Sailormoon World -- Information Notebook -- Ages and Grades

The school system in Japan is 3 grades of middle school and 3 of high school. 7th, 8th and 9th grades are junior high and 10th 11th and 12th are high school. However, in the United States, junior high can go up to 8th or 9th...and in some cases of the school system, doesn't exist.

Wearing a school uniform is standard attire for Japanese public schools and in many schools the uniforms for girls look like sailor suits. For both girls and boys, the uniforms are inspired by the uniforms that the Imperial Japanese Navy wore in the Neiji era (1868-1912).

In Japan, the high school and college entrance exams are very fierce and competitive. Basically, what college you attend will determine a great deal of your standing throughout the rest of your life. In America, the exams are much easier compared to the ones in Japan. The exams in Japan are very long and take an extreme amount of studying. Many of the Japanese students will attend special cram schools called 'juku' for years just to study and prepare for the entrance exam. Ami (North American name: Amy) attends a school like this. School up to college in itself is also hard and lots of homework is given to the students. Because of the large amount of studying required of the students in Japan, this doesn't leave them with a lot of time to socialize like you see in Japanese animation. Once in college, it is said that it's easier than college in America.

The students in Japan are required to study English for years, but even so, most Japanese are not fluent in English. Perhaps it is the teaching methods or maybe it is forgotten if they aren't using it after leaving school.

The five main characters of Sailor Moon (Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako) are age 14 (second year of junior high, 8th grade) in the start of the anime. The girls lose a year in the end of the first story in the manga. Because everyone had lost their memory, things start over again and they are still age 14. This is kind of unclear in the anime. Naru (North American name: Molly) and Gurio (North American name: Melvin) still like each other. Makoto (North American name: Lita) is attending the same school that Usagi (North American name: Serena) is, even though she had transferred well into the year. But in the Atarashiki henshin! Usagi power up episode #51 (North American name: Cherry Blossom Time episode #45) they imply that spring has come again, but they are still in 8th grade. The girls remain at the age of 14 for the Sailormoon R series.

In the Sailormoon S series, the girls are at the age of 15 (their third year in junior high, 9th grade). Only Usagi's birthday is seen in the show.

In the Sailormoon SuperS, the girls are at the age of 16 (their first year in high school, 10th grade). Haruka (North American name: Amara) and Michiru (North American name: Michelle) are in their second year of high school, but were born in the same year as the girls. In the manga, Mamoru (North American name: Darien) starts off in high school, but in the anime he is in college. Setsuna (North American name: Trista) in the manga is in her first year of college, this would make her about 3 years older than the other girls and is most likely at the age of 18. In the anime, Setsuna has been reincarnated and is protrayed as being thousands of years old. In the manga, Chibi Usa's (North American name: Rini) age is 900 years, but in the anime her age is not clear since her age isn't given.

In the DiC versions of Sailor Moon, there is a contradiction of Sailor Moon R Series where Alan (Japanese name: Ail) and Ann enter the story. Alan is placed in the 10th grade (instead of the 9th). Ann and Serena are said to be in the 9th grade (instead of the 8th). Then they call it high school when they are supposed to be in junior high.

Another mistake made by DiC in episode #15 was Sammy (Serena's younger brother) was placed into Crossroads Junior High with the rest of the girls, which would be ridiculous.