Ami Mizuno (水野 亜美, Mizuno Ami) is the civilian identity and present-day incarnation of Sailor Mercury (セーラーマーキュリー, Seeraa Maakyurii). She is one of the four Inner Sailor Guardians and the second Senshi recruited by Luna in the manga.
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" referencing how she is the second to join the team.
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."
Together, Ami Mizuno can mean "Second Beauty of the Water".
Nomenclature[]
Naoko Takeuchi provided many additional details on Ami which include:
Appearance[]
Civilian[]
Ami Mizuno is a teenage girl who has short, dark blue hair that reaches her neck, and aqua blue eyes. At times, Ami has be seen wearing glasses and a big sweater. Like Usagi, she wears a standard Juban Public Middle School sailor uniform and later a Juban High School one with white socks and brown penny loafers.
Sailor Mercury[]
Sailor Mercury's standard uniform consists of a white, chest-armored leotard, a blue sailor collar with three white stripes, a blue choker, a blue skirt with a white puffy belt sat above it, and light blue bows at the chest and at the back. She wears a pair of blue short heeled knee-high boots with white triangular borders, white gloves with three blue arm fittings at the ends that reach just below her elbows, and a light blue circular gem at the center of her chest bow. Unlike the rest of the Solar System Senshi (besides Sailor Pluto), her uniform is sleeveless, giving off the illusion of a swimsuit which is supposed to be reminiscent of Mercury's power over water. A golden tiara with a blue, oval-shaped gem is located on her forehead, and for earrings, she has three blue studs on either ear. Additional accessories include the Mercury Goggles, which she can summon at her own will by pressing on one of her earrings, and a speaker that extends from her bottom left earring.
In Act 33, when Super Sailor Moon is awakened, the shape of the gem at the center of her chest bow changes into a heart.
Super Sailor Mercury[]
As Super Sailor Mercury, the number of white stripes on her collar was reduced to one, her choker had a yellow star with a blue gemstone in the center attached to it, she gains shoulder pads (the bottom of them being translucent), and the back waist bow was enlarged and lengthened.
Eternal Sailor Mercury[]
As Eternal Sailor Mercury, her sailor uniform radically changed. Her leotard no longer has chest armor, and the gemstone in the middle of her tiara is star-shaped. Her earrings have a blue star dangling from a single blue stud. Her choker is v-shaped with a yellow star in the center. Her sailor collar has a singular golden stripe on it. The gem at the center of her chest bow is also star-shaped. In place of her shoulder pads are short light blue bubble-like sleeves with two blue fittings at the ends; they have somewhat of a translucent aspect to them. Her gloves are extended to reach her upper arms, and her skirt now consists of two layers; blue on the top and light blue on the bottom. Her belt is now made up of two ribbons, the bottom one being light blue and the top one being blue, the top one being very lengthy and extending past her skirt. Her back bow is now back to its original size, and her boots are now white and knee-length; they have larger heels and blue v-shaped borders at the top that have yellow stars in the center.
Princess Mercury[]
As a Sailor Princess, she wears a blue strap dress that goes past her feet and a blue choker that is tied into a ribbon at the back. She has a gold necklace and her straps have three gold ornaments each. The necklace and ornaments each have blue gems in them. She wears small blue stud earrings. She wears high-heeled shoes.
Personality[]
Before becoming friends with Usagi and the other Sailor Senshi, Ami was a shy girl who did not make friends easily. She preferred to spend time alone studying and reading books. In return, many of her classmates believed her to be snobby and arrogant because of her intelligence; even being superhuman as she always finished at the top of national exams. However, once Ami and Usagi became friends, the opinions began to change.
Ami is depicted to be a sweet, kind, gentle, and loyal girl who is slightly insecure. In the beginning, she relies on the opinions of her mother, classmates, and teachers. As the series progresses, she becomes stronger and more confident.
Her favorite subject is mathematics and does not have a least favourite.[2] She is adept with computers.
Information[]
Background[]
Ami's parents are divorced; living with her mother in a condominium. Her mother is always working, leaving Ami to care for herself. She also dreams of becoming a doctor like her mother.
Dark Kingdom arc[]
Ami is introduced in Act 2, appearing on Luna's computer; listing her name, birthday, zodiac sign, blood type, and age. The next day, everyone is talking about how Ami Mizuno once again finished at the top of the national exams; speculating that she isn't human and that her I.Q. is 300. Umino mentions that the reason she is so smart is probably due to her attending a private cram school, the Crystal Seminar. Umino also mentions that her mother is a doctor. Naru mentions that she must be smart and rich, but Yumiko remarks that she's cold has no friends and that all she ever does is study.
On her way home, while fretting about her low test scores, Usagi notices Ami walking home when Luna jumps on top of Ami's head. Ami pets Luna, and Usagi sees that she is not a bad person. Usagi calls Luna over and asks if she's all right. Ami says that when Luna suddenly fell from the sky, she thought it was an angel, but becomes embarrassed after saying so. Usagi then introduces herself and takes Ami to Game Center Crown. While there, Ami plays the Sailor V Game and gets the highest score. After she puts her name on the ranking list, a pen falls out of the machine. After that, Ami checks the clock and realizes that she has to go to cram school, the Crystal Seminar.
