ChibiChibi

Infobox animanga character
color = #e53366
name = ChibiChibi
series = Sailor Moon


creator = Naoko Takeuchi
oaux1 name = Played by
oaux1 = See below
alias = Sailor ChibiChibi (Moon)
Sailor Cosmos (manga only)
age = Approximately 2 years
paux1 name = Affiliations
paux1 = Sailor Senshi
paux2 name = Powers
paux2 = Lending power to others, shapeshifting, interstellar travel

nihongo|ChibiChibi|ちびちび is a fictional character in the fifth story arc of the "Sailor Moon" metaseries. She first appears in Act 44 of the manga and Episode 182 of the anime.

ChibiChibi appears to be about two years old, and can't really talk yet, though she knows a few simple words and likes to repeat what other people say. In the manga, she mostly imitates the ends of others' sentences; in the anime, she mostly says "chibi". Her red-pink hair is always up in two heart shaped odango with little ringlets sticking out the sides, echoing the hairstyle of protagonist Usagi Tsukino.

ChibiChibi's name is a doubling of the Japanese term meaning "runt," "dwarf," or "shrimp," and is used both for that reason and because of ChibiChibi's similarity to Chibiusa. It is also a pun, as the word "chibichibi" also means "making something last". [cite web |url=http://dict.regex.info/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?sDict=on&H=PS&L=J&T=chibichibi |title="chibichibi" translates to "making something last" |accessdate=2007-05-18 |publisher=Jeffrey's Japanese - English Dictionary Server] When Tokyopop announced it was translating the 'Stars' arc of the Sailor Moon manga, ChibiChibi's English name was initially RiRi (a diminutive of Rini, itself a diminutive of Serena), though this idea was soon dropped.

Background

ChibiChibi's first appearance, early in the "Stars" arc, echoes that of Chibiusa. In the manga, she is shown floating down to Earth with an umbrella in her hand, and then simply shows up at the door of the Tsukino house. When Usagi's mother expresses surprise, asking "Chibiusa?" the little girl repeats "Chibi chibi?" and receives her nickname. In the anime, she meets Usagi in the park one afternoon and starts to follow her around, saying only "chibi chibi" (without having been prompted).

In each series, ChibiChibi immediately attaches herself to Usagi's family, whose memories are modified so that they believe her to be the youngest child—almost exactly what Chibiusa had done on her first appearance. [The only difference is that Chibiusa made them think she was Usagi's cousin instead of her younger sister.] Once again, only Usagi's memory is left intact, and because ChibiChibi has the conversational skill of a toddler the Senshi are unable to question her. They theorize that she might in fact be Usagi's sister, or perhaps her second daughter, or the child of Chibiusa. [cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 16 |chapter= Act 44 |publisher= Kodansha |date=1996-09-06 |id= ISBN 4-06-178841-8 ]

In the anime, Setsuna states that Usagi herself only has one child, [cite web | url=http://www.soul-hunter.com/sailormoon/profiles/friends/chibichibi.php | title=The Oracle | accessdate=2007-01-23] and in the manga, "any" Queen of the Silver Millennium line will have only one daughter. When Chibiusa meets ChibiChibi (in the manga only), she feels very strongly that ChibiChibi is not hers. [cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko |authorlink = Naoko Takeuchi | title= Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 18 |chapter= Act 49 |publisher= Kodansha |date=1997-04-04, December 10, 1998 |id= ISBN 4-06-178858-2 - A translation is available at [http://www.kurozuki.com/takeuchi/ The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko] ]

In each series, ChibiChibi is the caretaker of a small, ornate incense burner. She protects it with all her might, although its purpose is not known at first. The burner releases a scent of fragrant olive blossoms, which the Sailor Starlights gradually recognize as a symbol of Princess Kakyuu. They threaten ChibiChibi and try to take it away from her, and Kakyuu herself is revealed to have been resting inside it, hidden from the evil Sailor Galaxia. ["Sailor Stars". Episode 193.] [cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 16 |chapter= Act 45 |publisher= Kodansha |date=1996-09-06 |id= ISBN 4-06-178841-8 ]

ChibiChibi eventually transforms, under her own power, into a Sailor Senshi. In the manga she is simply named Sailor ChibiChibi, while in the anime she is called Sailor ChibiChibi Moon. Although the reprint of the manga continues to omit the word 'moon', it is added to her name on a sticker included with Volume 12. In this Senshi form, she carries a heart scepter with what looks like a planetary ring and uses it to defend herself and Sailor Moon. She is not shown using any attacks of her own, but she does increase Sailor Moon's power.

The truth of ChibiChibi's identity is very different in the manga from what it is in the anime, largely because the two series were being produced at roughly the same time. In the manga, ChibiChibi's childlike form is really a disguise for Sailor Cosmos, an ultimately-powerful Senshi from the future (see below).

In the anime, ChibiChibi is the starseed of Sailor Galaxia, who had once been a great force for good. When Galaxia fought Chaos, she could see no way to defeat it except to seal it away inside her own body. In order to protect her starseed from being corrupted, she sent it away to Earth, where it finally becomes ChibiChibi and befriends Sailor Moon. ChibiChibi is also referred to as the "light of hope" ("kibō no hikari") by the Starlights—their one chance for defeating Galaxia. She is able to transport herself and the Senshi around Galaxia's domain freely, and in the end, transforms herself into a Sword of Sealing ("fuuin no ken"). This is the weapon Galaxia had used to seal away Chaos, and ChibiChibi begs Sailor Moon to use it to defeat them.

