Mythology

Okay, so this isn't really mythology, I just wasn't sure what else to call it. It's just a bit of info about some of the Japanese traditions that have been incorporated into anime. Learn something, would you? Just teasing!

Now tell me if I'm wrong here, but everyone has some sort of sentimental attachment to their name, don't you think? After all, it's something that's there for life (for most people, anyway), and it's something you were born with. Well, the Asian cultures hold it in a very important light for these reasons. The names of anime characters tend to embody their personalities, strong points, or purpose. Michiru, for example, directly means to rise (tide) or King of the Sea. As she's Sailor Neptune, it makes sense, don't you think? Also, I might add on more of a Roman mythology sort of note, Neptune (Posiedon in Greek mythology) was the god of the sea.

The Japanese also believe that the character traits you exhibit have quite a bit to do with your blood group. I'll use Usagi as an example here, because I feel that she definitely fits the set characteristics: her blood group is O, which coincides with being outgoing, friendly, and being a leader. We all know that Usagi isn't the least bit shy, and she obviously has quite a few friends; she's also considered a leader among the senshi.

In anime, the eyes of a character are quite important. Did you ever notice how evil characters have narrow eyes, and the heroes (or heroines, in our case) have wider eyes? The larger the eye, the more innocent a character is said to be. That's why Usagi and the inner senshi have the widest eyes, Michiru and the rest of the outers (excluding Hotaru) have eyes which are slightly more narrow, and the eyes of the evil characters are quite narrow indeed (with the exception of the Amazon Quartet).

Also, the zodiac sign of a character and the birthstone help determine some of their traits, which in turn makes their birthdays of great importance. Go here for more details about birthstones, and here for more information regarding horoscopes.