These days, the widely loved Sailor Moon is seen as a very innocent anime, with many fans having fond memories of Usagi's clumsy nature and the show's silly set pieces. And, when compared to later magical girl shows like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which attempted to put a deliberate dark twist on the format, it seems to be.
When rewatching Sailor Moon, however, you quickly realize how utterly terrifying some of the monsters are, with some of them having downright disturbing designs. So if you want to have some nightmares tonight, here are the five creepiest monsters from Sailor Moon.
Reci, A Bizarre Demon/Plant Hybrid
One of many Cardian creatures summoned by Ail and An, Reci looks like a woman from the Heian Period in her human form. However, her true form is a strange demon/plant hybrid. Not only does her monster form have a gaping maw and cat-like eyes, she also has cherry blossom-covered vines coming off her body. Reci can control these vines, allowing her to use them like aggressive tentacles, further moving her into the uncanny valley. She can also hide in a tree, and the sight of her emerging from this disguise is really creepy due to the rather inhuman poses she pulls while doing it, which only adds to the body horror.
What makes Reci even more terrifying is that she drains a lot of energy from the Sailor Scouts and shatters Usagi's brooch, depriving her of her Sailor Moon powers until Queen Serenity intervenes. This means Reci is both scary and extremely deadly, which only adds to her creepiness factor.
Jumeau, The All-Powerful Porcelain Doll
Creepy dolls are a horror staple, but Sailor Moon's Jumeau is a unique twist on the classic archetype. This Youma has its essence implanted into a porcelain doll made by doll maker Mika Kayama. This means Jumeau can command all of Mika's dolls, turning the already creepy porcelain figures into fanged monsters that lunge at people.
Jumeau's true form isn't any better, as the creature is a highly uncanny valley mannequin-like being made of floating, disconnected limbs. These limbs are razor-sharp, and Jumeau launches them at foes. On top of this, it can control its limbs after they're detached -- a skill it uses while attempting to strangle Sailor Moon. Jumeau can also regenerate its limbs when they're destroyed, making the creature nearly invincible. All of this, mixed with the fact that it hides as a normal-looking doll, means the creature is utterly terrifying as you wouldn't realize you've encountered it until it's far too late. And once it reveals itself, Jumeau is nearly impossible to stop.
Murido, a Monster Disguised as a Fairytale Princess
Murido continues Sailor Moon's creepy doll theme found in other monsters, but has a fairytale twist. This Youma disguised herself as the Dream Princess, the mascot for the Dreamland amusement park. And in her disguised form, the title makes sense -- she looked like a cute princess clad in a pink fairytale-style dress.
However, when Murido reveals her true form, things take a horrific turn. Her head retracts into her body as she starts to twist and turn with an ominous clicking, revealing she is a clockwork doll. When she reforms, she has rolling eyes and a ventriloquist doll-like mouth. This is also a rare time the original DiC dub makes the horror even worse. When Murido's head is rotating during her metamorphosis, there's a distinctive tearing noise that makes it sound like Murido's skin is ripping apart. It's almost like her disguise is a suit or shell made of actual human flesh. This combination is made worse as Murido can fire a red mist that traps anyone it hits in a dream state, allowing her to manipulate them and drain their energy.
Proto-Daimon: When Sailor Moon Gave Kids Nightmares
Sailor Moon villains usually have some element of whimsy to them, be it through their concept or color palette. The Proto-Daimon, however, looks like it escaped from John Carpenter's The Thing. Only seen via flashback, the Proto-Daimon is what happens when a Daimon Egg is fused with an unwilling Mugen Academy student. The helpless student is transformed into a giant red mass that resembles a fleshy worm with glowing red eyes and several wiggling tendrils that only serve to make the creature look like something out of a body horror anime.
Thankfully, Sailor Neptune was able to destroy the creature using Deep Submerge, and the host was apparently unharmed by the whole ordeal. However, the idea of turning into a monster like the Proto-Daimon must have been a recurring nightmare for kids who saw this episode growing up. Thankfully, the later Daimons all have much less scary designs -- if they all looked like the Proto-Daimon, Sailor Moon would have been remembered as a horror anime rather than a magical girl one.
Morga, the Zombie-Like Terror From Episode 1
If you need proof that Sailor Moon was never afraid to terrify its audience, just have a look at the very first episode. Usually, the first episode of a magical girl show will see the heroine face off against a simple monster. But Sailor Moon went all out by having Usagi fight the terrifying semi-human abomination known as Morga.
While this Youma looks like a regular human shopkeeper at first, Morga's true form is a zombie-like creature with wrinkled skin, uncanny proportions, a horrifying slasher smile, and pure black eyes. She is shown to be inhumanly flexible, even rotating her head 180 degrees to glare at Sailor Moon. Morga attempts to kill Sailor Moon's friend Naru by strangling her, an unusually realistic attack for a Youma -- especially when you realize she would have succeeded if Usagi had hesitated about taking up the Sailor Moon mantle. What makes this whole event even worse is that she kidnapped Naru's mother and posed as her, meaning Morga could be anyone -- and you wouldn't know until it was far too late.
