someone on my FB recently tagged me in a repost about lgbt characters in Sailor Moon. the post even talked about characters who were gender swapped for the dubs:
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
EPISODE III
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE SERIES
(Feel free to laugh at the “Straight” thing there)
Sailor Moon is famous for having a comparatively large cast of gay, bi and lesbian characters, and, depending on interpretation, trans* ones as well. The English dub is rather infamous for CENSORING these characters’ sexualities (though it’s far from the only dub to do this), so a lot of people who have never seen the Japanese version of the series did not know the truth about the characters. The usual method of censorship was gender-swapping, but when that was not possible, the relationship between the characters was changed to be...familial. (Which is its own can of worms right there.) For the most part I will be discussing canonical representations of LGBT characters, but there are a few (as you see in the picture here) that are debatable. For the debatable ones, I will put “FANON” next to them. And there are some fanon interpretations I’m not going to discuss at all since I don’t feel there’s enough evidence for them.
USAGI (FANON)
Usagi’s one true love is Mamoru and that is indisputable. However, in the manga, she doesn’t exactly act 100% straight, which makes me suspect she is bi-curious at least. This panel is from the Dark Kingdom arc, Act III. She has just seen Rei for the first time, and...well, this is not exactly a typical reaction a girl has for another girl. Usagi has hearts in her eyes and she’s dazedly following Rei (because she’s so pretty) instead of remembering her mission. Later on in the Infinity Arc, her reactions to Haruka are kind of interesting. It’s clear that while on one hand she is guilty because she feels that letting Haruka/Uranus kiss her (twice!) is a betrayal of Mamoru, she’s also guilty because she clearly feels attracted to Haruka, and isn’t quite sure which gender Haruka is.
ZOISITE AND KUNZITE
Zoisite was the first of the English dub’s victims to get a gender swap. That’s right, Zoycite’s a dude. It was easily pulled off (as were many of the other gender swaps) because Zoisite is effeminate, but notice that, comparatively speaking, “she’s” very flat-chested. As far as their relationship goes, it’s clearly romantic, and such a major part of their characters, DiC couldn’t just cut all the scenes out and walk off whistling. One thing that is important to remember is that Zoisite and Kunzite are NOT a couple in the manga, nor are they gay. This is because Naoko Takeuchi had an aborted idea where the 4 Generals would be paired off with the 4 Inners (Mars/Jadeite, Mercury/Zoisite, Jupiter/Nephrite, Venus/Kunzite). Only Venus/Kunzite got any sort of development whatsoever (beyond Jadeite being attracted to Rei) but still shouldn’t be considered canon.
HARUKA & MICHIRU
Cloverway tried to disguise their relationship as “cousins,” but left in all the scenes of them being physically affectionate, and the romantic music accompanying them. So...more than a few kids just saw these cousins acting like lesbians. A+ job there, Cloverway. Haruka & Michiru are one of the most famous lesbian (or yuri, if you prefer) couples in anime. They are never shown kissing in the series (except in Sera Myu), but their body language and demeanour towards each other makes the nature of their relationship obvious. Haruka also clearly has a crush on Usagi, as she flirts with her constantly (and kisses her twice in the manga). Also, by the SuperS movie and the Stars TV series, they’re making innuendo at each other constantly, so their relationship has at least by then become a sexual one. They have lived together since the beginning of the S series, but by Stars, Setsuna has moved in with them, and the three of them raise baby Hotaru. Hotaru refers to Michiru and Setsuna as “Michiru-mama” and “Setsuna-mama,” but calls Haruka “Haruka-papa.” There were a few homophobes trying to argue that Haruka & Michiru weren’t a couple because they weren’t shown kissing, but let’s point and laugh at them.
TAMASABUROU (FANON)
We don’t actually see any evidence for Tamasaburou’s sexuality (he might be too young for that) but the reason why I included him is because he was another victim of a gender swap in the Cloverway S dub. His name was kept the same, but he became a she. Another easy swap since Tamasaburou is also effeminate. This change was made because, at the end of the episode, he cross-dresses as a Sailor Senshi after becoming inspired by Sailors Moon & Chibi-Moon. Usagi and Chibiusa are weirded out by this, but what is even funnier is that Haruka and Michiru are weirded out by him too. Cross-dressing can be considered under the umbrella of homosexuality (e.g. the drag queen) BUT it does not necessarily mean the character is gay.
