The are a group of fictional characters from the Sailor Moon manga series created by Naoko Takeuchi. They serve as the main antagonists of the fourth arc, called Dream in the manga, Sailor Moon SuperS in its first anime adaptation, and Sailor Moon Eternal in the second anime adaptation. They are first introduced in chapter #34 "Dream 1 – Eclipse Dream", originally published in Japan on September 6, 1995. In the original English dubbed anime, they are called the "Dark Moon Circus". The Dead Moon Circus is led by the twisted Zirconia, in command by the absence of the dark Queen Nehelenia who is trapped within a mirror. Zirconia is searching for the legendary Golden Crystal, which will allow Nehelenia to break free of her entrapment and take over the Earth. They are the only group of villains with two subordinate groups: the Amazon Trio and the Amazoness Quartet. Key figures Zirconia appears as an old woman with lavender skin who is revealed to a manifestation of Queen Nehelenia, overseeing the Dead Moon Circus in the real world. Her name is derived from the mineral Zirconium dioxide, which is often called Zirconia. Her connection to Nehelenia varies from version to version. In the Cloverway Inc. English-language adaptation, Zirconia's gender was changed from female to male, though the character's original depiction was maintained in the later Viz English-language adaptation. In the Materials Collection, Naoko Takeuchi mentions intentional insect-like elements in her design, possibly a reference to insect genus Nehalennia. Zirconia communicates with Nehelenia and delivers her orders to the Amazoness Quartet. When Sailor Saturn and Sailor Chibi Moon begin to break through Zirconia's influence on the Quartet, Zirconia captures all of them, imprisoning the Quartet inside four magic balls and Saturn and Chibi Moon within two shards of broken mirror. She sends the objects through the mirror to Nehelenia. When the Sailor Guardians confront her, she rises into the sky and grows in size, but the Sailor Guardians use Sailor Planet Power Meditation to defeat her. Zirconia escapes into Nehelenia's mirror with Sailor Moon in pursuit, Zirconia remaining within it and likely ceasing to exist upon the mirror being destroyed during Nehelenia's demise. In the anime, Zirconia serves as the queen's representative in directing their followers on missions to find Pegasus in the beautiful dreams of people in Tokyo. While the Amazon Trio feared her, Zirconia has trouble keeping the Amazoness