Amazoness Quartet

Sailor Moon villain group
Group =Amazoness Quartet Sammael Quartet
(Sailor Quartet)


Caption =JunJun, VesVes, PallaPalla and CereCere.
Arc ="Sailor Moon SuperS", "Stars" (manga)
Dub =Amazon Quartet
Leader =Zirconia Sailor Chibi Moon (manga, musicals) Mandrake (musicals)
Chaos =
Partof =Dead Moon Circus, Sailor Senshi (manga)
Figures =CereCere, PallaPalla, JunJun, VesVes
MOTD =
Tools =Amazon Stones, pool cues, dolls The nihongo|Amazoness Quartet|アマゾネス カルテット|Amazonesu Karutetto [This group-name is sometimes rendered as "Amazones Quartetto" by English-speaking fans, but the romanization of their name can be seen on Japanese merchandise.] is a group of fictional characters from the "Sailor Moon" metaseries. The Quartet is introduced in the fourth major story arc of Sailor Moon, known as "SuperS" in the anime and "Dream" in the manga. It consists of CereCere, PallaPalla, JunJun, and VesVes, who work for the Dead Moon Circus. Their attacks are derived from circus skills, with each having a specific talent. In the English-dubbed anime, they are called the Amazon Quartet.

In order to remove a person's Dream Mirror, a member of the Quartet hits her Amazon Stone with a pool cue, similar to a billiard ball. The mirror is knocked out of the person the instant it makes contact with them. They also use the Amazon Stones for other attacks.

In the manga, they also created and commanded the Amazon Trio to attack the Sailor Senshi, whereas in the anime the Trio came before the Quartet and served Zirconia.

Origins

In the manga, they are actually the Sailor Quartet--commonly referred to in English-speaking fandom as the Asteroid Senshi, because they are named after the first four major asteroids to be discovered. They had been placed in a deep sleep, awaiting the time when they could become the future protectors of Sailor Chibi Moon, analogous to Princess Serenity's four soldiers (the Guardian Senshi) and to Prince Endymion's four generals (the "Shitennou"). However, Queen Nehellenia woke them prematurely and forced them to work for her. At her defeat, they return to their true forms and to their long sleep. During the fifth story arc, they accompany Sailor Chibi Moon from the future to help in the fight against Sailor Galaxia.

In the anime, the Quartet are never Sailor Senshi, coming instead from Elysion, the land of dreams. They began working for Queen Nehellenia when she heard them playing and offered to keep them from ever growing old. She changed their dreams into the physical form of Amazon Stones, instructing them to use these to remove the "dream mirrors" of humans. They are dedicated to this task, but still generally spend more time playing than working. When this goes too far for Nehellenia's tastes, she drains their powers and in the end they break their Amazon stones and give up eternal childhood to help the Sailor Senshi and Pegasus. They part ways noting that it is possible that destiny will have them meet the Sailors again, even though they never show up in "Sailor Stars".

The Sailor Quartet's uniforms are a cross between those worn by the Sailor Team in their first forms and their final forms, with the Quartet's own image colors. The uniforms have one-layer skirts, belts, chokers and back-bows like those on the Sailor Team's first uniforms, with boots, gloves, brooches, leotards, and tiaras the same as the final forms. Their shoulder pads are in the style of the final uniforms, but are white. Each member has unique earrings.

The Quartet appears in several of the stage musicals, with a substantially different background. Here they are homonculi created by Professor Tomoe, and are known as the Sammael Quartet. They are portrayed as young children around Chibiusa's apparent age, instead of their normal ages. They are created from Chibiusa's starseed, and are linked to her, having the power to transform into Sailor Senshi as a result.

Profiles

CereCere

nihongo|CereCere|セレセレ|Seresere|called Cele Cele in the dub is the pink haired, and most mature acting member of the Quartet. She is a trapeze artist for the Circus and can manipulate flowers; she is known as the Flower Magician and is the leader of the Quartet. She has light skin and wears pink, but has a yellow ball. She is very feminine and tries to be mature compared to the others in the Quartet. Her Senshi counterpart is Sailor Venus, and her colors are pink and yellow.