FISHEYE
Also a dude! Surpriiise! Fisheye can be interpreted as one of the trans* characters in the series, because Naoko Takeuchi describes Fisheye as “wanting to be a she” in her notes in the Materials Collection. Fisheye is also probably one of the most effeminate males in the series, and also enjoys cross-dressing. And he is definitely gay, since he prefers attacking male victims for their Dream Mirrors, and harbours an extremely deep crush on Mamoru, even kissing him while he’s unconscious at one point. Before the S and SuperS dubs came out, basically everyone predicted that Fisheye would get the “Zoisite treatment.” What we couldn’t have predicted was Zirconia’s gender swap. Like...why? What was the point of that?
YOSHIKI USUI (FANON)
This is one of Fisheye’s victims. I think the screenshot is pretty definitive, but the reason why this is considered fanon is because Usui is only in one episode and it’s never actually confirmed for sure what his sexuality is. Fisheye approaches him as he actually is, not in drag, which is a sign right there, but the body language of his assistant shown here tells me that they’re more than friends. Another clue is that the assistant was changed to be Usui’s “brother” in the Cloverway dub. They wouldn’t have felt that was necessary if they didn’t suspect something.
SEIYA
Now here’s a weird one - Seiya gets a partial gender swap in the ANIME. In the manga, the Three Lights are biologically women, and just cross-dress as men. In the anime, they physically become men while in civilian form, and transform back into women. But either way, Seiya is biologically female, and canonically in love with Usagi. As for why this change was made in the anime, I’ll discuss that further in the full Starlights topic once it’s won the votes. There is some theorizing that Seiya’s love for Princess Kakyuu transferred over to the similar Usagi, but I do think that Seiya’s love for her was genuine. One thing that is a little irritating in the anime is that Usagi clearly tells Seiya repeatedly that she has a boyfriend, and yet he keeps pushing his affections. At least near the end she accepts that Usagi has not chosen her, nor will she ever choose anyone but Mamoru. A lot of people prefer Seiya as Usagi’s ideal match, though I do find it kind of suspicious how many of them “conveniently” forget that Seiya’s a she.
SAILORS LEAD CROW & ALUMINUM SEIREN (FANON)
Another one that is never actually confirmed in the series (anime only), but I think there’s enough evidence that there was something between them. What I don’t think is that they ever were able to enter into a relationship since being under Sailor Galaxia probably had more than a few stresses. But Lead Crow repeatedly goes out of her way to help out Seiren, and gets frustrated at her ditziness not because she dislikes her, but because she’s scared for her. When Seiren dies, Lead Crow wraps her arms around her protectively, and clearly never gets over her death. She still thinks about her and talks about her often. And, when Tin Nyanko causes her death, Lead Crow’s last words were, “I’m sorry, Seiren.”
- Manga panels by Miss Dream, anime screenshots by me
- Some info borrowed from Wikimoon.
i commented on the fact that it didn't mention Hotaru, the original poster wrote back saying " I think she's too young to really determine a sexuality for, and that people are misinterpreting her affection for Chibiusa. Little girls are usually affectionate with each other. ~Hotaru"
and when i linked to this page from the manga, adding a =P just because i think personally this is a pretty clear indication of crush-like feelings, and thought it was a bit silly to overlook it simply because of her young age. i got back "SHE'S A CHILD. She's holding hands with her best friend, and she sees it as normal because she sees Usagi and Mamoru hold hands all the time. Don't bring this up again, or I'm deleting it. I find the whole attempt to sexualize Hotaru and Chibiusa sickening. ~Hotaru"
i wasn't trying to offend the person nor was i trying to sexualize her.. romantic love is not always acted upon or even really talked about especially at a young age but i do think that people early on in life can definitely feel that they like someone in a distinctly separate way than they would a friend. what do you guys think about this, and about Hotaru's feelings for Chibiusa?
personally i don't understand the objections; i know that it isn't explicitly stated and i don't think anything would have been expressed between the two of them even when they aged, because Chibiusa seemed to have feelings for Helios and probably would have acted on those before anything else, but i still think there was something there.
am i being a creep? .-.;
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
EPISODE III
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE SERIES
(Feel free to laugh at the “Straight” thing there)
Sailor Moon is famous for having a comparatively large cast of gay, bi and lesbian characters, and, depending on interpretation, trans* ones as well. The English dub is rather infamous for CENSORING these characters’ sexualities (though it’s far from the only dub to do this), so a lot of people who have never seen the Japanese version of the series did not know the truth about the characters. The usual method of censorship was gender-swapping, but when that was not possible, the relationship between the characters was changed to be...familial. (Which is its own can of worms right there.) For the most part I will be discussing canonical representations of LGBT characters, but there are a few (as you see in the picture here) that are debatable. For the debatable ones, I will put “FANON” next to them. And there are some fanon interpretations I’m not going to discuss at all since I don’t feel there’s enough evidence for them.
