For the completely lost: This is a site about anime, or Japanese animation. More specifically, the anime Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon. Even more specifically, the Dark Kingdom, the first season villain group in Sailormoon.
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, or Pretty Soldier Sailormoon, was originally a manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. In 1993, it became an anime, running for five seasons, amounting to two hundred episodes (and a few specials, musicals, CDs, lots of merchandise, etc).
The contents of this site are based off the original anime version; thus, no references to the North American dubbed version of Sailor Moon, such as the "Negaverse," are made unless in ridicule. ^_~ No offense is meant to anyone, of course. Also, while I respect Takeuchi-sama very much, this site is not based off of the manga either.
Right. The anime.
The Dark Kingdom is the home of the villains of the first season, which runs from episodes 1-46. The Kingdom itself seems generally dark and shadowy, as its name would imply. Part of the Kingdom is a maze of underground tunnels, as shown in episode 44. While it is located in another dimension, the Dark Kingdom has two known entrances on Earth: a gateway in the Artic at "D Point" and a warp entrance behind the Crown Arcade.
The internal hierarchy of the Kingdom is as follows:
Queen Metallia
Essentially, she is evil energy incarnate, and physically, she appears to be nothing more than a purplish blob encased in orange liquid except during the last episode when she takes possession of Beryl. It is she for whom energy is collected and she who gives information and orders to Beryl. She is possibly the energy holding the Kingdom together, since after Sailormoon "eliminates" her (we don't really know what happened to her), no stray youma is shown wandering around (unlike that last stray daimon in season S) and the viewer is left to assume that the Dark Kingdom has been completely demolished as well. Or not.
Queen Beryl
The visible ruler of the Dark Kingdom. While Metallia tells her what to do, Beryl is the one actively giving orders and doling out death threats (sometimes the deaths themselves) to her minions.
The Shitennou
Or literally, the four heavenly kings/lords. This dashingly handsome/pretty quartet consists of Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite. Kunzite is the highest ranking with Nephrite as the second highest. The ranks of Zoisite and Jadeite are ambiguous in relation to each other, but it is generally thought that Jadeite is the third king and Zoisite is the last. The Jadeite arc of the storyline spans from episodes 1-13, the Nephrite arc from 14-24, the Zoisite arc from 25-35 (or episodes 33-35 could be considered the joint Zoisite/Kunzite arc), and the Kunzite arc goes from episodes 36-44.
The Youma
Translates to "monster/demon." This bunch serves either under one of the individual Shitennou or directly under Beryl (although there may be independents without lieges roaming the Kingdom as well…). Many of them live in the Kingdom, if the huge crowds in Beryl’s throne room are anything to go by. It is generally believed, given what is shown in the episodes, that the majority of the youma are female. Both human-like youma and animal-like youma exist.
Currently, I’m not planning on making shrines for the Shitennou or Beryl or Metallia, and as I have certainly not done these characters any justice whatsoever with my skimpy, brief descriptions, I highly recommend Gita’s shrines (and everything else) at In Metallia’s Name.
The following is a basic guide to the Japanese vocabulary often used in relation to the DK in fanfics or otherwise:
ai - love; affection; attachment
bishoujo – pretty girl
bishounen – pretty boy; handsome youth
hai – yes
iie – no
kawaii – cute
koibito – lover
kuso – damn (literally, "shit"...)
nani – what?
otaku – obsessive fan (originally had a derogative connotation in Japanese, but over time, it has lost its negativity and hence, thousands can proudly proclaim themselves “otaku” without shame. ^_^ ) …Also means “your house,” according to my Japanese dictionary...
-sama – honorific added to a name; denotes tremendous respect and elevates the addressed to a higher level than the speaker
-san – honorific added to a name; denotes respect; equivalent to "Mr." or "Ms."
senshi – soldier
shimatta – damn
shounen-ai – love between two boys
utsukushii – beautiful (and debatably one of Kunzaito-sama’s favorite words)
yaoi – love between two males, generally more implicit of a physical relationship than shounen-ai
