is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. Her real name is , a masculine schoolgirl who can transform into one of the series' specialized heroines, the Sailor Senshi.
Haruka is one of the most famous lesbians. Her masculine persona
(by
shōjo standards) is one of the
standard archetypes in
yuri.
Profile
Haruka is a stubborn, protective individual, but is also
strong-willed, capable, charming, and occasionally even doting. She
is formally introduced in the
third story
arc, although she appears in silhouette alongside Sailor
Neptune in the final episode of
Sailor Moon R.
Haruka is a
racecar driver, even though she
is barely sixteen years old when she appears. However, the timing
of her birthday to the Japanese school year means she is one grade
ahead of the
Guardian Senshi.
Among fans in North America, Haruka and
Michiru are among the most famous
out lesbian characters in
anime. Haruka is also extremely flirtatious and loves to tease
pretty girls who sometimes mistake her gender due to Haruka's
tomboyish behavior. In the manga, she even
kisses
Usagi. Throughout the
manga, she is lightly flirting with Usagi, either out of habit from
the first arc she appeared in or just for fun, and eventually Usagi
would occasionally flirt back out of pure playfulness.
Although her relationship with Michiru is not implicitly sexual
until later in the series, their romantic situation is referred to
early on and generally understood by most of the metaseries'
characters fairly quickly. It is sometimes a source of good natured
humor, particularly because few of the other Senshi have serious
romantic prospects in comparison and because the otherwise
flirtatious Haruka finds it impolite to discuss romantic matters in
public. All fan rumors about Haruka being a man, the
reincarnation of one, or a
hermaphrodite, are untrue.
Naoko Takeuchi has explicitly stated that
"Haruka has always been a girl. Always will be."
She further complicates the
perception of her gender by appearing as a "Tuxedo Mask" instead of
a Sailor Senshi in the first appearance. This form is never
mentioned again.
Besides her relationship with Michiru, Haruka is also close friends
with
Setsuna, because the three of them
work closely together as
Outer Senshi.
Following the destruction of the
Death
Busters and the rebirth of
Sailor
Saturn as an infant, they vow to be her family and care for
her. Later story arcs show that the four live together happily for
some time. Nothing about Haruka's family life is ever discussed,
although she and
Michiru Kaioh appear
noticeably wealthy by unknown means. In the manga, Haruka says that
she and Michiru have "wealthy patrons." Haruka is the target of
sexism in episode 98 of the anime, but never
of
homophobia.
The anime and manga versions of the character are reasonably
interchangeable, although her standoffishness is more pronounced in
the anime. Like the other
Outer Senshi,
Haruka is sometimes considered colder and almost unfeeling. Aside
from a brief vignette in a special, Haruka and the others do not
return after the third season until the final fifth season,
generally retaining the same personalities.
In the
Sailor Moon musicals
(Seramyu), Haruka and Michiru's relationship remains largely
unchanged; they are always shown together, which is consistent with
both manga and anime, and while their romance in the musicals is
usually kept low-key, the actresses for the two do kiss on stage in
the
omake of
Kaguya Shima Densetsu
Kaiteiban. They are also the only two Senshi to engage in
physical combat with Galaxia. The other Senshi only use their
powers to combat her. As in the anime, however, neither Uranus or
Neptune are capable of harming Galaxia in combat. It is seen that
Uranus could sense Neptune's death when Galaxia gravely injures
Neptune, who had been weakened while protecting Sailor Mars.
Otherwise, the two are shown to be more willing to work as a team
with the Guardian Senshi in the musicals than in the anime, except
where plot-lines are directly drawn from the anime, such as their
pretended betrayal of the other Senshi in
Stars.
Haruka's greatest dream, prior to becoming a Sailor Senshi, was to
be a professional racer. Thereafter it is still a well-loved hobby,
and driving is listed in the manga as her best skill. She is also a
skilled runner, belonging to the
track-and-field club at school. On occasion,
Haruka can be seen playing piano in accompaniment during Michiru's
violin performances. While
Physical
Education is her best class, Modern Japanese is her worst.
Haruka is highly private, able to tease others while becoming
flustered if teased herself, and has difficulty with confessions.
Her favorite food is
salad, and her least
favorite is
natto (fermented soybeans); she
also likes the color
gold. According to
Michiru, Haruka has had trouble with popular men on more than one
occasion. Haruka denies this, but it clearly annoys her.
