senshi

Senshi is a Japanese noun (kanji: 戦士) meaning "warrior" or "fighter." The term combines sen (to fight) with shi (person), and it is used in historical and contemporary contexts to denote a combatant or soldier. In everyday Japanese, senshi can describe martial figures, athletes, or anyone who fights for a cause, and it appears in various media titles as a generic class of warriors.

In popular culture, the term gained wide recognition through Sailor Moon, where the Sailor Senshi are a group of magical-girl guardians who protect the Solar System from threats. Each Senshi has a civilian identity, a planetary motif, and a unique transformation power and costume color. The most prominent member is Sailor Moon, with companions such as Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and later outer Senshi like Sailor Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. The concept has become a defining element of the magical girl genre and has influenced many works worldwide.

Beyond Sailor Moon, senshi appears in other anime, manga, and games as a label for warrior characters who fight in groups or as lone combatants. In English, these characters are commonly described as Sailor Senshi or Sailor Guardians, and the term has entered fan communities as shorthand for elite, planet-themed heroines.

Though rooted in Japanese language, the Senshi concept demonstrates cross-cultural appeal by combining mythic warrior imagery with contemporary serialization and transformation tropes. It continues to be referenced in discussions of genre conventions and language use in pop culture.