# Tuxedo Mask
**Tuxedo Mask** (タキシード仮面, Tuxedo Kamen) is a fictional character in [Naoko Takeuchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/naoko-takeuchi)'s manga *Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon* (美少女戦士セーラームーン) and the anime and other adaptations based on it; he wears a top hat and a mask and supports [Sailor Moon](https://www.edgepedia.org/sailor-moon) in her battles[1](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8D%E3%81%97%E3%83%BC%E3%81%A9%E4%BB%AE%E9%9D%A2-1697416). His civilian identity is Mamoru Chiba (地場衛), the love interest of the heroine Usagi Tsukino[2](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php). The manga ran in Kodansha's *Nakayoshi* from the February 1992 issue through the March 1997 issue, with the anime airing from March 1992 to February 1997[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDy-8-bvoTM).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Civilian identity | Mamoru Chiba (地場衛), a name read as "Earth protector"[2](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php) • [4](https://web.mit.edu/philip/www/sailormoon/sailormoonr.pdf) |
| First appearance | Act 1 of the manga, "Watashi ga Sailormoon!"; his identity is revealed to Usagi in Act 7, titled "地場衛-TUXEDO MASK-"[2](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php) • [5](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/ondem/sailor_moon_c/episode/7/) |
| Role in battle | Throws roses to distract enemies and uses a cane, buying Sailor Moon time to use her powers[4](https://web.mit.edu/philip/www/sailormoon/sailormoonr.pdf) |
| Past and future selves | Prince Endymion, Prince of Earth, in a past life; King Endymion, husband of Neo-Queen Serenity and father of Chibiusa, in the future[2](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php) • [6](https://ciatr.jp/topics/180336) |
| Manga-specific powers | The attack Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber (Volume 5, Act 17) and the special power psychometry[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php) |
| Age difference | A university student at his first anime appearance; a high school student in the manga[8](https://tsutayuri.hatenablog.jp/entry/2015/08/10/232354) |
| Original voice actor | Toru Furuya (古谷徹)[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdlZ8jU7LWc) |
| Profile data | Birthday August 3, blood type A, estimated height 5'8"[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php) |
## Character and role
Tuxedo Mask appears when Sailor Moon is in trouble. While Sailor Moon's job is to protect the Earth, his main purpose is to protect Sailor Moon; he throws roses, even into solid concrete, to keep enemies away from her so she has time to use her powers[4](https://web.mit.edu/philip/www/sailormoon/sailormoonr.pdf). In the original anime he typically distracts the enemy with a rose throw and departs with a theatrical line[6](https://ciatr.jp/topics/180336).
**Origin of the persona.** Mamoru lost his family and his memory in an accident in childhood. After he began dreaming of a woman (Princess Serenity) asking for the "Legendary Silver Crystal", he started sleepwalking through the night streets in a tuxedo, searching for the crystal[10](https://sailormoon.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E5%A0%B4%E8%A1%9B). One contemporary commentary describes the manga's portrayal as an [Arsène Lupin](https://www.edgepedia.org/arsene-lupin)-style hero played straight, in contrast to the anime's use of the name as a gag[11](https://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ug5k-tki/comic/comic36.html).
**Past life and future.** In his previous life he was Prince Endymion, Prince of Earth, who had an ill-fated love with the Moon Princess[2](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php). Before the ancient Moon Kingdom fell, Endymion traveled there to warn Princess Serenity of the invasion, but too late; her mother used the Silver Crystal to send the spirits of the prince, the princess, and the Sailor Guardians into the future[4](https://web.mit.edu/philip/www/sailormoon/sailormoonr.pdf). His future self, King Endymion, is the husband of Neo-Queen Serenity and the father of Chibiusa[6](https://ciatr.jp/topics/180336).
## Manga versus anime
The character differs noticeably between the manga and the 1990s anime. In the anime he is already a university student when he first appears, while in the manga he is a high school student[8](https://tsutayuri.hatenablog.jp/entry/2015/08/10/232354). In his animated form he can transform like the rest of the Sailor Team[12](https://www.tuxedounmasked.com/how-different-was-tuxedo-mask-in-the-anime-and-manga/); the transformation phrase "Tuxedo Power, Make Up!" was first used in episode 34 and was ad-libbed at a recording session that Takeuchi attended[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php).
The manga gives him abilities the anime does not: the attack Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber, printed in Volume 5, Act 17, page 45, and the special power psychometry[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php). In the manga's second arc, the Black Moon invasion separates his soul from his body, leaving him a spirit[13](https://bgm.tv/character/6614), and in that arc he is frequently shown defeating enemies in Sailor Moon's place[10](https://sailormoon.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E5%A0%B4%E8%A1%9B).
