Sailor Moon, known in Japan as Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon, officially translated "Pretty Soldier Sailormoon" or "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon", is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Sailor Moon redefined the magical-girl genre, as previous magical girls did not use their powers to fight evil, but this has become one of the standard archetypes of the genre.
The story of the various metaseries revolves around the reborn defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the Solar System, and around the evil forces that they battle. The major characters — the Sailor Senshi (literally "Sailor Soldiers"; frequently called "Sailor Scouts" or "Guardians" in many Western versions), teenage girls — can transform into heroines named for the Moon and planets. The use of "Sailor" comes from a style of girls' school uniform popular in Japan, the sērā fuku ("Sailor outfit"), on which Takeuchi modeled the Sailor Senshi's uniforms. The elements of fantasy in the series are heavily symbolic and often based on mythology.