Haruka and the other Outer Senshi appear in the
SuperS movie, although this
conflicts with the general timeline of the series in several ways.
Notably, they are more overtly friendly and helpful than they had
been when they last met and
Sailor
Pluto is present (in contradiction of certain events in the
third series).
Aspects and forms
|
First appearance |
| Form |
Manga |
Anime |
| Sailor Uranus |
Act 24 |
Ep. 90 |
| Haruka Tenoh |
Act 24 |
Ep. 92 |
| Second (Super) form |
Act 39 |
Ep. 167 |
| Princess Uranus |
Act 41 |
-- |
| Third Senshi form |
Act 42 |
-- |
As a character with different incarnations, special powers,
transformations and a long lifetime virtually spanned between the
Silver Millennium era and the 30th
century, Haruka gains multiple aspects and aliases as the series
progresses.
Sailor Uranus
Haruka's Senshi identity. She wears a
uniform colored in
yellow
and
cobalt blue, and unlike most of the
other Senshi, her gloves extend only to mid-forearm. She is given
specific titles throughout the various series, including Soldier of
Sky (or "the Skies" in the English manga) and Soldier of Flight.
Perhaps her titles regarding the sky is in reference to the
Greco-Roman Uranus, who was god of the sky. Sailor Uranus is one
of the more aggressive Senshi, and carries the Space Sword, which
is one of three
talismans
carried by the
Outer Senshi. Her
personality is no different from when she is a civilian, although
certain powers are unavailable to her in that form. Sailor Neptune
is her constant companion, and they are rarely separated.
Astrological symbol of Uranus
As she grows stronger, Sailor Uranus gains additional powers, and
at key points her uniform changes to reflect this. The first change
takes place in Act 39 of the manga, when she obtains the Uranus
Crystal and her outfit becomes similar to that of Super Sailor
Moon. She is not given a new title. A similar event takes place in
Episode 167 of the anime, and she is given the name Super Sailor
Uranus. A third, manga-only form appears in Act 42, also unnamed
but analogous to Eternal Sailor Moon (
sans wings).
Princess Uranus
During the
Silver Millennium,
Sailor Uranus was also the Princess of her home planet. She was
among those given the duty of protecting the solar system from
outside invasion. As Princess Uranus, she dwelt in Miranda Castle
and wore a
deep blue
gown--she appears in this form in the original manga Act 41, as
well as in supplementary art. It is unknown whether she had a
relationship with Princess Neptune at that time.
Special powers and items
Although Haruka is extremely strong and has some psychic
sensitivity (mostly in the form of dreams, shared by Michiru and
Setsuna, or by "hearing" ill omens in the wind), she is not shown
using any special powers in her civilian form. She must first
transform into a Sailor Senshi by raising
her hand or a special device into the air and shouting a special
phrase, originally "Uranus Planet Power, Make-up!" In the manga she
eventually gains her Uranus Crystal and this phrase changes to
evoke
Uranus Crystal Power. In the anime, although she
does upgrade to Super Sailor Uranus, the Crystal is never mentioned
and her transformation is not shown on screen. When it is used, her
transformation sequence involves a golden energy circle which
encloses around her, forming her outfit. She is also once shown
de-transforming—her outfit becomes flower petals as she walks away,
leaving her nude for a moment before her normal clothes
reappear.
Sailor Uranus' powers are inspired by
Roman mythology, where
Uranus is the god of the sky. She is
often mistaken as having earth-based powers, but this is because of
the appearance of her first attack,
World Shaking, in the
anime; she gathers energy from the sky and hurls this at the
ground, breaking it up, but does not manipulate the earth itself
with her will. She is given three major attacks in the series, and
although they all have English names (like those of the other
Sailor Senshi), each is also given
kanji in the manga to denote the meaning to
Japanese readers. For example,
World Shaking is given
kanji which translate to , , and . The intended English
pronunciation is given in
furigana. This is
Sailor Uranus's primary attack for most of the anime series.
Haruka carries a special
blade, the Space
Sword, which turns out to be one of three powerful
Talismans, the other two of which
are carried by
Sailor Neptune and
Sailor Pluto. In the manga, she seems
to already know it is a Talisman; in the anime, she does not gain
the sword until it is revealed as such. In either case, it is used
in her second attack,
Space Sword Blaster , as well as in
physical strikes.
