Haruka Tenoh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sailor Uranus | |
|---|---|
 Haruka as Super Sailor Uranus |
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| Profile | |
| Name: | Haruka Tenoh (天王はるか[1]) |
| English: | Amara Tenoh |
| Birthday: | January 27 (Aquarius)[1] |
| Age range: | 16-17 |
| Aliases: | Princess Uranus |
| Affiliations: | Sailor Team, Shadow Galactica |
| Powers: | Can control and manipulate the forces of the air.[2] |
| Performers: | (See below) |
Haruka Tenoh (天王はるか Ten'ō Haruka?, or Amara in the English anime) is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. She is best known by the name Sailor Uranus, one of the series' primary heroines — the Sailor Senshi.
Haruka is one of the most famous "out" characters in anime fandom. Her masculine persona (by shōjo standards) is one of the standard archetypes in yuri.
Contents |
[edit] 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 series of the anime, although her possible existence is alluded to in the second season. When transformed, she is known as Sailor Uranus, and is part of the group known in Fanon as the Outer Senshi.
As Sailor Uranus, she is the soldier of the planet Uranus and has the power of the sky. Due to an animation quirk, however, her attack "World Shaking" often looks like an earth-based attack, though it is not such. Her planetary aura is dark blue in the manga, but in the anime, it varies between dark blue and gold. Her talisman is the Space Sword which is a powerful offensive weapon.
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 Inner Senshi.
Among fans in the United States, Haruka was, and likely remains, the most famous out lesbian character 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. Haruka's character is based on the actresses who play a male role in the Takarazuka Revue.[3]
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. The creator of the manga, Naoko Takeuchi, also explicitly mentioned this at San Diego Comic Con 1998.[4] 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 people's romantic matters. 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."[5]
Anything about her family life is never discussed, although she and Michiru Kaioh appear noticeably wealthy by unknown means. In the manga, Haruka says that she and Michiru have "wealthy patrons," which Michiru seems embarrassed to talk about. "Patron" could mean they have sponsors who fund Haruka's race car driving and Michiru's violin lessons, or it could be intended as a (humorous) reference to enjo kōsai - the English translation makes it unclear. Haruka is the target of sexism in episode 98 of the animated series, but never of homophobia.
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.[1] She is also a skilled runner, belonging to the track-and-field club at school.[6] 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. She stands about 175 centimeters (5 ft 9 in) high[7][8] and is blood type B.[1]
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).
The kanji of Haruka's surname translate as "sky" (天 ten?) and "king" (王 ō?). Together, they constitute most of the name of the planet Uranus in Japanese, Ten'ōsei. Her given name is in hiragana (はるか haruka?) and so its meaning is not inherent, but the word itself means "distant". Her family name is sometimes incorrectly romanized as Tennō, which is a legitimate reading and is in fact more common when writing the planet's name.[9] However, the manga invariably glosses Haruka's surname as Ten'ō where furigana are used, and it is pronounced this way in the anime. 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.
[edit] Aspects and forms
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.
[edit] Sailor Uranus
Haruka's Senshi identity. She wears a uniform colored in yellow and deep 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[10] and Soldier of Flight.[11] 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.
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).[12]
[edit] 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.
[edit] Senshi powers
Throughout the various series, Sailor Uranus displays a number of special attacks and other powers.[13]
[edit] Transformations
(Note: In the English dub, she transforms without saying "Make-up" at the end.)
- Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up! - Used to transform into Sailor Uranus and, in the anime, Super Sailor Uranus. In the English dub, the phrase Uranus Star Power is usually used for this transformation.
- Uranus Crystal Power, Make-Up! - (Manga only) Used to transform into Sailor Uranus's two more powerful forms.
Sailor Uranus's transformation sequence involves her creating a golden energy circle which encloses around her, forming her outfit. She is shown de-transforming in episode 115--her outfit becomes flower petals as she walks away, leaving her nude for a moment before her normal clothes reappear.
