This article was spawned by the pure lack of interest people have for the spelling of characters names and other references in the Pretty Soldier Sailormoon series (both anime and manga versions). The more I read people screaming their opinions on how the spelling of a character's name doesn't matter as long as you recognize who you're talking about, the more I want to scream "SPELLING DOES MATTER!"

The names of the characters DO matter. The author of a story does not just choose names at random, there is a plethora of references that are important to the story and to the characters themselves. Tsukino Usagi was given her name for a very specific reason, an intended pun on who she is and what she's all about. Is it so hard to believe that if one character was given a name for a reason, other characters were as well? Of course not! As a writer, I have always put an emphasis on character names. It tells who they are. I would hate it if all of a sudden, people decided that Chrystiana's name should be Christiana or Christina because "names and spelling don't matter." But my opinion is beside the point, her name was given for a reason, there was meaning to it. If people ignore that, then the meaning is lost and a bit of the character is lost as well.

Start spelling names wrong for the people who claim spelling and names don't matter and see what they think. I'm sure you'll hear them say 'actually, my name is spelled this way" or something to that degree. You don't meet with a Megan and call her Melissa just because you recognize who is is and it doesn't matter. We don't just change a person (or character's) name just because we recognize who it is. Names are important! And Naoko-sensei apparently thought so too when she created Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon!

People focus so much on the name puns for the main characters (tsuki no usagi/rabbit of the moon, for example), and yet, are completely uninterested in the names and spellings of the other characters. When it comes to the more obscure character names (Nehellenia, Al & En, Amazones Quartetto, and so on) they get all bothered when someone tells them the origin of the name. All of a sudden, it doesn't matter to them.

Even with this cold additute people have about having correct names for characters and other terms, fear not. There are a few places where you can read reliable information. There are places out there where people DO care about the correctness of the story and it's references. The Tour is one of those. Your Tour Guide will always try to give you the most accurate and correct information possible. Dies Gaudii is another of those places, a place where ACCURACY DOES MATTER.

Submitted by: Tour Guide Bunny
Posted on: 05 / 16 / 2003