Naoko Takeuchi has stated that CereCere is sexy and talks in a very aristocratic tone. She is also stated as being the eldest of the four sisterscite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Materials Collection |publisher= Kodansha |year= 1999 |month= October |id= ISBN 4-06-324521-7] which corresponds to the size of the dwarf planet she is named after, Ceres and the Roman goddess Ceres. Later in the manga it is revealed that she is actually Sailor Ceres, one of the four protectors of Chibiusa. At the time of her naming, 1 Ceres was considered an Asteroid.

In the anime, she tends to be arrogant and haughty, and chases after people that will highlight her perceived beauty for her, such as when she chased after an artist and asked him to repaint her. She also appears extravagant and outrageous while disguised and not in her circus uniform. However, there are moments when she breaks the mature mask and plays for fun. The other Amazonesses see her as lazy, and take every opportunity to call her such. She stated that she hates dried squid. She summons only plant-based lemures, a possible nod to her Roman namesake, Ceres, a goddess of vegetation and plants.

In the original anime, she is voiced by Yuri Amano. In the musicals she is played by Shiori Eguchi and Risa Honma, the latter of whom later went on to play Sailor Mars.

PallaPalla

nihongo|PallaPalla|パラパラ|Parapara|called Para Para in the dub is the blue-haired, childlike member of the Quartet. She uses ball-based attacks. She is called the Magician of Balancing Balls. Her Senshi counterpart is Sailor Mercury, and her color is blue. She frequently speaks in the third person.

Naoko Takeuchi listed her as being a bimbo, crybaby and childish. She is the second eldest sister in the manga, while in the anime she is the youngest.Fact|date=February 2007 This corresponds to the size of the asteroid, Pallas. She was also named after the Greek goddess Pallas Athena. In the manga, it's revealed that she is actually Sailor Pallas, one of the four protectors of Chibiusa. [In the English adaptation of the manga, her name is misspelled as both Palis and Palus.]

In the anime, she speaks in third person and is equally childish as she is in the manga. Nevertheless, she shows some signs of cleverness, such as pointing out that the arrangement of the curtains is wrong in one episode (when no one else saw it), setting up a popular dentist office in another, and using a doll to manipulate the Senshi in yet another. The other Amazonesses think she is very dangerous; in one episode she rips the head off her own doll as a cure for its toothache. She often summons ball-like lemures or uses dolls as part of her attacks, and likes to attack groups of people rather than one at a time. All of the Lemures she summons have two faces, a good one and an evil one, reflecting her own dual nature.

In the original anime, she is voiced by Machiko Toyoshima. In the musicals she is played by Seira Saeki.

JunJun

nihongo|JunJun|ジュンジュン|Junjun|name unchanged in the dub is the green-haired tomboy of the Quartet. She is athletic and somewhat impulsive. JunJun is an acrobat in the Circus, referred to as the Magician of Acrobatic Feats. Her Senshi counterpart is Sailor Jupiter, and her color is green.

She is described by creator Naoko Takeuchi as a vulgar "Yankee"—Japanese slang for a delinquent or rebellious youth [As defined in [http://enterprise.ottix.net/cgi-bin/j-e/sjis/dosearch?sDict=on&H=PW&L=J&T=yankii&WC=none this dictionary entry] .] —and uses very informal male speech. She is also said to have dark skin and is the third sister, which corresponds to the number and size of her asteroid. She was supposed to ride a motorcycle. In the manga it is revealed that she is really Sailor Juno, named for the asteroid Juno and the Roman goddess Juno.

In the anime, she often speaks with a hard edge. She tends to dress in biker outfits outside of her circus uniform even though she is never shown to ride a motorbike. She likes to let her targets attain their dreams before she takes their dream mirrors which may be an oddball reference to the mothering aspect of the goddess Juno. She always summons male lemures; the only one of the Quartet to do so.

In the original anime, she is voiced by Kumiko Watanabe. In the English-language version, she is performed by actress Mary Long who was also the voice of Molly and Catzi. In the musicals she is played by Niki Ajima.

VesVes

nihongo|VesVes|ベスベス|Besubesu|called Besu Besu in the dub is the red-haired aggressive member of the Quartet. She is loud, brash, and somewhat violent. VesVes is the Circus' animal tamer, known as the Magician of Beasts. Her Senshi counterpart is Sailor Mars, and her color is red. She carries a whip.

She is listed as being a "Queen" and having a darker skin color than JunJun. She is the fourth and youngest sister, which corresponds to the size and number of her asteroid (although in the anime, she is the second-oldest).Fact|date=February 2007 In the manga it's revealed that she is really Sailor Vesta named after the asteroid Vesta and the Roman goddess Vesta.

