Sailor Senshi after the story ended.
Sailor Starlights
As Sailor Senshi from a far away galaxy, the Sailor Starlights only came to Earth on a search for their princess.
While they have many abilities unique to their group, they still don’t outmatch the Sailor Senshi who most fans are familiar with.
Sailor Star Maker, Sailor Star Fighter, and Sailor Star Healer are all able to do teleport and grow wings, which gives them a leg up on many other Sailor Senshi.
Their raw power, funnelled into attacks, is based purely in energy conversion.
They’re also easily tricked in the manga, not using their power wisely. Their desire to help their princess and Sailor Moon blinds them to a trick that costs them their lives.
Sailor Kakyuu
Kakyuu’s presence in the anime differs from that of the manga. In the anime, she’s simply a lost princess whose guardians have to find her. In the manga, she’s a Sailor Senshi in her own right.
Kakyuu is a Sailor Senshi who wants nothing more than peace. It’s her last wish, and her artwork even features olive branches to prove it.
This doesn’t mean that her power is completely peaceful, though.
She has an energy attack inspired by the winningest poker hand - the royal straight flush - but even that isn’t enough to save her when she teams up with Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon, and the Asteroid Senshi in the manga.
Sailor Astarte
If you’re a longtime Sailor Moon fan, but Sailor Astarte doesn’t ring any bells, don’t feel too badly. She’s exclusive to one of the live musicals.
Played by Aya Hosoda, the character was created for a storyline that involved Dracul and Lilith of Darkness.
As a high school student, she was revealed to be a Sailor Senshi of old before Lilith tried to take over her body. In fact, she’s inspired by a Phoenician goddess.
We don’t see much from Sailor Astarte in the show, and she is eventually taken over completely by the evil force after her.
She only ranks higher than those who came before her because she is referenced as an actual goddess.
Sailor Chibi Moon
As the future daughter of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Chibi Moon can be a frustrating character to many.
She appears to exist only to annoy Usagi and attempt to copy her abilities. However, the truth is that she just hasn’t yet grown into her power.
We know that Sailor Chibi Moon has the potential to be extremely powerful since her evil form, Black Lady, was a serious match for her mother’s entire team of Sailor Senshi.
We also know that one day, she’ll lead her own team in the Asteroid Senshi.
The incarnation we see of her, though, appears to have a watered down version of Sailor Moon’s powers, so she can’t rank as more powerful.
Oppositio Senshi
This team of Sailor Senshi didn’t appear in the manga or the anime. Instead, the Oppositio Senshi were created exclusively for one of the franchise video games.
In Sailor Moon: Another Story, the Sailor Moon’s Senshi take on Nabu, Nergal, Marduk, Ishtar, and Sin.
The group have abilities similar to that of the original senshi in the video game, so they are fairly evenly matched.
However, some of them, as noted in a game break down by a fan, can be taken out by one swift punch.
Arguably, the toughest of them all is Sin, Sailor Moon’s opposite, but they can all be beat by the Sailor Senshi fans know and love.
Sailors Lethe And Mnemosyne
Lethe and Mnemosyne didn’t make it into the '90s anime series, but manga fans will remember them for their role in the final story arc of the series.
The sister Sailor Senshis were the leaders of their respective warring planets. Both opted to join Sailor Galaxia’s Shadow Galactica in hopes of bringing peace to the universe.
Unfortunately, that’s not exactly how things went.
Instead, the duo became soldiers for Galaxia, and even had a hand in eliminating the threats of the Asteroid Senshi.
As the Sailor Senshi of Memory and Truth, their abilities were based on their mythological namesakes.
They were able to make complex illusions, turning a desert into a river and drowning their opponents.
Sailor Mars
Her calm demeanor in her civilian life in the manga covers a more fiery personality as a warrior. Despite all of that passion, Sailor Mars ranks relatively lower on the power scale.
While many of the Sailor Senshi experience growth and a variety of other powers, Sailor Mars doesn’t.
Yes, she can launch stronger fire at her enemies, but this still amounts to only channeling fire.
In fact, attacks from Sailor Mars rarely do any real damage to her enemies. She usually stuns them until backup comes along.
The manga revealed that she had her own subordinates as a princess - Phobos and Deimos - which is why she outranks a few characters.
Sailor Mercury
It might be a surprise for some fans to see Sailor Mercury outrank Sailor Mars. After all, neither the manga nor the anime make much use of her skills offensively.
The bulk of Sailor Mercury’s skills involves using mist to obscure the view of the enemy, but that isn’t her only power.
In addition to manipulating water, she can also manipulate its solid form, ice.
She’s also the brains behind most of the strategy and can lock a building into space-time to prevent it from being damaged.
