Japanese names can usually be written in hiragana and kanji, whereas foreign names are translated into katakana.įor some reason, Rei’s first name is written out in katakana.

Kanji are characters representing words and phrases. Hiragana is generally used for native Japanese words, while katakana represents foreign words and onomatopoeia. The first two cover the phonetic alphabet. To understand the debate surrounding the meaning of the name Rei Hino, you must know that there are three writing systems in Japanese: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

Most of the Sailor Moon characters' names translate into something related to their powers or personalities, but fans disagree about Sailor Mars.