ChibiChibi's two identities should not be confused with one another. Sailor Cosmos does not explicitly appear in the anime, although a silhouette of ChibiChibi as an adult is often mistaken for her. In the manga, Galaxia's starseed is not humanoid, nor does it have any connection to ChibiChibi herself or to Sailor Cosmos.

When she appears in the stage musicals, ChibiChibi's backstory always follows the anime version. She is given her own song, "Mou ii no" (It's All Right), which she sings to announce that she has come to rejoin Galaxia.

ailor Cosmos

nihongo|Sailor Cosmos|セーラー・コスモス|Sērā Kosumosu reveals herself in the final Act of the manga. She comes from a future which has been all but decimated by the battle with Sailor Chaos; after ages of fighting, she despairs and flees to the past as the infant ChibiChibi, to encourage Eternal Sailor Moon to defeat Chaos in the final battle of the series.

At first, she wants Sailor Moon to destroy the Galaxy Cauldron altogether, ensuring Chaos' destruction, but Sailor Moon protests, realizing that if the Cauldron is destroyed no more stars will be born, leaving the Galaxy without a future. She chooses to sacrifice herself to the Cauldron and seal Chaos away, which Cosmos finally realizes to have been the right decision. Reminded of the strength and courage she herself needs to have, she returns to the future with new hope.cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 18 |chapter= Act 52 |publisher= Kodansha |date=1997-04-04; December 10, 1998 |id= ISBN 4-06-178858-2]

The manga implies that Sailor Cosmos is the ultimate form of Sailor Moon; this fact is confirmed in a magazine interview with Naoko Takeuchi. [cite web |url=http://www.sailor-games.com/misc2/interview.html |title=Naoko Takeuchi at the San Diego Comic Con! |accessdate=2007-07-31 |year=1998 |month=December |work=Smile magazine |quote=In the very last manga, the last book, she [ChibiChibi] is the future Sailor Moon.] There are multiple theories in the "Sailor Moon" fandom as to what this means. [cite web |url=http://www.usagiandmamoru.com/cosmos/cosmostruth.html |title=Cosmos and Chibi Chibi: The Truth |accessdate=2007-04-23 |last=Rajan |first=Nishi |date= |year= |month= |format= |work=Cosmos and Chibi Chibi |publisher=UsagiandMamoru.com |quote=Usagi and Cosmos ARE one and the same. ] [cite web |url=http://www.sheerlunacy.net/cosmos.html |title=The Enigma of Sailor Cosmos |accessdate=2007-07-29 |last=Schumacher |first=Hans |date= |year=2007 |month= |format= |work=Sheer Lunacy! - A Nitpicker's Guide to the Sailor Moon Universe |publisher= |quote=...Sailor Cosmos is another reincarnation of the original Princess Serenity rather than a future version of Usagi Tsukino. ]

Sailor Cosmos never makes an appearance in the anime series, although the silhouette of ChibiChibi's adult form (the "Light of Hope") bears a strong resemblance to her. Naoko Takeuchi commented that she wished Sailor Cosmos had been in the anime. [Takeuchi, Naoko. BSSM Original Picture Collection Vol. V. cite web | url=http://mangastyle.net/artbooks/genga5a.htm | title=Manga Style! | accessdate=2006-11-10]

pecial powers

In the manga, ChibiChibi transforms into a Sailor Senshi by shouting the words "ChibiChibi Crystal Power! Make Up!" [Act 46.] This transition is never shown on screen in the anime. In both series, she can grant additional power to others: for instance, she improves Eternal Sailor Moon's "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss" attack into "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss". In the anime, she also gives a sense of peace to the dying Princess Kakyuu, encourages the Sailor Starlights to keep fighting, and powers up Sailor Moon before her confrontation with Galaxia.

To some extent, ChibiChibi is also capable of shapeshifting. This is most obvious in the anime, where she is truly Galaxia's starseed, travels across the galaxy in the form of a butterfly, speaks to Sailor Moon in the form of an adult, and transforms into the Sword of Sealing. In the manga, as previously mentioned, her smaller form is merely a disguise for Sailor Cosmos, and she is able to shift back under her own power.

None of Sailor Cosmos' powers are directly shown. Nevertheless, it is implied in the final chapter of the manga that the ability to utilize all the galaxy's Sailor Crystals together to form the Cosmos Crystal, also called Lambda Power, is a defining characteristic of being Sailor Cosmos.

Actresses

In the original anime production of Sailor Moon, ChibiChibi is voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi, who also provides the voice of Sailor Moon herself. [cite web |url= http://www.tcp.com/doi/smoon/ |title= Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon |accessdate= 2006-10-06 |last= Doi |first= Hitoshi |authorlink=Hitoshi Doi ] In the stage musicals, ChibiChibi has been played by 4 actresses: Mao Kawasaki, Mikiko Asuke, Yuka Gouchou, and Mina Horita. [cite web |url= http://www.sera-myu.com/ |title= eternal.legend |accessdate= 2007-02-08 |author=|coauthors=] Naoko Takeuchi praised Kawasaki's cuteness as ChibiChibi.cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Volume V Original Picture Collection |publisher= Kodansha |date= August 1997 |id= ISBN 4-06-324522-5]

Reception

ChibiChibi's popularity surprised Takeuchi.

References