Can anyone put on a believeable Michiru performance? Michiru's character is a bit difficult to emulate since one can interpret it in different ways. All the actress have tapped into something in the character and made her a brand-new person. See my opinions of the brave women to took on the role.

(1994)

Musical History:

Kaoru's is only seen once as Michiru - seeing how she is in only one musical - and for good reason; she does not do her any justice. I felt she lacks the style and grace that defines with Michiru is. Kaoru acts very girlish and immature in her portrayal, looking more like a groupie next to the "dashing" Haruka (Kimura Sanae). Her speaking voice is unemotional and nothing to admire whatsoever! (She laughs so giddy and valley girl-like in the musical; how "un-Michiru!"). But the biggest problem has got to be her tacky look. She looks clumsy and uncoordinated in her Mugen fuku. Her biggest flaw, which is not entirely her fault, is that awful wig she wears which is just a mess of string; there's no waves, no form. As the 1st Michiru, it's disappointing that she leaves so much room for her successors to upstage her.

A bit better, but not quite. Her look is very similar to that of Michiru, lacking both the elegance and class of the wave senshi. Ukawa's dances with so little emotion that it's so funny to watch her. She's probably the most unstable of all the actresses in the musical. But I'll give her own thing; she has the *perfect* Neptune singing voice! YES! On "Choubi," she sings with such seduction and beauty, it'll probably "excite you" ^_^. No one else has come close to emulating the grace and sensuality of Neptune's voice and range. I LOVE TO HEAR HER SING!!! Unfortunately, that's all Kaoru has to offer. Nothing else is up to par: her acting and dancing contrasting greatly with her sultry, jazz bar singing voice. It's so sad to let something so beautiful be covered by such uncoordination. Kaoru gets good points for me for being the best Neptune singer EVER!!

(1994 - 1995)

Musical History:

Right now, it's impossible for me to speak truthfully on Chikei's performance. She replaced Ukawa in the revision of the "Usagi" musical which, unfortunately, has yet to be released to the general public. Her few appearances in fliers and advertisements for the musicals look pretty good; she shows a bit more class and elegance in her face. It does look like Chikei holds the Deep Aqua Mirror for the first time, so she's a BIG trend setter. Kudos to a forgotten actress!

(1995 - 1996)

Musical History:

I kind of like Miyuki, even though so many people hate her. Her speaking voice has that "Michiru quality" to it and sounds really good during her scenes with the Outer Senshi. I am quite impressed by the emotion and texture of her tone; it's very much like Michiru's! But, of course, there are many downfalls. Miyuki lacks any grace in her presence or skill as Neptune. She walks around very constricted and clumsily, reminiscient of Ukawa Kaoru. I laugh every time she tries to dance because it's just so funny to see! Her acting is a bit limited, but I don't think it is that good since the producers gave her such few lines to say. Perhaps her best quality is her voice and control. Although it's not as rich and seductive as I would like, it has that mature, graceful quality to it that makes it especially feminine and Neptune like. If you thought Ukawa's was too sexy, you'll enjoy Miyuki smooth tone and melodic lines. All round, she is pretty decent.

(1996 - 1998)

Musical History:

WWWOOOOWWWW!!! Hiroko does it! She becomes the Michiru we have longed for for sooo long!! In her first appearance in the Stars musical, she opens up a concert with an enchanting performance on the violin with Haruka (Kimura Sanae) on piano. OH! How I loved the way she handles that violin! Hiroko's got everything: the look, the voice, the touch of pure elegance! She's the only actress who's gotten down every element of the mysterious and graceful Michiru. I especially love her emotion and facial expressions during her dialogue. You can see how *perfect* she is during Ami & Zoisite's number in Eien; Hiroko's an exact replica of Michiru! She is able to clever mix playfulness and maturity into a seductive and attractive character. It's sad that she came in the game so late; I want more of my Hiroko! She has, by far, done the best interpretation of such a difficult and complex character. I guess a history as a softcore pornstar is good practice for Michiru ...

Ok, my *perfect* Michiru lacks a bit in the senshi department. Her singing voice is pretty and haunting, but has very little smoothness or seduction in it (although her only solo has little room for interpretation). It makes me miss the richness of Miyuki and Kaoru. As a dancer, she's a bit tantalizing and has got the rhythm but could stand more of the grace and elegance she portrays in her voice. But don't get me wrong; she's got a lot more ups than downs! Hiroko acting is superb, highlighting all the points of Neptune: her coldness, her devotion, her utter love of Uranus. I cried during her death in Eien - so emotional. Her look represents everything we love in our Neppy and the things we hate. No one else has come close to the wonderful job she does; this is my Neptune!

(1998 - 1999)

Musical History:

I'm a bit disappointed at Sara's Michiru; she lacks depth, character, or even elegance. Her speaking voice is unattractive and too immature to be believeable. Granted, she does have a nice body and a cute face (she was a softcore pornstar as you can see from her picture above); but perhaps too "cute" and not "beautiful" enough to be Michiru. As an actress, Sara doesn't live up to Michiru's role. She acts too much like Minako or Rei should act and neglects almost all maturity and coldness in Michiru. She Sara begins what I like to call the "Ms. Priss" Michiru acting: an air-headed, weak, Haruka-depending, unable to stand her own on any occasion, poor dancing persona.