Her third and final attack, appearing only in the manga, is called
, which uses no item at all. The Uranus Crystal is perhaps her most
important possession, as it is her
Sailor
Crystal and the source of all her power, which becomes
especially important in the
fifth story
arc. It is given to her by
Sailor
Saturn.
Development
The character of Sailor Uranus was not developed until partway
through the
Sailor Moon series, after the
Guardian Senshi were well-established. She
was created in tandem with Sailor Neptune, as "complementary but
opposite characters," and meant from the beginning to work
alongside Sailor Pluto. Creator
Naoko
Takeuchi has said that she was shocked by the changes made to
Haruka's personality in the anime series, but that she was glad
fans still liked the character.
Initial
drawings of Haruka are softer and more feminine than they would
later become; she was originally intended to be involved in the
all-female Takarazuka
Revue
, playing male roles on stage. Although this
was not included in the series itself, Takeuchi stated in an
interview that she feels Takarazuka is "the maximum level of
feminine emancipation. These actress cover all roles of the plays,
even the male ones. I was inspired by them to create Haruka." She
also described such a figure as "the female best friend and the
fairy tale prince in one," stating that she had wanted for a long
time to include a character like this in one of her works. Haruka
is intended as an older sister figure for the younger girls
populating the series, and as a counterpoint to
Mamoru, Takeuchi's ideal man.
Haruka is relatively
androgynous in the
manga, wearing both feminine and masculine outfits, in tune with
the traditional depiction of a beautiful androgynous woman in
shōjo comics. Takeuchi drew Haruka as
physically different when she crossdresses, with a more masculine
figure than otherwise. She even refers to Haruka as being "in male
form" at these times, and stated that she wanted this to continue
in the anime—which it did. In the anime, Haruka's
sometimes-feminine appearance is downplayed, and she almost always
dresses as a man. Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper describe her as
being "dual gendered".
Haruka's
fascination with racing draws at least some of its details from
Takeuchi herself; in the manga, they even share a favorite car, the
Ferrari
512M. In the anime, she
is seen driving a yellow or white
Toyota
2000GT (1968)
convertible, and once
Mazda Mx-5 Miata in montego blue
(1990).
Certain background details of Haruka's character were chosen
symbolically—for instance, her Western astrological sign is given
as
Aquarius, which in
astrology corresponds to the planet Uranus. In
reference to a popular
Japanese belief,
her
blood type is given as B, supposedly
indicating cheerful wildness and selfishness.
The
kanji of Haruka's surname translate as and
. Together, they constitute most of the name of the planet Uranus
in Japanese,
Ten'ōsei. Her given name is in
hiragana and so its meaning is not inherent, but
the word itself means "distant". Her family name is sometimes
incorrectly romanized as
Tennō, which is in fact a more
common writing of the planet's name, but the manga invariably
glosses Haruka's surname as
Ten'ō where
furigana are used, and it is
pronounced this way in the
anime.
Her name in the English-language anime, Amara, is derived from the
Greek word αμαραντος
amarantos, meaning "eternal" or
"unfading".
In 1998, the packaging of dolls released in
Canada
by Irwin Toys gave Haruka
the name Corinn. In the Mixx (now
Tokyopop) manga, she was once named Alex; Mixx
later admitted this was a mistake, and changed her name back.
Reception and influence
The official
Sailor Moon popularity polls listed Haruka
Tenoh and Sailor Uranus as separate characters. In 1994, with fifty
one choices, Sailor Uranus was the sixth most popular character,
receiving over nine thousand votes more than Haruka, who was the
tenth. In early 1996, with fifty one choices, Uranus was the tenth
most popular character, and Haruka was the twelfth. Haruka Tenoh
came first in the favorite female character poll in
Animage 1995. The following year she came
seventh.
Sailor Uranus has been described as having "clearly masculine
traits", and that she protects Usagi "as a man would a woman". She
is presented as being more logical than the others, more willing to
resort to whatever means is necessary, and also physically
stronger.
In an
effort to avoid the controversy that a lesbian character in a
cartoon aimed towards a younger audience would cause, given the
contemporary social mores in the United States
, the dub also states that Amara (Haruka) and
Michelle (Michiru Kaioh) are cousins
— even going so far as to occasionally state this through
characters who should not know such information. However,
whether in an attempt to be more faithful to the original Japanese
or through sheer failure to edit consistently, several episodes of
the English dub retain a noticeable amount of their casual
flirting. It has even been implied that the difficulties in dubbing
Haruka and Michiru's relationship are part of the reason why there
was a gap of several years between the dubbing of the earlier
series and the dubbing of
Sailor Moon S. However, it
should be noted that in Japan, there were also some controversies
around the character.
