The History of Fruity Anime - Art Commentary

A big thank you to @fxllxngofficial for helping with audio editing and providing the music!
And a big thank to Birdie for helping with the timeline!! Please check out Birdie's anime history videos and be sure to follow their socials!
Tiktok: / midnight_birdie
Twitter: / n3rdiebird
Instagram: / n3rdiebird
Cosplay account: www.tiktok.com/@midnight_bird...
Intro - 00:00
Part 1: Dawn of a New Era - 2:30
Part 2: The Queer Timeline - 12:06
Part 3: The Changing Tides - 35:19
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Resources:
A Brief History of Post War Japanese Cinema: seemsobvioustome.wordpress.co...
The History of Anime & Japan: • The History of Anime &...
The First Anime: • Katsudo Shashin
Japanese Anime Film Evolution: • Japanese Anime | Film ...
Kabuki Theatre Performance: • Video
Japanese art of the Meiji Period: www.khalilicollections.org/al...
Gay Samurai: The History of Homosexuality in Japan: www.tofugu.com/japan/gay-samu...
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My Links:
Twitter: ItsFionapollo?t=j...
Tiktok: / fionapollo
Instagram: / fionapollo.yt
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Software:
Clip Studio Paint EX (illustration)
OBS (speedpaint recording)
Audacity (Audio)
Adobe After Effects (Editing)
Adobe Media Encoder (Rendering)

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

Fun fact, recently a Japanese court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prevent same sex marriage.

[@RedHoodRubyRose]

As much as that sounds great, the issue is Japan is dying out of people since they are build on huge economy, they have a huge lack of people getting married and producing population grow. On one hand, great, on another there will be even more decline in Japan population growth. So see it as a double edged sword.

[@imonly1man_]

Meanwhile trans healthcare just got shut down in Ohio... I'd make an Ohio joke but I'm too upset about this

[@happi-entity]

@@RedHoodRubyRose how would that be the case? I'm sure this goes without saying, but gay people are still going to be gay even if marriage is illegal. Now that gay people can get the benefits of being legally married too, you might even get more people raising children since the benefits of marriage makes it easier to raise a child

[@notatallfunctional]

⁠@@RedHoodRubyRose Yeah that doesn’t make any sense, unless you’re trying to say being gay is a choice or something. Making gay marriage illegal doesn’t simply make someone stop being gay, or make them want to procreate with opposite sex.

[@anubis7457]

@@notatallfunctionalIn Japan, specifically, there was a cultural understanding of “if you’re gay, fine but be quiet about it, get married and have kids then have a lover in secret.”

[@GreayWorks]

Glad seeing queer themes and relationships are becoming more mainstream and accepted in a lot of Japanese media. I do however think that it falls a bit into the similar problem Western cartoons have when it comes to representing queer men, with usually having the pattern of being more one note or like REALLY evil or crazy.

[@amazingspiderlad]

Plus representation of gay men is mostly made for and by women, it's pretty irritating

[@Urvy1A]

What about over the top flamboyance, as well as wearing tight leather clothing, just like a leather daddy at a leather bar?

[@Hlhud]

I'm with you, Fiona. If I ever meet the script writer(s) who had the *genius* idea of making Sailors Uranus and Neptune cousins instead of lovers, I'm going to mail them a bobcat. >:) :P

[@tom4ivo]

A fascinating anime you missed is "Cheeky Angel", first aired in 2002 and based on a manga that started in 1999. It follows the adventures of Megumi, a tomboy from an upper class family. While she has to conform to society's expectations of her as an upper class girl in dress, appearance, and beauty, in thought, mannerisms, and fighting ability she is very masculine, striving to be the manliest person around. And for good reason; 9 years earlier, she had been a boy. A genie had offered to grant a wish, and she/he had wished to be a strong man's man. Instead, the genie had turned Megumi into a girl, and she afterwards struggled and fought to hang onto her masculinity, refusing to give in and be feminine. When I first saw the anime in 2012, I thought it was a fascinating exploration of what it meant to be a man. I saw it again in 2020, after Caitlyn Jenner came out in 2015 and the public became very aware of trans-ness, and I couldn't see Megumi as anything other than a trans boy. Big paradigm shift. The lily flower (yuri in Japanese) became associated with lesbians in Japan in the 1920s, as lesbian literature became popular. Lesbians were referred to as being from the lily tribe. You may have noticed that in anime, if a girl is named Lily, especially if she is a foreigner, she's usually a lesbian. Regarding samurai having male lovers, the Japanese history channel Linfamy has several videos on wakashu kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKuqZYiFlqysba8

[@nyanko_otaku]

Had to click on it as soon as I saw Haruka and Michiru

[@misatoholic]

REAL

[@thatregularfellow96]

Same!

