Would Uranus and Neptune be nearly as popular as characters they weren’t a couple?

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Sep 13, 2009
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#1
Spun off from the following post given in this thread:

If Uranus and Neptune weren’t a couple would anyone REALLY like them?

I
How much of their popularity is actually, directly rooted in them as characters and not in just their being a same-gender superheroine couple coming from a time when such was less widely acceptable than it is today?

If they weren't a couple at all, would they still have just as wide a fan following as they have for the representation that their being a couple means to people? Or would people still be just as drawn to them as the "status quo game-changer" characters that they were written to be?
 

Masquerade

Solaris Luna
Nov 22, 2016
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#2
I believe people would still like them, but not as much.
People aren't crazy about other queer characters like Zoi/Kunzite, Fisheye and the Starlights. So the characterization for UraNep in the anime has its own merits.
 
Sep 9, 2011
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#3
They're more mysterious characters by design, so they're never given much of a chance to develop their own personalities much compared to the Inner Guardians, but Pluto and Saturn are the same way. Actually, Setsuna might be the least developed of the Outers. But they're all supporting characters and are treated as such. I assume Uranus and Neptune would have about the same popularity as Pluto if they weren't a lesbian couple.
 
Sep 6, 2014
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#4
But they're all supporting characters and are treated as such. I assume Uranus and Neptune would have about the same popularity as Pluto if they weren't a lesbian couple.
Pluto, to me at least, is a more interesting character. Being the solitary soldier who has to guard the gates of time. Her (implied more than anything) unrequited feelings for Endymion. Her special bond with Chibi-usa (which sadly is underdeveloped after R/Black Moon). Pluto may be undeveloped but that's a lot of interesting things to pull back. There's not much of interest to Haruka and Michiru once you remove the same-sex couple representation.


I believe people would still like them, but not as much.
People aren't crazy about other queer characters like Zoi/Kunzite, Fisheye and the Starlights. So the characterization for UraNep in the anime has its own merits.
Pretty much ALL those characters you listed are popular. Zoicite was the break-out character of the Four Heavenly Kings with the fandom, Fish eye was the break out member of the Amazon Trio (although it probably helped his favor that Hawks Eye and Tiger Eye were such dull characters). The Starlights used to be INCREDIBLY popular more so when Sailor Stars was this mysterious thing only the most elite members of the fandom have seen before pretty much everyone and their mother has seen Sailor Stars by now. Although I think since Sailor Stars has gotten lower in popularity since its status as the "forbidden season" isn't really relevant anymore and fans see them for what they are a pathetic Outer redux with a dash of first series Mamoru in Seiya's case.
 
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blondibear_17

Lumen Cinererum
Mar 3, 2017
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#5
I have never been a fan of them so I don't really see any appeal to them other than then their sexual orientation and Uranus's being gender non conforming. I always found them quite boring and generally obnoxious. I have never warmed up to them even after all this time. Too many things about their characters annoy me they are way too arrogant they are ultra rich and they succeed at everything sometimes without even trying. I really didn't find them sympathetic either nothing about them really makes me want to cheer them on. I agree with LifeGaveMeLemons in the fact that I think the Starlights are a total rehash of the outers but to me I think they were done a lot better. They have motivations that make more sense to me and are not depicted like watercolored godesses that are just better than everyone else.
 
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Sailor Moon~

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Apr 24, 2017
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#6
I would like them even if they weren't a couple; they felt more like antiheroes to me which makes them a bit interesting. I pretty much like the Starlights for similar reasons as well.
 
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SailorSugababe

Aurorae Lunares
Sep 8, 2011
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#7
Of course they would. People dont understand that even if they werent an obvious couple people still would've ship them.

But not just that. Haruka is still a very independent woman who doesnt really care about other people opinions and just lives her life the way she wants to. Her masculine personailty traits would still be very popular. Michiru is very mature, elegant, artistic and also very independent. She's also unlike any character we've got in the series before. Both are very mysterious.

Another important thing here how devoted they're to their mission. They will play the roles of bad guys if they can save the world that way but they'll also sacrifice themselves without blinking twice if they need to. They're more hardcore senshi, always serious and not playing around in battle. People are wrong if they think its only the relationship aspect that makes them poular
 

Neon Genesis

Solaris Luna
Oct 31, 2015
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#8
Most fans don't seem to have an issue enjoying Usagi and Mamoru as both individual characters and as a couple. The same would be true for Haruka and Michiru whose popularity resides with their mysterious aura and mature complexity as much as it is about their relationship.
 
