Calling all Michiru fans... Why is she so popular?

When I talk to Sailor Moon fans I often hear that Michiru is their favourite but I have to confess I never really asked them why.

But its driving me crazy! So I am asking now...

I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that she is passionate, calm, mature and 'clever-cheeky-naughty' (..need a thesaurus). Or could it be the way she interacts with Haruka? She doesn't get nearly as much air-time as her lover Haruka. And if I try and think of what the most significant thing she did is, I keep coming back to things that Haruka did too.

"If you have to ask you wouldn't understand"
"I still don't understand"
"That's because magical girls are real"

She's beautiful, she's elegant, she plays the violin, she's somewhat of a hidden perv (Really now, I so wanna know what she was wearing underneath that Trenchcoat )*

That's four reasons so far, keep the rest.

*

I'm not big on Michiru myself but if I ever saw a pretty girl shred it on a violin I'd fall head over heels let's be real

Well, she is beautiful, graceful, and have that peculiar nee-sama vibe that most yuri fans are crazy about. Her manga design is gorgeous with that wavy long hair, her signature color is attention-grabbing and she is relatable to the artsy fans. Each character has their fans, although sometimes it might look bizzare. I once had a friend that was a big Zirconia fan, so nothing xan surprise me.

Is she popular? I rarely see Michiru top people’s favorite Sailor Moon’s characters list, if ever. And usually the only time I see her rank high is when people regard her and Haruka as a single entity.

She gets high ranking in beauty related polls, from what I have seen. And when it comes to her design in the manga I agree with it. Too bad Crystal dropped the ball on trying to capture the manga look.

I'm surprised, too when you said Michiru ranks high in many people's favs. Just haven't seen any threads or polls that suggest this is the case.

I don't think she's that popular outside of the Outer Senshi as a whole or her relationship with Haruka.
As for me, I love artsy characters and how her violin is also tied to her attacks in the manga, her psychic abilities and mirror, her elegance. My bias towards green hair characters definitely plays into it too!

According to our forum poll, Michiru is by far the LEAST popular senshi.

Who's your favorite Senshi? poll

Oh that's easy. Michiru is sophisticated and beautiful. Her vibrant hair stands out Soo much. She pretty much outclasses the Inners . She is perfect because she has brains like Ami, refinement like REI, beauty like Minako, and can even hold her own in a fight like Mako and that hair flip!!! Who can resist that hairflip during her transformation? Too bad Season 3 made her hair flip look choppy.

Michiru is talented and definitely gives off the vibe she'd make a great teacher.

Honestly, I'm mad that Nako didn't herself or allow others to expand on Michiru's past. I would have loved to see how she lived when she was a princess.

Also, she is the Outers version of Sailor V in being the one to awaken and take on the bad guys. She's pretty damn dedicated. She got hit with a barrage of energy bullets and still advanced toward the enemy... Homegirl doesn't give up so easily...even if she is refined and seems like the pretty girl who is just there to be pretty, she has shown she can kick butt if needed.

Her and Haruka's sexually suggestive comments are always hilarious.


I always liked how aware she was... If Michiru gives you a compliment, take it with pride. (I'm looking at you REI). She isn't easily that impressed.

That mirror of hers...not only can she fix her hair with it, she can view enemies weaknesses, receive premonitions and shoot projectiles from it.

What is not to love about this woman?

Michiru is popular because she is a Lipstick Lesbian and coded as bisexual in the old anime, which means to a lot of fans, she's LGBT-lite, accessible to both the boys and the girls. For fans looking for representation, she's safe. She is firmly within the feminine gender norms aside from who she partners with. For fans looking for pretty girls to ogle, not only is she alluring, but her same-sex attraction provides an excuse to fetishize her.

Of course, as you can tell, I'm not a Michiru fan.

I love Michiru's longer hair in the manga, it's so pretty. I agree that Crytal dropped a gigantic ball in making her look like the manga counterpart with little effort.

While Michiru is probably mid-pack for me for the Senshi, a lot of people (myself included) think a girl who is super musically talented to be extremely attractive. (And she's plenty pretty already!) That, and she's one of the more mature of the group, which a lot of people like.

I'm really touched by all of the replies on my question. I have a better understanding about Mich's appeals now. If I may be so bold as to summarise the points so far...
"Is this going to be a shopping list for Haruka?"

• Beautiful (particularly hair)
• Talented (famous violinist)
• Personality (clever, cheeky, naughty & witty)
• Senpai material (if you had to choose a role model between the 3 older outers it would probably be her)
• Mature (she's always super calm and collected and is willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to do what's right)
• Amazing talisman (her mirror looks beautiful and can be used for so many purposes)
• Lesbian (this isn't much of a big deal nowadays, but even so we see way too many token gay/lesbian couples shoehorned into movies/sitcoms the way they used to shoehorn in a token black guy. I'm super glad that Haruka & Mich's relationship is clearly defined, their connection is deep and their relationship actually influences the story)

"Now I know all your secrets"
"That was just the front cover Haruka, wait till you get to chapter 3 "
+ "Michiru Senpai!"

She does have a few haters. More specifically her manga version. I remember this one article about her being too perfect way back when geocities was the source of all things .

Eh...I kind of stay out of the darkest corners of the fandom but I never thought Michiru was fetishized for being a femme gay girl.

I dunno, Uranus boyish good looks seemed to have made her more popular in a franchise that’s fandom is mostly female dominated.

Personally, I think it's a little rude to brush bisexuals aside as "LGBT-lite."

I always found the old anime Haruka a bit stereotipic. Not all lesbians are tomboys. Michiru was a bit more progressive for me in this regard. The manga made Haruka more fluid with her fashion and all.

Whatever way lesbians are depicted in media, some people are never happy and always find something to complain about.
A) Both are feminine and cute: these are fake lipstick lesbians created solely for horny male viewers to fap on, it's insulting!
B) One is tomboy, another one is feminine: they are imposing stereotypical heterosexual gender roles on gays, it's insulting!
C) Both are tomboys: they are stereotyping all lesbians as masculine butches, it's insulting!
D) Remove all lesbians: gays are suppressed and underrepresented in media, it's insulting!

You are right.we live in times where too many sensibilities should be taken into account, especially in the USA.