My Little Corner: Soldier of Passion and Flame

The third Sailor Senshi/Scout to join the group is Rei Hino, a priestess living at a temple.

APPEARANCE

Anime: Rei is about Serena’s height with long black hair. She has bright purple eyes. As a priestess, she is constantly seen in her robes—a white top with a red bottom. She doesn’t go to the same school as Serena and Ami, going to T*A, which many believe is a well-known Catholic school. Her uniform consists of a gray skirt with a white shirt, complete with red scarf. Otherwise, she generally prefers either red or purple and often wears pants. Her mode of transformation is a pen, like Ami. Hers is red with the symbol of Mars on top. It spins out to start the flames that form Rei’s Sailor Mars uniform. Her skirt is red, but her bow is purple. Unlike Sailors Moon and Mercury, she wears red heels.

Live action: Rei has shorter black hair and brown eyes. Like her anime counterpart, she often wears the priestess robes of her temple and her school uniform looks the same as well. When she isn’t wearing those, she is usually in dark colors and pants. Like Ami, her mode of transformation is a bracelet with a red stone in the center. Her uniform is the same as her anime form, but her hair grows longer.

POWERS

Anime: Rei’s powers are derived from fire. Her first power is the fireball. She can also use her priestess powers to banish evil spirits. She eventually gains the power to throw flaming rings at evildoers as well. With her priestess powers, Rei is usually able to sense the presence of the Negaverse before the others.

Live action: Like her anime counterpart, Rei once again gains the power of fire. Her attacks look more like a beam of red light, though, than anything resembling fire. Once she is awakened as a soldier, she gains more powerful attacks that barely stick around for more than two episodes. Like Mercury, she too gets a “weapon”—another tambourine. When played, she can use it to defeat the monster.

PERSONALITY

Anime: Rei…is probably just as annoying as Serena. She is hot tempered and often directs her rages at Serena. A classic screen shot in the series is usually Rei and Serena sticking their tongues out at each other. When she isn’t on a rampage, she can be quite nice. When she isn’t being judgmental, she is quite loyal to Serena and the other girls. Serena isn’t the only one who can raise her ire. Further into the series, washed-up rocker Chad moves into the temple. His laid-back attitude conflicts with Rei’s Type A one and she often chases him around with a broom. She wants to be a rock star when we first meet her and is not shy.

As Sailor Mars, her fiery temper can either serve her or hinder her. There are times it can lead to her getting hurt or captured but other times it spurns her to fight harder.

Live action: Rei…is less annoying than her anime counterpart. She isn’t quick to anger, though her temper is not something one wishes to experience. She is guarded and doesn’t easily let people in. She eventually lets the Sailor Senshi in and will do anything for them. She doesn’t want to be famous, unlike her anime counterpart. She is forced into the role and does it out of her kindness toward children, who she is shown to have a gift with. But when she does step out in her star role, it is clear she has a good voice. While she doesn’t seem to like parties—and often states it—she still likes to enjoy herself once in a while. As Sailor Mars, she is less impulsive than her anime counterpart. But she will fight with all her heart, especially to protect her friends. Rei reacts the most vehemently about their past life. She doesn’t think it will dictate what will happen in this life and argues with anyone who thinks otherwise. She fights to protect the world.

RELATIONSHIPS

Anime: In the anime, not much is said about Rei’s parents. She lives at the Cherry Hill Temple with her grandfather, who is quite a skirt chaser. It doesn’t help that he is no taller than most women’s knees. While she loves her grandfather, his antics usually annoy her. Not much is known about her school life, so it is unknown if she has any school friends. Serena is listed as her best friend, though they often clash. She is close with the other Sailor Scouts, indicating they may be her closest and only friends.

On the romance front, there are only two possibilities. At first, she tries to go after Tuxedo Mask, even though Serena already expressed interest in him. Rei does go on a date with Darien, but realizes that they aren’t compatible. Then there is Chad, mentioned above. While it is clear that he is smitten with Rei, the anime never makes her feelings about him clear. Other than sheer annoyance, that is. So, it’s up to the viewers—they are either friends or they have the possibility to be more.

Live-action: In the show, Rei lives at the Cherry Hill Temple alone. Her father is alive and appears in the show, while her mother is dead. It is shown in the show that her mother died from Generic Terminal Illness and that a young Rei stayed in the hospital with her. Her father though was nowhere to be found. We learn he is a politician and often puts his career in front of his family. Any time he tries to talk to Rei, it is to plead for her to appear in press photos and interviews. So, understandably, she doesn’t have a strong home life like Usagi or Ami.

She initially tries to rebuff Usagi and Ami’s attempts to befriend her, but eventually gives in. Her biggest relationship amongst the Sailor Scouts seems to be with Minako, whom she befriends and argues with constantly. But she convinces Minako to get a needed surgery and reacts the most when it is revealed that Minako died. In the end, their friendship drives her.

PLOT CHANGES

The focus on Rei’s family really helps delve into the character. Another good change is her personality. Once again, the creator of Sailor Moon was more involved in this series than the anime so she may have been responsible for toning Rei down. This makes her more likeable and allows the audience to feel for her.

Rei’s denial of her past life being gospel in her current one also adds another layer. I know when I was watching the show, I was yelling about how everyone just accepts that everything is going to be like the past life. Rei’s rejection made a lot more sense.