Fan fiction featuring Haruka and Michiru
is the second-most searched-for fanfiction on the Internet.
Because of her masculinity, Western fans of the series have
sometimes speculated that Sailor Uranus was a prince in her
previous life, rather than a princess.
Actresses
In the Japanese anime and movies, Haruka Tenoh is voiced by veteran
voice actress
Megumi Ogata, who had
previously portrayed a
monster-of-the-day,
Petz, and young
Mamoru in the series. Ogata was instructed by
the director to portray Haruka as if she and Michiru were a married
couple. In 1995, Ogata won the 16th
Animage
Anime Grand Prix award for best
seiyū,
largely because of her work as Sailor Uranus, breaking up a 12-win
streak by
Megumi Hayashibara. The
previous year she had ranked third, and she ranked second for the
next three years before dropping to ninth place in 1999.
In the English adaptations, the voice of "Amara Tenoh" is provided
by well known TV actress,
Sarah
Lafleur in one of her earliest roles.
In the
stage musicals, Haruka
has been played by 4 actresses:
Sanae
Kimura,
Nao Takagi,
Asako Uchida, and
Akiko Nakayama. Sanae Kimura regarded the
betrayal of Uranus and Neptune in her last musical,
Eien
Densetsu kaiteiban, to be a very difficult scene for her and
cried during it.
Nao Takagi, the longest-running of the musical actresses, decided
that she wanted to play the role of the "Sailor Senshi with the
blonde hair" when she saw one of the earlier musicals, despite
having never performed before. Takagi said she was "really happy to
be able to play Uranus" and regarded Uranus as "a completely cool,
handsome senshi". She has stated that certain scenes involving
herself and
Yuhka Asami (as Sailor
Neptune) were specially created just for the two of them, the song
"Destined Couple" in particular.
Haruka does not appear in the
live-action series.
References
- Act 25
- 1998 Sailor Moon musical, Eien Densetsu kaiteiban,
after Sorezore no Elegy
- 1998 Sailor Moon musical, Eien Densetsu kaiteiban,
before Sorezore no Elegy
- Sailor Moon Musical 1997 Sailor Stars Kaiteiban,
before Sorezore no Elegy - While Uranus is searching a
hall of mirrors with Sailor Mercury, she feels Neptune's death,
shouting, "I would know!" to a shocked Mercury.
- Episodes 181 and 184.
- First used in Act 27 of the manga (she raises her hand) and
Episode 106 of the anime (she raises the Lip Rod). In the English
version, "Amara" does not say 'Make up' when transforming, and the
phrase "Uranus Star Power" is usually used instead.
- "Crystal Power" starting in Act 39, when she acquires her
second uniform. No new phrase is used for her third uniform.
- Episode 115.
- First appears in Act 26 of the manga and Episode 92 of the
anime. In the English anime, the word Uranus is sometimes
added at the beginning.
- Episode 110.
- First appears in Act 31 and the SuperS movie.
- Act 43. This attack is also used by the evil Sailor Uranus in
Act 50, where it is renamed Galactica Space
Turbulence.
- Kappa magazine, September 1996.
http://www.kicie.net/realm/naoko.htm
- Cornog, Martha; and Perper, Timothy (March 2005) Non-Western Sexuality Comes to the U.S.: A Crash
Course in Manga and Anime for Sexologists Contempory
Sexuality vol 39 issue 3 page 1
- As seen at Name Meanings and particularly at Behind
the Name, which tracks the name as a short form of
Amarantha.
- http://animage.jp/gp/gp_1995.html
- http://animage.jp/gp/gp_1996.html
- Available at
- http://animage.jp/gp/gp_nendaibetu.html
- Sailor Moon Musical 10th Anniversary Memorial Talk and Live
Show - March 30th, Sanae Kimura commenting on the 1998
Eien Densetsu kaiteiban footage showing Orleans no Sei
Senshi ~ Uranus to Neptune Uragiri~
- Nao: "When I was watching the last show of the first stage
"Eternal Legend", I was telling myself that is I ever have the
chance to perform this play, I want to play the Sailor senshi with
the blonde hair"
- Sailor Moon Musical, 1998 Shin Densetsu Kourin Fan
Guide - Fan message
- Nao: "Some of the scenes were created for the two of us"
See also
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