Haruka Tenoh
Encyclopedia
, 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 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.
Haruka is also extremely flirtatious and loves to tease pretty girls. 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. Their relationship in the anime is different, as Haruka also refers to her as "Odango" or dumpling in the same way Tuxedo Mask does as a playful nickname. By the time she returns in Sailor Stars, however, she begins to refer to Usagi as "Kitten".
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. In the anime, however, the physical aspects their relationship is limited to hand-holding, flirting and sometimes even humorous implying, but generally remains intact.
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.
The anime and manga versions of the character are reasonably interchangeable, although her standoffishness is more pronounced in the anime. Like Michiru, 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).
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.
and dark 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 the embodiment 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.
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).
, 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.
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.
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 ,, which fires damaging energy, 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.
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 dresses in male clothes, 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.
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).
The kanji
of Haruka's surname translate as and . Together, they constitute most of the name of the planet Uranus in Japanese, . 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.
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.
Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper describe her as being "dual gendered".
, 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. According to her co-star, Barbara Radecki
, the voice of Sailor Neptune, her and Lafleur recorded their lines together, which is unusual as anime voiceover in North America is usually recorded individually.
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
.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
metaseries. Her real name is , a masculine schoolgirl who can transform into one of the series' specialized heroines, the Sailor Senshi
Sailor Senshi
A appears as a type of heroine in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. The name comes from sailor fuku, a type of school uniform, and senshi, which can mean "soldier" or "warrior". Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who originated the series, coined the term by fusing English and Japanese elements,...
.
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.
Haruka is also extremely flirtatious and loves to tease pretty girls. 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. Their relationship in the anime is different, as Haruka also refers to her as "Odango" or dumpling in the same way Tuxedo Mask does as a playful nickname. By the time she returns in Sailor Stars, however, she begins to refer to Usagi as "Kitten".
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. In the anime, however, the physical aspects their relationship is limited to hand-holding, flirting and sometimes even humorous implying, but generally remains intact.
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
Death Busters
The ' are a group of antagonists in the Sailor Moon metaseries. They are the primary villains of the third story arc, called Mugen in the manga and S in the anime...
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
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
in episode 98 of the anime.
The anime and manga versions of the character are reasonably interchangeable, although her standoffishness is more pronounced in the anime. Like Michiru, 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
Sailor Moon musicals
The , commonly referred to as , are a series of live theatre productions based on Naoko Takeuchi's metaseries Sailor Moon. The series consists of 29 musicals which have had more than 800 performances since the show opened in Summer 1993...
(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
Omake
means extra in Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean "extra or bonus". In USA, the term is most often used in a narrow sense by anime fans to describe special features on DVD releases: deleted scenes, interviews with the...
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
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
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
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
, and her least favorite is natto
Natto
is a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis. It is popular especially as a breakfast food. As a rich source of protein and probiotics, nattō and the soybean paste miso formed a vital source of nutrition in feudal Japan. Nattō can be an acquired taste because...
(fermented soybeans); she also likes the color gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. 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
Sailor Moon SuperS movie
Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie is the third theatrically released Sailor Moon film. This simplified name is the one given to the English-dubbed edition released by Geneon Entertainment, while its full name in Japanese is in the style of the series' episode titles:...
, 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 |
| Super Sailor Uranus | 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
Silver Millennium
The Silver Millennium, a fictional kingdom in the Sailor Moon metaseries, lies on the moon. It provides a setting for the past lives and future selves of most of the series' major characters, and functions as a major driving force behind both plot and characterization.The series first shows the...
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 yellowYellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
and dark 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
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
, who was the embodiment 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.
Princess Uranus
During the Silver MillenniumSilver Millennium
The Silver Millennium, a fictional kingdom in the Sailor Moon metaseries, lies on the moon. It provides a setting for the past lives and future selves of most of the series' major characters, and functions as a major driving force behind both plot and characterization.The series first shows the...
, 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 transformHenshin
is the Japanese word for "transformation," literally meaning, "to change or transform the body." This word is primarily used in manga, anime, and tokusatsu dramas for when a character transforms into a superhero. usually have a "henshin call", a catchphrase which they recite when they 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.
