The 'Sailor Collar' Issue; Explained
by W.Washuu 4-3-04

I am tempted to call this the 'Age of Collarless "Sailor" Senshi.' I've noticed a lot of people making their Otaku 'Sailor' Senshi without the trademark collars. Now, I use quotation marks around Sailor because of this: Sailor Senshi are not Sailors WITHOUT a collar! Now, I have my reasons- and I'm sure you'll see why when I tell you why this is.

Firstly, lets look at the title of the series: Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. Bishoujo roughly means 'Pretty Girl', while Senshi translates to 'Solider.' So, roughly, the title means : Pretty Girl Soldier Sailormoon. Which is why you sometime see it translated as 'Pretty Soldier Sailormoon'.

Ah yes. Senshi = Soldier in English. Now, of course, I have nothing against SENSHI not having any Sailor Collars. Why? because they are just SOLDIERS! Yes, Sailormoon and company are Soldiers, but the key word in their name is SAILOR. Senshi (Soldiers) do not need collars- BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO SAILOR IN THEIR NAME.

Now, to go into details as to why this is so. Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, based the Sailor Fuku's (Uniforms) upon the Juuban Jr. High (Crossroads) uniform- which is why Sailormoon's outfit looks like her School Uniform. Naoko based the Sailor Fuku's upon this uniform (Yes, Juuban Jr. High is a REAL school- not sure if the Uniforms still exsist). These uniforms have, you guessed it, SAILOR collars. I'm not talking about SAILOR Senshi, just the collar that exists on the school uniforms. Why are they Sailor Collars? Why are they needed to be a Sailor Senshi?

I'm pretty sure of this; but don't quote me on it. To my knowledge. the School Uniforms of Tokyo (Not just Juuban- but not all), are based upon something else. This something is * drumroll *, SAILOR UNIFORMS! You know, from the Navy, that Popeye wears. Those silly, cute looking uniforms which don't really suit big ol' sailors. I'm sure Japan desided that the School Uniforms could have these collars (And some of them with neck-ties, like Sailors uniforms), because they are cute. I'm not sure if Sailors still wear these funny outfits, but they did at one point in time (Or it was just divised by movies).

I'm not sure if Sailors really wore those, or if it was fiction. All that really matters is that somewhere along the line, Japan incorporated it into some School Uniforms, Naoko got the idea, and POOF! Sailor Senshi were born. Do you catch my drift? Sailors have collars; School Uniforms have them; And Sailor Senshi have them as well. See? Sailors (In the Navy) and Sailors (Senshi) have collars!

Not only that, I have more reasons why this is so. For example, lets look at Tuxedo Kamen (mask). He is a SENSHI- A Soldier- but is NOT 'Sailor Tuxedokamen' because HE DOESN’T HAVE A COLLAR (* W. Washuu shudders at the thought of Kamen in a Senshi Fuku *)! Because a Senshi DOES exsist for Earth (Thought not a SAILOR SENSHI), Sailorearths don't really make sense to me (Sorry to all owners of them!). Oops, we're getting off topic now.

Ahem. Now, lets look at Galaxia. She is after Starseeds…more specifically, SAILOR Crystals. These are LIKE Starseeds, but belong to SAILOR SENSHI. Their entire essence exists within them, and as long as the Sailor Crystal exists, they do too, even without a body. However, you CAN have a Sailor Crystal and NOT be a Sailor Senshi. Why? Because Tuxedo Kamen had one, but HE IS NOT A SAILOR SENSHI! Even if they do have a Sailor Crystal, they are not Sailor Senshi because they have no Collar (Am I repeating myself?).

Another fact is that ALL Sailor Senshi in Naoko's Manga have COLLARS. Even the outrageous Animamates had them, and they aren't even TRUE Sailor Senshi. Because of the collar, they have 'Sailor' in their name; and are Sailor Senshi. Even Gucci and Chanel had Collars, Sailor in their name, but they wern't REALLY Senshi. Gasp. What a concept! [/sarcasm]

Some people may bring up 'What about Phoebes and Demos?' Well, these two AREN’T Sailor Senshi…at least not yet. It even SAYS in the manga that they are not Senshi- but Senshi in Training. They NEVER call them 'Sailor Phoebes/Demos,' and they don't have collars. They have not reached their true/full power, in training; but primarily Mars' guardians. They have no collars; though they have Sailor Crystals, they are not Sailors because of no collars. Whee.

Well, this is all I have to offer, and hopefully now, you will understand/get why I am such an enforcer of this. It's not hard to add collars to Senshi. Or just get rid of the 'Sailor' in their name. If anyone has any questions about this, just e-mail me ^^

Some Collar Variations: I have had someone tell me that 'But the collar doesn’t alow for much variation…' Well, this isn't entirely true. As LONG as its THERE, and in a recognizable collar fashion, then its alright.

Some examples- Torn and tattered; mesh; translucent; really long-cape like.

Questions? Comments? E-mail W.Washuu: yorba12@hotmail.com