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tomoki

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Jun 15, 2015
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#9
Sailor Uranus has a very personal struggle with running away from her problems which was an interesting background to give her in the 90's anime. It makes sense as to why her character is a bit abrasive and not wanting to except responsibility, very much like Sailor Moon didn't want the responsibility. What I think is a brilliant about her is that like Sailor Moon she comes to accept that responsibility but leads with a polarizing leadership style compared to Sailor Moon and has no issues with making tough decisions in the moment.

Sailor Neptune evens Uranus out by being a bit more logical and hesitant in situations to make sure everything is thought out and not just executed on a whim which is what I feel Uranus did a lot. She brings a mellow drift to their dynamic but sometimes falls into a role where it seems like she's an extension of Sailor Uranus due to the mellow/quiet nature. She could've definitely been fleshed out a little more.

(All that is based on the 90's anime alone.)

As a kid, my interest on them never focused around their relationship because it was censored. So what made me like/dislike them was the anti-hero approach mixed with the expansion of the Sailor Moon universe. They really propelled the series and gave it an exciting factor as the past/future were already touched upon in the first season and R.
 
Sep 13, 2009
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#12

Masquerade

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#14
Imagine if gay people went around demanding to know if straight people would still love their favorite straight characters if they weren't straight and ignoring all the responses when people said they still would.
90% of characters are straight, so their sexual orientation doesn't make them stand out, unlike the LGBT characters in Sailor Moon lol
Your comparison doesn't make sense.
 
May 2, 2018
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#15
Yes I would still like them

I grew up watching Sailor Moon S vhs tapes more than seasons 1 or 2 and thought they were cooler than the Inners, who were always unsuccessful against the enemy most of the time, lol. I wasn't aware of their romance either, not cause the dub covered it up with the cousins dialogue, but mostly since as a 5 year old you don't really catch onto things especially dialogue with big words.

So yeah. I like the fact that they are shown to be powerful, and have cool attacks and transformations. Didn't pay attention to their romance.
 
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Memento

Stella Nova
Mar 8, 2012
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#16
As far as the 90s anime is concerned... I already don't like/care about them. :lol: I think their attacks are cool and I love their transformation and intro music, but beyond that...they're too bland and unlikeable in my opinion.

In the manga at least they looked a little nicer and had more likeable personalities, but they're still not terribly interesting. Same sex couple or not, I find them about as interesting as Ami and the Starlights.
 

Nadia

Aurorae Lunares
Jun 30, 2010
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#17
I don't care for them in the old anime, and I don't think they would be as popular if they weren't a couple. This is a series about characters who are involved with romance, and the fandom tends to prioritze the characters who are coupled or heavily push the popular characters into ships.

If they weren't a couple, a lot of their actions they take in the name of saving the world wouldn't be seen as romantic but just downright stupid. Prime example is Uranus turning the heart gun on herself in S. If she were doing this not because her partner just got shot but because she got the notion that sacrificing herself would save the world, then the series rules would have prevented this from happening, as there would be no "second chance" for those not romantically destined.

However, if they weren't a couple, I know I would like Uranus a lot more. Instead of focusing on how Haruka is the "male" half of the power couple, we could get more of an examination as to what Uranus is running away from. Uranus would have awakened on her own, and we would need to see how the plan is resolved.

Without Uranus, Neptune is much of a Mary Sue. She's' calm, elegant, and beautiful and "perfect."
 
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MariaTenebre

Systema Solare
Jul 22, 2009
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#18
I believe people would still like them, but not as much.
People aren't crazy about other queer characters like Zoi/Kunzite, Fisheye and the Starlights. So the characterization for UraNep in the anime has its own merits.
Speak for yourself personally I loved such gay characters like Zoisite and Kunzite, Fisheye, not too crazy about the Starlights it has nothing to do with them being gay or trans only with how I hated they took the screen time from the Outers and quite frankly I found them reductive and their whole thing of posing as males to get their princess really made no sense.

As for me personally I would still like Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune if they weren't a couple I love their more mature, suave demeanors and they really made S the great season it was. That being said I of course love them as a couple though.

