Rei Hino

Rei Hino is the present-day incarnation of the civilian identity of Sailor Mars. This is the original depiction of the character created by Naoko Takeuchi.

Profile
Rei is a stoic and serious individual who does not get too involved with men. She is described as being a beautiful, smart and reserved woman. She lives with her grandfather at the Hikawa Shrine on Sendai Hill, which is where she works as a miko. Later on, it is revealed that her dream is to become the head priest of the shrine.

Appearance
Rei is a teenage girl with long black hair and black/dark brown eyes (although, they are sometimes colored in purple). She is said to be 160 cm of 5'3" in height. Takeuchi described Rei in her notes as being "slender."

Unlike the other Senshi's school uniforms, her school uniform was very stylish and classy, and reflected the elite status of her private school. She wore a gray blouse that had a black collar with red stripes on it, a red bow, a black skirt, white socks with a red stripe, and black shoes.

When she became a high school student in Stars, the red bow on her shirt became black. The difference is said to be due to Rei's being the only Inner Senshi to attend a Roman Catholic school, but if this is the case she has somehow reconciled it with being a miko.

Another outfit she is often seen wearing is her red and white miko robes.

She also always wears her pendant

Codename: Sailor V
Before she appeared in Sailor Moon, she first appeared in Codename: Sailor V in Vol. 6 - Showdown! Sailor V vs. Cyber-Girl Warrior Lurga. She first appeared outside of Game Center Crown and said the atmosphere was disquieting. She was referred to as "Hino-san" and she also wore her school uniform.

Dark Kingdom Arc
Rei makes her first appearance in the Sailor Moon manga series in Act 3 - Rei, Sailor Mars. In the chapter, we first see Rei meditating over fire and thinking that something disastrous is coming. In the next scene afterwards, we see Rei telling a young girl goodbye. After the girl leaves, Rei looks at her watch and finds out that it is six o'clock. We later see Rei on the same bus that Usagi and Ami are on.

Powers and Abilities
Rei is shown to have strong precognition, where she can make full use of this ability to predict events from a near future, as shown in the Act 3, when she predicted Jadeite's ambush; in the Act 13, when she saw a Black Moon mark while meditating, and in the Act 27 Infinity 1, where she foresaw a catastrophe. As mentioned above, Rei can make full use of this ability, but it can fail sometimes, as shown in the Act 3, where, instead of Usagi being captured and held captive by Jadeite, it was herself.

She is also shown to have great affinity with fire, to the point where she is capable to manifest her own future sights by forming images on the flames. The images are very enigmatic and unreliable.

Even when she is in her civilian form, she can use her "ofuda" (a Shinto talisman used to protect homes from evil spirits) to "exorcize" people, while yelling "Evil Spirit, Disperse!" (although it can cause fainting to normal people, as shown in the Act 3, when she tried to "purify" Usagi).

Rei is sometimes shown to have a "sixth sense", using it to detect "evil presences" and approaching danger, as shown in the Chapter 6 of Codename: Sailor V manga, but it can fail sometimes, when she mistook Usagi for an evil spirit.

As a Shrine Maiden, she is an expert archer, and this potential is shown in her "Mars Flame Sniper" attack.

Development
Before she was in Sailor Moon, Rei first appeared in an anime proposal document for Sailor V, which has been shown in the Infinity Artbook. In the proposal, she was given the name "Miyabi Yoruno." Also, her age was changed from 14 years old to 15 years old in the document.

Etymology
The kanji of Rei's surname translate as "fire" (火 hi) and "field" or "civilian" (野 no).

Her given name is in katakana rei (レイ) and therefore difficult to translate. Possible meanings include "spirit" (霊), "companion" (儷), "cool" (冷), "zero" (零), and "bell" (鈴), with the first being most commonly assumed (perhaps due in part to her initial power, "Fire Soul"). Because katakana is the alphabet usually used for foreign loanwords, it may also be intended as a Western name or word, such as Raye, Rae or Ray.

In the Chinese versions of the series (anime and manga), Rei's name is written with the character "麗", which carries the same phonetic as "Rei", but means "beauty' and/or "lovely".

Regardless, the entire name is structured as a pun, as the syllable "no" indicates a possessive, so that her name can also be understood as "Rei of Fire."

Rei's name (レイ 火の Rei Hino) translated could act as a pun as "Ray of Fire". This would be the most literal translation of her name.

Her name completely in hiragana/katakana is "ひのれい" (Hino Rei).

In the original English dub, Rei's name was only very slightly changed, Romanized as "Raye" (same pronunciation).

Trivia

 * Miko are known to use archery type attacks, Rei's training as a miko is reflected through her attack Mars Flame Sniper.
 * The planet Mars was named after the Roman God of War, Mars, who was usually depicted in armor and carrying a spear. This is probably why Sailor Mars' original concept design features her wearing armor.
 * Her prototypical name, Miyabi Yoruno (夜野みやび Yoruno Miyabi), means "Elegance of Night."
 * Compared to the other girls on her Senshi team, Rei's school uniform was more stylish and classy. This reflects the status of her private school, compared to the public schools that Usagi and Minako attended.
 * Rei's birthday (April 17th) falls under the Aries zodiac, which is ruled by the planet Mars.
 * In a 1997 interview, Naoko Takeuchi stated that, "My favourite part of Rei is her Sailor Mars high heels!"
 * The reason why Rei's favorite flower is a Casablanca lily is due to the fact that Michie Tomizawa's favorite flower is a Casablanca, and that is how Naoko decided.

Gallery
For images of the original incarnation of Rei Hino please see Rei Hino/Image Gallery.