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Relationship analysis: Sailor Pluto/Setsuna Meioh and Chibiusa
The relationship that’s shared between Sailor Pluto and Chibiusa is a very poignant and deep one that is filled with devotion and sympathy; in a nutshell, their relationship is about two lonely people who found one another.
In the manga, it’s revealed that Chibiusa and Sailor Pluto met one another after Chibiusa fled to the back of the Crystal Palace; Chibiusa was often made fun of and bullied by other children (and even the other citizens of Crystal Tokyo) because she didn’t resemble her mother, Neo-Queen Serenity, causing people to believe that she was not the King and Queen’s real daughter. As Chibiusa sought somewhere to cry and be alone, she came across a mysterious door that opened at her touch. Inside, she found a Sailor Senshi; the woman already knew her name and introduced herself as Sailor Pluto. She told Chibiusa that she resembled her beautiful mother, Neo-Queen Serenity, and that she was sure that Chibiusa would grow up to be a fine lady someday. As Pluto was the only person besides her parents to tell her this, Chibiusa felt an immediate bond towards Pluto and began to visit her regularly.
Pluto and Chibiusa spent lots of time together, and Pluto taught Chibiusa the magical phrase “Abracadabra” and told her to say it whenever she felt sad in order to cheer herself up. Pluto demonstrated by using the phrase to make many flowers appear. Chibiusa later used the phrase to transform Luna-P into various shapes and forms (like Luna-P Henge in the anime). As time passed, Chibiusa began to visit her only friend more and more often, which the lonely Sailor Pluto did not mind. With each other, the two found comfort that they would have never found apart; while it’s clear that Chibiusa and her mother shared a very loving relationship, Chibiusa also felt vastly inferior to her and wasn’t comfortable sharing with her. Not only was Sailor Pluto her friend, she was a surrogate mother to Chibiusa; Chibiusa felt comfortable enough with Pluto to talk about her fears and insecurities, and Pluto would console her. In return, Chibiusa provided Pluto the companionship that she secretly yearned for; as the Guardian of Time, Pluto was sworn to stay at her post at all times. She couldn’t have a family or friends or any kind of company at all. These two lonely girls found one another and gave each other what the other needed.
When Crystal Tokyo was attacked by the Black Moon Clan and the Queen, King, and Inner Senshi were all incapacitated, Chibiusa escaped to the Fourth Dimension (where the Door of Space-Time was located), disoriented Pluto using Luna-P, and stole a Time Key from Pluto’s belt; using the Key, she was able to travel back to the end of the 20th Century and begin her search for Sailor Moon and the Ginzuishou. Much later, Chibiusa brought Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Venus, and Luna and Artemis with her to the Door so they could travel to the 30th Century; however, they become separated from Chibiusa in the process. Sailor Pluto immediately attacks them, as they were violating the laws of time. Chibiusa appeared and threw herself at Pluto, hugging her and begging her to not punish the others for her mistake. Despite the fact that Chibiusa violated two of the taboos (traveling through time andbringing others with her to the Door of Space-Time), Pluto was not angry at Chibiusa; all she did was hug Chibiusa in relief and tell her to not make her worried sick about her again. After their reunion, Sailor Pluto allowed everyone to pass through the Door; however, she could not leave her station, and so entrusted the safety of Chibiusa to the visitors. Sailor Pluto reappears many times throughout the arc, offering her assistance to the Senshi and later fighting alongside them.
All throughout the Black Moon arc, traces of Chibiusa and Pluto’s friendship are very evident. Chibiusa constantly identifies Pluto as her “one and only friend,” and frequently goes to her for comfort and support. It’s also very clear that Chibiusa greatly cares about how Pluto sees her, and so tries to be on her best behavior. In return, Pluto frequently expresses her concern for Chibiusa and tries her best to be a maternal figure that Chibiusa can rely on. Chibiusa is so dependent on Pluto that it provides the catalyst for her transformation into Black Lady. After Chibiusa goes to visit Pluto once again, she sees that her father, King Endymion, is already there speaking with her. After Endymion makes Pluto smile, Chibiusa muses that she used to be the only one who could make Pluto smile; Pluto’s smile was only meant for her. But now she’s no longer the only one Pluto needs; this, coupled with all of her other insecurities, is a crushing blow to Chibiusa, and she drops the Time Key in her despair. After wandering around aimlessly, she comes across Wiseman, who transforms her into Black Lady.
Pluto is devastated once she realizes what happened to Chibiusa and blames herself for not doing enough. She agonizes over her position; she cannot leave her station at the Door of Space-Time, but the other Senshi are fighting a ferocious battle and Chibiusa needs her. Fortunately, Diana appears and offers to take on Pluto’s duty so she could go and help the others. Pluto is extremely grateful and hugs Diana, thanking her and telling her that she’s just like Small Lady. Pluto, finally able to fight, arrives on the battlefield and sees Black Lady for the first time; Black Lady is noticeably shocked by Pluto’s appearance. Right when Pluto arrives, however, Prince Diamond goes mad with power after acquiring two Ginzuishous (Usagi’s and Neo-Queen Serenity’s) and decides to bring them together; doing this would cause the world to collapse on itself and space-time would be horrifically distorted. Left with no other option, Pluto breaks her final and most sacred taboo: She stops time.
Sailor Pluto is able to prevent the end of the world, but not without a great price. Having broken the most important taboo, she collapses and begins to die (it’s never explained exactly why Pluto died after stopping time, but a common perception is that Pluto expended so much energy stopping time that she burned out, just like how Saturn dies when she unleashes her full powers of destruction). Chibiusa was in Pluto’s thoughts until the very end; her very last words are to Black Lady, apologizing that she wasn’t able to protect her and keep her safe. Her energy finally exhausted, Pluto dies.