At school the next day, Ami is studying on a computer when Usagi comes and asks Ami if she would like to stop for ice cream on the way home with them. Ami sees two students grumbling that they have to get to the Crystal Seminar. She remembers that her teacher has high expectations for her, declines Usagi's offer, and hurries off to the cram school. Unbeknownst to Ami, she left her disk for the cram school behind.
After learning the true message on the disk, Usagi spots Ami and the other students from the Crystal Seminar, only to realize that they have been brainwashed. Usagi uses the disguise pen to transform into a doctor's attire and rushes to save her. When the teacher reveals herself to be a youma, she transforms into Sailor Moon, but the youma grabs hold of Ami and scolds her for not using the disk to study. Ami in return tells the teacher that you study by your initiative. The youma decides to kill her, but her pen glows and the symbol of Mercury appears on her forehead. Ami then transforms into Sailor Mercury for the first time; enveloping everyone in a freezing mist. After the youma is defeated, the fog clears up with Ami in her Sailor Uniform Luna tells her that she is Sailor Mercury; a fellow Sailor Senshi that they have been looking for.
Black Moon arc[]
Infinity arc[]
Dream arc[]
Stars arc[]
Sailor Senshi Info[]
Ami can transform into Sailor Mercury by saying "Mercury Power, Make Up!". Her attacks are centered around snow, ice, water, sleet, and mist.
Phrases[]
- Mercury Power, Make Up
- Mercury Star Power, Make Up
- Mercury Planet Power, Make Up
- Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up
Attacks[]
- Mercury Aqua Mist
- Hyperspatial Sphere Generate
- Shine Aqua Illusion
- Shine Snow Illusion
- Mercury Aqua Mirage
- Mercury Aqua Rhapsody
- Sailor Planet Attack
- Sailor Planet Power Meditation
- Galactica Gale
- Galactica Planet Attack
Items[]
Weapons[]
Miscellaneous[]
- Hydromancy: Ami displayed this ability once in Act 16, by detecting a flaw at the underground water pipe without any tools.
Development[]
As Artbook Infinity revealed, Ami wasn't included in the first plans for a expansion of the original Codename: Sailor V one shot. It instead featured Minako's very similar-looking best friend Hikaru Sorano. Ami was present by the time the concept was expanded to center on Sailor Moon however.
Both Ami and Hikaru bear a strong resemblance to Rena Kuramitsu from Naoko Takeuchi's one-shot story Miss Rain. In the first edition of the manga, when Usagi saw Ami for the first time she said that she looked like Rena. This reference was removed in the 2003 re-release and subsequent editions of the manga. In the Materials Collection, Naoko Takeuchi described Ami as looking similar to Noriko Sakai: a J-pop idol of the early 1990s.
Naoko Takeuchi designed Ami as the "team brain," giving her genius-level intelligence to create the impression that she was not quite human. In Shinsouban manga Vol. 3, she revealed the character was originally intended to be a cyborg and planned on her losing an arm or being injured in some other way and dying, but Takeuchi's editor objected. Part of this idea was eventually used in Hotaru though. Her editor has revealed, many times, that Ami is his favourite character and in Tankoubon manga Vol. 3 he said he would Fax Naoko Takeuchi drawings of Ami saying words of encouragement as she worked on the manga.
Gallery[]
Dark Kingdom[]
Black Moon[]
Infinity[]
Dream[]
Stars[]
Manga covers[]
Artwork[]
Trivia[]
- Ami's membership number in the Three Lights Fanclub was 25; the earliest number among the Sailor Guardians.
- In Japan, Sailor Mercury was the most popular Sailor Guardian during the initial manga and 90's anime release, although she sometimes dropped to second place in favor of Sailor Chibi Moon among younger viewers. This was mainly because Ami's docile and studious personality made her a role model for Japanese children.
- As Sailor Mercury, the visor/goggles display German text.
- In the side story Ami's First Love, it was revealed that Ami has psychogenic urticaria, a stress-inducing disorder that caused her to break out in hives. In other words, it is not the love letters themselves that gave her rashes.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Official Sailor Moon website; Sailor Mercury's Profile
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (Volume 10)/Tankoubon - Ami's profile.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Ami-chan's First Love - Ami's introduction
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 At the start of Act 4, Luna has a profile of Ami which states she is 14, born on September 10th, a Virgo, and has a blood type of A. The Infinity arc covers the entire next school year with Rei's April 17th birthday in Act 28 and December 25th in The Lover of Princess Kaguya. The Dream arc starts April 1st and the Stars arc ends a few months later and is unclear if her birthday passes again before the end of the story.
NOTE: In Japan 2nd year Middle Schoolers, like Ami and her friends, are 13 and turn 14. Luna's profile implies the story begins after Ami's birthday; however, Rei's 14th birthday being shown in Casablanca Memory and Usagi saying it is not yet Mamoru's August 3rd birthday in Act 19 imply otherwise. This should be kept in mind when considering Ami's age in the first two arcs.