Sailor Moon S/Sailor Neptune

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Sailor Neptune
Full name	Michiru Kaioh
Age	16-17
Height	5'5"
Blood type	O
Hometown	Tokyo
Likes	Haruka Tenou, playing the violin while bouncing a lemon on it, Beef Salami
Dislikes	Projectiles, being called a shoto, faster swimmers
Special skills	Backing other Senshi into the corner and ending them within 10 seconds

Character Overview

Neptune is often miscategorized as the shoto of the game due to her having a fireball and a DP. After playing enough Sailor Moon however, you come to realize you can not play a shoto playstyle with her due to the game’s guard cancel mechanics and Neptune’s questionable fireball, undoubtedly her biggest weakness in a game where everyone has at least a decent fireball. Instead, Neptune thrives off of cornering opponents and mixing them up, as well as having a frame 3 invincible dragon punch with a hitbox the size of old Ken’s entire body. It can get any character off of you if they are too close. Good normals, a standing overhead, and the 3rd fastest walk speed in the game round off the character. Solid fighting game fundamentals will get you far with Neptune at first, and a good understanding of matchups will allow you continue even further. If you like outplaying your opponent and not spamming fireballs, then start practicing your dragon punch inputs.

Pros

Cons

• Ridiculous DP: Her Splash Edge move is by far the best reversal in the game, being frame 3/4 and invincible from the first. It's an option the opponent always has to respect • Amazing mix ups and pressure: With her long-ranged normals, standing overhead, and great tick throw set ups, Neptune can make it really hard to escape her pressure and corner once she gets her game going • Great damage: Neptune possesses some very damaging combos that can melt the opponent's lifebar away

• Bad fireball: Not only does Deep Submerge have a lot of recovery and an awkward angle, but it also elongates her head hurtbox a lot, making her extremely susceptible at being headshot • Troubles approaching: Despite her good walk speed, Neptune can have a very hard time against zoners, being herself a failed zoner

Movement

Speed Forward: 2.064/1F

Speed Backwards: 1.192/1F

Jump: 50F

Jump Speed: 2.063/1F

Jumping Distance: 99

Defend Bonus: Reduce the enemy's first attack or chip damage by 33%~42% (excludes throws)

Back Dash 44	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip N/A 1 N/A N/A 26 N/A N/A Strike, projectile, and throw invulnerable for 1~25 frames.

Crouch Block "Bug" 1

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip N/A 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Neptune's crouch block is "bugged" in the sense that that hurtbox doesn't match up to the sprite. This is because Neptune moves her sprite forward during crouch block. Her hurtbox is close to where her standing blocking hurtbox would be. This is still a useful as the visual confusion will mess up many player's spacing of sweeps or projectiles like Jupiter Coconut or Venus Up-ball, allowing for you to whiff punish with your own sweep or a DP.

Throws

Neck Throw 6HP +

Range Damage Techable Advantage 40 (Left: 39) 20 Yes +16 (2P: +17) Neptune really got the short end of stick when it comes to grab. Her throw only does 20 damage when other throws can do more. It is also a punch throw so it has less range than a kick throw. Punch throws usually have less range in exchange for them being untechable. Neptune's grab can be teched sadly. Depending on port you can get a follow up if they tech in the corner however. Sweep, DP, or even Desperation all work. Still useful for oki setups in the corner, just remember you have to be closer than your opponent's grab range most of the time.

Air Throw 6HP + when opponent is in the air	Range Damage Techable Advantage 40 (Left: 39)? 20 Yes +16 (2P: +17)? Brings the opponent down to earth when you get it, but Neptune hardly ever presses HP in the air.

Normal Attacks

Standing Light Punch 5LP	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 5 6 14 +6 2 / 3 / 3 / 3 / * Neptune's fastest normal. Can be used to get extra damage when crouching LK won't combo due to the extra frame of start up it has because of crouch.

Standing Heavy Punch 5HP	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 7 12 18 36 -1 7 / 9 / 11 / 12 / * Good combo extender than can combo into HP DP very easily for big damage.

Standing Light Kick 5LK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 5 6 6 16 +5 3 / 4 / 5 / 5 / * Farthest reaching light normal.

Standing Light Kick (Close) 5LK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 5 5 6 15 +6 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / * Does 1 more damage but can whiff on some characters if not close enough to their hurtbox.

Standing Heavy Kick 5HK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 13 14 15 41 0 9 / 12 / 14 / 15 / * A poke that can combo into fireball and can also anti-air.

Standing Heavy Kick (Close) 5HK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip / 9 12(0)8 8 36 +14~+18 8+10 / 10+13 / 12+15 / 14+17 / * The second hit of the move is an overhead. Makes it very good as a corner mix up tool. Can cancel into DP or Fireball.

Crouching Light Punch 2LP +	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 5 6 14 +6 2 / 3 / 3 / 3 / * Comes out if you miss DP, mostly useless.

Crouching Heavy Punch 2HP +	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 9 14 10 32 +5 6 / 8 / 9 / 10 / * Usually seen if you miss a standing HP into DP combo. It does less damage and has a smaller hitbox so it is not preferred.

