Black Moon Clan

Lore & Background

The Black Moon Clan comprises descendants of anarchists who opposed Crystal Tokyo, claiming the governing group was corrupt and the increase in human longevity by the Silver Crystal was a crime against nature. The founding leaders were guided by Wiseman to Planet Nemesis, a phantom planet that can conceal itself from everything save X-rays and produce shards of the Malefic Black Crystal. All members have black, upside-down crescents on their foreheads (the inverse of the Silver Millennium's marking) and wear earrings made of Black Crystal that allow them to teleport. Key figures include Prince Demand, the leader of Planet Nemesis in the 30th century and older brother of Saphir; Rubeus, the red-haired military commander; and Esmeraude, a green-haired woman with an infatuation with Demand. The Specter Sisters are named after minerals kermesite, berthierite, petzite, and calaverite; the Boule Brothers are named after chirality and achirality, with 'boule' accompanied by kanji meaning 'man-made gemstone'.

In Their Own Story

Prince Demand, convinced by Wiseman that the Silver Crystal is corruptive, launches 'Operation: Replay' to travel to the 20th century and kill the past versions of the Sailor Guardians and Mamoru. After attacking Crystal Tokyo and encountering Neo-Queen Serenity, Demand becomes obsessed with her and later abducts Usagi Tsukino. He intends to force her submission but she escapes. Demand turns on Wiseman upon realizing he was used, and is forced to kill his brother Saphir under Wiseman's spell. He steals the Silver Crystal of the present from Usagi and that of the future from Black Lady, attempting to merge them to destroy the time-space continuum. Sailor Pluto uses her forbidden Time Stop attack to prevent Demand from attacking Usagi, who then combines powers with Tuxedo Mask to destroy him. In the original anime, Demand initially seeks to reason with Neo-Queen Serenity, and Wiseman kills Saphir. Demand shields Usagi from Wiseman's attack, dies in her arms, and asks her to watch over Nemesis's inhabitants.

Reader's Guide

The Black Moon Clan appears primarily in the second story arc of the Sailor Moon manga and in Sailor Moon R of the original anime. In the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal, the arc is called the Black Moon. In the DIC English adaptation, the clan is renamed the 'Negamoon Family', and the term 'Nega-' is also used for the Dark Kingdom's 'Negaverse', implying a connection to Queen Beryl. The clan members follow the pattern of using minerals as namesakes: four key figures use ruby, emerald, sapphire, and diamond; the Specter Sisters use kermesite, berthierite, petzite, and calaverite; the Boule Brothers break this pattern with chirality and achirality, though 'boule' is accompanied by kanji for 'man-made gemstone'. In the original anime, the clan does not feature in the first thirteen episodes of Sailor Moon R, as Toei introduced the Hell Tree aliens to give Takeuchi time to develop the second arc. In Sailor Moon Crystal, Demand's death follows the manga but he shields Sailor Moon from Death Phantom's attack, similar to the original anime.

Did You Know?

• The Black Moon Clan's name was changed to 'Negamoon Family' in the DIC English adaptation, linking them to the Dark Kingdom's 'Negaverse' through prefixes like 'negapower'.
• All members of the Black Moon Clan wear earrings made of Black Crystal that allow them to teleport, according to the Materials Collection.
• The Boule Brothers are named after the scientific terms chirality and achirality, but 'boule' is accompanied by kanji meaning 'man-made gemstone'.
• Prince Demand was voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa for the entire original anime series (episodes 60-89), and by Mamoru Miyano in Crystal and all media since.

Origins and Ideology

The Black Moon Clan is a group of fictional characters in the Sailor Moon manga series by Naoko Takeuchi, first introduced in Act 15 'Infiltration – Sailor Mars', published in Nakayoshi on March 3, 1993. Members are descendants of anarchists who opposed Crystal Tokyo, claiming the governing group was corrupt and the increase in human longevity by the Silver Crystal was a crime against nature. The founding leaders were guided by Wiseman to Planet Nemesis, a phantom planet that can conceal itself from everything save X-rays and produce shards of the Malefic Black Crystal. All members have black, upside-down crescents on their foreheads (the inverse of the Silver Millennium's marking) and wear earrings made of Black Crystal that allow them to teleport. In the DIC English adaptation, their name is changed to the 'Negamoon Family', and the term 'Nega-' was also used for the 'Negaverse' (the Dark Kingdom), implying a relationship to Queen Beryl's cause.

