Haruka Tenoh
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Haruka Tenoh (天王はるか Ten'ō Haruka?) is a fictional character, a Sailor Senshi, one of the central characters in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. She is known as Amara Tenoh in the English adaptations.
Haruka is arguably one of the most famous 'out' characters in American anime fandom. Her masculine persona (by shōjo standards) is one of the standard archetypes in yuri.
Her first appearance as Sailor Uranus is in Episode 90 of the anime, while Haruka doesn't appear until Episode 92. In the manga, her first appearance is in Act 24.
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[edit] Sailor Uranus
Haruka transforms into Sailor Uranus. Though she is described as the soldier of the sky, her attacks make reference to the World and to Space. She is one of the more aggressive senshi, and carries the Space Sword, which is one of three talismans carried by the Outer Senshi. Sailor Neptune is her constant companion, and they are rarely separated. Her senshi uniform colors are dark blue and yellow; she wears heeled boots and short gloves.
[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 season 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 (In Japanese, the planet is typically known as Ten'ousei (天王星 Ten'ōsei/Tennōsei?, "Star of the Sky King"), thus preserving the meaning). 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's family name is sometimes incorrectly given as Tennō. Ordinarily, both てんのう Tennō and てんおう Ten'ō are legitimate Japanese readings for the characters 天王, and both can be used to write the planet's name (hence the dual gloss above); usually, Tennōsei is preferred in Japanese dictionaries.[1] However, the manga invariably glosses Haruka's family name as Ten'ō where furigana are used; likewise, it is pronounced as Ten'ō rather than Tennō in the anime.
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. Haruka's character is based on the actors who play a male role in the Takarazuka Revue. [2]
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. [3] 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 — multiple times — that "Haruka is a girl. Always has been, always will be."
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 and the other Outer Senshi appear in the SuperS movie, although because its story is derived from the manga rather than from the anime, there are some changes. Notably, they are more overtly friendly and helpful, and Sailor Pluto is present (in contradiction of certain events in the third series). One of her most amusing scenes implies that while Haruka is a flatterer, she can get flustered if flirted with herself.
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] Other forms
Senshi forms - 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 form appears only in the manga, also unnamed but analogous to Eternal Sailor Moon.
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] Statistics
![Haruka in the manga, with Space Sword and Ferrari 512M.](../../../upload/thumb/8/80/HarukaTenoh.jpg/200px-HarukaTenoh.jpg)
- Name (Japanese): 天王はるか Ten'ō Haruka [4]
- Name (North America): Amara Tenoh
- Senshi alias: Sailor Uranus [4]
- Birthday: January 27th [4]
- Astrological sign: Aquarius [4]
- Bloodtype: B [4]
- Favorite color: Gold [4]
- Hobbies: driving [4]
- Favorite food: Salad [4]
- Least favorite food: Natto (fermented soybeans) [4]
- Favorite subject: Physical Education [4]
- Worst subject: Modern Japanese (Modern National Language Studies) [4]
- Strong Point: Racing [4]
- Has trouble with: Confessions [4]
- Dreams: To be a racer [4]
- Soldier title: Soldier of Sky [5]; Soldier of Flight [6]
- Guardian planet: Uranus
- Element: Sky; uses Wind and Light [7]
- Height: 175.26 cm / 5'9" [8] [9]
- Age: 16-17 throughout the main storyline
- Favorite animal: Panda
- Image gemstone: Amber
- School club: Track-and-field [10]
[edit] Senshi powers
[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.
- Uranus Star Power! - Used in the English anime.
- 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.
- 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. In the anime, Haruka almost always dresses as a man, and her femininity is downplayed. When Haruka appears the first time along with Michiru (Sailor Neptune), she wears a white tuxedo and looks similar to Tuxedo Mask. Also, when she is introduced the first time as a racer, she is also metioned to be male. Both of these facts are simply ignored later in the manga and have not been explained further.
The anime and manga versions of the character are reasonably interchangeable, although arguably her standoffishness is amplified in the anime. Haruka, like the other Outer Senshi, is sometimes considered colder and slightly more unlikeable, due to the anime's more fatalistic and grim additions to the original manga plot. 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 on a show technically 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 — a fact occasionally stated by characters who shouldn't know such information. However, by the time this series came out, many fans were already well aware of the lesbian relationship, and several episodes dubbed more faithfully retain a noticable amount of their casual flirting.
In the Sailor Moon musicals (Seramyu), Haruka is always paired with Michiru as in the manga and anime. While together, their romance is usually kept lowkey. Though in an omake for the 7th musical, the actresses for the two kiss on stage. Haruka and Michiru are often portrayed as the most level-headed and mature of the senshi, save for Setsuna. Uranus and Neptune are also the only two senshi in the musicals 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] Music
[edit] Anime
Haruka had two character singles, one was not sung by Ogata Megumi due to the demands of her role as Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion.[11]
- "Kaze ni Naritai" (I Want to Become the Wind) sung by Ogata Megumi
- "Initial U" sung by Ooki Risa from Sailor Stars
[edit] Musicals
- "Making for the Right"
- "Chou bi! Uranus and Neptune."
- "Orleans no Sei Senshi - Uranus - Neptune no Uragiri" (Soldiers of Orleans - Uranus and Neptune's Betrayal)
- "Sailor War!"
- "Harsh! Saint Cry!"
- "Destined Couple"
[edit] Actresses
- In the Japanese anime series and movies, Haruka Tenoh is played by Megumi Ogata. [12]
- In the English adaptations, Amara Tenoh is played by Sarah Lafleur.[13]
- In the musical version, Haruka has been played by 4 actresses: Sanae Kimura, Nao Takagi, Asako Uchida, and Akiko Nakayama.[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.php?MT=%C5%B7%B2%A6%C0%B1&kind=jn&mode=0&base=1&row=1
- ^ 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."”
- ^ http://www.theblackmoon.com/Naoko/take.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Takeuchi, Naoko (June 6, 1995). “Back of volume”, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 10. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178806-X.
- ^ 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 (October 1999). Materials Collection. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-324521-7.
- ^ (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 V2, 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.
- ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (September 6, 1996). “Act 43”, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Volume 16. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-178841-8.
- ^ Bacon, Michelle (September 9, 2006). Sailor Music Dot Net. Retrieved on October 1, 2006.
- ^ 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
[edit] External links
- Sailor Uranus Multimedia Resource
- http://www.eternalsailormoon.org/ssww/
- http://www.eternalsailormoon.org/destined/
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