lwf58 wrote:Why Luna and Artemis stayed in cat form most of the time in the Moon Kingdom days is a mystery, but it was mentioned why they stayed as cats in modern times. At first, they'd been in suspended animation for so long they just couldn't remember that they had another form, and then couldn't remember how to change back. After they did, they found that they'd been cats for so long that they felt more comfortable in that form. But later in the series, they could and did change to humanoid form occasionally, as did their daughter.
Was that mentioned in the anime, manga, or some other medium? I ask since my memory of the anime is rusty at best, and I can't recall anything like that in the manga. In the manga, though, I know that a portion of Luna's memories were purposeful prevented from reviving, unlike with Artemis, and that the first transformation into a human required Sailor Moon's power, instead of Luna's own. In the following arc, though, Artemis is able to transform because his bond with Venus became stronger, so it doesn't seem like it's done completely under their own power. Then, in the arc following that one, they seem to have no problem doing it themselves.
If I had to guess, it might have something to do with their star seeds being similar to sailor crystals (mentioned by Kakyuu), and so they were able to develop to the point where they could transform (much like a senshi). It makes about as much sense as anything else, since they show powers of their own (although they're mostly confined to the first story arc).
Calling them "Moon cats" is a little misleading, since they immigrated to the Moon Kingdom, and were the only two Mau ever mentioned as living there.
Most people are familiar with that term, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to use it. ;p
Unfortunately, not much is known about planet Mau and its inhabitants from canon, except that it can be supposed that they didn't like to travel much - all of the rest of them seem to have stayed on their homeworld, and were still there up until the last story arc of Sailor Moon. After Galaxia had Sailor Mau assassinated, the rest of the Mau were killed too, down to the last man, woman, and child. Then when Tin Nyanko died in that arc, Artemis and Luna were left as the last Mau still alive anywhere.
They're peace-loving, at least, as far as we know. That Nyanko called them traitors might not be far from the truth, either, since it'd explain the lack of interaction and migration between worlds. At the very least giving fealty first to the moon kingdom, instead of their own, might have been frowned upon. Just one of those things to speculate on. Other than author discretion, in that Takeuchi didn't find it important to flesh out their pasts, much less that of the senshi in general (we only know something of Venus' past because the first story Takeuchi wrote focused on her), it doesn't seem like traveling between worlds is the problem (given the level of technology and powers available).