Rei Hino (火野 レイ, Hino Rei) is the civilian identity and present-day incarnation of Sailor Mars (セーラーマーズ, Sērā Māzu). She is a miko who lives at Hikawa Shrine with her grandfather and the crows Phobos and Deimos in the manga.
Quick Answers
What is the civilian identity of Sailor Mars in the manga?
Who does Rei Hino live with at the Hikawa Shrine?
What is the significance of the crows Phobos and Deimos in the Sailor Mars story?
What does Rei Hino's name mean in the Chinese versions of the manga?
How does Sailor Mars introduce herself in the manga?
Nomenclature & Etymology[]
Etymology[]
Rei: Her given name is in katakana, rei (レイ) and therefore offers no translation or meaning.
In the Chinese versions of the series (anime and manga), Rei's name is written with the character "麗", which carries the same phonetic as "Rei", but means "beauty" and/or "lovely". Rei can also be written as “霊,” meaning “spirit,” perhaps in reference to her job as miko.
Hino: The kanji of Rei's surname translates hi (火) "fire" and no (野) meaning "field" or "civilian".
Her entire name is structured as a pun, as the syllable "no" indicates a possessive so that her name can also be understood as "Fire of Rei".
Nomenclature[]
Naoko Takeuchi provided many additional details on Rei which include:
Appearance[]
Civilian[]
Rei is a teenage girl with deep violet eyes and long black hair, that shows off a slight purple tint. Takeuchi describes Rei in her notes as being "slender".
Unlike the other Sailor Guardian’s school uniforms, her school uniform is very stylish and classy and reflects the elite status of her private school. She wears a gray blouse that has a black collar with dark red stripes on it, a dark red bow, a black skirt, white socks with a dark red stripe, and black shoes. When she becomes a high school student in Stars, the dark red bow on her shirt becomes black. Another outfit she is often seen wearing is her red and white shrine priestess robes. She also always wears her pendant.
Sailor Mars[]
Sailor Mars' sailor uniform consists of her tiara, which has a red gem in the center. Six pointed stars dangling from red stud earrings. Her plain red choker. Her sailor collar with three white stripes on it. Her purple front bow with her circular red brooch. Her leotard, which has three white shoulder pads. Her gloves are elbow-high with three red bands at the end. Her skirt and back bow are both dark red. She also wears shiny dark red high heels. She wears her deceased mother's brooch, which is a red gem with gold accents on it on her waist.
Super Sailor Mars[]
As Super Sailor Mars, she wears an upgraded version of her Sailor Mars uniform. The only things that change are the length of her back bow, a red heart on her front bow, the sailor collar now features one white stripe, the shoulder pads last pad is more wing-like and translucent, and her red gem is embedded in a yellow star.
Eternal Sailor Mars[]
As Eternal Sailor Mars, her outfit is almost completely altered. Her leotard no longer has chest armor, and the gemstone in the middle of her tiara is star-shaped. Her earrings have a dark red star dangling from a single gold stud. Her choker is v-shaped with a yellow star in the center. Her sailor collar has a singular gold stripe on it. The gem at the center of her chest bow is also star-shaped. Replacing her shoulder pads are short solid light red bubble-like sleeves with dark red fittings at the end. Her gloves now have dark red, v-shaped wristbands and are extended to reach her upper arms. and her skirt is attached to her leotard by a dark red and light red belt. A yellow star is connecting both belts in the center. Her skirt now consists of two layers; Dark red on the top and light red on the bottom. Her belt is now made up of two ribbons, the bottom one being light red and the top one being dark red, the top one being very lengthy and extending past her skirt. Her back bow is now back to its original size but this time it’s a light red with narrow, long, red ribbons extending from it down to her knees, and she now has white knee-length boots; they have larger heels and dark red v-shaped borders at the top that have yellow stars in the center.
Princess Mars[]
As Princess Mars, she wears a red strap dress that goes past her feet and wears a red choker that is tied into a ribbon at the back. She has a gold necklace with a red gem and small red stud earrings. She also wears red high-heeled shoes with straps and the symbol of Mars is on her forehead. She has Phobos and Deimos Castle.
Personality[]
Rei dislikes modern romantic relationships and resents men. She has an old fashioned way of thinking, and is very traditional. She remains stoic and serious, making her a rather mysterious character. Due to the lack of male role models in her life and her resentment towards her father, she does not rely on men and is uninterested in ever getting into a romantic relationship. Despite her seriousness, she is extremely loyal to Usagi and her fellow Sailor Guardians, and cares a lot about the ones who are close to her.