Narrative Conception and Structure

Series creator Naoko Takeuchi originally intended Sailor Moon to last one season, but due to its popularity, Toei Animation asked her to keep drawing the manga. Takeuchi stated she had difficulty developing a story for the second arc, and the idea of Sailor Moon's daughter coming from a future attacked by the Black Moon Clan came from her editor, Fumio Osano. To give Takeuchi enough time to develop the second arc, Toei introduced in the anime the Hell Tree aliens, so the Black Moon Clan does not feature in the first thirteen episodes of Sailor Moon R. The clan members follow the pattern of the Dark Kingdom of using minerals as namesakes. Four key figures use the four precious stones: ruby, emerald, sapphire, and diamond. The Specter Sisters are named after minerals kermesite, berthierite, petzite, and calaverite. The Boule Brothers are named after the scientific terms chirality and achirality, with 'boule' accompanied by the kanji '人造宝石' meaning 'man-made gemstone'.

Prince Demand's Tragic Arc

Prince Demand is the leader of Planet Nemesis in the 30th century and the older brother of Saphir. Because of the Black Moon Clan's beliefs that the Legendary Silver Crystal is a corruptive force, Wiseman sought Demand out and convinced him to use the Malefic Black Crystal's power against Crystal Tokyo. Demand and his allies initially plan to use the Black Crystal's time manipulative powers to travel back in time to the 20th century as part of 'Operation: Replay', intending to kill the past versions of the Sailor Guardians and Mamoru. Demand launched an attack that wiped out most of Crystal Tokyo, resulting in him encountering Neo-Queen Serenity and becoming obsessed with her, which extended to her past self Usagi Tsukino. He abducts Usagi during her visit to the 30th century, intending to force her to submit, but she escapes. Demand later turns on Wiseman upon realizing he was used, and is forced to kill Saphir as his brother is under Wiseman's spell. Demand then steals the Silver Crystal of the present from Usagi and that of the future from Black Lady, attempting to bring them together to destroy the time-space continuum. Sailor Pluto uses her forbidden Time Stop attack and prevents Demand from attacking Usagi before she and Tuxedo Mask combine their powers to destroy him. In the original anime, Demand initially intends to reason with Neo-Queen Serenity, and it is Wiseman who kills Saphir. In the final confrontation, Demand shields Usagi from Wiseman's attack, dies in her arms, and asks her to watch over the remaining inhabitants of Nemesis.

Legacy Across Media Adaptations

In the DIC English adaptation of the anime, the Black Moon Clan is called 'Negamoon Family'. The term 'Nega-' was also used for the 'Negaverse' (the Dark Kingdom) in this adaptation, implying that the Black Moon Clan is related in some way to Queen Beryl and her cause, since the Dark Kingdom members use 'Nega-' as a common prefix (e.g. 'negapower', 'negahistory', 'negamonsters'). In the anime reboot Sailor Moon Crystal, Demand's story closely follows that of the manga, but his death is similar to the original anime as he shields Sailor Moon from Death Phantom's attack. In the Sailor Moon: Another Story video game, Demand is encountered in the Moon Kingdom during Queen Beryl's invasion and ends up kidnapping Sailor Moon. When the Sailor Guardians catch up to Demand, the group is attacked by Sin. When the Guardians repel Sin, she makes a fatal blow on Demand. Before he dies, he tells the Guardians to head to the future. In the Japanese series, Prince Demand is voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa until episode 41 of Sailor Moon R, and by Mamoru Miyano in Crystal and all media since. In the DIC English adaptation, he is voiced by Robert Bockstael. In the Viz Media English adaptation, he is voiced by Matthew Mercer.