MABOROSHI NO GINZUISHOU

Anime | Manga | Name
The Ginzuishou (also known as the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou or Silver Crystal) was an extremely powerful crystal during the entire Sailor Moon series. It originally belonged to rulers of the Moon Kingdom during the Silver Millennium, but was passed on to Usagi, and ultimately, to ChibiUsa in Crystal Tokyo.

ANIME

First Mention: episode 001
First Appearance: episode 034
Who uses it?: Sailor Moon, Queen Serenity

In the anime, the Ginzuishou was first mentioned in episode 001, when Queen Beryl told Jadeite that it was required for the revival of the Dark Kingdom. The search for the crystal began in earnest in episode 022. Tuxedo Kamen joined the search as well, hoping that the crystal would help him regain his lost memories. In the next episode, Nephrite created the Kurozuishou to help him find the Ginzuishou, and the Senshi heard about the Ginzuishou for the first time.

In episode 025, Queen Beryl revealed the history of the Ginzuishou, saying that long ago, the Ginzuishou was split into seven Nijizuishou (rainbow crystals) in order to seal away the Seven Great Youma. In order to recreate the Ginzuishou, the seven Nijizuishou had to be found inside of the seven humans who are reincarned youma. Queen Beryl modified the Kurozuishou so that it would respond only to Nijizuishou, then gave it back to Zoisite. After locating all seven Nijizuisou carriers and extracting the crystals from them, Zoisite ended up with five crystals and Tuxedo Kamen ended up with two. Zoisite, Tuxedo Kamen, and Sailor Moon battled for the seven crystals in at the Starlight Tower in episode 034. The Dark Kingdom initially collected all seven, and Tuxedo Kamen was severely injured. When Sailor Moon knelt next to him and began to cry, the seven Nijizuishou left the possession of the Dark Kingdom and joined together to form the Ginzuishou from Sailor Moon's tear, marking the first time the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou was actually seen. The Ginzuishou then attached itself to the Moon Stick, making the weapon much more powerful. Afterwards, Sailor Moon was able to use the Moon Stick to perform her attack "Moon Healing Escalation," which she used to heal Dark Kingdom minions. She ultimately defeated the Dark Kingdom by destroying Queen Metallia and Queen Beryl, using the Moon Stick and Ginzuishou to do so.

Second Season: During the second season, the Moon Stick (and attached Ginzuishou) were no longer available to Sailor Moon. She initially had difficulty transforming and attacking, but in episode 051, Queen Serenity appeared in spirit form and gave her the Crystal Star, a new transformation brooch that was merged with the Ginzuishou. Although the queen said that the crystal was not as powerful as it once was, she assured Sailor Moon that her desire to protect her friends would once again draw out its true power some day.

MANGA

First Appearance: Act 03
Who uses it?: Sailor Moon, Queen Serenity

NAME

The translation of the name Maboroshi no Ginzuishou has always been a matter of some dispute among Sailor Moon fans. Ginzuishou is translated as Silver Crystal, but the word that gives so many fans trouble is Maboroshi. Maboroshi can be translated to mean phantom, illusion, dream, vision, phantasm, or apparition. With so many options for translation, it is difficult to determine which one is correct. The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou has often been called the Phantom Silver Crystal, the Illusionary Silver Crystal, or even the Mystical Silver Crystal.

Fortunately, the field of mineralogy gives us a clue. In mineralogy, a "phantom crystal" occurs when a crystal is forming, and something (such as a color change) causes the growing crystal's appearance to change. The younger faces (which are called the "phantom crystals") can be seen inside the crystal structure. In Japanese, the word "maboroshi" (meaning "phantom") is often used to refer to the crystals. We know that Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon, based many names in the series on mineralogy, and I think that the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou is no exception.