Homosexuality in Sailor Moon

As Japan is more open about portraying homosexuality in its children's media than many countries in the West, several homosexual relationships appear throughout the Sailor Moon series. It should be noted that not all the continuities overlap on this subject, however, and some characters who are presented as homosexual in one continuity are not presented as such in others.

Female Homosexuality

Neptune and Uranus embrace romantically in official art

In a series with a largely female cast, relationships between the girls, real or imagined, are inevitable.

Canon

The following are characters with a lesbian sexual orientation that is made clear in the series' canon.

Uranus and Neptune

• The only two openly gay Senshi of the series, their relationship is canon in both the anime and manga. They are in a relationship from their very first appearance and are quite honest about it. Haruka flirts with other girls quite often and Michiru occasionally flirts with men, but they are dedicated to each other. They later became baby Hotaru's "mama" and "papa".

Star Fighter

• Seiya's love for Usagi in both the anime and manga could be seen as straight, but his natural form is female, and his affections seem equally strong as Sailor Star Fighter. It should also be noted that in the manga, it is very heavily implied that Star Fighter (who, like all the Sailor Starlights, merely cross dresses to disguise herself as a boy in the manga) has an unrequited love for Princess Kakyuu; this affection is also less heavily implied in the anime.

Fan Canon

The following is speculation among fans about possible homosexual/bisexual orientation among characters, through situation and innuendo, that is often noted in fan canon.

Mercury

• Ami Mizuno is a "late bloomer" when it comes to romance, causing some fans to interpret her relationships with the other girls as crushes. Dark Mercury of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is seen by some fans as a jilted lover to Usagi. However, she did show interest in boys on a less regular basis than the other Inner Senshi, and was sweet on Nephrite's human form (as a parallel of the ambiguous relationship between Dark Mercury and Nephrite) in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

Jupiter

• Makoto Kino's inability to settle her attentions to just one man indicate to some fans that she is in the closet. In the anime she twice blushes fiercely after seeing Sailor Mercury's panties, but that is the only real evidence shown. She also appears to have a romantic crush on Haruka, at a point when she is aware of Haruka's true gender, in Cold Hearted Uranus? Makoto in Trouble but in truth she merely wanted to become like her (that is a strong, independant woman, not necessarily a lesbian). In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, she eventually dates Motoki and accepts his proposal at the end of the Special Act.

Mars

• Rei Hino is straight in the anime, but in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, she gets to be very close to Minako Aino. Many of their interactions can be interpreted as like those of lovers, and they seem to make up for the absence of Uranus and Neptune in the anime with their relationship. This relationship can be considered fanon, but many fans argue that the only reason it is not canon is because it was a children's show, hence the subtleties and ambiguities (e.g. trivial behaviors, special zoomups, etc. not supposed to be noticed by small children but by their parents watching with them) in their interactions as seen in the show. Rei is also shown to be close to Minako in the manga.

Male Homosexuality

Kunzite holds Zoisite affectionately

While the shows' protagonists and antagonists are mainly female, especially in the later story arcs, several men are presented as homosexual in the series, more so in the anime continuity than elsewhere.

Canon

The following are characters with a gay sexual orientation that is made clear in at least one version of the series' canon.

Kunzite and Zoisite

• These two Shitennou are presented as gay lovers in the anime. Zoisite is presented as the younger, more immature of the pair and many of his actions he performs for his commander and lover Kunzite. The two work together on several occasions and Zoisite uses the suffix -sama, a suffix which implies great respect, when referring to Kunzite. When Zoisite is killed Kunzite grants him his last wish "to die beautifully" and surrounds him with flowers; he also holds a large grudge against Evil Prince Endymion who he holds responsible for Zoisite's death. When Kunzite dies he calls out Zoisite's name. However, the manga does not present the two in this light, and the Materials Collection refers to their relationship as being more like that of brothers.

Fisheye

• In the anime Fisheye is presented in a similar manner to Zoisite (as an effeminate gay man), and in fact is arguably more effeminate than Zoisite. Fisheye is not in a steady relationship and over the course of Sailor Moon SuperS is attracted to several men, including Mamoru Chiba; he also is a frequent cross-dresser and commonly pretends to be a girl in order to attempt to attract these men. One exception to this is in the episode 140 when he dresses as a man when pursing Yoshiki Usui, implying that Usui was openly gay himself. In the manga, however, Fisheye had a much smaller part, similar to that of a monster-of-the-day, and he attempted to seduce Ami as a part of the Dead Moon's plans.

Fan Canon

The following is speculation among fans about possible homosexual/bisexual orientation among characters, through situation and innuendo, that is often noted in fan canon.

Fiore

• Fiore's obsession with Mamoru Chiba in the Sailor Moon R Movie has led many fans to conclude that Fiore is gay. Ami Mizuno suggests that Mamoru is popular with men in reference to this in the R Movie, which leads the other girls to jokingly call her perverted. However, it is quite possible that the alien was only obsessed with Mamoru, as he was the only friend Fiore could ever remember having.

Live Action Zoisite

• In the live action series, Zoisite is presented as being protective of Prince Endymion to the point of obsession. He wanted to break up Endymion and Serenity, whom he did not trust. This led to the notion of Zoisite having an unrequited love for Endymion being popular with fans. On the other hand, his targeting of Sailor Venus at her time as the decoy princess, and his later co-operative attempt with her to break up Usagi and Mamoru has led some fans to suggest the two were attracted to one another.

Yoshiki Usui and His Assistant

• As has been mentioned, in episode 140 Fisheye pursues the affections of a man (Yoshiki Usui) without approaching him in drag. This may indicate that Usui was openly gay (or at least known or assumed to be gay by Fisheye) and his profession, fashion design, is sometimes stereotypically portrayed in fiction as being a career choice popular with gay men. There is some implication that his assistant may be his lover, or at least be attracted to him, as Fisheye's interventions cause the two to row, and the two make up at the end of the episode after Fisheye leaves.

Saitou Sugao

• The flamboyant and effeminate nature of Minako's manager live-action series only character Saitou Sugao has lead many fans to assume he meant to be presented as gay. This is never confirmed outright on screen.