I have never been a fan of them so I don't really see any appeal to them other than then their sexual orientation and Uranus's being gender non conforming. I always found them quite boring and generally obnoxious. I have never warmed up to them even after all this time. Too many things about their characters annoy me they are way too arrogant they are ultra rich and they succeed at everything sometimes without even trying. I really didn't find them sympathetic either nothing about them really makes me want to cheer them on. I agree with LifeGaveMeLemons in the fact that I think the Starlights are a total rehash of the outers but to me I think they were done a lot better. They have motivations that make more sense to me and are not depicted like watercolored godesses that are just better than everyone else.
Personally I never much cared for the Starlights I always found the Outers more appealing I personally loved how suave, elegant and more adult they were. They were like the Inners mature older sisters.

Also I found the Starlights to be just meh. Seiya was basically a rip off of Mamoru and Haruka and really I found Yaten and Taiki way more obnoxious then Haruka and Michiru. Sailor Star Fighter for instance was wanted to kill that Nun even though she knew Sailor Moon could save her. This is really worse then anything the Outers did because from what we knew in S the only way to prevent the Silence was by sacrificing some people. Now the Outers didn't like this and hated themselves for it but they were willing to do what was necessary to save the world other then just hoping for the best. Where as Sailor Star Fighter knew that Sailor Moon could heal Phages but for some reason she wanted to kill this Nun because she didn't trust Sailor Moon to have the ability even though just one episode back she witnessed Sailor Moon healing a Phage. Not to mention I think their story of posing as men to attract their Princess makes no sense. Because if their true forms are female then wouldn't it make them harder to recognize them posing as males since Princess Kakyuu knows them as females.

As far as the 90s anime is concerned... I already don't like/care about them. :lol: I think their attacks are cool and I love their transformation and intro music, but beyond that...they're too bland and unlikeable in my opinion.

In the manga at least they looked a little nicer and had more likeable personalities, but they're still not terribly interesting. Same sex couple or not, I find them about as interesting as Ami and the Starlights.
Their personalities were pretty much the same in the manga and I would hardly say that they are nicer and more likable really they could be just as abrasive. Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto even attacked the Inners when they refused to kill Hotaru to stop her from becoming the Messiah of Silence.

I don't care for them in the old anime, and I don't think they would be as popular if they weren't a couple. This is a series about characters who are involved with romance, and the fandom tends to prioritze the characters who are coupled or heavily push the popular characters into ships.

If they weren't a couple, a lot of their actions they take in the name of saving the world wouldn't be seen as romantic but just downright stupid. Prime example is Uranus turning the heart gun on herself in S. If she were doing this not because her partner just got shot but because she got the notion that sacrificing herself would save the world, then the series rules would have prevented this from happening, as there would be no ""

However, if they weren't a couple, I know I would like Uranus a lot more. Instead of focusing on how Haruka is the "male" half of the power couple, we could get more of an examination as to what Uranus is running away from. Uranus would have awakened on her own, and we would need to see how the plan is resolved.

Without Uranus, Neptune is much of a Mary Sue. She;s' calm, elegant, and beautiful.
I don't consider Sailor Neptune to be a Mary Sue she has her own faults. Also I don't think the actions of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune was stupid in the hunt for the Talismans. According to the information known on those episodes the only way to save the world was to sacrifice some people to get the Talismans. Sailor Uranus was bravely willing to sacrifice her life to save the world I really think that is heroic. Probably the most stupid thing done in S was Sailor Moon giving Mistress 9 the Grail. This was the single most idiotic thing done in the series and very nearly resulted in the apocalypse. Honestly I understood how Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune could be angry at her for that. Also they could have Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune as a couple and still focus on what she is running away from.
 
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Likes: Starlight

Kerochan no Miko

Knight Radiant
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Feb 29, 2004
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#19
Without Uranus, Neptune is much of a Mary Sue. She;s' calm, elegant, and beautiful.
I really, really, really hate when people invoke the "Mary Sue" thing to denigrate a female character even when she doesn't actually fit the Mary Sue trope. Yeah, Neptune is clearly Naoko creating a character with fantastical levels of charisma and wealth and talent (not in the dub sense) and whatever, but just because a character is really good at a lot of things that doesn't mean she's a Mary Sue. Until Neptune comes riding in on a unicorn made of rainbows and everyone in Tokyo immediately bows down and worships her and she never makes a single mistake, then she's not Neo-Queen Serenity-- I mean, a Mary Sue.