Just a bit better. I am much prouder of Sara's Neptune than Michiru. She's still not up to par, but she does add more control and sterness to her character. Her voice is very emotionless and stale, lacking any movement or richness to her tone; it's so bland in comparison to SUranus's (Takagi Nao). In dancing, Sara is pretty OK. She can keep a beat and look good doing the moves, but she adds nothing to them; it's decent dancing. I do like the look she brings to the stage, though: a subtle beauty behind a childlike facade; it's almost like a suppressed, younger Michiru trying to break through her cold shell. Ok, so maybe I'm overanalyzing a little bit, but I think Sara's look brought a lot more than anything else. In her last musical, she shines onstage and evolves Neptune's persona. I think she would've been better if she stayed longer.

(1999 - 2002)

Musical History:

The Myu's longest running Michiru and - to me - the most annoying! I'm sorry Nao&Yuhka fans, but I do not like Yuhka's Michiru that much. Yes, she has the presence and the look, but she does not have the emotion, the maturity, or the overall "Michiru-feel." Yuhka continues on the "Ms. Priss" tradition by making Michiru utterly "girlish" and almost self-conceited and vain. I think she highlights the bad aspects of Michiru as why some people hate her; it's not a good interpretation for an actress. Her voice is very nasal with sort of an "breathy" quality that makes it sound high and weak; nothing like the deep, emotional tone of our *lovely* Michiru. I think many fans like her just because she acts very well with Haruka (Takagi Nao) in their long-running relationship.

Surprisingly, Yuhka makes a rather impressive Neptune, as compared to her Michiru. Her looks is much more mature and calm, adding that ambiguity and gentleness to the character. I like the way she takes control of Neptune and makes her seem almost more powerful and forceful than Uranus (especially in Black Lady K). But there are some big downsides. Yuhka cannot sing; simple and plan as that. Her voice cracks, shakes, wobbles, and quivers most of the songs she sings; it's so annoying and in great contrast to any of the other girls' voices. Where's the sexiness? The grace and elegance? She has little control over her tone and just lets it do whatever it wants. I'll admit, because of her chemistry with Nao and her long stay, she grew on me and I loved her towards the end of her reign. She did show the most growth from musical to musical and eventually got a level in Mugen Gakuen where she was believeable in the role.

(2003 - 2004)

Musical History:

Tomoko is just too, TOO happy to be Michiru. She is always smiling, laughing, and looking with such a gleam in her eye like "OMG! I can't believe I got his part!" You can really tell that as Mistress 9, she watched Yuhka and was like "I could do so much better than her" and strives to do that in her musicals. But aside from that, Tomoko's got a beautiful, mature look for mature, an upgrade from Yuhka's. I really appreciate the way she makes Michiru more interactive and fun with the Inners. Still, she always looks so much older than Michiru should be; Tomoko lacks that youthfulness that contrast Michiru's adult-like character and makes it stand out. I think her biggest problem is trying to look younger by sacrificing some of the important, "Michiru-defining" characteristics we've come to enjoy. Her voice has a depth that's probably too low for Michiru. It sounds to me like she struggles to keep it high enough to sound like her but occassionally falls back to her own deep tone. It's disappointing that she's still "Ms. Priss" and even more so that she carries it to her SNeptune character. I like her as Mistress 9 so much better. In fact, I LOVE her as Mistress 9!!

Yea, Tomoko's Neptune just doesn't cut it for me. Like I said before, she makes the mistake of carrying over the "Ms. Priss" into this character and just turning out to be pitiful. All her entrances and speech are so full of joy and happiness and lack that maturity and resolve like her predecessors. Ironically, though, Tomoko appears to be stronger and more powerful than Uranus (Uchida Asako), almost completing switching around their relationship. The good things about her SNeptune is the voice and the dancing. She has a very smooth and clear tone that sounds soooo good on all her recordings (not so much live, though). I love the way she dances with so much energy and passion; it sort of justifies her "Ms. Priss" attitude in the character. I think she took everything that she found wrong in Yuhka's interpretation (the singing and dancing), improved on them, but neglected to uphold the good things she brought. Tomoko's Neptune is not bad, just a bit off in its portrayal.

(2004 - )

Musical History:

Takayo not only continues "Ms. Priss," but actually adds to it and makes it worse! The direction Michiru's personality seems to be going in these musicals is not looking good. Nothing impresses me about Takayo performance; she lacks any and all reserve, maturity, grace, and elegance. I think she the best at making Michiru youthful, energetic, and friendly; nothing at all like her. Her voice is so high-pitched and Minako-like that I laugh whenever she tries to "act" during her Haruka-Michiru moments. She a big downgrade from Tomoko's Michiru and does nothing to improve her character. The biggest problem I have with her is look. It's very tacky, silly, and just too loose to be Michiru. Her hair is not wavy at all and looks like she does nothing with it. How can she play Michiru - the girl who ALWAYS looks into a mirror - with such an indifferent opinion of her look?

Much, much better. Although she's rarely seen as Neptune (since the soldiers cannot transform on the island in her musical), she adds in a lot of the thinks she took out from Michiru; it's not the best bargain, but it's a start. I am first impressed by her dancing skills and movements. Takayo dances with a look of seduction, confidence, and elegance; it's the best Neptune dancing in my opinion! Especially watch her performance in the SKSDK "Moonlight Justice" where she takes her movements to the next level. But then I'm saddened by her strained, emotionless voice. She lacks much of the depth and richness of a good SNeptune voice and replaces then with her nasalness and monotone. It's discouraging to see her bring herself down after making such a big change from a pitiful Michiru. Takayo does improve in her SKSDK form SKSD, so I do expect her to get much better in her next musicals.