[@midnightbird3580]

It was an absolute pleasure getting to work with you! Thank you for such a thoughtful writeup of some serious topics. It was great seeing this all brought to life.

[@Fionapollo]

It was a pleasure getting to work with you too, I'd been watching your tiktoks for a while before plucking up the courage to ask for your help! Keep up the great work 😄

[@calicovalkyrie3080]

Blue Period is one of my favorite animes, has one of my favorite queer characters and is centered around art. 10/10 recommend

[@LadySkyLaaa]

Honestly, this video is filled with SUCH good anime recommendations. I don't watch anime much as a whole, let alone anime with LGBTQ+ rep (the only ones I've seen are Bloom Into You and Love Live if that counts), but there's definitely some here that I'd be interested in checking out. Thank you for this video!!

[@Michirin9801]

Love Live, much like a lot of my other faves, sadly remains in the realm of hint-hint-nudge-nudge... But let's be real here, saying ANY of those girls isn't gay would be a disgusting straightwash lol Oh and they actually confirmed in one of the games that Riko from Love Live Sunshine is canonically attracted to women, like, actually said it out-loud with no plausible deniability...

[@TheDeadmanDante]

I'm surprised you didn't mention "Gundam: Witch from Mercury." The show is gaining a lot of praise for the primary ship of Suletta and Miorine and is being considered as the new golden standard for representation in anime. Whether that last part is exaggerate or not, there's no denying that "G-Witch" has made quite an impact.

[@loiseauxmort9568]

With how long making videos takes and the fact that the show is relatively new I'm not surprised that it wasn't included. Maybe in a follow up vid it could be?

[@PurpleApocalpyse]

An anime I’ve been pretty obsessed with as of recent is Beastars. (As you can probably see by my profile photo, lol) Even though the show is literally about a straight relationship, there are these odd underlying LGBT+ tones that remain present throughout the whole show. Whether that be the frequently memed on tension between characters Legoshi and Louis, or the extreme gay romance hinted at by Riz and Tem’s dynamic, Mangaka Paru Itagaki is certainly aware of what she’s doing here. With there being a canon gay character in the show, a cross dressing character, and a hinted gay relationship, there are so many ties Beastars has to the LGBT+ community and queerness as a whole that isn’t too talked about.

[@loiseauxmort9568]

There's a 2 hour long video essay about queerness in beastars but I can't remember for the life of me who made it. Look up something along the lines of "beastars made me come out as a gay furry: and you'll find it. It's really in depth and emotional.

[@erinn572]

the full title is 'Legoshi is Gay: A Queer Reading of Beastars' from Boring Keith and he does have another video on a furry visual novel game and how it helped him come out. Both are amazing and really dive into tones and themes of queerness :D

[@NoiseDay]

@@erinn572 Absolutely recommend that video.

[@elliart7432]

Bro something I love about Yuri on Ice is that it subverts that weird "over-sexualized hot guy pushes boundaries while more average guy is scandalized but kind of into it" trope. The first few episodes lean REALLY heavily into that, with Victor literally meeting Yuri butt ass naked, declaring himself his new coach, and then proceeded to be the most forward person known to man. But then you find out way later that their _actual_ first meeting was at a banquet Yuri got so ridiculously drunk at that he started stripping, pulled Victor into a party wide dance off, then just straight up asked him to be his coach, which he found incredibly endearing. Victor was operating off of the assumption that Yuri remembers this, and is absolutely mortified when he finds out he doesn't. It is SO fucking funny, sweet, and just a really good twist in general.

[@PGbutalsofourteenplus]

I’m a pansexual and I like Yoai and Yuri (when they’re good(🔞😵‍💫🚬💉)

[@Cataloaf]

another post from the best KZbinr artist I love watching you sm!! 💖

[@Fionapollo]

Aww thank you so much 🥹 I'm so glad you like what I do & hope you enjoy!

[@BaobhanloreArt]

An anime I'd like to add is Blue Period, which depicts the character Ryuji Ayakawa explicitly as a trans woman who's arc combines both the struggles of a queer person but also with the sort of art she wants to create. I believe the mangaka Tsubasa Yamaguchi is queer themselves and most of their work reflects that.

