Yōma (妖魔; lit. 'demons' in Japanese and 'monsters' in the Viz English dub) are creatures employed by the Dark Kingdom in the manga, anime, Crystal, live-action series and musicals. Their primary goals are to gather energy and/or eliminate the Sailor Guardians.
Quick Answers
What is the primary purpose of Youma in the Sailor Moon series?
Who are the creators of Youma in the Sailor Moon universe?
What methods do Youma use to gather energy in Sailor Moon?
Which Sailor Guardians were targeted by Youma?
How were Youma created by Jadeite in the Sailor Moon series?
Manga[]
Only Jadeite and Nephrite create Youma to find the Silver Crystal and gather energy. Jadeite makes two Youma from dust before he perishes. One disguises itself as Mayumi Osaka, who sells jewels at Jewelry OSA-P to steal energy from the customers, before she is destroyed by Sailor Moon. Jadeite sends a second Youma to brainwash students of Crystal Seminar to find the Silver Crystal, and Sailor Moon, assisted by Tuxedo Mask and a newly awakened Sailor Mercury, destroy her. After Jadeite's death, Nephrite sends a Youma made with his shadow to try to steal a treasure of D Kingdom, believing it to be the Silver Crystal. It is destroyed by Sailor Moon, and the Dark Kingdom generals do not use any more Youma, taking direct action instead.
Anime[]
In the early episodes of the first season, when the Youma are destroyed they do not say anything only screaming once the tiara hits or comes at them turning them to dust. After Sailor Moon begins using Moon Healing Escalation on the Youma that are made from humans, the Youma say "Refresh!" when they are destroyed while restoring the forms of the victims.
The Youma under Jadeite and Nephrite's control are independent of humans and can be destroyed, while the majority of Youma under Zoisite and Kunzite's command are humans unwillingly transformed into Youma until Sailor Moon heals them, turning them back into humans.
Jadeite[]
Any Youma sent by Jadeite usually has a human disguise (often impersonating someone else) to help Jadeite attach his items (which are charged with dark energy) to people to steal the energy from them. Once the Youma is destroyed, the energy gathered is returned to the victims.
Nephrite[]
Unlike Jadeite, who tries to steal energy from multiple people at once, Nephrite operates by finding a single person whose energy is about to reach its peak. To do this, first he consults the constellations to locate a potential target, then he approaches them, usually under the pseudonym of Masato Sanjoin, and implants a Youma in an object (normally an object usually handled by his target). The Youma begins to alter the victim's personality, causing them to become obsessed and consumed with their task, becoming hostile to others, and sometimes gain supernatural abilities. When the person's energy reaches its peak, the Youma will emerge from the object (with its appearance or abilities somehow related to the object or obsession) and steal the victims' energy. The victim regains their energy when the Youma is destroyed.
It is important to note that Soul Shadow is not a pure Youma, but rather an apparition of Nephrite. It is also interesting to note that Regulus and Soul Shadow (the only two male servants of Nephrite) are not summoned in the same way as the others, nor are they involved in an energy-absorbing plot.
Zoisite[]
Zoisite has at least five regular Youma working for him. Four of them are the standard youma that are destroyed by Sailor Moon. After Nephrite dies and Zoisite takes over, his task is to reawaken the Seven Great Youma inside people who carry the Rainbow Crystals. Thus, whenever he takes a crystal, he transforms them into a Youma, which in the "Rainbow Crystal Carriers" case, is the shadow within them. He can also change other people into monsters, as shown when he does this to an actor. To destroy the Seven Great Youma and heal the victims, Sailor Moon must use her Moon Healing Escalation on them.
Seven Great Youma[]
The Seven Great Youma are the most powerful monsters of the Dark Kingdom. They are defeated and trapped inside the Seven Rainbow Crystals, and are reborn as normal humans on present day Earth after the destruction of the Silver Millennium. The Youma, as well as a crystal, are sealed inside a specific person (one of them inside a cat). One by one, Zoisite awakens them by transforming the person carrying the crystal into a monster, but each Shadow is destroyed when the monsters are healed by Sailor Moon. They have the ability to merge into an even more powerful Youma when brought together, but Sailor Moon and the other guardians prevent the seven from gathering and thus this combined Youma does not come into existence.
