Rini

Rini, known in Japan as ChibiUsa (ちびうさ), is a fictional character from the manga/anime Sailor Moon. She is the daughter of Bunny Tsukino (Sailor Moon, a.k.a. Usagi Tsukino, Serena Tsukino) and Darien Shields (Mamoru Chiba, a.k.a. Tuxedo Mask), and was sent back in time to the "present" to stay with them before she was born. Her real name is the same as her mother's, Usagi Tsukino, but the "Chibi" (meaning "little", but in this case, it could mean "Junior") is added to avoid confusion between the two. Her name in the English-language version of Sailor Moon is "Rini", which is a contraction of "Serena Tsukino", the same name as her mother. She is known for having strawberry-blonde hair put into a unique style that resembles cat ears on top of her head. Many Japanese children, Chibiusa included, would dislike being addressed by the somewhat childish prefix, although she is aware it's used with good humor. She has a robotic ball companion known as "Luna-Sphere" or "Luna-P" which she can command by saying the phrase "Luna-P Change!" or "Luna Sphere Kitty Magic!" (English dub), and the thing that she desires. This sphere can also produce objects for her to use, such as a sleeping potion or any type of weapon. Usagi is constantly fighting with her, and dislikes her because she is close to Mamoru. Chibiusa's affections come into conflict because she generally does not immediately identify Usagi and Mamoru as being her parents from the future, although she is aware of the fact. Her completely innocent affections towards Mamoru, particularly as a briefly magically-induced adult, nonetheless creep out many American fans. This is more obvious during her conversion to an evil adult, and continuting to harbor romantic if ignorant feelings of affection towards Mamoru. There is evidence to believe Chibiusa prefers the 'current' Usagi more in a sister role rather than a motherly role because Chibiusa has no siblings and her mother has a different overall personality. In the plotline of the Sailor Moon R series, Chibiusa is transformed by "Wise Man" (actually a villain called the Death Phantom) into Black Lady or "Wicked Lady" (English-language name), an older, twisted evil version of herself. It is up to Sailor Moon to change her back into the former version of herself. Later, Chibiusa is sent back to the present to train to be a Sailor Senshi. She becomes "Sailor Chibi Moon" (in English, "Sailor Mini Moon") and uses attacks such as "Pink Sugar Heart Attack" that do nothing but annoy her opponents. She also becomes involved with Helios (Pegasus), a winged horse that appears in her dreams. It is implied in the equivalent manga arc (but not the anime) that she will become the leader of a future group of Sailor Soldiers.

Fandom

Fan opinions of her character, both positive and negative, can be quite vocal. Like the infamous but more universally-hated Scrappy Doo, ChibiUsa's extended inclusion in the series, particularly the anime's "SuperS" series, is thought to have directly and indirectly affected the quality of that season. However, ChibiUsa's close, selfless friendship with the depressingly lonely Hotaru Tomoe is generally considered to be her best trait. Chibiusa is also, for her age, is frequently considered more mature than Usagi. Chibiusa is sometimes negatively called "The Pink Spore", the common nickname given to her by an irritated Usagi in the American dub. The nickname "Spore" is sometimes used with reversed affection. Due to ChibiUsa's younger age relative to other characters (some estimates put her physical age in the range of six to eight years old), she is one of the few characters generally left out of the many combinations of yuri works. When she appears, she is paired almost exclusively with Hotaru.\n Category:Sailor Moon characters