Nephrite is the second of the Shitennou to show up, ranking second overall in the Dark Kingdom hierarchy. Takeuchi created him as cocky and emotional—the type who'd probably get himself killed almost immediately, and in the manga, that's exactly what happened. He's estimated to be around 19 years old, making him the second-oldest of the group, and he oversees the Dark Kingdom's North American operations. His name comes from the mineral nephrite.
Manga version: Nephrite was obsessed with finding the Silver Crystal, driven largely by rage over Jadeite's defeat. He attacked through shadow projections that possessed victims and drained their energy simultaneously. His scheme eventually centered on possessing Motoki, who then infected Makoto. After Mamoru broke the possession, Sailor Jupiter killed Nephrite in retaliation.
Anime version: Things played out very differently. Nephrite took Jadeite's spot after Queen Beryl put him in Eternal Sleep, and he immediately criticized his predecessor for spreading himself too thin. Nephrite's strategy was smarter—tap into people's natural star rhythms to find those at peak "energy potential" and drain them individually rather than hitting dozens at once. This approach actually worked.
He adopted a human identity as Masato Sanjouin, a wealthy businessman with a red Ferrari, and while he mostly maintained a normal appearance, he'd occasionally let superhuman abilities slip—like casually vaulting over tennis court fences. Along the way, he caught the attention of Naru, who developed genuine feelings for him.
Eventually Nephrite abandoned energy collection altogether to pursue the Ginzuishou instead, which infuriated Zoisite. To track it down, Nephrite built a Black Crystal detector that reacted specifically to Naru's presence—he figured out it was responding to her love for him. By then, Nephrite had fallen for her too, which gave Zoisite the opening needed. When Zoisite's minions attacked and captured Naru, Nephrite saved her and finally admitted his feelings, actually smiling and laughing for once. But Zoisite's assassins came back hard. Nephrite took a piercing vine through the shoulder protecting Naru, plus another direct hit. In the chaos, he dropped the Black Crystal and Zoisite grabbed it. The Sailor Senshi showed up too late—Nephrite was already dying. He told Naru he was sorry for all the lies, and that's where he went out, in her arms.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