[@Thefoop]

Really? I thought Yuka was Genderfluid, but that makes more sense then.

[@BaobhanloreArt]

@@Thefoop I believe in the self portrait episode, Yaguchi says he heard Ayakawa refer to themselves as a "she" and had been thinking she was a girl for a while. She also laments boys no longer liking her when they find out she's a guy and isn't interested in mlm relationships.

[@Thefoop]

@@BaobhanloreArt oooh.

[@mk-aka-morgan8386]

I LOVE learning about queer history in anime, manga, and media in general. It was great to learn about all these shows and movies, and I can’t wait to start watching some of these that I haven’t seen. I’ll edit this comment if I have any queer or queercoded anime that weren’t included in the video 💖💖💖 Edit: One show that really helped me understand my own gender identity was Princess Jellyfish, it’s more of a cross-dressing story than a queer story, but I personally headcannon Kuranoske as gender-queer and Tsumuki as Bi or Pan, hee first interaction with Kuranoske very much seems like a “I’m in love 🥺” moment.

[@WeepyWheely]

You should've mentioned land of the lustrous, all the gems are androgynous/genderless. As well as the hinting of love with the mc and another androgynous character! Something very recent is Skip and Loafer where the MC's aunt is trans and very open about it!!

[@SkyeSpark]

Thank you for starting with a short history of Japanese cinema! I actually took a class on it last year and it makes me really happy to see the research you did to include it as context for this video 💙

[@lemon5000-tj6nv]

also just a heads up, clamp is a manga group, the anime adaptation for both the original and clear card were made by madhouse

[@floodattendant002]

I love this!!!! It's so nice as someone who doesn't watch much anime to see all these varied and amazing experiences, and it was very informative!!! Also, I didn't know that cinnamon was aroace, that's very cool. Awesome vid as always. Happy pride month!!! ❤🏳️‍🌈

[@themythosarchives7520]

There’s a few others you didn’t mention. Given that you spent so much time on Takeuchi and Sailor Moon, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t mention her husband, Yoshihiro Togashi who has his own set of queer characters. There was a trans woman from Yu Yu Hakusho but she wasn’t handled well. He also made a manga called Level E which is about a trans man in a unique situation involving some aliens, but he is able to transition without anything too bad happening. (I haven’t seen or read Level E I’ve only had parts of the story summarized so take what I say with a grain of salt). Then there’s Alluka from Hunter X Hunter a trans girl who is adorable and has quite the wholesome story about being freed from a controlling setting. Other favorite queer anime characters of mine include DIO from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure who yes is a villain but a fun one with an interesting legacy and is bisexual. There’s also One Piece with Emporio Ivankov who I like, but I’ve seen some criticism for being a bit stereotypical. Thankfully we’ve also got Wano arc which gave us Kikunojo a trans woman and Yamato who’s going to need some explaining. Many have claimed his identity is just imitating another character and that his vivire card says female. But this is short sighted and misinformed. The vivire card actually is referring to biological sex and despite idolizing Oden, Yamato still refers to himself as “Kaido’s son” and the cherry on top, when offered to bathe with the women he turns the offer down and bathed with the men. Which convinces me he’s a trans man or at least gender nonconforming.

[@Maverynthia]

I don't remember Level E having any trans rep. It's a comedy series from when I watched the anime. The prince himself is just feminine looking, because he's a prince so he has to be pretty.

[@themythosarchives7520]

@@Maverynthia I’ll admit I haven’t seen or read it, but I’ve looked into Mikihisa and by all accounts he’s a trans man. Mathwiz explains it better in Togashi’s Trans characters

[@3rdstrikestan930]

What does gender non conforming mean?

[@lazylurkerbro9855]

As I understand it, “fujoshi” was originally an insult that straight Japanese men called women who consumed any m/m media, as calling them “rotten” was a way of implying they were unfit to be married, that they weren’t good enough to be wives because their minds were tainted with gay men thoughts or otherwise they were sympathetic towards or accepting of gay men. Japanese women started calling themselves fujoshi as a way of reclaiming this insult, and this lead to the term “fundashi” (the male equivalent) being coined for men who read m/m content. Himejoshi and Himedanshi (“Princess Girl” and “Princess Boy”) are the equivalent terms for people who read w/w content.

