Zoisite

Zoisite was the third of the Shitennou to appear in all Sailor Moon continuities, though his characterization altered dramatically in each adaption of the story. In most continuities, he had long blonde-brown wavy hair tied back in a ponytail, but in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, he had straight silver-white hair in a low ponytail.

== Personality == Zoisite in the anime was far more calculating, and a little more vain and sarcastic, than his manga counterpart. He actively plotted against Nephrite, and even eventually brought about his demise. Anime Zoisite was also more prone to accidents and getting into humorous situations than manga Zoisite, as shown in his chase after Rhett Butler through the sewers of Tokyo in episode 31.

[edit]Relationships

• In the anime Zoisite was trained by Kunzite and the two were lovers; he could often be seen in the arms of Kunzite, who reassured the younger Shitennou when things went wrong. When Queen Beryl fatally injured Zoisite for attackingTuxedo Mask without her permission, Kunzite stayed next to the dying Zoisite's side until he passed away. Kunzite blamed Prince Endymion for Zoisite's death and despised him for it.

[edit]Censorship

In the original English dub of Sailor Moon by DiC, Zoisite was changed from a homosexual man to a heterosexual woman called Zoycite to avoid any potential backlash from parents who may not approve of a gay relationship being present in a children's cartoon. Her personality was much the same as male Zoisite's, but was perhaps a little less subtle. This change continued across many of the foreign-language dubs, and several others changed Zoisite and Kunzite to be brotherly figures rather than lovers.

[edit]Manga

[edit]Personality

In the Materials Collection of the manga, it was said that Zoisite's personality was that of an "effeminate, youngest-child type"^[1] and also that Zoisite used dirty methods of attack.

[edit]Relationships

• The romantic relationship between Zoisite and Kunzite was an invention of the anime and did not exist in the manga; the Materials Collection stated that Zoisite and Kunzite are more like brothers, with Zoisite acting as the younger brother.

• As opposed to plotting against Nephrite and bringing about his fellow Shitennou's eventual demise, as occurred in the anime, Zoisite was actually visibly upset when Nephrite died in the manga.

• In a Senshi/Shitennou "couples" image, Zoisite was paired with Sailor Mercury. This image showed an idea that went undeveloped by Naoko Takeuchi and should therefore not be considered canon. This coupling was popular in the musicals, however, and was also used in the game Sailor Moon: Another Story, with Ami hunting for Zoisite's Yang Stone in Switzerland.

[edit]Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

Zoisite in PGSM

[edit]Personality

In the live-action series, not only was Zoisite's appearance and uniform drastically altered, but his personality was as well. He was much quieter and more subdued than his prior incarnations, and was rather obsessed with protecting Prince Endymion. Zoisite spent most of his time playing the piano through which many of his powers seemed to be channeled, e.g. creating Youma, interfering with events in the human world, etc.

[edit]Relationships

• Zoisite was obsessed with finding and protecting Prince Endymion, both from Queen Beryl and fromPrincess Serenity. Some fans believe his obsession bordered on infatuation and even unrequited love, although these feelings have never been shown to be canon.

• Another popular fan canon pairing is that of Sailor Venus and Zoisite. This is due to the fact that she was often the target of his attacks, especially when she was posing as a decoy Moon Princess, and also due to the fact that the two both worked together at one point trying to erase Usagi's memory of her love for Mamoru in the hopes that it would avert another disaster like the one that occurred in the Silver Millennium and the Earth Kingdom.

[edit]Trivia

• Zoisite's name is likely derived from a mineral known as zoisite.

• Zoisite was the only Shitennou who both owned Youma and created other Youma from human beings.

• According to Naoko Takeuchi, because Zoisite was so popular with fans of the anime she included him in the side-story "Casablanca Memory."

• In the Russian dub, Zoisite was mistakenly called "Jadeite" in the early episodes.

• Zoisite's gender changed in several of the dubs, but in the French, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Cantonese,Indonesian, and Hebrew dubs, the Polish version, and the second English dub, he remained a man.