**Moonlight Knight.** During the *Sailor Moon R* Doom Tree arc, Mamoru has no memory of being Tuxedo Mask, and his desire to help Sailor Moon manifests as a separate alter ego, the Moonlight Knight (Tsukikage no Knight)[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php) • [14](https://fictionhorizon.com/top-10-coolest-things-about-tuxedo-mask/). When Mamoru's memories are restored, the Moonlight Knight reintegrates and Tuxedo Mask resumes direct action[14](https://fictionhorizon.com/top-10-coolest-things-about-tuxedo-mask/).
## Adaptations and localization
The character has appeared across manga, anime, live action, stage musicals, and games[14](https://fictionhorizon.com/top-10-coolest-things-about-tuxedo-mask/). In the 2003–2004 live-action drama *Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon*, Mamoru and Tuxedo Mask were played by Jyoji Shibue (渋江譲二)[15](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/318529); in that series his profile lists Queen Beryl, Queen Metallia, and Kuroki Mio as his enemies, and he initially fights as Tuxedo Kamen before transforming into Endymion[2](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php).
Other localizations renamed him as well: Bourdu in France, Marzio in Italy, and Darien in the North American versions, while Germany kept Mamoru Chiba[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php).
## Name and symbolism
The name Chiba Mamoru (地場衛) reads as "Earth protector", which is one explanation offered for why the team has no Sailor Earth[4](https://web.mit.edu/philip/www/sailormoon/sailormoonr.pdf). His profile lists his planet and element as Earth/Sun according to Takeuchi, and his manga title as Prince of the Earth[7](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php).
Scholarship on the series notes that the story reverses the patriarchal stereotype of men as active protectors of passive women: Tuxedo Mask, the heroine's romantic counterpart, is usually incapacitated or even killed in the course of major battles, requiring Sailor Moon to rescue or revive him[16](https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/39863/MicahG_2023.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1). The same source suggests his name, a common Japanese male name that is also a verb meaning "to protect", may be deliberately ironic given his role as a prince-in-distress[16](https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/39863/MicahG_2023.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1). At the end of the manga's 60-act run, his story with Usagi culminates in a conventional marriage; one analysis of Takeuchi's feminism observes that in that ending Tuxedo Mask takes the lead in traditional masculine expression while Sailor Moon appears submissive, a dynamic the author reads as a sexed inversion that shows both support and vulnerability[17](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2025.2509626).
## References
1. [タキシード仮面とは？ 意味や使い方 - コトバンク（デジタル大辞泉プラス）](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8D%E3%81%97%E3%83%BC%E3%81%A9%E4%BB%AE%E9%9D%A2-1697416)
2. [PGSM Tuxedo Kamen Profile, sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/guardian/tuxedokamen.php)
3. [【セーラームーン】タキシード仮面の人生＆魅了をゆっくり解説, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDy-8-bvoTM)
4. [Phil's Notes for Sailormoon R: The Movie, MIT](https://web.mit.edu/philip/www/sailormoon/sailormoonr.pdf)
5. [Act.7 地場衛-TUXEDO MASK-, 東映アニメーション Sailor Moon Crystal lineup](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/ondem/sailor_moon_c/episode/7/)
6. [「セーラームーン」に登場するキャラクター一覧, ciatr](https://ciatr.jp/topics/180336)
7. [Sailor Moon Character Profiles: Tuxedo Kamen, sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com](https://sailormoon.takeuchi-naoko.com/info/chara/senshi/kamen.php)
8. [20世紀のタキシード仮面と21世紀の『男がつらいよ』, こりくつ手帖](https://tsutayuri.hatenablog.jp/entry/2015/08/10/232354)
9. [【ゆっくり解説(?)】タキシード仮面(地場衛)の全登場シーンまとめ｜無印1〜13話編, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdlZ8jU7LWc)
10. [地場衛, 美少女戦士セーラームーン Wiki (Fandom)](https://sailormoon.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E5%A0%B4%E8%A1%9B)
11. [YOU AIN'T READ NOTHIN' YET !! #36, asahi-net](https://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ug5k-tki/comic/comic36.html)
12. [How Different Was Tuxedo Mask in the Anime and Manga?, Tuxedo Unmasked](https://www.tuxedounmasked.com/how-different-was-tuxedo-mask-in-the-anime-and-manga/)
13. [地場衛, Bangumi 番组计划](https://bgm.tv/character/6614)
14. [Top 10 Coolest Things About Tuxedo Mask, Fiction Horizon](https://fictionhorizon.com/top-10-coolest-things-about-tuxedo-mask/)
15. [美少女戦士セーラームーン（2003〜2004）, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/318529)
16. [The backdrop of mass media's broad criticism… (thesis excerpt), University of Edinburgh](https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/39863/MicahG_2023.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
17. [Action and fighting girls: the ethnographic interplay of Naoko Takeuchi's feminism, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2025.2509626)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Fictional worlds and series reference apparatus › Fictional universes, characters, and attribute reference › Anime and manga characters (screen treatment principal)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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