Despite her demure nature, she’s got a lot of raw power.
Sailor Jupiter
She might not be the most powerful of the Inner Senshi, but Sailor Jupiter is certainly up there. Even in her civilian form, Makoto is capable of fighting off enemies with her brute strength.
In addition to that strength, Sailor Jupiter is also able to manipulate lightning and Earth itself.
These elements aren’t necessarily stronger on their own than fire or water, but the way she uses them channels a larger amount of power than Sailors Mars and Mercury.
Jupiter is also one of the only Sailor Senshi from the Inner lineup to defeat enemies on her own. She doesn’t always need backup, though it’s always much appreciated.
Sailor Uranus
Sailor Uranus has a similar skill set to Sailor Jupiter. Both of their abilities rely on “shaking the Earth” when they channel their powers. She just edges out Sailor Jupiter in the power rankings for two simple reasons.
The Outer Senshi had to have enough power to operate on their own. During the days of the Moon Kingdom, they were stationed as solo warriors on their own planets.
They had to be able to protect the Moon Kingdom from outside attacks without any help, and that alone requires a lot of power.
Fans also witnessed Haruka beat Makoto in feats of strength in their civilian forms, proving that she’s got more raw power than Sailor Jupiter.
Sailors Chi and Phi
Sailors Chi and Phi don’t appear as members of the Shadow Galactica in the anime, but they do appear in the manga and the musicals.
In live action, they’re joined by Sailor Theta, but the ranking for this duo is rooted in their manga roles.
These two are corrupt Sailor Senshi who choose to work for Galaxia. They share the second-in-command post, and they’re tasked with a very important job.
The two provide Galaxia with her power. Sailors Chi and Phi are the gardeners of her star seeds, harvesting their raw power for her.
These two are also responsible for ending the lives of Sailors Kakyuu, Starlights, Lethe, and Mnemosyne.
Animamates Senshi
Named for a metal and an animal, the Sailor Animamates were an interesting bunch. Introduced as foot soldiers for Sailor Galaxia, the group pulled no punches against enemies.
In the manga, those like Iron Mouse, Aluminum Siren, and Tin Nyanko, actually destroyed their own planets’ Senshi in order to steal their star seeds.
Once they had their power, they began working for Sailor Galaxia.
Iron Mouse was the weakest of the group, consistently failing her missions. Aluminum Siren, however, destroyed Sailors Mercury and Jupiter.
Likewise, Tin Nyanko severely injured Sailor Venus, Luna, Artemis, and Diana.
They were definitely tough opponents.
Sailor Venus
As the strongest of the Inner Senshi, and their commander, Sailor Venus certainly deserves to make the top 10.
At face value, she seems like she doesn’t have the best power set, but that assumption couldn’t be more wrong.
Like Sailor Moon, her powers are based in love. Her energy targets people’s emotions, which throws a pretty good punch already.
In addition to this, though, she’s the only member of Sailor Moon’s group who became a superhero on her own.
Sailor Venus masqueraded as Sailor V when memories of her former life began to awaken. She fought the bad guys in England with government agents instead of her Sailor Senshi.
Dark Sailor Mercury
Sailor Mercury already appeared on this list, but there’s another version of her that exists outside of the manga and anime.
In the live action series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Ami becomes a whole different person when she is brainwashed.
While Dark Mercury, the Sailor Senshi is much more dangerous and powerful than her usual counterpart. She’s got a lethal sword and no qualms about hurting anyone who gets in her way.
Interestingly, in this form, Dark Sailor Mercury is also able to go up against her fellow Inner Senshi - and win.
Sailor Pluto
Often picked by fans as one of the strongest Sailor Senshi, Sailor Pluto doesn’t quite make the top of our list.
Though she can control spacetime, she’s also very limited.
Sailor Pluto lives her very long life as the guard of a special door that allows people to travel through different time streams.
Of the “Sailor Guardians,” she is the one who is literally a guardian, and doesn’t get to do much else.
While the rest of the Senshi are warriors, Sailor Pluto is constrained by many rules, like not technically being allowed to stop time without forfeiting her life.
This keeps her out of the field more than the others.
Sailor Saturn
As a destructive force to be reckoned with, Sailor Saturn certainly can unleash amazing power. The problem is that she can’t sustain that power, which keeps her from nabbing the top spot.
Loyal fans will protest here that she can destroy whole planets if she wants to, which is true, but she also doesn’t often get the opportunity.
Sailor Saturn’s power only exists once the rest of the Outer Senshi unite to awaken her.
She also doesn’t have the full extent of her power until she ages up to even be able to become a Sailor Senshi.
Like Sailor Pluto and the Asteroid Senshi, Sailor Saturn is often constrained by her circumstance.