[edit] Attacks
- World Shaking! — Sailor Uranus creates a ball of energy in her hand, and then strikes the ground, sending the energy toward her opponent. In the English anime, this is sometimes called Uranus World Shaking and in one instance Globe Cracker.
- Space Sword Blaster! — Sailor Uranus uses her talisman to shoot light waves at the opponent.
- Space Turbulence! — An attack only used in the manga.
- Galactica Space Turbulence! — Sailor Uranus uses this attack when she is under the control of Sailor Galaxia in the manga.
[edit] Variations
In the original manga, Haruka is more androgynous than in the anime, wearing both feminine and masculine outfits, and more in tune with the traditional depiction of a beautiful androgynous woman in shōjo comics. Takeuchi even drew Haruka as physically different and more masculine when she crossdresses.[14] In the anime, Haruka almost always dresses as a man, and her femininity is downplayed.
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.
The English dub of the anime changes her given name to Amara. (This name is sometimes incorrectly stated to be Greek or Latin for 'eternal'; however, in Greek it means 'irrigation channel', and in Latin it means 'bitter'. The confusion, as well as the name itself, likely both arise from αμαραντος amarantos, meaning 'unfading' or 'amaranth'.)
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 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.[15] However, it should be noted that in Japan, there was also some controversies around the character.[16]
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 an omake for the seventh musical. 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.
[edit] Actresses
In the Japanese anime series and movies, Haruka Tenoh is voiced by veteran voice actress Megumi Ogata.[17] In the English adaptations, the voice of "Amara Tenoh" is provided by Sarah Lafleur.[18]
In the stage musicals, Haruka has been played by 4 actresses: Sanae Kimura, Nao Takagi, Asako Uchida, and Akiko Nakayama.[19]
Haruka does not appear in the live-action series.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Takeuchi, Naoko (June 6, 1995). "Back of volume", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 10. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178806-X.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (October 1999). Materials Collection. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-324521-7.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko [October 1, 1999]. Materials Collection, Translated by Alex Glover (in English), Japan: Kodansha. Retrieved on [[October 10, 2006]]. “"[Haruka] plays a male role in Takarazuka."”
- ^ www.theblackmoon.com/Naoko/take.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ www.stormpages.com/glienekatze/interview.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (September 6, 1996). "Act 43", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 16. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178841-8.
- ^ (April 1993) "Chapter 1: Stage", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon album I. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-177734-3. , The height is guessed at from page 103, and vol. 2, page 94 and 111 since Usagi's height is given
- ^ Aromdee, Ken. Sailor Moon FAQ. Retrieved on [[October 17, 2006]]., estimates of heights from here.
- ^ dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.php?MT=%C5%B7%B2%A6%C0%B1&kind=jn&mode=0&base=1&row=1. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (February 6, 1995). "Act 29", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 9. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178797-7.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (March 6, 1996). "Act 39", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 14. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178826-4.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (July 5, 1996). "Act 42", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 15. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178835-3.
- ^ Carroll, Elizabeth (September 9, 2006). The Oracle. Retrieved on 2006-10-01.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (February 6, 1995). "Act 30", Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 9. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178797-7.
- ^ Sebert, Paul. "Kissing cousins may bring controversy Cartoon Network juggles controversial topics contained in the “Sailor Moon S” series", The Daily Athenaeum Interactive, 2000-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
- ^ Johnson, Dany. "Q & A Rocking the Boat", Akadot, 2001-04-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-21. “Their appearance on TV was sensational, something unheard of in TV cartoons.”
- ^ Doi, Hitoshi. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
- ^ Chiang, Jackie. The Sailor Senshi Page: North American Dub. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
- ^ eternal.legend. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- Takeuchi, Naoko. Sailor Moon 10. Mixx Entertainment, Inc., 1995, 2001. ISBN 1-892213-98-2
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