Rank the Shitennou's efficiency as villains

  • This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#1
I think Zoisite is the most useless one. All his works were relied on Nephrite's Black Crystal, his biggest accomplishment was hurting Mamoru.

Jaedite got a fine plan and did get a lot of energy, but he was too weak to fight the senshi, and using the queen's minion without permission was his folly.

Nephrite was strong and smart, his plan was more difficult to detect than Jaedite just got unlucky, but still got enough from Naru. Black Crystal is a very important tool.

Kunzite is the most powerful fighter, I just think that finding the princess was not the right job for him and Mamoru almost messed up every time.
 
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#2
Well to be fair, Zoisite did get four of the rainbow crystals on his own. The black crystal was just to help him detect their location, which Nephrite would've done too if Zoisite hadn't had him killed.
His mission was also specifically for the crystals, so we didn't get to see him go for energy in the anime.

In my mind Jadeite was the most useless. His plans were way too in your face and obvious, Nephrite was far more subtle and cunning.

Zoisite got four crystals, and delivered a pretty serious injury to Mamoru. Mamoru would've been done for in the starlight tower if Usagi didn't just happen to follow him.

Kunzite was the most powerful fighter without question. He also kept a cool head.

So I would say Zoisite and Kunzite were the most useful.

Though I wish all four had lived and joined the good side for the rest of the series lol.
 
Last edited:

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#3
Well to be fair, Zoisite did get four of the rainbow crystals on his own. The black crystal was just to help him detect their location, which Nephrite would've done too if Zoisite hadn't had him killed.
His mission was also specifically for the crystals, so we didn't get to see him go for energy in the anime.

In my mind Jadeite was the most useless. His plans were way too in your face and obvious, Nephrite was far more subtle and cunning.

Zoisite got four crystals, and delivered a pretty serious injury to Mamoru. Mamoru would've been done for in the starlight tower if Usagi didn't just happen to follow him.

Kunzite was the most powerful fighter without question. He also kept a cool head.

So I would say Zoisite and Kunzite were the most useful.

Though I wish all four had lived and joined the good side for the rest of the series lol.
He was given the task to find the Silver Crystal, but before Nephrite got the Black Crystal he did Nothing. This is also why Beryl killed him without any remorse.
 
Jul 31, 2012
5,449
4,643
1,665
Outer Space
#5
I think as far as being useful, least would be somewhere between Jadite and Zoisite. I feel like Zoisite is last, then Jadite, Nephrite, then Kunzite. Kunzite was too efficient to be useless. As stated, Zoisite did a lot of piggy backing but he has a few accomplishments here and there.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#6
Well in that case Kunzite is also useless because he too did nothing while Nephrite was out and about?

Also don't recall Nephrite doing anything while Jadeite was doing his thing.
Zoisite was given the task of finding the Silver Crystal at least during the same time Nephrite has taken the task.

Nephrite and Kunzite didn't have any mission before they took command.
 
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#7
Technically he could've been looking but since it was fruitless we didn't see it.

But even if he was doing nothing, the same can be said for Nephrite and Kunzite during the Jadeite arc. They just sat and let him fail and only stepped up when they had to.

It's okay to not like a character but you're raising the bar for him specifically and letting the other two have a freebie.

They all knew energy needed to be collected, the guardians needed to be taken out, and that they wanted the crystal. They could have chosen to work sooner than waiting for Jadeite to kick it XD

Okay changed my opinion, Jadeite was the most useful since he was a go getter. The other three were like damn, guess we have to do something now xD
 
Last edited:

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#8
Technically he could've been looking but since it was fruitless we didn't see it.

But even if he was doing nothing, the same can be said for Nephrite and Kunzite during the Jadeite arc. They just sat and let him fail and only stepped up when they had to.

It's okay to not like a character but you're raising the bar for him specifically and letting the other two have a freebie.

They all knew energy needed to be collected, the guardians needed to be taken out, and that they wanted the crystal. They could have chosen to work sooner than waiting for Jadeite to kick it.
Beryl did point out about Zoisite being fruitless during the episode of Nephrite showing his idenity.

I don't think it would be wise to do anything without Beryl's permission. Jadeite's end got to do with it. Even Nephrite got into trouble.

It's obvious that Beryl had assigned someone to do the job, if you do that means you disagree with her decision.
 
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#9
Beryl did point out about Zoisite being fruitless during the episode of Nephrite showing his idenity.

I don't think it would be wise to do anything without Beryl's permission. Jadeite's end got to do with it. Even Nephrite got into trouble.

It's obvious that Beryl had assigned someone to do the job, if you do that means you disagree with her decision.
Alright then we're in agreement. Zoisite kept to his mission looking for the crystal.
Nephrite stepped on his toes and had what he needed so he took it. Cutthroat and definitely not a very nice thing to do and not saying he should've, but it certainly yielded results.