Kunzite[]
Like Zoisite, Kunzite usually works by changing innocent people into Youma, where Sailor Moon must heal them. At one point, he turns several people into a single monster. When he transforms Misha and Janelyn, they retain their original names until they actually transform. Unlike Zoisite whose task is to collect the crystals, Kunzite's objective (and therefore the objective of his monster-victims as well) is purely to find and kill Sailor Moon and get the Silver Crystal from her. The difference from the victims Zoisite turns into monsters is that Kunzite's monsters can resume their human forms whenever they want (though they remain evil until they are healed by Sailor Moon's Moon Healing Escalation).
Queen Beryl[]
Queen Beryl has high-ranking Youma that work for her.
Miscellaneous[]
Also shown are two other Youma who don’t have a major role in their episodes and their respective masters are never revealed. One is the Ultimate Youma who would appear if the Seven Great Youma combine together, and a Youma who attacks London when Minako is Sailor V. There are also other Youma who are seen in the Dark Kingdom in great masses; however, they are silhouettes and have background roles only.
PGSM[]
Unlike the manga, most of the Youma in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon do not have names and are summoned in an inconsistent manner. Some of them are created from stones that are infused into objects which turn the object into a Youma. Others are simply summoned. After Queen Metalia's power begins to grow in reaction to the Silver Crystal's power, a new type of Youma are created. The new Youma are all identical to each other, are weaker than previous ones and only appear together in groups. The costumes for these entities are recycled from the Golem Soldiers/Putty Patrol from Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger/Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with hooded robes added.
Interestingly, while some Youma are able to possess humans, others can transform a human into a Youma completely. Sailor Moon is almost transformed into a Youma, though she is able to suppress it with her Sailor Guardian powers and the support of her friends.
In Act 41, Metalia also summons a single Youma where the hooded robed Youma pile onto each other. This Youma drains energy from people throughout Tokyo, leaving them comatose. In Act 45, Metalia herself controls this Youma, but is forced back out by Sailor Venus before Sailor Moon destroys it.
In the Final Act, Princess Sailor Moon summons a group of white Youma to slow down the Sailor Guardians so they can not stop her from destroying the Earth.
In the Special Act, Queen Mio summons two Youma named Sword and Shield, two Youma that have actual names. Along with them, she also uses a group of clown-like Youma called "Pierrot." Queen Mio turns into a Youma in special act.
Musicals[]
In the musical Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon ~ Spin-off – The Dark Kingdom Resurrection Chapter and its revision, there is a Youma named Manegin who disguises herself as Haruna Sakurada. Manegin also has control of other Youma who act under her control. Manegin, along with the DD girls who are in the first two musicals, reappear in the Sailor Moon Super Spring Festival.
Video Games[]
In the video game Sailor Moon for Super Famicom, there are three original Youma characters designed by Naoko Takeuchi: HiraHira, MuchiMuchi, and GoroGoro. Also, there are enemy versions of Garoben, Gamecen, Akan, and Jiji while Bakene and Murido are bosses.
In MSE Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon for the Mega Drive, Manegin reappears.
In Sailor Moon: Another Story, the Youma Kyurene, Garoben, Murido, Tesuni, Jumo, Castor and Pollux, Gesen, Shakokai, and Blizzar appear as common enemies. Boxy and the DD Girls appear as bosses.
Crystal[]
In Crystal, the Youma's roles are almost identical to the manga. Jadeite is shown to create Youma from dirt, giving them form and life, like he does with Morga and Garoben. However, Nephrite sends his shadow to steal the D Kingdom's treasure, rather than use a Youma, and he has a Youma disguise itself as a mannequin bride to steal energy.
Trivia[]
- In the anime, Youma are the only type of Monsters of the Day that can either be original creations, need to be destroyed, or be innocent civilians needing to be healed.
- Sailor Moon is the only Sailor Guardian who comes close to becoming a Youma.
- Sailor Moon is the only Sailor Senshi to summon Youma (in the live-action and in all continuities), thus the only protagonist to summon them. The white Youma she summons also seem to be a counterpart to Metalia's black-cloaked Youma in the live-action.
- For some reason, some Youma in the anime are capable of speech, while others can only repeat their names. However, this seems to be a recurring theme with all monsters of the day in the anime. However, Youma are unable to speak at all in the live-action; furthermore, all of them are unnamed besides Sword and Shield in the Special Act.