Information[]
Background[]
Rei is an only child and the daughter of Risa Hino and Takashi Hino, a famous politician. Her mother Risa fell ill and died, leaving a grieving Rei who began to despise her father for never visiting her mother once as she was dying in the hospital. Rei would soon move into Hikawa Shrine with her grandfather and work as a shrine priestess as well as befriending two crows named Phobos and Deimos. Rei would develop psychic powers that she would cultivate by diving through the Sacred Fire at the shrine. However, her abilities would cause people to view her as strange and avoid her. Once a year on her birthday, Rei would meet with her father and receive Casablanca lilies and a white dress for her to wear, gifts ostensibly picked out by him, but in reality, picked out by his secretary Kaido, whom Rei has a crush on. Because Kaido expressed a disinterest in getting married and having kids, Rei believed them to be kindred spirits. However, Rei eventually found out that her father wants Kaido to take over his position when he retires and insists that Kaido be married to maintain a good impression. Rei sees him being affectionate with another woman and learns that she is the daughter of another high-class politician from his circle of friends and co-workers. Many people believe she and Kaido would make the perfect couple. Rei is devastated by the news because she felt that Kaido understood her views on marriage, relationships, and love. Kaido claims that his marriage is only a political move decided by her father, but Rei calls him a liar and says that if Kaido truly wanted to use marriage as a way to gather power, he would have married Rei herself.
Dark Kingdom arc[]
Rei makes her first appearance in the Sailor Moon manga series in Act 3 Rei - Sailor Mars. In the chapter, we first see Rei meditating over a fire and thinking that something disastrous is coming. In the next scene afterward, we see Rei telling a young girl goodbye. After the girl leaves, Rei looks at her watch and finds out that it is six o'clock. We later see Rei on the same bus that Usagi and Ami are on.
Black Moon arc[]
Infinity arc[]
Dream arc[]
Stars arc[]
Sailor Guardian Info[]
Rei Hino can transform into Sailor Mars by saying Mars Power, Make Up! Her attacks are centered around fire and spiritual attributes.
Phrases[]
Attacks[]
- Akuryo Taisan
- Phobos Deimos
- Burning Mandala
- Mars Snake Fire
- Mars Flame Sniper
- Sailor Planet Attack
- Sailor Planet Power Meditation
- Galactica Gale
- Galactica Planet Attack
Items[]
Weapons[]
Miscellaneous[]
- Precognition: Rei is shown to have strong precognition, where she can make full use of this ability to predict events from a near future, but it can fail sometimes.[6]
- Pyromancy: She is also shown to have a great affinity with fire, to the point where she is capable to manifest her future sights by forming images on the flames. The images are very enigmatic and unreliable.
- Sixth Sense: Rei is sometimes shown to have a "sixth sense", using it to detect "evil presences" and approaching danger, but it can fail sometimes as well.[7]
- Expert Archer: As a Shrine Maiden, she is an expert archer, and this potential is shown in her "Mars Flame Sniper" attack.
Gallery[]
Dark Kingdom[]
Black Moon[]
Infinity[]
Dream[]
Stars[]
Manga covers[]
Artwork[]
Development[]
According to the Artbook Infinity, a prototype version of Rei was in a team lead by Minako and was named Miyabi Yoruno (夜野みやび), with the surname translating as "Night-Field" (her corresponding goddess was going to be Nyx); and as for her given-name, Miyabi refers to the Sanctum sanctorum of a Shinto-shrine &/or Buddhist-temple (Miya), and to Beauty/Beautiful (Bi); OR it means "Grace" and "Refinement" (雅). Her full name can mean "Elegance of Night".
According to the Artbook V, the katakana for "Rei", "レイ", actually refers to "Beauty" and "Elegance" (麗), rather than to "spirit" (霊); this most-likely is a nod to "Miyabi" (みやび (雅)) also meaning "Elegance" along with "Grace" and "Refinement".
The Infinity notes also included that Miyabi has psychic powers (which was kept in Rei before becoming less-prevalent), and powers such as exorcism (Akuryo Taisan) and that she is an occultist who can cast spells.
In the Shinsoban manga Vol. 3, Naoko Takeuchi states she made Rei a shrine priestess because she worked as one while attending university. Rei's favorite flower is a Casablanca lily because Naoko Takeuchi heard Michie Tomizawa say it is her favorite flower while spending time with the 90s anime voice actresses.[5]
Trivia[]
- Shrine Priestesses are known for carrying bows and Rei's dedication is reflected through her decision to join the archery club and her attack Mars Flame Sniper.
- The planet Mars was named after the Roman God of War, Mars, who was usually depicted in armor and carrying a spear. This is probably why Sailor Mars' original concept design features her wearing armor.
- She made a cameo appearance in Vol. 6 of Codename: Sailor V. She first appeared outside of Game Center Crown and said the atmosphere was disquieting. She was referred to as "Hino-san" and wore her school uniform.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Official Sailor Moon website; Sailor Mars' 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 - Rei's profile.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 They celebrate Rei's 15th birthday on April 17th during Act 28 of the Infinity arc. Her previous birthday was shown at the start of Casablanca Memory meaning she was 13 when recruited as a Senshi and 14 for most of the Dark Kingdom arc, all of the Black Moon arc, and the beginning of the Infinity arc. The Dream arc begins on April 1st of the next year when she is still 15. In Act 39 they note the circus begins a month later and they attend opening day in Act 41 meaning she had her 16th birthday during the Dream arc, but it was not shown. The Stars arc takes place later that year when she is still 16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Materials Collection - Pages on Rei
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (Volume 11)/Tankoubon - Casablanca Memory short-story and Naoko Takeuchi's intro to it exclusive to this release.
- ↑ Act 3, Page 26; Act 14, Page 38; Act 27, Page 9
- ↑ Act 3, Pages 14, 15