I like all four of them. Jadeite is my least favorite purely because he had the least characterization, so I do wish we got to see more of what he's like.

They're my favorite villains in the series and a huge part of why classic will always be my favorite season.
(Amazon Trio is my next favorite)
 
Last edited:

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#10
Alright then we're in agreement. Zoisite kept to his mission looking for the crystal.
Nephrite stepped on his toes and had what he needed so he took it. Cutthroat and definitely not a very nice thing to do and not saying he should've, but it certainly yielded results.

I like all four of them. Jadeite is my least favorite purely because he had the least characterization, so I do wish we got to see more of what he's like.

They're my favorite villains in the series and a huge part of why classic will always be my favorite season.
(Amazon Trio is my next favorite)
Nephrite thought Metallia has already awakened, so it's pointless to collect energy anymore and further failure might get him into trouble again.

I don't think Jadeite is that bland. He just focus all his effort to do his job and had the greatest fear/respect to Beryl. Just he didn't realize anything else, so using the queen's minion without permission and her death caused his downfall. Just he didn't have much screen time to interact with other villains so he became the weakest of the four on characterization.

Nephrite no doubt has the best character development among them.
 
Likes: Neo Moonlight
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#11
I don't think Jadeite is that bland. He just focus all his effort to do his job and had the greatest fear/respect to Beryl. Just he didn't realize anything else, so using the queen's minion without permission and her death caused his downfall.
Yeah I definitely do like him, but it would be nice to see some of his personal life I suppose. Like Nephrite beginning to question things, and falling for Naru. And Zoisite and Kunzite were in a relationship so we got to see some cute moments with them.
All we really know about Jadeite is that he's driven and dedicated to his work, but I would've liked to know more.

And yes, Nephrite for sure had the best character development out of all four of them, and it was really well done, it happened over a few episodes and had actual good reasons to have doubts and whatnot instead of waking up one day and changing his mind because of plot.

Zoi is my fave of the four though.
 
Likes: Slowpokeking

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#12
Yeah I definitely do like him, but it would be nice to see some of his personal life I suppose. Like Nephrite beginning to question things, and falling for Naru. And Zoisite and Kunzite were in a relationship so we got to see some cute moments with them.
All we really know about Jadeite is that he's driven and dedicated to his work, but I would've liked to know more.

And yes, Nephrite for sure had the best character development out of all four of them, and it was really well done, it happened over a few episodes and had actual good reasons to have doubts and whatnot instead of waking up one day and changing his mind because of plot.

Zoi is my fave of the four though.
I think Rubeus of the Black Moon Clan is similar to Jadeite's personality, just he was far more menacing and had more interaction with others.
 
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#13
I think Rubeus of the Black Moon Clan is similar to Jadeite's personality, just he was far more menacing and had more interaction with others.
Yessss, I loved Rubeus. Agree that of them all he's the most similar to Jadeite, and agree that his interactions with other villains was what really helped him stand out more than Jadeite did.

Him being voiced by Steve Staley in the Viz dub who voiced one of my favorite Digimon characters definitely helped me like him far more than warranted though lol; ♡
 
Last edited:
Likes: Slowpokeking

lord Martiya

Aurorae Lunares
Dec 11, 2015
1,825
398
165
37
#14
My ranking:
  1. Jadeite is the most useful: his mission was to recover energy, and he did just that. Also, when ordered to fight the Sailors personally after Thetis volunteered to help him and got herself killed, he may have lost that fight, but retreated with war-winning information: before even engaging he saw the Sailor Senshi transform, and knew Rei personally. Had Beryl listened he would have won the entire conflict then and there.
  2. Kunzite comes second due his power and skills. He came quite close to succeed in a number of occasions, and his power cannot be disputed.
  3. Third is Zoisite. He relied a lot on Nephrite's Black Crystal and Kunzite's advice, but he not only was humble enough to admit his weakness and smart enough to take steps to correct it, he completed his primary mission to recover the seven Rainbow Crystal (four by himself, and the others by forcing Mamoru to bring them to him), even after Sailor Venus had got back to Tokyo, with his eventual failure being caused by something unexpected that he couldn't have planned for.
  4. Fourth is Nephrite, because for all his attempts and tricks he utterly failed. His mission was to recover energy, and never brought back any, and when he instead tried to butt in on Zoisite's to find the Silver Crystal (later changed to the Rainbow Crystals after Beryl figured out how it was hidden) he instead found Naru.

In my mind Jadeite was the most useless. His plans were way too in your face and obvious, Nephrite was far more subtle and cunning.
Problem is, Nephrite failed in everything he tried, while Jadeite's plans worked.
 
