Development
The statistics listed for Setsuna in the back of manga volume 10 are unusual in that most of them never come up in the series body itself. Her favorite school subject is given as physics, which tracks with her stated college major in theoretical physics; and the love of green tea attributed to her is common among Japanese people. More incongruously, however, she is listed as skilled in sewing, with a dream of becoming a fashion designer. These interests are never spoken of in the actual story, although creator Naoko Takeuchi drew concept art of Setsuna in outfits worn by real-life supermodels. Likewise, Setsuna is never actually shown to enjoy shopping, nor to dislike cockroaches, eggplant, or the study of music, yet all of these things are delineated by Takeuchi well after the character's introduction. In fact, almost nothing about her personal life or interests is ever revealed. It is not even clear whether she has a civilian history at all, as time travel and multiple deaths and reincarnations complicate any backstory. Her devotion to the life of a Senshi, too, may have cut her off from worldly dreams, as it did with Sailors Uranus and Neptune. Also, according to Naoko Takeuchi's notes in the various artbooks, she mentions that "Setsuna-sama wears hotpants as well at home, but basically she also likes long skirts" and that she believes "Setsuna-sama should forever wear white clothes"
The kanji of Setsuna's surname translate as "dark" (冥, mei?) and "king" (王, ō?). Together, they constitute most of the name of the dwarf planet Pluto in Japanese: Meiōsei (冥王星?, "dark king star"). Her given name is in hiragana setsuna (せつな?) and so its meaning is not inherent, but the word itself means "moment" (刹那?). The name Setsuna has the same pronunciation of a Japanese Buddhist term セツナ meaning "split second" which was imported from China (in Chinese character format: 刹那 chànà) and originated in India (in Sanskrit: क्षण ksana). It can also be taken as a derivative of setsunai (切ない?), meaning "painful."
According to the English-dubbed anime's executive producer, Janice Sonski, the choice of her English name, "Trista," was based on the latter interpretation. Trista derives from the Latin triste, meaning sadness. The packaging of Irwin dolls released in Canada in 1998 called Setsuna by the name Celia.
Read more about this topic: Sailor Pluto
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