Sailor Moon premiered in the US in syndication on September 11, 1995. Beginning the third season, the series moved to the Cartoon Network. Sailor Moon ran for five seasons in Japan (which were known as Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon Supers, and Sailor Moon Stars, in that order), totalling 200 episodes. The first two seasons were dubbed into English and aired in the US, but they were run out of order. The first season shown in the US is the dubbed first Japanese season, though some of the original shows were omitted. The second and third seasons shown in the US are the dubbed second Japanese series, Sailor Moon R.
At the start of the series Serena, a whiny, clumsy, crybaby, is given the power to transform herself into a sailor-suited heroine named Sailor Moon by a talking cat named Luna, who acts as her guardian and teacher. Throughout the first season Serena meets up with four other Sailor Scouts: Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus (who is accompanied by her own talking cat guardian, Artemis). When the going gets tough, they are saved by a sauve, mysterious, tuxedo wearing hero known as Tuxedo Mask. Together the Scouts discover that they are the protectors of a long dead kingdom on the moon and were reincarnated on earth after the kingdom was destroyed. They don't remember their past lives, but they have to find and protect the Moon Princess (who can wield the power of the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal), but they have no idea who she is. Serena is discovered to be the very princess for whom they are searching and Tuxedo Mask is the reincarnation of her beloved prince who was killed defending her when the Moon Kingdom fell. In order to protect the Earth from their enemies, Sailor Moon must unlock the secrets of her past and the powers of the Silver Moon Crystal, while dealing with school, friends, family, and her new boyfriend, Tuxedo Mask.
In the five seasons the series ran, many new enemies and allies were introduced, among these the Sailor Scouts of the outer solar system: Sailor Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. In addition, in the third season Reeny becomes a Sailor Scout named Sailor Chibi Moon (who is called Sailor Mini Moon in the movies that have been released in the US). The names used in the original version had special meaning that related to the character's powers of personality, which was lost when DIC dubbed the show into English. The translation from Japanese to English caused the following name changes: Usagi to Serena, Makoto to Lita, Minako to Mina, Mamoru to Darien, Chibi-Usa to Reeny, Sailor Senshi to Sailor Scouts, Tuxedo Kamen to Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Chibi Moon to Sailor Mini Moon. Both Ami and Rei have the same names in both languages.