USAGI (FANON)
Usagi’s one true love is Mamoru and that is indisputable. However, in the manga, she doesn’t exactly act 100% straight, which makes me suspect she is bi-curious at least. This panel is from the Dark Kingdom arc, Act III. She has just seen Rei for the first time, and...well, this is not exactly a typical reaction a girl has for another girl. Usagi has hearts in her eyes and she’s dazedly following Rei (because she’s so pretty) instead of remembering her mission. Later on in the Infinity Arc, her reactions to Haruka are kind of interesting. It’s clear that while on one hand she is guilty because she feels that letting Haruka/Uranus kiss her (twice!) is a betrayal of Mamoru, she’s also guilty because she clearly feels attracted to Haruka, and isn’t quite sure which gender Haruka is.
ZOISITE AND KUNZITE
Zoisite was the first of the English dub’s victims to get a gender swap. That’s right, Zoycite’s a dude. It was easily pulled off (as were many of the other gender swaps) because Zoisite is effeminate, but notice that, comparatively speaking, “she’s” very flat-chested. As far as their relationship goes, it’s clearly romantic, and such a major part of their characters, DiC couldn’t just cut all the scenes out and walk off whistling. One thing that is important to remember is that Zoisite and Kunzite are NOT a couple in the manga, nor are they gay. This is because Naoko Takeuchi had an aborted idea where the 4 Generals would be paired off with the 4 Inners (Mars/Jadeite, Mercury/Zoisite, Jupiter/Nephrite, Venus/Kunzite). Only Venus/Kunzite got any sort of development whatsoever (beyond Jadeite being attracted to Rei) but still shouldn’t be considered canon.
HARUKA & MICHIRU
Cloverway tried to disguise their relationship as “cousins,” but left in all the scenes of them being physically affectionate, and the romantic music accompanying them. So...more than a few kids just saw these cousins acting like lesbians. A+ job there, Cloverway. Haruka & Michiru are one of the most famous lesbian (or yuri, if you prefer) couples in anime. They are never shown kissing in the series (except in Sera Myu), but their body language and demeanour towards each other makes the nature of their relationship obvious. Haruka also clearly has a crush on Usagi, as she flirts with her constantly (and kisses her twice in the manga). Also, by the SuperS movie and the Stars TV series, they’re making innuendo at each other constantly, so their relationship has at least by then become a sexual one. They have lived together since the beginning of the S series, but by Stars, Setsuna has moved in with them, and the three of them raise baby Hotaru. Hotaru refers to Michiru and Setsuna as “Michiru-mama” and “Setsuna-mama,” but calls Haruka “Haruka-papa.” There were a few homophobes trying to argue that Haruka & Michiru weren’t a couple because they weren’t shown kissing, but let’s point and laugh at them.
TAMASABUROU (FANON)
We don’t actually see any evidence for Tamasaburou’s sexuality (he might be too young for that) but the reason why I included him is because he was another victim of a gender swap in the Cloverway S dub. His name was kept the same, but he became a she. Another easy swap since Tamasaburou is also effeminate. This change was made because, at the end of the episode, he cross-dresses as a Sailor Senshi after becoming inspired by Sailors Moon & Chibi-Moon. Usagi and Chibiusa are weirded out by this, but what is even funnier is that Haruka and Michiru are weirded out by him too. Cross-dressing can be considered under the umbrella of homosexuality (e.g. the drag queen) BUT it does not necessarily mean the character is gay.
FISHEYE
Also a dude! Surpriiise! Fisheye can be interpreted as one of the trans* characters in the series, because Naoko Takeuchi describes Fisheye as “wanting to be a she” in her notes in the Materials Collection. Fisheye is also probably one of the most effeminate males in the series, and also enjoys cross-dressing. And he is definitely gay, since he prefers attacking male victims for their Dream Mirrors, and harbours an extremely deep crush on Mamoru, even kissing him while he’s unconscious at one point. Before the S and SuperS dubs came out, basically everyone predicted that Fisheye would get the “Zoisite treatment.” What we couldn’t have predicted was Zirconia’s gender swap. Like...why? What was the point of that?
