The Sailor Moon fanchise has various villains that the Sailor Guardians face off against, and the Boule Brothers are some of the unique. The brothers are servants of the Black Moon clan and mostly work under Esmeraude. They dutifully serve her and Prince Demande in their quest to conquer present-day Tokyo. Much like the other members of the clan, Chiral and Achiral’s powers trap their victims in illusions.
The depiction of their abilities differs between the anime and manga of Sailor Moon. Sometimes their powers will receive more attention, like in the 90s anime. But in the manga and Crystal, these abilities are used for a specific reason and don’t become relevant afterward. But for fans who still want clarification on how Chiral and Achiral’s powers work, it might be simpler to understand than many believe.
Chiral and Achiral’s Abilities Bend the Sailor Moon Crystals to Their Whim
The Brothers Specialize in Confusing Their Targets Before Attacking Them Together
Chiral and Achiral use their mastery of crystals to overwhelm and trap their enemies. Between all their depictions, the brothers always try to use illusions to confuse their targets before destroying them. Rather than just attacking their enemies separately, the brothers prefer to attack together to overwhelm their opposition. This made it very difficult for the Guardians to defeat them unless they were all working in unison.
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Chiral and Achiral are also powerful robots called Droids. They may look human, but their appearance is just a disguise they wear during missions. Interestingly, both brothers are the only male Droids that serve the Black Moon Clan. All the other Droids are female and sent to lure the Sailor Scouts in several episodes of the anime. While they aren’t as popular as antagonists like the Supernatural Sisters, fans should never let be a reason to take these brothers lightly.
No matter what version of the story viewers are immersed in, Chiral and Achiral are formidable opponents for the Sailor Guardians. They battle Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and the other Guardians several times in the different versions of the Black Moon Clan arc. The brothers’ teamwork and combined power are always formidable. However, there are slight differences in the portrayal of the brothers between the manga, the 90s anime, and Sailor Moon Crystal.
The Boule Brothers’ Power Creates a Fake Crystal Palace in the Sailor Moon Manga
Chiral and Achiral Attack the Guardians After They Enter Crystal Tokyo
In the manga, Chiral and Achiral use their illusion powers to create a replica of the Crystal Palace and then trap Sailor Moon and her allies in crystals. This plan, named Code 005 Operation: Remake, almost dismantled the Guardians. However, Tuxedo Mask quickly broke the Guardians free from the fake Crystal Palace and killed the brothers with help from Sailor Venus. Still, the creative ways the brothers use their abilities make them deadly if left to their own devices.
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Interestingly, the brothers’ powers are derived from the concept of Chirality. Chirality refers to objects that can’t be superimposed on a mirror image. Both brothers draw from Chirality when using their powers, duping people with their illusions before literally trapping them in reflective crystals. These powers also refer to concepts from chemistry, something that Naoko Takeuchi has a college degree. Chiral and Achiral’s dialogue even has many references to chemical reactions and atoms.
Like Ail and An, two of Sailor Moon‘s most underrated villains, the brothers are far from the only twin-sibling antagonists in the series, but their powers make them stand out from other minor villains. On top of manipulating crystals, the brothers can also trap their targets in a magnetic field. Without the help of Tuxedo Mask, the Sailor Guardians would have been in serious trouble with Chiral and Achiral. Few other minor villains in the series can be capable of that, much less create a near-perfect replica of the Crystal Palace.
Sailor Moon Crystal Beautifully Updates Chiral and Achiral’s For the Modern Day
The Adaptation Makes the Brothers’ Crystal Powers Look Breathtaking
This depiction of Chiral and Achiral carries over into Sailor Moon Crystal. Because the anime stays faithful to the original manga, there are no changes that affect the Boule Brothers’ place in the story. Viewers who were never exposed to the brothers’ powers get to see their crystals brought to life in expressive 2D animation. For as good as the manga was, Sailor Moon Crystal captures the crystals made by Chiral and Achiral far better in modern animation.
As much as the Crystal anime does a good job adapting the powers of the twins, it does nothing to stand out from the manga. Odds are, if a fan has read through what they appear in the manga, they will have a good idea of what the episodes starring them will be like. That’s not entirely a bad thing, though. Sailor Moon Crystal does a great job at adapting the original stories from the manga. Some fights from the anime even rank as some of the best in the Sailor Moon franchise.
However, the 90s anime takes a much different direction for how to handle Chiral and Archiral’s powers. Outside that continuity, Sailor Moon Crystal and the manga largely have the twins repeat the same events. The only other major continuity that changes Chiral and Achiral’s roles in the story is its first anime adaptation. Like most things in the 90s anime, it gives the twins more time to display their abilities, but not enough to affect the story.
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Chiral & Achiral Use Their Powers To Power The Dark Gates in the ’90s Sailor Moon Anime
Sailor Moon R Saw the Brothers Draw Energy From Elementary Schools Using Dark Henges
Instead of using their powers to trap the Sailor Guardians, Chiral and Achiral would gather energy to fuel the Black Moon Clan’s Dark Gates, portals that push the energies of the Black Crystal into Earth. The brothers still maintain their crystal powers in this continuity, but can grow Dark Henges. These henges cause anyone near them to fight each other, creating more energy to feed into the Black Crystal. Chiral and Achiral plant the Dark Henges all around the Jūban area, causing chaos among the students and civilians in those areas.
Interestingly, the brothers never intercept the guardians in Crystal Tokyo like they did in the manga. Instead, they act as standard villains of the week in Sailor Moon R. Much like how the anime expands on Tuxedo Mask’s incarnations, Chiral and Achiral’s battle against the Sailor Guardians isn’t as meaningful to the overall plot. The brothers still put up a challenging fight against the Sailor Guardians, even possessing Chibiusa’s best friend, Momoko. Once the Sailor Guardians defeat them, though, they aren’t mentioned much at all and only contribute to introducing how the Dark Henges can affect people.
Another power the brothers display is the ability to phase through the ground. They do this to evade the Sailor Guardians’ attacks, only making them vulnerable to strikes directed at the Earth. Unfortunately, Sailor Jupiter does exactly that to expose the Chiral and Achiral before Sailor Moon can finish them for good. While they don’t play as big of a role in this version of the Black Moon Arc, the 90s anime still gives the brothers plenty of time to show off their abilities in a different context.
Sailor Moon
- Release Date
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March 7, 1992
- Directors
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Junichi Sato, Kunihiko Ikuhara
- Writers
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Sukehiro Tomita