Sailor Uranus' powers are inspired by Roman mythology
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
, where Uranus
Uranus (mythology)
Uranus , was the primal Greek god personifying the sky. His equivalent in Roman mythology was Caelus. In Ancient Greek literature, according to Hesiod in his Theogony, Uranus or Father Sky was the son and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth...
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
Sailor Senshi
A appears as a type of heroine in the metaseries known as Sailor Moon. The name comes from sailor fuku, a type of school uniform, and senshi, which can mean "soldier" or "warrior". Naoko Takeuchi, the manga artist who originated the series, coined the term by fusing English and Japanese elements,...
), each is also given kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
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
Furigana
is a Japanese reading aid, consisting of smaller kana, or syllabic characters, printed next to a kanji or other character to indicate its pronunciation. In horizontal text, yokogaki, they are placed above the line of text, while in vertical text, tategaki, they are placed to the right of the line...
. This is Sailor Uranus's primary attack for most of the anime series.
Haruka carries a special blade
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
, 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 ,, which fires damaging energy, 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
Sailor Stars
The following list of episodes of the Sailor Moon anime series covers , the fifth season of the series. Children's TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation co-produced the episodes; Takuya Igarashi directed. The series originally aired on Children's TV Asahi between March 9, 1996 and February 8, 1997...
. 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 TakeuchiNaoko Takeuchi
is a Japanese manga artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime and manga fans worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga and anime products to date.-Early life:...
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
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
, 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
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
comics. Takeuchi drew Haruka as physically different when she dresses in male clothes, 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.
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
Toyota 2000GT
The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production, front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat, hardtop coupé grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha. First displayed to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, the 2000GT was manufactured under contract by Yamaha between 1967 and...
(1968) convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
, and once Mazda Mx-5 Miata in montego blue (1990).
The kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
of Haruka's surname translate as and . Together, they constitute most of the name of the planet Uranus in Japanese, . Her given name is in hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
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
Furigana
is a Japanese reading aid, consisting of smaller kana, or syllabic characters, printed next to a kanji or other character to indicate its pronunciation. In horizontal text, yokogaki, they are placed above the line of text, while in vertical text, tategaki, they are placed to the right of the line...
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
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by Irwin Toys gave Haruka the name Corinn. In the Mixx (now Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
) 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 AnimageAnimage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
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.
Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper describe her as being "dual gendered".
Actresses
In the Japanese anime and movies, Haruka Tenoh is voiced by veteran voice actress Megumi OgataMegumi Ogata
is a female seiyū and singer from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She attended Tōkai University, but left due to lack of interest. She is also best known for voicing Sailor Uranus, Kurama and Shinji Ikari....
, 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
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
Anime Grand Prix award for best seiyū
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
, largely because of her work as Sailor Uranus, breaking up a 12-win streak by Megumi Hayashibara
Megumi Hayashibara
is a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
. 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
Sarah Lafleur
Sarah Lafleur is a Canadian-born actress, most recognizable for her roles in Ugly Betty , The Mentalist , Grey's Anatomy , CSI: NY , Crossing Jordan , Without a Trace , Playmakers ; and the films Shall We Dance? , Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story and Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story...
in one of her earliest roles. According to her co-star, Barbara Radecki
Barbara Radecki
Barbara Radecki is a Canadian actress who is most popular for her role as the voice of Sailor Neptune in the English version of Sailor Moon S; she had appeared in several earlier episodes as Ikuko Tsukino and Queen Serenity as well...
, the voice of Sailor Neptune, her and Lafleur recorded their lines together, which is unusual as anime voiceover in North America is usually recorded individually.
In the stage musicals
Sailor Moon musicals
The , commonly referred to as , are a series of live theatre productions based on Naoko Takeuchi's metaseries Sailor Moon. The series consists of 29 musicals which have had more than 800 performances since the show opened in Summer 1993...
, 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
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series in the Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon metaseries originally created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is produced by Toei, the same company that produces the Super Sentai Series and the Kamen Rider Series and of which their animation firm Toei Animation, produced the...
.