Sailor Moon Villains Ranked From Worst To Best

In theory, Queen Badiane of Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie is everything a Sailor Moon villain should be. Possessed with a dramatically dire ambition, she lures children to her Marzipan Castle to prey upon their dreams. That's the sort of bizarro fairy tale Sailor Moon does best, right? She locks kids in "dream coffins!" She dresses like the ruler of a country of malevolent pastry chefs! She sends sinister fairies, armed with magical, mind-controlling flutes, off to do her dirty work! She's every inch the ideal Sailor Moon baddie, from her aesthetic to her mission. Why doesn't she make more of an impression?

Ultimately, it's because she conforms so completely to the formula. True, Sailor Moon villains tend to combine the elements of girlhood fantasy — circuses, fairy tales, witches — with sinister intent to tremendous effect. But they always bring a little something extra to the table, whether that's a surprising backstory, complicated loyalties, or eventual redemption. Queen Badiane, in contrast, is just an evil queen. She has no family to play off of, no strange element to her ambition, no love interest. Moreover, everything attention-grabbing about her — her pastry-themed look, the eerie field of dream coffins, the fairies who serve her — is apparent from the first act of the film. It's all cool, but it's all familiar within fifteen minutes. If you're an evil queen in Sailor Moon, you need to have a killer schtick — but you need something else as well, if you're going to make a lasting impression.