Zoisite is the third and second-lowest ranking of the Shitennou, best known for his rivalry with Nephrite and his close bond with Kunzite. Named after the mineral zoisite, he's also the youngest of the four kings at around 16-17 years old, and noticeably the least mature and most feminine in appearance. He oversees the Dark Kingdom's European operations.
In the manga, Zoisite shows up early when Jadeite gets chewed out by Queen Beryl for failing his mission. After Nephrite dies, Zoisite breaks down emotionally before Kunzite arrives to console him and suggest he use his brain more than the previous two kings. His initial task is hunting down the Ginzuishou, but after Tuxedo Mask's involvement becomes public knowledge and half of Tokyo starts searching, he pivots to just draining energy instead—most memorably by weaponizing Tokyo Tower to siphon power from everyone watching the broadcast. He later comes up with an energy-stealing scheme using rental movies that hypnotize viewers. When the Senshi confront him, he actually dominates them pretty handily, nearly finishing off Sailor Moon until Venus shows up and literally cuts him to pieces with her Crescent Boomerang.
In the anime, things play out differently. Zoisite appears around the time Nephrite rises to power, and he immediately resents being passed over. He constantly mocks Nephrite by bringing up Jadeite's failures, partly out of jealousy and partly to make himself look better in front of Queen Beryl. His powers involve nature—fire, ice, and sakura petals—plus teleportation, telekinesis, disguise, some clairvoyance, and superhuman strength and speed. His resentment deepens when Nephrite starts developing actual feelings for Naru, a human girl. So Zoisite kidnaps her and demands Nephrite trade his Black Crystal for her life. When Nephrite refuses and rescues her anyway, Zoisite sends assassins after him. One lands a fatal blow, and Zoisite calmly watches Nephrite die in Naru's arms before taking the Black Crystal for himself.
From there, he takes over the search for the Silver Crystal and discovers it's been split into seven Rainbow Crystals. He manages to collect five and challenges Tuxedo Mask for the final two—a duel that accidentally reveals both their secret identities to each other. Through dirty tactics, Zoisite gets all seven crystals, but when he wounds Tuxedo Mask, it awakens Usagi's memories as the Moon Princess. Her tears cause the crystals to merge back into the Silver Crystal, transforming her into Princess Serenity. Completely outmatched, Zoisite flees back to the Dark Kingdom, but Queen Beryl is waiting. She's furious he tried to kill Tuxedo Mask and mortally wounds him herself as punishment. Zoisite dies in Kunzite's arms, surrounded by falling sakura petals and flowers, having asked his lover to let him go beautifully.
Localization note: The English dub changed Zoisite into a woman in several countries, likely to downplay both his relationship with Kunzite and his habit of using female disguises.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