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#15
Yes, upon reading your assessment of Jadeite, I completely agree.

Nephrite's one moment of bringing back energy was more luck than anything, Naru was crushing on him hard so she didn't run away like anyone else would've when he was doing his Tuxedo Mask trick.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#16
My ranking:
  1. Jadeite is the most useful: his mission was to recover energy, and he did just that. Also, when ordered to fight the Sailors personally after Thetis volunteered to help him and got herself killed, he may have lost that fight, but retreated with war-winning information: before even engaging he saw the Sailor Senshi transform, and knew Rei personally. Had Beryl listened he would have won the entire conflict then and there.
  2. Kunzite comes second due his power and skills. He came quite close to succeed in a number of occasions, and his power cannot be disputed.
  3. Third is Zoisite. He relied a lot on Nephrite's Black Crystal and Kunzite's advice, but he not only was humble enough to admit his weakness and smart enough to take steps to correct it, he completed his primary mission to recover the seven Rainbow Crystal (four by himself, and the others by forcing Mamoru to bring them to him), even after Sailor Venus had got back to Tokyo, with his eventual failure being caused by something unexpected that he couldn't have planned for.
  4. Fourth is Nephrite, because for all his attempts and tricks he utterly failed. His mission was to recover energy, and never brought back any, and when he instead tried to butt in on Zoisite's to find the Silver Crystal (later changed to the Rainbow Crystals after Beryl figured out how it was hidden) he instead found Naru.


Problem is, Nephrite failed in everything he tried, while Jadeite's plans worked.
He did collect huge amount of energy from Naru and caused Metallia to awake.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#17
Yessss, I loved Rubeus. Agree that of them all he's the most similar to Jadeite, and agree that his interactions with other villains was what really helped him stand out more than Jadeite did.

Him being voiced by Steve Staley in the Viz dub who voiced one of my favorite Digimon characters definitely helped me like him far more than warranted though lol; ♡
I think he is a more competent and menacing villain compare to his sucessor Esmeraude.
 
Likes: Neo Moonlight
Dec 7, 2009
992
390
165
34
#18
I think he is a more competent and menacing villain compare to his sucessor Esmeraude.
For sure. Ugh Esmeraude was more annoying than menacing. Though I liked the random quirk of her having a major weakness to cake. The unexpectedness of that made it cute.

Saphir and Demande were both such great characters and I wish we got to see more of them before the endgame of the plot kicked in. Could possibly have had a few episodes of Saphir sending out droids as his suspicions of Wiseman grows in the meantime and then set the endgame of the season into motion by trying to warn Demande.
 

Slowpokeking

Aurorae Lunares
Apr 1, 2020
1,421
1,065
1,665
41
#19
For sure. Ugh Esmeraude was more annoying than menacing. Though I liked the random quirk of her having a major weakness to cake. The unexpectedness of that made it cute.

Saphir and Demande were both such great characters and I wish we got to see more of them before the endgame of the plot kicked in. Could possibly have had a few episodes of Saphir sending out droids as his suspicions of Wiseman grows in the meantime and then set the endgame of the season into motion by trying to warn Demande.
Both Demande and Wiseman got more respect to Rubeus than Esemeraude as well.

I guess the writers did it on purpose to let Mamoru stay in the center. The manga and Crystal we saw Demande was more of a focus than him, many ppl even support Demande/Usagi. But I do like Demande's characterization in the anime.
 

lord Martiya

Aurorae Lunares
Dec 11, 2015
1,825
398
165
37
#20
He did collect huge amount of energy from Naru and caused Metallia to awake.
Sheer dumb luck that Naru didn't leave that one operation like everyone else. Jadeite, on the other hand, set up an operation that brought home huge amounts of energy in spite of Sailor Moon discovering it.

It's the result of their respective modus operandi: Jadeite took over existing businesses and had his youma insert an unobtrusive trinket that collected a large amount of energy in a relatively short time to minimize Sailor Moon's window in which she could intervene and foil it, so it was simply a matter of time that one brought back the projected amount of energy (I say projected because the cram school scheme, the bus kidnapping one, and the radio show one went on for various days, so it's likely that Jadeite brought back some energy-just not enough for him to reach the projected goal and consider it a success), while Nephrite's plans, in spite of the easily missed beginning, by their nature drew attention right as the youma collected the energy, naturally resulting in their detection. In short, Sailor Moon and her group had to work hard and rely on luck to track down Jadeite's schemes, while Nephrite's were so easily detected they couldn't be distinguished from bait (the one scheme of his that I actually call clever: when Nephrite caught up on that and employed the powerful combat youma Castor and Pollux as a trap).

On a side note, Kunzite's schemes were quite similar to Jadeite, only he turned the business owner into a youma... And they came close to success multiple times.
 
Likes: Neo Moonlight