Ian Andreas Miller. 13 February 2002.

     Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn, named many of her characters after different types of precious stones and minerals. Most fans of Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn understand that Eudial, Mimete, and the other Witches have names that come from the names of different types of minerals. Not all sources seem to agree on what minerals are meant to be the origins of the Witches' names. Actually, the katakana characters that represent the names of the Witches 5 resemble the characters that represent the Japanese names of seven different minerals. This Witches 5 Etymology essay shows how the names of the Witches 5 are related to the names of those seven minerals.

     For those who wish to know more about what the Witches 5 do in the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn anime and manga, I am afraid that there are not many Web sites out there that provide accurate information. Too many sources just do not spell Ptilol's name correctly. Many of them write variations of "Pikurl," which do not reflect the Japanese spelling of the name at all. Hitoshi Doi's Death Busters section is one of the places to find accurate information on the Witches. Unfortunately, there is not much information there.

     Something should be said about how Japanese names appear in this essay. When romanized Japanese names are in italics and appear after a series of Japanese characters, they follow the eastern format (i.e. surname first, personal name last). Diacritical marks such as macrons and apostrophes are included. In all other cases, romanized Japanese names follow the western format (i.e. surname last, personal name first) and diacritical marks have been removed.

Eudial¹

     Eudial's name is written with the katakana characters Yjiaru.² Her name comes from the name of the mineral Eudialyte. The Japanese name of that mineral is Yjiaru-seki³, which means "eudial[ytos]-stone." The Greek word eudialytos means "easy to dissolve."⁴

     In the manga, Eudial also has the name Yuko Arimura. The Japanese write that name with the characters Arimura Yko.⁵ That name is probably an alteration of the name Eudial.

Images: [Eudial in the Anime]
[Eudial in the Manga] | [The Mineral Eudialyte]⁶

Mimete⁷

     The Japanese write Mimete's name with the katakana characters Mimetto.⁸ Her name comes from the name of the mineral Mimetite. The Japanese name of that mineral is Mimetto-k,⁹ which means "mimete[s]-mineral." The Greek word mimetes means "imitator."¹⁰ The English word "mimic" is related to that Greek word.¹¹

     Mimete also goes by the name Mimi Hanyu in the manga. That name is written Hany Mimi in Japanese.¹² It is an alteration of the name Mimete.

Images: [Mimete in the Anime]
[Mimete in the Manga] | [The Mineral Mimetite]¹³

Tellu¹⁴

     Tellu's name is written with the katakana characters Teruru.¹⁵ Her name comes from the name of the mineral Tellurite. The Japanese name of the mineral Tellurite is Teruru-seki,¹⁶ which means "Tellu[rium]-stone." Incidentally, the Japanese use the katakana characters as an abbreviation for the name of the element Tellurium (Te).¹⁷ Those characters may actually represent tellur-, which is the stem of tellus, which is the Latin word for earth.¹⁸

     Ruru Teruno is another name for Tellu in the manga. In the Japanese script, that name is written Teruno Ruru.¹⁹ That name is an alteration of the name Tellu.

Images: [Tellu in the Anime]
[Tellu in the Manga] | [The Mineral Tellurite]²⁰

Viluy²¹

     The katakana characters Biriyui represent Viluy's name.²² Her name comes from the Japanese name of the mineral Viluite, which is Biryui-seki.²³ The Japanese also call Viluite Viryui-seki.²⁴ The Japanese name of Viluite means "Vilyui-stone." The mineral Viluite is named after the Vilyui river in Siberia.²⁵ The Japanese usually use the katakana characters Biryui-gawa to represent the name of the river.²⁶ Sometimes they use the katakana characters Viryui-gawa, instead.²⁷ It could be that Ms. Takeuchi meant to write Viluy's name with the characters Biryui.

     Other sources claim that Viluy's name comes from either the name Villiaumite or the name Villyaellenite. However, they are mistaken because the Japanese write Villiaumite as Biriomu-seki,²⁸ and Villyaellenite as Bireren-seki.²⁹

     When she disguises herself as a student, Viluy calls herself Yui Bido. That name is written as Bid Yui in Japanese.³⁰ It is also an alteration of the name Viluy.

Images: [Viluy in the Anime]
[Viluy in the Manga] | [The Mineral Viluite]³¹

Cyprine³²

     The Japanese write Cyprine's name as Shipurin.³³ Her name comes from the name of the mineral Cyprine. The katakana characters Shipurin also represent the name of the mineral Cyprine.³⁴ That name is related to the Greek word kuprinos, which means "made of copper."³⁵ Copper is thought to be what gives the mineral its blue color. That may be why Cyprine has blue hair.³⁶

     Cyprine's name is not related to the name of the mineral Sapphirine because the Japanese use the katakana characters Safirin to approximate the name Sapphirine.³⁷ Besides, Ms. Takeuchi specifically wrote "Cyprine" in the manga.

Images: [Cyprine in the Anime]
[Cyprine in the Manga] | [The Mineral Cyprine]³⁸

Ptilol³⁹

     The katakana characters Puchiroru represent Ptilol's name.⁴⁰ Her name comes from either the Japanese name of the mineral Clinoptilolite⁴¹ or the Japanese name of the mineral Ptilolite.⁴² The Japanese write Clinoptilolite as Sha-puchiroru-fusseki, and Ptilolite as Puchiroru-fusseki. The name Ptilolite is obsolete, and has been replaced by Mordenite.⁴³ (The katakana characters Moruden-fusseki represent the Japanese name of Mordenite.⁴⁴) The katakana characters Puchiroru undoubtedly represent the "ptilol" in Clinoptilolite and Ptilolite.

     Ptilol's name cannot come from the name of the mineral Pucherite because the Japanese spelling is Putch-seki, which means "Pucher-stone."⁴⁵ The name of that mineral comes from the name of a mine called Pucher.⁴⁶ The Japanese write the name Pucher with the katakana characters Putch. "Puchirol," "Pikurol," "Petite Roll," et cetera are all incorrect spellings.

Images: [Ptilol in the Anime] | [Ptilol in the Manga]
[The Mineral Clinoptilolite]⁴⁷ | [The Mineral Mordenite (Ptilolite)]⁴⁸