Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Sailor Mars






















Special powers and items

In her first Senshi form, Sailor Mars demonstrates her power over fire with Burning Mandala.
Rei is one of few Sailor Moon characters who is able to use special powers in her everyday civilian form. These are mainly the result of her role as a miko, which gives her heightened spirituality as well as certain resources. In addition to some psychic talent, including occasional unprompted premonitions,[26] Rei is able to do fire readings and to dispel evil spirits. She does the later by performing Kuji-Goshin-Ho, a ritual which consists of chanting nine words of power (rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen) while making relevant hand signs. She then shouts "Akuryō Taisan!" (悪霊退散, "Akuryō Taisan!"?), meaning "Evil spirits, begone!" and throws an ofuda scroll (or several).[27] She commonly uses this attack while in her Sailor Mars form as well as when she is in her civilian form.[28]
Rei must transform into a Sailor Senshi, however, before she can affect enemies in a substantial way. She makes this change by raising a special device (pen, bracelet, wand, or crystal) into the air and shouting a special phrase, originally "Mars Power, Make-up!"[29] As she becomes more powerful and obtains new transformation devices, this phrase changes to evoke Mars Star, Planet, or Crystal Power.[30] In the anime, Sailor Mars' transformation sequence evolves slightly over time, whether to update the background images or to accommodate changes to her uniform or new transformation items, but the animation remains essentially the same. They all involve rings of fire that circle her body as she spins, forming her outfit in a flash of light.
Sailor Mars has the power to manipulate flame.[31] Her named powers are somewhat inconsistent across the various series—in the first arc of the manga, she is the only one of the Sailor Senshi to have a non-English attack phrase, instead saying "Akuryō Taisan," the same phrase she uses as a civilian while using an ofuda , for her fire attacks. In the anime, she shoots a fireball from her index fingers and shouts the words Fire Soul,[32] and in the live-action series she shouts Youma Taisan (Monster, Begone). This basic power is improved to Fire Soul Bird in the second arc of the anime only; the manga also has an animal-based attack, Mars Snake Fire, but it does not appear until the third story arc. Her first attack to be the same across all versions is Burning Mandala, which incorporates Buddhist symbolism in the fiery circles Mars summons.[33]
Sailor Mars' final and most powerful power comes in the fourth story arc, when she takes on her second Senshi form (Super Sailor Mars in the anime). At this stage she acquires a special weapon, the Mars Arrow,[8] and with it Mars Flame Sniper,[34] which is her primary attack for the duration of the story. In the manga, the Mars Crystal and Mars Arrow are among her most significant magical possessions. The former is her Sailor Crystal and the source of all of her power, which becomes especially important in the fifth story arc. The latter is associated with her skill as an archer, and although she does not receive a physical bow, she recalls some advice given to her by Michiru Kaioh—"if you think you're being taken advantage of by the enemies, stretch a line taut in your soul, then release your fatal arrow!"[35] In the live-action series, she is given a tambourine-like weapon, called the Sailor Star Tambo, by Artemis. During the final battle, her Tambo transforms into a dagger, which she uses alongside Venus's similar dagger. In the "Special Act", Venus wields both weapons.




Sailor Mars (セーラーマーズ, Sērā Māzu?) is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. Her real name is Rei Hino (火野 レイ, Hino Rei?, or Raye Hino in the English versions), a Shinto priestess and schoolgirl who can transform into one of the series' specialized heroines, the Sailor Senshi.
Sailor Mars is the second member of the Sailor Team to be discovered by Sailor Moon, after Sailor Mercury, and is the secondary leader of the Guardian (or "Inner") Senshi after Sailor Venus.[3] She manipulates fire and flame, and has various psychic abilities related to her role as a miko in the Shinto shrine where she lives.
Aside from the main body of the Sailor Moon series, Rei features in two different manga short stories. The first, Casablanca Memories, is entirely about her and her past; the second, Rei and Minako's Girls School Battle, is shared with Minako Aino. A number of image songs featuring her character have been released as well, including the contents of three different CD singles

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