Ami Mizuno (水野 亜美, Mizuno Ami) is one of the five original Inner Sailor Guardians of the Solar System, and was the second Sailor Guardian introduced. Her sailor guardian identity is Sailor Mercury (セーラーマーキュリー, Sērā Mākyurī). Her powers are based around water and ice, as well as intelligence and computers.
Nomenclature & Etymology
Etymology
Ami, the kanji for A (亜) translates to "Asia", "rank next", or "come after". The kanji for mi (美) translates to "beauty". So her first name could be either "Asian Beauty" or "Second Beauty".
Mizuno, the kanji for Mizu (水) translates to "water" while the kanji for no (野) translates to "plains", "field", "rustic", or "civilian life". The syllable no (の) also indicates possession, so while the literal translation of her family name may be "water field" or "water civilian", others may translate it as "of the water."
Nomenclature
Naoko Takeuchi included many occultist arts to finely detail each character. For Usagi, these things include:
- Birthstone: Blue Sapphire - Wisdom, loyalty and nobility. Believed to promote healing.
- Zodiac Sign: Virgo - Loyal, analytical, kind, hardworking, practical; Shy, anxious, overly critical of self and other, all work and no play.
- Blood-type: A - Sensible and fastidious.
Appearance
Civilian
Senshi
Personality
She is very reserved, shy, and a bit of a loner. Because of this, she finds it hard to make new friends.
Background
Ami Mizuno is an intelligent 14-year-old second year student at Juuban Middle School. She is in the same class as Usagi.
In Act 2, she finds Usagi's cat, Luna, on the street. Usagi invites Ami to lunch and discovers that the two share a common interest - the pop idol Minako Aino.
After meeting Ami, Luna tells Usagi that she is another Sailor Guardian, Sailor Mercury. Usagi tells Ami about her destiny as a soldier the next day. Ami feels that Usagi is only being her friend because of her destiny as a Sailor Guardian and refuses to help her fight. To get out of it, she tells Usagi that she has too much work to do for school. Luna insists that Ami must fight, but Usagi does not want to force her into anything.
However, when Ami and Usagi are being attacked by a Youma at Ami's cram school, she changes her mind. Ami is thrown off a building ledge when Sailor Moon grabs her to try to save her, though both girls are slipping. Ami then realizes that Usagi is genuine, and transforms into Sailor Mercury to attack the Youma.
In Act 20, Ami feels quite lonely. All of her friends seem too busy with other pursuits to pay attention to her. Kunzite then appears. Ami tries to fight him off by herself, but Kunzite sends a blast of energy at her. Sailor Mercury's head drops for a moment. When she wakes up again, the energy has taken over her mind.
In Act 21, Makoto goes into Ami's house and finds her unconscious. After determining that she's okay, Makoto suggests going to an amusement park to cheer her up.
On the way there, Ami passes out. When they go to a hospital, Makoto hears something in Ami's hospital room. When she gets to the room, she sees black rose petals. Ami, staring blankly, walks to Kunzite's layer. Sailor Jupiter tries to save her, but it is no use. Ami is under Kunzite's control. After she transforms into Dark Mercury, she challenges the four senshi.
In Act 28, when Sailor Mercury is temporarily released from Kunzite's spell, she finds that she has hurt Sailor Moon. Sailor Mercury feels terrible for hurting a friend; Sailor Moon is then healed by Mercury's love for her friend, and Kunzite loses his control completely. She has no memory of what has happened while she was Dark Mercury.