In contrast to many of the other senshi, our Uranus has had only four beautiful actresses portray her (for the longest time it was only two). These ladies give powerful portrayals of the crowd-pleasing Haruka but fans differ in who is best. Check-out my take on these actresses:

(1994 - 1998)

Musical History:

Sanae's Haruka was very genuine. She had that look of a full-fledged boy that made her so good at what she did! Her mannerisms, her walk, her talk were all Haruka-like in every way. I especially LOVED her performance on the piano during the Overture of the Stars musical: serious, involved, emotional - she looked like a real virtuoso! Most of the time, though, her voice was too high to be a "true" Haruka; but, she made all that up with her attitude and acting skills. Some complain that she made Haruka too mature and cold and lacked the fun playfulness of the "flirtatious" playboy; on some points, I do agree. However, they forget that Sanae herself was to complete opposite of Haruka and didn't want her personality to interfere with her interpretation of the character; I admire that devotion. Wonderful Sanae! You will always be my Haruka ^_^.

Ok, this is the flip-side of Sanae: her Uranus was not that great. The biggest problem with me is her voice; it's just too, TOO high. I mean, nobody can hit the notes she does on "Choubi!" without straining. Her speaking and yelling parts had too much "feminity" in them to make them a believable Uranus. If you see Yume Senshi's "La Moon" performance, you'll hear her "Space Sword Blaster" and just how bad it is. But she did still keep the "masculine" movements and poise from her Haruka. It's really evident in the same musical when she performs "Fukkatsu!" Sanae's dancing was pretty good, considering that she danced so little except at the end and during the encores. In her last musical, Eien Densetsu FFS, Sanae was at her peak. Her acting, dancing, and singing skills were superb! That was the Uranus I had been waiting for for a long time; it's so sad it had to come so late :*( . But overall, her Uranus is my second-favorite, bumped up heavily by her acting and dancing but downgraded by her voice.

(1998 - 2002)

Musical History:

I know just about everyone in the Seramyu fanbase is gonna hate me for this, but Nao was not my kind of Haruka *hides in fear* . I just didn't like her as Haruka as much as I did Uranus (see below). Yea, Nao had the playfulness, the smirk, the walk, the talk - all that jazz down right (probably because she acted to much like her in real life). But her face just wasn't "pretty boy-ish." Don't get me wrong; she wasn't ugly; but she also wasn't that attractive. I could definitely see Nao flirting with any Usagi but not vice-versa. On another note, sometimes her mannerisms were a bit TOO masculine. Where's the feminity? Haruka's not ALL butch! To me, Nao lacked a lot of grace or maturity in her Haruka. Now that I think about it, she was like the exact opposite of Sanae's Haruka: playful, flirty, and butch. Please don't hate me too much everybody ...

OMG! Nao IS Uranus; not WAS!! Forget everything about Haruka; she had the senshi down to a tee!! I can't express how good this girl was at doing her job. Nao had that mystery, that presence, that strength that made her the *perfect* leader of the Outers. Her voice has just a great range and depth to it; she always sounded just like Uranus should! She did frequently miss notes here and there but always made them up afterwards. Moreover, Nao danced like a goddess! Her movements had that *perfect* blend of masculinity and feminity that made her dance with such confidence. She had the "rhythm of the wind" in her bones that made her bones move precisely, gracefully, and sexxily (<-- Note: not a real word ^_^). As an actress, Nao had such passion and emotion in her performances, she would make you cry. I'm so glad she stayed on for so many musicals in so many years. Cheers to the BEST Uranus!!

(2003 - 2004)

Musical History:

You know I don't like to talk that bad about anybody (that much), but Asako really pushes me to the limit. This girl was such a pitiful replacement for the *great* Nao. In her first musical as Haruka, she left me wanting ... A LOT. There was no spunk, no fun, nothing to her Haruka; she was just bland. Asako even lacked the seriousness and maturity of the character so she could play it off like Sanae's. I was very disappointed in her, well, everything. Her voice was very nasal and "stuffy" in speech, always making me dread any of her speeches. I guess one of the bigger problems was her face and body. She had no emotion whatsoever in her expressions or gestures. It would amaze me if anyone thought she was a boy at first look! Asako had a good body, but not a Haruka body. I don't think it was her fault but her "ordinary" clothes were too tight and showed a lot more breast than necessary; it was too "girlish" and Inner Senshi-like.

And I thought her Haruka was bad; I was in for a BIG surprise. Asako's SUranus is so weak and powerLESS that Neptune had to make-up for her! She was very disappointing in everything: her singing, her dancing, her acting - all of it! On singing, her voice had a swallowed and "throaty" quality to it and was sooooo emotionless; intonation was just pitiful! On dancing, she had no rhythm whatsoever. It always looked as if she was counting "one, two, three, one, two, three" during performances. Where's the confidence? Where's the smoothness? I don't even want to touch Asako's acting because I'm afraid I won't be able to stop! I'll give her own thing, though: she did have the courage to go after perhaps the most loved Seramyu actress in history and that's mostly why people compare her disapprovingly to Nao. I try not to, but it's very, VERY hard.

(2004 - )

Musical History:

She started off as Maker and was pretty good. Now she aims to be Haruka and is doing surprisingly better! The first time I saw her picture, I was like "Oh yea, she'll be good." Akiko's got that pretty boy facade and a great body. Although her mannerisms are a bit too feminine, she does keep an air of maturity and playfulness around her. In her first appearance, she came off as the biggest flirt and "ladies man." I feel hers is a mix of Nao's flirtatiousness and Sanae's attitude, but I want to see more before I make a solid judgment. Unfortunately for her - as with Asako - her clothes are very tight fitting and "girlish." Even the boy's school uniform on her shows a lot more breast than usual. Akiko's voice has a good depth and richness too it that made her sound weird as Maker but great as Haruka. I hope she stays around for awhile.

BIG improvement! It looks like Akiko's spent some time watching Nao do her stuff; she got a lot of her Uranus in her's. I admire her presence and stance as the leader of the completely new Outer actresses. She has a dominance and strength that is reminiscent of Nao. Her dancing is quite good, much more in rhythm and with much more passion; but, it is a bit too feminine (I know, I say this A LOT). She could live without the rolls, swirls, and pops in most of her performances. Perhaps her biggest drawback is her voice. Although it's low and rich, it's too heavy and forced during live performances. You can really hear her on "Moonlight Justice" in SKSD; it clashes badly with the soft, natural-toned voices of the other Outers. But all-in-all, Akiko's doing great things with Uranus and hopefully will stay on.