The relationship of Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus has been a landmark for queer anime fans. SailorMoonhttps://t.co/ZaJu4hEh14
— SYFY FANGRRLS (@Syfyfangrrls) June 4, 2018
Source
- Sara Century wrote an article for Syfy.com reflecting on the iconic lesbian couple from the popular anime Sailor Moon (based on the manga of the same name by Naoko Takeuchi). This article is specifically about the '90s anime version of the pair.
- The '90s anime was one of the first introductions of a lesbian couple for many people (prior to Uranus and Neptune, the first anime adaptation featured villains Zoisite and Kunzite, a homosexual couple).
- However, the original English adaptation produced by Cloverway (CWi), a North American branch of Toei, changed Uranus and Neptune's story for television airings. Rather than making them a couple, the two were cousins. This was considered an odd choice as the two often embraced romantically, or they stared affectionately at one another. The fandom made many jokes about what kind of cousins these two young women were supposed to be exactly in the English dub. This major change to the couple's story was retained even on the Pioneer/Geneon DVDs' dub.
- Sailor Uranus (aka Haruka Tenoh) and Sailor Neptune (Michiru Kaioh) were officially introduced in the third episode of the third season - Sailor Moon S (the "S" stands for "Super"). The two Sailor Soldiers were on a different path than the existing five Sailor Soldiers - they sought the Talismans, which could only be obtained from three humans on Earth. Unlike Sailor Moon, Uranus and Neptune were ready to sacrifice these three innocent humans in order to collect the Talismans and save the world from approaching doom. The pair's entry in the series signaled a darker tone for the somewhat lighthearted series as both teams of Sailor Soldiers had different fighting methods and ideologies.
- Haruka/Uranus is presented as non-binary, but her creator, Takeuchi, refers to Haruka as female. In the manga, Michiru/Neptune says that her partner is both male and female.
- In the manga, Haruka flirts a lot with Usagi/Sailor Moon (who, by-the-way, was presented as more open to herself having relationships with women in that continuity). In the '90s anime, Haruka pretty much flirted with all of the other Sailor Soldiers (except Ami/Sailor Mercury really). Makoto/Sailor Jupiter had a notable (short-lived) crush on Haruka, but it was more out of idolization.
- In the 17th episode of Sailor Moon S, the origin story of Uranus and Neptune is shown. Michiru had had a school crush on Haruka from afar, and the two finally crossed paths before their mission came into play. Michiru had already awakened as Neptune, and she tried to prevent Haruka from becoming Uranus. Haruka was already reluctant to give in to destiny at that point. So if Haruka became a Sailor Soldier, she would never be able to outrun her fate (a pun for Haruka's affinity for running). Some fans analyzed the story as a sort of analogy for Haruka struggling to accept her sexuality/Michiru.
- The author notes how a lot of the changes made to the anime for the English dub weren't great. Like using euphemisms to explain away someone's homosexuality can be confusing or disparaging.
- Had it not been for the dated censoring, though, the anime at that point in the story may never have been aired on TV in North America. In spite of the editing, Sailor Moon still helped a lot of people struggling with their sexuality while growing up.