Crouching Light Kick 2LK +	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 5 6 14 +6 3 / * / 5 / * / * Good poke due to the large disjoint. Good combo tool as well. Just a good button.

Crouching Heavy Kick 2HK +	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 10 11 16 36 +2/D 8 / * / 12 / * / * Second farthest sweep in the game and a core poking tool for Neptune due it's range. Can also low profile some projectiles such as Jupiter Thunder Dragon.

Jumping Light Punch (Vertical) j.LP	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 All All All +8~+14 3 / 4 / 5 / 5 / * Ambiguous cross up tool.

Jumping Light Punch (Moving) j.LP	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 All All All +8~+14 3 / 4 / 5 / 5 / * Ambiguous cross up tool that moves!

Jumping Heavy Punch (Vertical) j.HP	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 5 11 8 23 +8~+14 5 / 7 / 8 / 9 / * If you miss an air grab you will see this move, but why are you going for air grab?

Jumping Heavy Punch (Moving) j.HP	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 5 11 8 27 +8~+14 6 / 8 / 9 / 10 / * If you miss an air grab you will see this move, but why are you going for air grab?

Jumping Light Kick (Vertical) j.LK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 All All All +8~+14 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / * Very good air to air, only losing to Pluto jumping LP and spaced Venus HP. The large disjoint will also beat some anti-airs. If timed and spaced this can combo into light attacks or DP.

Jumping Light Kick (Moving) j.LK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 All All All +8~+14 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / * Very good air to air, only losing to Pluto jumping LP and spaced Venus HP. The large disjoint will also beat some anti-airs. If timed and spaced this can combo into light attacks or DP. And it moves!

Jumping Heavy Kick (Vertical) j.HK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 5 9* 9 25 +9~+14 10 / 13 / 15 / 17 / * At best this move can be used as a bait to then punish with DP.

Jumping Heavy Kick (Moving) j.HK	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 8 7 5 24 +5~+14 9 / 12 / 14 / 15 / * Good jumping HK. Can combo into anything.

Special Attacks

Splash Edge (LP) 623LP +

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 3 18 19 39 -4/D 12(10) / 16(13) / 18(15) / 20(17) / 3+2 Invincible on 1~6F. Second damage values happen if the hitbox connects during 5~18F of the active frames. Neptune's frame 3 DP is a staple of Neptune and one of the best specials in the game. This DP has fast start up, big range, and little ending lag. Requires players to respect this move on wake up or guard cancel if they want to beat Neptune.

Splash Edge (HP) 623HP +

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 4 5(0)22 29 59 -22/D 14+8 / 18+10 / 21+12 / 24+14 / 3+2 Invincible on 1~8F. The heavy version of DP has more invincibility and does more damage but comes with some caveats. Only the second hitbox causes knockdown, so if Neptune is not close enough only the first hit will connect and thus her opponent can counter attack. Also despite it reaching higher in the air LP DP is preferred as an anti air due to it doing more damage, as the second hit of HP DP does 8 while LP DP does 10. HP DP is a great as a combo finisher due to it's high damage (22!) and it putting opponents in knockdown, allowing for Neptune to continue pressure.

Deep Submerge (LP) 214LP +

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 12 Projectile 36 48 ~+1 8 / 10 / 12 / 14 / 2 Potentially the worst fireball in the game. It's slower recovery and awkward angle makes it lose most fireball wars. It's atrocious hurtbox makes Neptune's entire hand a head hurtbox, making it very easy for other characters to jump in at her. It should not be used mindlessly and has to be properly placed to be have any chance at being effective.

Deep Submerge (HP) 214HP +	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 16 Projectile 51 67 -14~ 10 / 13 / 15 / 17 / 2 Can be used to do extra damage in combos or to use it's speed to snipe opponents at low health. A sad fact about HP Deep Submerge is that it does the same chip damage of 2 as LP Deep Submerge.

Desperation Attack

Dragon Rise 6236236HP +

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery-Whiff Motion Advantage Dmg/Face/Counter/Both/Chip 6 43 41 89 -43/D 48 / 62 / 72 / 72 / 12x2 Invincible on 1F~14F. In the air on 15F~82F. Definitely one of the better desperations outside of the top tier ones. It can be tricky to input fast due to the forward press at the beginning. While the input is close to just doing a double DP input, if you don't end with a forward press you will get HP DP instead. 6 frame startup means it can combo from most attacks, but requires you to buffer the input to make it come out fast enough, such as buffering the desperation in the air while doing a jumping HK, so as soon as you land the desperation can come out.

Strategy

You should be looking to approach opponents as much as possible when playing Neptune, as her fireball is not good enough to play a zoning game. Backdashing and throwing fireballs is one of the worst strategies you can do as Netpune.

A good easy combo to look for is 2LK 2LK into HP DP, as it does a lot of damage and causes knockdown, which is your end goal as Neptune. You can even get this combo off a jump in. If it looks like you are too far away to combo into HP DP, use LP DP instead, or sweep to be extra sure. This does less damage however.

