Hikaru Sulu (TOS)

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This article is about Hikaru Sulu from The Original Series. For Hikaru Sulu from the AOS films, see Hikaru Sulu (AOS). For other uses, see Sulu.


Character
Name: Hikaru Sulu
Occupation: helmsman, astroscientist
Relationships:
Fandom: Star Trek: The Original Series
Other:
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Hikaru Sulu is a main character in Star Trek: The Original Series and appeared in the first six films. He was played by the Japanese-American actor George Takei.

The character's name was originally just Sulu, and he had no given name until Hikaru, previously used in some of the tie-in novels, was added for the sixth film.

Origin of Name and Controversies

Novelist Vonda McIntyre first introduced "Hikaru" as the character's first name in the novel The Entropy Effect.[1][2] McIntyre derived the character's first name from The Tale of Genji. Although McIntyre was unaware at the time of any controversy surrounding her giving Sulu a first name, editor David Hartwell had to clear his name with Gene Roddenberry and Takei to override Paramount's objections. However, the name did not become canonical until its mention in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Peter David wrote about making the suggestion to director Nicholas Meyer at Takei's request during a visit to the set.

The name Sulu, for example, was based on the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines, so as to render his Asian nationality indeterminate.[3]

In some Japanese dubs, Commander Sulu's last name is changed to Kato. According to Bernardi, Sulu is not a Japanese name and would likely be unpronounceable by Japanese speakers as the language has no "l" sound and "u" is silent. Ojaste cites the reason for this as a lack of effort to be culturally accurate by the writers of the time to portray a true Japanese character. However, in recent films it is only slightly altered; the name スールー (Sūrū, with long vowels) is used instead of スル (Suru, with short vowels). Although the latter is a closer transliteration of the name "Sulu", may sound strange to Japanese audiences because "Suru" with short vowels is the verb "to do" in the Japanese language.

Fandom

Sulu in Fanon

Pairings

Fanworks

Fanfic

Sulu-centric Zines

Gallery of Sulu Fannish Art

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Unknown Date

Archives and Links

Resources

References

  1. ^ "Hikaru Sulu (Hikaru Sulu) 2021 - Artigos.wiki". 2022-03-10. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10.
  2. ^ "Vonda N. McIntyre, a profetisa do futuro Momentum Saga". 2019-11-25. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10.
  3. ^ "George Takei Reacts to Gay Sulu News: "I Think It's Really Unfortunat…". 2016-07-07. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10.
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