In the anime, VesVes can appear to lack a sense of reality, rushing into things without realizing what she's doing. She once appeared before her target on top of a levitating ball in a flight suit and failed to realize how this wasn't realistic until Chibiusa and her target pointed it out. She is not as picky about her targets as the other three. She tends to command lemures that are animal-themed.

Junko Hagimori provides her voice in the original Japanese produced anime. In the musicals, she is played by Miho Suzuki.

pecial powers and items

As members of the Dead Moon Circus, the Quartet use items called Amazon Stones. In the manga, these are used mainly by PallaPalla, and include (in order of appearance):
*"Crown Ball" — Seals the world from interdimensional or time travel (Act 34)
*"Summon Ball" — Summons lemures (Act 34)
*" Ball" — Grants human forms to animals (Act 34)
*"Reverse Ball" — Causes the opposite of what someone says to happen (Act 34). Specifically, it makes Usagi Tsukino a child and Chibiusa an adult; in the anime (Episode 158) this is what it does regardless of their words.
*"Echo Ball" — Creates a distorted reflection of a person's inner self (Act 36)
*"End Ball" — Finishes off what is weakening (Act 37)
*"Hail Ball" — Summons huge boulders (Act 38, 39)
*"Vine Ball" — Calls vines out of the ground (Act 39)
*"Steel Ball" — Creates and launches daggers (Act 39, used by VesVes)
*"Natto Ball" — Traps people in gooey natto (Act 39).
*"Medicine Ball" — Projectile attack of small pellets (Act 39, used by JunJun)
*"Rattan Ball" — Launches broken glass (Act 39)

In the anime, such attacks are used by all members of the Quartet and include:
*"Ball Ball Attack" — VesVes attacks with the ball itself. Used in episode 150.
*"Colliding Ball" — Used by the Quartet to remove a person's dream mirror. One of them hits the ball with a pool cue and knocks it off various walls before hitting the person. First used in episode 150. A variation appeared in episode 162, when Zirconia used her pet eyeball as a croquet ball.
*"Tamasaka" — Used by PallaPalla to try and restore a distorted photo in episode 151.
*"Tamayura" — Used by PallaPalla to change a doll house version of a dentist's office into a real one, and to cause cavities all over town. Used in episode 153.
*"Rolling Ball" — Causes the ball to become huge so as to try and crush the Senshi. It was first used by JunJun in episode 160, with assistance from CereCere, who rode on top to control the ball. It was used again episode 162 by PallaPalla, acting alone.
*"Sealing Ball" — Used to stop attacks; performed on Venus by VesVes in Episode 161.
*"Pelting Ball" — Creates many small balls to attack the Senshi; used by CereCere in Episode 161.
*"Controlling Ball" — Used by PallaPalla to create a doll to control the Senshi in Episode 161.
*"Sticky Ball" — Traps the enemy in a sticky substance.
*"Eavesdropping Ball" — Created by combining a ball with a telescope. Used to spy on Nehellenia in episode 163.
*"Creating Ball" — Used by PallaPalla to create a fake Chibi Moon in episode 163.
*"Opening Ball" — Used by CereCere to create a portal to Nehellenia's hideout in episode 163.
*"Binding Ball" — Used By PallaPalla to create a bridle for Pegasus and bind him in episode 163.
*"Through Ball" — A teleport move that JunJun uses to get out of a mirror that half of her body was stuck in. Used in episode 164.
*"See-Through Ball" — A viewing ball that VesVes uses to see what was going on in Nehellenia's lair, but was only able to see Zirconia fighting the Senshi. Used in episode 164.

The Quartet also possess a viewing mirror with which they watch the Senshi.

As the Sailor Quartet in the "Stars" manga, the four attack with "Amazoness Jungle Arrow", which they use to kill Sailor Heavy Metal Papillion, and with "Pink Ladies' Freezing Kiss", which is an attack they execute with Sailor Chibi Moon. In the musicals they attack with the latter, along with "Sailor Crystal Arrow". [2001 musical, "Transylvania no Mori" (revised version).]

ee also

*Amazon jungle
*Chibiusa

References

* [http://thetour.animehunters.com/mareingenii/dubbed/evilatwork_04.html The Tour] - Information on dubbed version