YOSHIKI USUI (FANON)
This is one of Fisheye’s victims. I think the screenshot is pretty definitive, but the reason why this is considered fanon is because Usui is only in one episode and it’s never actually confirmed for sure what his sexuality is. Fisheye approaches him as he actually is, not in drag, which is a sign right there, but the body language of his assistant shown here tells me that they’re more than friends. Another clue is that the assistant was changed to be Usui’s “brother” in the Cloverway dub. They wouldn’t have felt that was necessary if they didn’t suspect something.
SEIYA
Now here’s a weird one - Seiya gets a partial gender swap in the ANIME. In the manga, the Three Lights are biologically women, and just cross-dress as men. In the anime, they physically become men while in civilian form, and transform back into women. But either way, Seiya is biologically female, and canonically in love with Usagi. As for why this change was made in the anime, I’ll discuss that further in the full Starlights topic once it’s won the votes. There is some theorizing that Seiya’s love for Princess Kakyuu transferred over to the similar Usagi, but I do think that Seiya’s love for her was genuine. One thing that is a little irritating in the anime is that Usagi clearly tells Seiya repeatedly that she has a boyfriend, and yet he keeps pushing his affections. At least near the end she accepts that Usagi has not chosen her, nor will she ever choose anyone but Mamoru. A lot of people prefer Seiya as Usagi’s ideal match, though I do find it kind of suspicious how many of them “conveniently” forget that Seiya’s a she.
SAILORS LEAD CROW & ALUMINUM SEIREN (FANON)
Another one that is never actually confirmed in the series (anime only), but I think there’s enough evidence that there was something between them. What I don’t think is that they ever were able to enter into a relationship since being under Sailor Galaxia probably had more than a few stresses. But Lead Crow repeatedly goes out of her way to help out Seiren, and gets frustrated at her ditziness not because she dislikes her, but because she’s scared for her. When Seiren dies, Lead Crow wraps her arms around her protectively, and clearly never gets over her death. She still thinks about her and talks about her often. And, when Tin Nyanko causes her death, Lead Crow’s last words were, “I’m sorry, Seiren.”
- Manga panels by Miss Dream, anime screenshots by me
- Some info borrowed from Wikimoon.
i commented on the fact that it didn't mention Hotaru, the original poster wrote back saying " I think she's too young to really determine a sexuality for, and that people are misinterpreting her affection for Chibiusa. Little girls are usually affectionate with each other. ~Hotaru"
and when i linked to this page from the manga, adding a =P just because i think personally this is a pretty clear indication of crush-like feelings, and thought it was a bit silly to overlook it simply because of her young age. i got back "SHE'S A CHILD. She's holding hands with her best friend, and she sees it as normal because she sees Usagi and Mamoru hold hands all the time. Don't bring this up again, or I'm deleting it. I find the whole attempt to sexualize Hotaru and Chibiusa sickening. ~Hotaru"
i wasn't trying to offend the person nor was i trying to sexualize her.. romantic love is not always acted upon or even really talked about especially at a young age but i do think that people early on in life can definitely feel that they like someone in a distinctly separate way than they would a friend. what do you guys think about this, and about Hotaru's feelings for Chibiusa?
personally i don't understand the objections; i know that it isn't explicitly stated and i don't think anything would have been expressed between the two of them even when they aged, because Chibiusa seemed to have feelings for Helios and probably would have acted on those before anything else, but i still think there was something there.
am i being a creep? .-.;
BTW, I've also got my 1st GF when I was 11, tho I'd had a number crushes before then. 
It does still seem to me that they are good friends, but that doesn't mean they couldn't be something else as well. It's possible that they are some sort of "eternal companions" (IDK 
), bound by both platonic and romantic love but not necessarily by sexual feelings.
"I feel like I've given my daughter away as a bride", "'Even though we're both girls, I think it must've been fate... it must've been our destinies joining together' 'I think so too'"? Especially that bride-thing is definitely too much to be just something fished out by yuri fanboys, unless the translator isn't involved in here I'd say Naoko put it in there on purpose.
Talking about stupidity, did I seem smart writing this? 
Like in... well, some time. 
And finally, I'm done. 