Leiden University Student Repository

Moelands, Yvonne (2023)

A Different Kind of Miracle Romance: Contextualizing Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn’s Ten’ō Haruka and Kaiō Michiru in the canon of female same-sex relationships in shōjo media

Bachelor thesis | Japanstudies (BA)

This thesis investigates how the portrayal of Ten’ō Haruka and Kaiō Michiru in the 1990s anime Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn contrasts with previous portrayals of female same-sex relationships in shōjo media. In earlier shōjo works, relationships between women were characterized as ephemeral. Same-sex relationships were either not explicitly labeled as romantic, or ended in tragedy if they were with the death of one or both characters. Starting from the late 1970s, these relationships followed rigid character archetypes. Supported by an analysis of the source material, this study argues that the characters of Haruka and Michiru are more nuanced than these archetypes and their relationship is portrayed as lasting rather than fleeting. Additionally, their narrative avoids the trope of a tragic ending, which was and continues to be prevalent in same-sex literature.

Sailor Moon

Haruka Ten'ō

Michiru Kaiō

lgbtq

female same-sex relationships

Author

Moelands, Yvonne

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Porath, O.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en