They are in love, duh!

This may come as a shock to some people. Some of you are sitting there thinking "what proof is there that this is true?" Some of you are sitting there thinking "yeah, I've known about it." Others of you probably flat out refuse to accept it.

Tough.

Want some proof? Immora, the owner of The World Of Immora, made a document for us catologuing all the things they say/do in the anime that would suggest they have a romantic relationship, and why those things suggest it. It's evolved far beyond the version she created for us, and is slowly being converted to HTML. Click here to go check it out.

Please look at these pictures as well; we will be discussing them:
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18 . 19 . 20 . 21 . 22

Okay, so what's going on in these pictures that would show they have a relationship?

1. The event in this picture is pre-SMS anime; a daimon attacked Haruka, and Neptune dove in the way to protect her. She gets badly cut on her arm and back in the process. You can see blood splatters in this pic. She did that just to save Haruka.
2. From episode 98, Haruka and Michiru leaning very close to each other's faces... Come on, you don't do this with friends!
3. From episode 99, Michiru and Haruka holding hands. This is obvious...
4. From episode 99, Michiru and Haruka pressed together while holding hands. Hello?
5. From episode 110, Haruka sitting on a windowsill, Michiru coming over and holding her hand, the other hand on her thigh o.O You don't hold friend's hands while touching their thigh!
6. From episode 110, the infamous "I always like your hands" line; Michiru holding Haruka's hand while smiling sweetly at her. So cute!
7. From the SuperS special, it has Haruka and Michiru's faces kinda close, and the sort of misty-bubbley thing they do for romantic scenes...
8. From episode 168, Michiru leaning on Haruka's shoulder while she smiles down at her sweetly. Friends don't do this.
9. The cover of the 5th SMS laserdisc... okay, they are like this close from kissing! Uranus is holding her from behind... hello?
10. The cover of the 8th Stars laserdisc... Under embrace from behind, and Neptune is reaching back to touch Uranus's face... and look at Uranus's hand? Hello? It's on Neptune's chest...
11. Page 29 of manga 8, excluding the top panel [ooo yay, the mirror]. 2 panels are quite interesting; one has Haruka holding Michiru from behind and she's apparently kissing the back of her head, the next is a closer shot of her holding Michiru. Definitely not friends!
12. Top panel of page 30, more of the embracing.
13. And the bottom panel of page 30, their faces really close to each other's, holding hands. If they aren't lovers...
14. From an image of the entire SMS cast; this has Haruka holding Michiru to her, Michiru's hand on her chest... and while you can't see anything, they are naked. Friends don't hug friends while wearing nothing.
15. Michiru leaning on a surprised Haruka, with a little heart over her head and flowers in the background. There's a heart and flowers...
16. Heh heh... Michiru is holding a bouquet, a bit miffed it seems... a guy was flirting with her, and Haruka kinda sorta crushed his hand... you can see him in the background... and now Haruka's winking at her, putting her arm around her shoulders. Hmmm...
17. Haruka with her arm around Michiru's shoulders, from the same scene. Cute!
18. Michiru with her arms draped onto Haruka's chest from behind, with Hotaru's hologram (I think).
19. The two lying on the ground from a group picture, holding hands. Really sweet :)
20. From another group picture, wearing white dresses; Michiru is sitting up, Haruka is leaning back on her lap, and Michiru's hand is... *ahem* right on Haruka's breast. C'mon, these aren't friends!
21. Riding a bike together, Michiru's got her arms around Haruka, awww!
22. Still on the bike, this is cute... Michiru's leaning against Haruka's back, rather happy :)

And that's just a sampling.

You see, Naoko Takeuchi intended for them to be a couple. She's confirmed in an Italian magazine (I'll find out the name for y'all later) that the two are homosexual and they love each other. She also confirmed this at a recent convention in San Diego. At this, she also confirmed that Haruka always has been and always will be female.

Why bring this up?

The SOS put this lovely bit of lies on their page [and this is taken directly from the site, word for word]: "In an interview from a Japanese fan magazine (source unconfirmed), Naoko Takeuchi (the creator of the series) supposedly explained Haruka and Michiru's relationship in terms of their past history: During the Moon Kingdom, the Prince of Uranus was in love with Sailor Neptune. His sister, Sailor Uranus, was mortally wounded in the battle with Beryl's forces, but before she died she conferred her powers onto him. Then Queen Serenity sent everyone to Earth, and since all Senshi are female, and the Prince now had Senshi powers, he was reborn as a girl; but even so, his love for Sailor Neptune endured. Thus, according to this interpretation, they are not lesbians but former lovers ironically reunited as the same gender. This interpretation has inspired much debate, but we hope to confirm it with Takeuchi-sensei herself at ComicCon this August."

Gee, what a lovely pack of lies, eh? Haruka was a man? I think not. Naoko Takeuchi said so herself that she's female, and there's pictures of her in the Silver Millennium, and she's definitely a woman. What idiots, eh?

The SOS group also tries to lead people into thinking their relationship isn't what we Westerners interpret it to be; as quoted on their page, "However, Japanese viewers don't see it that way; apparently similar relationships of trust and interdependence often develop among Japanese girls, and their parents are happy to see this because it means that their daughter will always have someone she can depend on." HEL-lo! While the Japanese often do select a role model and apparently idolize them [i.e. Makoto in episode 96 towards Haruka], I don't think they'd see these two in that light! They are obviously in love, they say and do things showing they are in a loving relationship, it's very clear that this isn't a just a friendship. If all Japanese girls have this kind of relationship, they must all be lesbian. SOS is full of b.s.

So let's see, SOS makes up lies about "Prince Uranus", junk about relationships between Japanese girls, and suggests their relationship is open to interpretation. Why would they do this? They're homophobic, I'd assume. Back when I was stuck watching the DiC version *shudders*, I went to sign up for their mailing list, and it had a list of rules. One of them was that homosexuality could not be discussed. You know that really popular Sailormoon FAQ? The author said SOS refuses to let him link to them because he supposedly is promoting homosexuality by mentioning it in his FAQ.

How can anyone take SOS seriously anymore?!

Let me ask you people a question; Do you do any of the following with a friend of yours of the same gender do the following things: hold hands, lean on each other's shoulder, put your hands on each other's chests, lean your faces close together, make suggestive comments to each other, flirt with each other, risk your life for each other, imply on numerous occasionas having sexual relations with each other, live together, and are very, very rarely seen apart from each other? Well, Haruka and Michiru do all these things, and I really don't think two people who are "just friends" would do things like that. Their feelings for each other are clearly of love for each other, and not in the friendly sense. Their relationship is obviously a romantic one, and from Michiru's comments in the anime, it's sexual as well. It's a beautiful thing and it should be looked upon as what it is, instead of being frowned upon.