It's no secret that almost all of the main villains in Sailor Moon are named after gemstones, minerals, or metals...but is there any rhyme or reason behind the namesakes Naoko chose for them? Do the villains relate to their namesakes? Is there a connection between the namesakes that comprise any given group of villains? Or are they just random?
Let's look at the Dark Kingdom's main players as an example: The Four Kings of Heaven (Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite) and their leader, Queen Beryl.
Jadeite is a usually light green form of jade found in various parts of the world, including Japan. Jadeite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's Far East commander. His image color is blue. (Red in the 90s anime.) While jadeite can be blue, this variety is found in South America, not Asia. So I'd say Jadeite sort of matches his namesake, but not quite.
Nephrite is a usually dark green form of jade found in various parts of the world, including western North America. Nephrite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's North American commander. His image color is red. (Yellow in the 90s anime). While red nephrite exists, it's very uncommon and is generally the result of iron oxidation or a combination with another mineral/gemstone that is red. So again I'd say Nephrite only sort of matches his namesake.
Zoisite occurs in various parts of the world, including Europe and Africa, and comes in various colors, including green and blue. Zoisite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's European Commander. His image color is green. Perfect match up, right? It would be...except that Naoko explicitly links him in the manga with blue-violet tanzanite, which (surprise!) comes from Africa.
Kunzite is a pink to violet variety of spodumene that is found in various parts of the world, including southwestern Asia. Kunzite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's Middle East Commander and his image color is white/silver. Not a great match.
Beryl is a mineral that comes in a variety of forms including emerald, aquamarine, heliodor, and morganite. It occurs around the world in a variety of colors, although pure beryl is colorless. The name "beryl" is derived from the Greek beryllos which refers to a "precious blue-green color-of-sea-water stone." Queen Beryl is not particularly associated with any location (except, perhaps, for the Arctic and maybe Israel given that she speaks in nonsense Hebrew at one point?), but her design seems to reflect the morganite and red beryl variants of her namesake. (Her 90s anime counterpart's design also possibly reflects the emerald and aquamarine variants.) In sum I'd say Queen Beryl does match her namesake, at least in terms of her design/image colors.
Now... I'm not entirely familiar with the cultural connotations / superstitions / mystical properties associated with these gemstones/minerals, so it's possible that there's something in those aspects that Naoko drew on that makes these villains better correspond with their namesakes, as well as link the namesakes with each other. Perhaps the myths about the Shitennou involve jadeite, nephrite, zoisite, and kunzite (or, at least, similar stones). Or perhaps they're just random. Because I can't really see a link between them. I'd say they're all stones that are/can be green, but kunzite isn't a green stone. (Though Malachite is.) So I'm kind of stumped.
What do you guys think? Can you figure out the link between not only each of the Four Kings (and Beryl) and their namesake stone, but also the link between those namesake stones that would make sense out of grouping them together? What about with the Ayakashi Sisters? The Witches 5? Or were Naoko's choices simply random?
Let's look at the Dark Kingdom's main players as an example: The Four Kings of Heaven (Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite) and their leader, Queen Beryl.
Jadeite is a usually light green form of jade found in various parts of the world, including Japan. Jadeite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's Far East commander. His image color is blue. (Red in the 90s anime.) While jadeite can be blue, this variety is found in South America, not Asia. So I'd say Jadeite sort of matches his namesake, but not quite.
Nephrite is a usually dark green form of jade found in various parts of the world, including western North America. Nephrite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's North American commander. His image color is red. (Yellow in the 90s anime). While red nephrite exists, it's very uncommon and is generally the result of iron oxidation or a combination with another mineral/gemstone that is red. So again I'd say Nephrite only sort of matches his namesake.
Zoisite occurs in various parts of the world, including Europe and Africa, and comes in various colors, including green and blue. Zoisite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's European Commander. His image color is green. Perfect match up, right? It would be...except that Naoko explicitly links him in the manga with blue-violet tanzanite, which (surprise!) comes from Africa.
Kunzite is a pink to violet variety of spodumene that is found in various parts of the world, including southwestern Asia. Kunzite (the villain) is the Dark Kingdom's Middle East Commander and his image color is white/silver. Not a great match.
Beryl is a mineral that comes in a variety of forms including emerald, aquamarine, heliodor, and morganite. It occurs around the world in a variety of colors, although pure beryl is colorless. The name "beryl" is derived from the Greek beryllos which refers to a "precious blue-green color-of-sea-water stone." Queen Beryl is not particularly associated with any location (except, perhaps, for the Arctic and maybe Israel given that she speaks in nonsense Hebrew at one point?), but her design seems to reflect the morganite and red beryl variants of her namesake. (Her 90s anime counterpart's design also possibly reflects the emerald and aquamarine variants.) In sum I'd say Queen Beryl does match her namesake, at least in terms of her design/image colors.
Now... I'm not entirely familiar with the cultural connotations / superstitions / mystical properties associated with these gemstones/minerals, so it's possible that there's something in those aspects that Naoko drew on that makes these villains better correspond with their namesakes, as well as link the namesakes with each other. Perhaps the myths about the Shitennou involve jadeite, nephrite, zoisite, and kunzite (or, at least, similar stones). Or perhaps they're just random. Because I can't really see a link between them. I'd say they're all stones that are/can be green, but kunzite isn't a green stone. (Though Malachite is.) So I'm kind of stumped.
What do you guys think? Can you figure out the link between not only each of the Four Kings (and Beryl) and their namesake stone, but also the link between those namesake stones that would make sense out of grouping them together? What about with the Ayakashi Sisters? The Witches 5? Or were Naoko's choices simply random?