[@undead-p]

yeah, that's why it saddens me to see modern western fandom reject and villainize the term & those who use it as a self-descriptor. granted that's happening bc of new types of wank and is based more in cannibalistic virtue signaling & puritanism than sexism like the original negative connotation, but that's a can of worms best left closed. the reclamation is similar in a few ways to english-speaking women and the word "bitch" - different in just as many, of course, but still a comparison i like drawing that sometimes makes it 'click' for people that get hung up on its origins. i doubt it was ever even used as an insult in the original sense in western otaku spaces, anyway, seems to me it only started seeing use over here long after it became a neutral/positive descriptor.

[@Serocco]

​@@undead-pthe puritanism has even started affecting queer spaces, like aroace people, who end up talking exactly like the evangelicals who want them all to suffer and die

[@bookishdelight]

The usual biweekly banger! Looks like I've got some shows in my future. (Feels like I've spent half my life wishing that there were a, uh, yuri equivalent to Yuri On Ice (and no, Love Live doesn't count)... 😭this may end up being one of those do-it-myself situations...

[@shelbybayer200]

I've been rewatching HyperDimension Neptunia and it has a Queer character in it Anonydeath, he's a Pink robot that speaks in a way that makes him sound not as masculine as Neptune was expecting He's got some fun lines to "My metal gear may be solid snake, but my heart is as maidenly as they come" And my favorite line from him towards Noire "I may be Queer but let me lay it straight I'm hot for you !!" He's a villain yes, but he's an actually pretty good way of writing a Queer character while still technically having him be a Stereotypical depiction. I'm Queer myself, as Gender Non-binary.

[@Tazer_Silverscar]

On the My Hero Academia characters you highlighted, Magne (the very masculine looking woman) is unfortunately a clear execution of the Kill Your Gays trope in action. Luckily Tiger (the extremely buff man in the dress) is not (he's also very specifically an f-to-m trans character). That said, the last one, Itsuka Kendo, right now it's not a hundred percent clear whether they are non-binary. While they did say something about not wanting people to think about male or female with regards to them, it's more likely that this was with respect to fighting in particular (because that's the context it was provided in). Unless Horikoshi very specifically confirms this, or Kendo is more specific about it in her lines, then we can't say for certain. I mean, if we throw context out the window, it makes a whole lot of people potential LGBT+ characters (I believe even Minoru 'Very specifically straight because otherwise his stupid perv gags don't work' Mineta, was suggested to be Bi because of one line taken out of context). I'd love to see more representation, but I feel it needs to be done right, and I don't think Kendo is quite there - YET. I believe I've raised Kashimashi before in a previous video's comments (then again, it might have been someone else's video?). It's got a weird premise, and the way it plays out (and how it differs between the anime and manga) can leave it quite difficult to ascertain whether it did a good job or not. But it's worth a watch anyway, because it has a very interesting take on it (in that for the most part, the trans lead is pretty much accepted right off the bat, and so for the most part, it's a much less difficult world to navigate, and more about exploring what it means to become a different gender). The creator comes from a shojo ero background, and this was their attempt to show people that actually, they could do something with a lot more nuance that wasn't just piles of fanservice. The only thing that is, er, maybe less sensitive is the start, which is literally 'alien crashes on earth, accidentally vaporises a boy who was climbing a mountain in the process, revives the boy, but makes a mistake by reviving him as a girl, alien's technology is busted so can't fix it, alien promptly outs to literally everybody that this boy is now a girl, everyone is somehow fine with this'. And to be fair, I quite like the idea of nobody being a dick over it. It's nice to not have that. It's just a very blunt and overly silly start. The endings either good or bad, really depends on how you take it. And they're different depending on whether you read the manga or watch the anime.

[@NotShalune]

Gundam Witch from Mercury just had its finale and without giving anything away, this show does some incredible things with a central lesbian relationship, and on top of that gets heavily into themes around disability, family acceptance, systemic oppression, and revolutionary violence. It subverts a lot of negative stereotypes around how these topics are usually portrayed. In Skip and Loafer the main character's aunt who she's living with is canonically some form of trans or gender non-conforming. Though she doesn't play a large role in the plot, the writers portray her very empathetically and as a fun, compassionate guardian. The aunt even bonds with one of the main character's friends who is struggling with her own issues of internalized misogyny around her presentation (though she is cis). There's also a potential lesbian attraction hinted at between 2 central friends. And a boy who is at least very gender non-conforming and comfortable assuming feminine presentation. Also great video! There's so few channels doing this deep of media analysis on anime in English.