Learn the range of your normals, as they are good pokes which can lead to knockdown in the corner. A sweep canceled into fireball on block can be surprisingly safe.

Once in the corner you can use close HK overhead and the invul of DP to mix up your opponent for big damage. Overhead can combo into DP or fireball.

A good more advance strategy to try as Neptune is to bait guard cancels with fast recovery normals, and then to punish with a guard cancel DP since it’s fast enough to hit most special move’s recovery frames.

Neptune generally wants P2 port as it gives her a combo after a teched throw and makes her wake up even better (while also denying her opponents a better wake up game).

In short, be good at the video game and hit them with the mix.

Match-ups

• Vs. Sailor Moon

- Neptune can duck some hearts and sweep the ones she can’t dunk under

- Moon’s only good poke in the matchup is 2HK, couch blocking around it is the only thing Neptune has to worry about on the ground

- Moon fireball in neutral requires good GC fireballs and jumps to play around, but it’s not the hardest. Moon in corner has forward dash to escape but is stuffed by close HK. Respect flash kick on wake up and as a anti air

• Vs. Sailor Mercury

- Neptune’s hardest matchup due to how good bubbles are

- You want Mercury to throw a tornado as you can whiff punish it with a sweep.

- Mercury DP can beat Neptune’s DP on wakeup

- General reminder that if bubbles are on the screen, Mercury cannot throw tornado, and thus has no way to easily anti air Neptune

• Vs. Sailor Mars

- Mars will win the GC fireball wall after 1 rep due to snake traveling low to the ground. Be extremely careful when doing gc fireball

- Neptune jumping LK can beat Mar’s HP anti air.

- Mar’s wakeup options suck, space around grab and backdash grab and she has issues getting out of the corner.

- Neptune backdash is 25 frames, you should always backdash Mar’s desperation to take no chip

• Vs. Sailor Venus

- Neptune actually outranges Venus with her sweep. You can whiff punish 2HP with sweep by abusing crouch block. This makes neutral very hard for Venus

- Jumping at venus is rough due to upball and DP, since Neptune wins on the ground abuse that more than jumping in this matchup

- If you get cornered in venus jail, crouch block will dodge a lot of upballs and GC DP will solve most of your issues. Neptune is very hard to jail.

• Vs. Sailor Jupiter

- Neptune sweep will duck thunder dragon

- crouch block is your friend as it makes jupiter graph paper way harder

- jumping at jupiter should only be done if she is throwing thunder dragon, otherwise her anti airs are too good

- remember Neptune is pretty fast on the ground so try and walk under coconuts

- if you are outside jupiter spd range there is very little she can do to get out of the corner

- Even as P1 Neptune can sometimes wake up doubleback Jupiter coconut. So never give up!

• Vs. Sailor Chibi Moon

- Neptune’s best matchup

- Chibi cannot stop smartly placed jumping LK. She has to stay grounded, which she hates

- throwing fireballs in this matchup actively helps chibi 95% of the time since that means you aren’t controlling the skies

- Neptune DP means that you should never have take chibi mix

- Neptune has no easy answer to Chibi desperation. Requires you to backdash the last hits and then walk forward/jump at chibi. This is the only hard thing about the matchup. Remember if you have a huge life lead you can just wait it out

• Vs. Sailor Uranus

- Get that ass Banned

• Vs. Sailor Neptune

- An actual shoto mirror. Being good at the video game helps a lot

- When jumping in on Neptune fireball with a HK a lot of times you can’t combo into anything due to being minus on hit, so just take the headshot damage and block or backdash afterwards

• Vs. Sailor Pluto

- Often fireballs will trade if you keep the fireball war going and the trade is immensely in Pluto's favor, she takes 12 damage while Neptune takes 20

- Pluto jumping LP beats Neptune jumping LK

- Neptune really just wants a knockdown to start pressuring Pluto as Pluto can’t deal with Neptune pressure easily, poke with sweep or DP to accomplish this. As well as waiting for Pluto to jump.

- RESPECT PLUTO DESPERATION. It will blow you up if you think canceling a blocked sweep into a fireball is a good idea on a low health Pluto. Backing off and waiting for her to do something is usually better. You can punish a blocked desperation with GC DP.

Colors

Player 1
Player 2

Frame Data

External Links

A lot of this information is out of date, so please tread with caution and cross-verify information. Roughly ordered by level of practicality/difficulty from most practical/least difficult to least practical/most difficult to perform in a match.

• Neptune overview advent video
• Basic Neptune primer by DaiAndOh
• Neptune section of Koushun's Mix-up Movie
• Neptune section of Koushun's Combo Movie 1
• 50% combo options by 0-RANGE
• Neptune section of Koushun's Combo Movie 2
• Progression of Neptune's theoretical 100% combo by Koushun

Sailor Moon S
Sailor Chibi Moon	Sailor Jupiter	Sailor Mars
Sailor Mercury	Sailor Moon	Sailor Neptune
Sailor Pluto	Sailor Uranus	Sailor Venus

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