Inner Sailor Guardians

The quartet is made up of Sailor Mercury (Ami Mizuno), Sailor Mars (Rei Hino), Sailor Jupiter (Makoto Kino), and Sailor Venus (Minako Aino). The grouping's name is a fan invention rather than an in-story title, coined only to set them apart from the Outer Senshi, and the four are never actually addressed by it within the series. One quirk stands out: although Jupiter counts among the inner circle, its planet lies beyond the asteroid belt, making it the sole guardian whose astronomical placement and narrative label do not agree.

When no danger threatens, the four live largely as ordinary teenagers, chasing dreams about their futures even while sensing what those futures hold. The moment their duty calls, however, they stand ready to shield their world and their princess from any harm. In the manga and Crystal continuity, Venus leads the group and will even pose as the princess she so closely resembles to draw threats away from her.

During the Silver Millennium, the four served as protectors of Princess Serenity while also reigning as princesses of their own worlds, dwelling on the Moon much of the time. When Queen Metalia and the Dark Kingdom stormed the Moon Kingdom, all four fell defending their charge. Queen Serenity sealed Metalia away and used the Silver Crystal to cast the guardians, the princess, and Prince Endymion forward through time to be reborn on Earth. Ages later they awaken as ordinary human girls, pulled back into their roles once the Dark Kingdom resurfaces, and Serenity's reincarnation Usagi gradually finds each of them. Minako was the earliest to awaken, first as Sailor V and roused by Artemis rather than Luna, yet she was the last to formally join the team. By the era of Crystal Tokyo, with Usagi reigning as Neo-Queen Serenity, the four still guard her and reside alongside the royal family in the Crystal Palace.