Mistress 9 is the evil entity from the Tau Star System that was implanted within the body of Tomoe Hotaru. At first she simply exists within Hotaru, taking over at times and demanding pure hearts in the anime, or behaving hostilely in the manga. As she comes in contact with the Mysterious Silver Crystal, she rises more fully to the surface and she causes Hotaru’s body to transform. Instead of a small child, she becomes a fully-grown adult with ridiculously long hair.

Mistress 9 comes from a decaying universe that has fallen into ruin. Professor Tomoe came into contact with the Tau System through an accident in the anime and through his “wicked heart” in the manga, which allowed Mistress Nine and her master, Pharaoh 90, to come into this world. Their goal is to take over Sailormoon’s world and transform it into their new home planet.

Unlike many of the Sailormoon villains, who are simply people or creatures from other planets or universes, Mistress 9 is an evil entity that takes possession of an innocent, young girl. Generally possession is left to low-level monsters that can be defeated with a wave of a Moon Wand. The problem is that killing her is very difficult not only because she is super powerful, but also because of the young girl who rests within her.

Mistress 9’s undoing is largely due to the fact that the person in whom she dwells also contains Sailorsaturn, the bringer of Destruction. Although in the anime she believes that she can utilize Saturn’s power, the fact remains that she is ultimately destroyed. In the manga, she is ultimately destroyed when Saturn emerges from her body and pushes the Tau System back far enough that Sailorpluto is able to seal it with the Time-Space door. In the anime, she is destroyed when she zapped by a bolt of energy as Pharaoh 90 gets closer to Earth. Because she was hurt by the blast, Hotaru’s father holds her in his arms which reawakens Hotaru and the two battle for control of her body. Ultimately Hotaru breaks through and Sailorsaturn emerges, which breaks Mistress 9’s power and destroys her forever.

Mistress 9 is rather pretty, even though she is completely evil. Still, she is rather shallow as a villain. Although her desire for a new home world is understandable, she is completely and irredeemably evil. She never really develops as a fully formed individual. Of course her presence within Hotaru helps make Hotaru the complex and interesting character that she is. Without Mistress 9, Hotaru would never have had to struggle and endure loneliness because of her illness and her blackouts. Hotaru is stronger and more interesting because of her time housing Mistress 9 and in that sense, she is a very important character.

Too Black to be Dawn