In shock, Black Lady recalls how much she loved Pluto, her only, best, and most precious friend. Every time she would feel insecure or doubt that she was loved, Pluto would comfort and assure her. Realizing that her dearest friend and mother-figure is dead because of her, Black Lady begins to sob and screams out Pluto’s name. Her Black Crystal earrings shatter and her tear crystalizes into a Ginzuishou: Her very own Sailor Crystal. Chibiusa returns to normal and is finally able to transform into a Sailor Senshi, Sailor Chibi Moon. The power that accompanied this moment is enough to awaken the comatose Neo-Queen Serenity, who offers her aid in the final battle against Wiseman.
This moment is extremely significant for Pluto and Chibiusa’s relationship; it cements their bond and shows just how much they mean to one another. Pluto loved Chibiusa so much that she was willing to die for her. She cared for Chibiusa so much that the girl was in her dying thoughts; even at the end, Pluto feels responsible for what happened and apologizes for being unable to protect her. On Chibiusa’s part, her sorrow at Pluto’s death is so significant that it cuts through Wiseman’s deception and returns her to her former self; it also triggers the birth of her Silver Crystal and jumpstarts her transformation into a Sailor Senshi, which had been stalled for almost 900 years. It took the death of her beloved Pluto to finally set Chibiusa on the path to maturity.
When Sailor Pluto reappears in the third arc as Setsuna Meioh, alive and well, Chibiusa is overwhelmed with joy and relief; she and Pluto shared a very passionate hug. However, all throughout the third arc, their relationship is somewhat strained. Pluto was reincarnated to fulfill another duty (preventing the Silence) and doesn’t have much time to play with her little friend anymore. Later on, after Hotaru is revealed to be Sailor Saturn, their relationship is strained even further; Pluto needs to kill Hotaru to prevent the birth of Sailor Saturn, but Chibiusa had become close friends with the girl and refuses to allow her to be harmed. After the events of the third arc (and after Saturn is reborn and becomes a full-fledged member of the Sailor Team), Chibiusa and Pluto’s relationship becomes stable again. However, at this point, both of them are no longer lonely and have other people that they can depend on, making their relationship less poignant (but by no means less adorable!).
Pluto and Chibiusa’s relationship in the anime is very similar, but there are a few big differences thanks to how differently the anime and manga panned out. One of my favorite changes is that Pluto received an affectionate nickname from Chibiusa: Puu. On the whole, the relationship between Chibiusa and Pluto is less developed because most of the events from the second arc that are described above didn’t carry over to the anime; however, the anime makes up for it by greatly expanding on their friendship during the third season (some key episodes include 115, 117, 120, 121, 122, and 126).
Sailor Pluto is formally introduced in episode 75; however, before this, she made several appearances as a mysterious woman whom Chibiusa talks to through Luna-P. Unlike in the manga, where Chibiusa stole the Time Key, it seems as though Pluto willingly broke the taboo, ensuring Chibiusa’s safety by sending her back to the peaceful 20th Century. Chibiusa often contacts Pluto through Luna-P for guidance and support; Pluto always reassures her, reminding her that she can trust Sailor Moon and the other Senshi and that she’s stronger than she thinks. In episode 75, Pluto finally reveals herself to the other Senshi when she asks them to save Chibiusa from her own nightmare, which had trapped her in a feverish coma. After Chibiusa is rescued, Pluto comforts her once again before disappearing; Chibiusa is very upset by this, begging Puu to stay with her. It’s clear that Chibiusa feels a very strong connection to Pluto not only as her friend, but also as her only link to her home. In return, Pluto watches over and guides Chibiusa.
In episode 82, Pluto makes her first physical appearance when she attacks the Inner Senshi and Tuxedo Mask for intruding the Door of Space-Time; just like in the manga, Chibiusa stops her. After Chibiusa apologizes for breaking another taboo (bringing others with her) and anticipates being punished, Pluto simply pats her on the head affectionally, praising her for mastering the Time Key and telling her that she’s growing into a fine lady. After she sends everyone through the Door, Pluto continues to act as Chibiusa’s guardian.
Pluto reappears as a woman named Setsuna Meioh in episode 110; in episode 111, she reveals herself to be Sailor Pluto revives Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, who had died after having their Pure Heart Crystals (which contained their Talismans) taken away. All throughout the S arc, Setsuna tries to balance being Chibiusa’s guardian and friend and being an Outer Senshi. In episode 115, the two have a very sweet talk where Setsuna assures Chibiusa that she can visit her any time she wants. Their relationship gets strained later on with the revelation that Hotaru is Sailor Saturn; unlike in the manga, this strain is shown in several scenes. No matter how upset Chibiusa gets, Pluto never loses her temper and does her best to console the girl; even after Chibiusa said that she hates Setsuna, all Setsuna can do is hug her. Setsuna does her best to be there for Chibiusa, protecting her and consoling her. At the end of the S arc, Pluto dies in a helicopter explosion after stopping time to save the lives of Uranus and Neptune. As Pluto was never mortal to begin with, she simply goes back to her post at the Door of Space-Time. However, she takes the time to appear before Chibiusa and tell her what happened (both to her and Hotaru). When she disappears, Chibiusa is clearly devastated, but is comforted when she sees baby Hotaru alive and well.
Overall, I think that Pluto and Chibiusa have one of the most beautiful relationships in the entire series. The core of their relationship is dedication and dependency; both girls would do anything for the other and view each other as their closest, dearest friend. Even after they both make new friends and allies, they still treasure their friendship and trust one another with their lives.
