Why I chose this costume:
Originally, when I was asked to be a part of the Eternal Sailor Senshi group being formed to debut at Anime Boston, the leader of the group had wanted me to be Sailor Jupiter. Feeling I wouldn’t do the character justice, I turned down her request, only to promise myself not to turn down any more if she contacted me again. About a week later she did contact me, telling me that the girl planned for Sailor Mars had dropped out and asked if I could fill in. I accepted right away!
Sailor Mars is the senshi of war, fire, and passion. She can read flames and uses them in her attacks. As a senshi, she is also second in command of the inner group. As Hino Rei, she is a priestess at a shrine where she not only continues and strengthens her fire reading skills, but also dabbles in the creation and blessing of ofuda scrolls. Although a bit distant from others due to her physic abilities, she grows to be a compassionate and strong-willed individual throughout the series.
How I made this costume:
Leotard, wig, and boots were bought online, everything else was made from scratch. The boots were cut at an angle and had ribbon and stars sewed on. I made two circle skirts from Casa fabric and added ribbon for the waist band. The skirts snap onto the leotard to hold their position. Bows on back and front were made from a thicker Casa fabric, and then stuffed with foamy to keep their shape. Collar was made from Casa satin and I sewed the pink ribbon onto it. The sleeves are sewn to poof with Casa shiny and the rolls on the gloves/sleeves are staffed with cotton piping to hold their shape. The Sailor Saturn in our group did all the tiaras, earrings, and star brooches.
The flame bow and arrow are knows as the Mars Arrow and are used during Sailor Mars’s “Mars Flame Sniper!” attack. The Mars Arrow is one of her most significant items and it was a lot of fun to construct. I used a wooden toy bow and arrow set and covered them both in colored poly paper, which was cut into the shape of flames. The Mars Arrow picks up light very well and looks amazing with sunlight filtered through the flames. I’m very happy with how it turned out!
Thoughts on this costume:
Special thanks goes to my brother who hand-wrote the kanji on my scroll. He did a lovely job! I also really enjoyed being in such a large group at both conventions. I would love to have a complete group of Eternal senshi at some point.
Eternal Senshi include: Eternal Sailor Moon – Bry, Eternal Sailor Mercury – Emily, Eternal Sailor Mars – myself, Eternal Sailor Jupiter – unknown, Eternal Sailor Venus – Gale, Eternal Sailor Chibi Moon – Shiva, Eternal Sailor Uranus – Sabine, Eternal Sailor Neptune – Laura, Eternal Sailor Saturn – Christa, Eternal Sailor Pluto – Elly Star
