Saphir (anime)

Blue Saphir is one of the members of the Black Moon Clan. In the English dub, he was called Sapphire. This is the first animated depiction of the original manga character.

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Saphir is Prince Demande's younger brother. Unlike the other members of the Black Moon Clan, he doesn't fight against the Sailor Senshi and only follows out his elder brother's orders.

Sailor Moon R
Saphir doesn't directly fight against the Sailor Senshi at all in Sailor Moon R. He only follows out his elder brother's orders. Saphir is the one who knows how to build or decrease the power output of their black crystal and he does so according to Demande's wishes. Saphir has been quick to point out Esmeraude's faults. He also suspects Wiseman of having evil intentions and silently watches him. He soon discovers that Wiseman is only using Prince Demande and plans to kill him once he is done. Saphir headed into a secret room and manages to steal the dark microchip to weaken the dark palace. However, he was caught by Wiseman who warns him of the Death Phantom's wrath if he goes through with the theft. Saphir manages to fight him off and escapes, but is badly wounded in the process.

He barely escapes and makes it to the past where Petz and her sisters live. There Saphir is reunited with Petz, whom he was in love with and promises to return to her once he can warn Demande. As he was returning, Black Lady confronted him and orders him to leave his brother alone. With the timely arrival of Tuxedo Mask, Saphir attempts to warn his older brother about Wiseman, but even with the Sailor Senshi attempting to help him, he was killed with two energy blasts from Wiseman. His head was bandaged by Petz earlier, and when the bandage fell off, there was no dark crescent moon on his forehead, proving his firm transition to the side of good. Demande is heartbroken when he sees Saphir die and begins questioning Wiseman's motives.

Trivia

 * He was a minor recurring character in the original anime.
 * Saphir was the second loyally devoted henchman to become good and then die. The first was Nephrite. Demande himself becomes the third, though Wiseman was attempting to kill Sailor Moon at the time. However, he is the first to become good on his own without any outside influence, such as from the Sailor Senshi.
 * In the Japanese version, he only addressed his brother (Demande) as "onii-san" (which is "elder brother" in the Japanese language) but the fact that they were brothers was omitted for most of the span of the English dub of the show.
 * Saphir is associated, etymologically, with Saturn and, in folklore, with wisdom or clear thinking and healing; both of those latter are probably part and parcel of the Saturn association. Roman Saturn was a much nicer fellow than the Greek Cronus for all they got associated with each other. This matches far better with the anime Saphir, who seems to be the most thoughtful of all the Black Moon family, than with the manga Saphir, who was more of a mad-scientist character.
 * He was the first of the Black Moon Clan to discover that Wiseman was manipulating all of them behind their backs.

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