[@mangojuice-be9cx]

YAY FIONA POST! I love watching your videos while drawing, keep being amazing Fiona!!,

[@mewmewkitten]

hey btw in the infinity arc where i believe they raise the baby hotaru haruka and michiru are 15 and setsuna is 18/19 just so you know

[@YuriVoltre]

iirc They made Neptune and Uranus cousins in the english dub to try and cover up that they were lovers by instead saying they were REALLY CLOSE family members. For years I thought they were both cousins and lovers because of that.

[@theotterside3871]

Oh man.....

[@lemon5000-tj6nv]

that was the dic dub that aired in the 90s, the viz dub left it uncut and was faithful to the original anime

[@alejandroc.a.5960]

One of the saddest representations of a trans character in anime is from Steins Gate. It's an anime with the main subject of time travel, and I know that as cool as time travel is, some people don't like it. Also, spoilers ahead: Luka is trans woman, who looked for a timeline where she was born biologically female. She eventually found that there was just ONE timeline where she was born as female...and she had to sacrifice that timeline to save her friend. Even if I'm not trans myself, I still felt the pain of the situation.

[@thomasffrench3639]

One thing I find interesting is that the reason it was more common in anime was because it was animated, and it allows them to disconnect them from real life. Like I find it interesting that there’s not much mention of live action cinema, but that could be to do with the focus of the video. I also find the fujoshi very similar to “lesbians being hot” vibe of a lot of straight dudes. Even ones who aren’t comfortable with same sex relationships of their own sex. I find it an interesting cognitive dissonance.

[@eustacewinner]

Gotta say my favorite queer anime is Bloom Into You. It has some uncomfortable moments sometimes but it really shows some things that are not often shown in works of media. There's also an aroace character, which makes me (someone who's aroace) very happy! Have a good day :)

[@HoneyM1lkart]

Nana, though not explicitly a wlw anime, has extreme wlw undertones. from what I've seen of it, It's rather cute

[@rinlozio1108]

I think Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club is an amazing gender apathetic icon, and they helped me a lot with accepting my own gender identity. Even tho I identity more with agender autigender and nonbinary in general, I do relate to apagender people too. I just think the other labels fit me better. But Haruhi's "why does it matter if I'm a boy or a girl" approach was really refreshing to me and open my eyes to a new concept. I previously was jumping between thinking I'm just a tomboy, and considering being a trans man. And that changed when I watched Ouran. The show doesn't mentions any queer lables, it's all just "this is how I feel and what I do" without naming it, so I still didn't know about the existence of nonbinary, but I remember being put at ease when I found out there are people who just like me don't care about being one or the other. Also Haruhi's father being amazing cressdressing/drag queen icon or some people would even argue- a trans woman. Good stuff

[@CrabyMan]

Awsome video, and now I have some new Anime I didn't know about that I might check out

[@vincevodka9679]

Incredible video, miss. Keep up the good work! And speaking of queer anime, does Yu-Gi-Oh! count as one? While Duel Monsters does not have that much of queer implications besides maybe Marik and Yami Bakura, but GX, 5Ds and, if everyone wanna count it, VRAINS have some stuff in them that can be interpreted as queerness. GX with Judai and Johan/Jaden and Jesse, 5Ds with Yusei and Bruno and VRAINS with Yusaku/Playmaker and... someone I cannot spoil, but people do love pairing him up with other male characters like Ryoken/Revolver or Takeru/Theodore/Soulburner. Sadly idk if there are any queerness in ZEXAL or Arc-V, you people in the comments can tell me. Hell, I heard the current anime GO RUSH has some queerness in it but idk if it counts a spoiler or not.

[@spyrogall]

I will be honest, I never really understood the 'Ranma is trans' take. I'm a huge fan of this show and Ranma is shown to be very uncomfortable with his curse to the point that the entirety of the series is him attempting to rid himself of it. The show moreso highlights issues of toxic masculinity and the pressure put on men to be a certain way in society, as his mother literally has vowed to kill him and Genma (Ranma's dad) if Ranma does not become 'a man amongst men'. There is a character within the series though who does fit the trans identity more so, Tsubasa. The series explains they are a crossdresser, but honestly I think in today's terms Tsubasa would be identified as trans because she clearly wants to appear as a woman in society.

[@aleksandralazarek7537]

Thank you for talking about Patalliro, it's my favourite from my youth

[@imonly1man_]

I really enjoy the way media like the Lupin the 3rd anime does it, where it walks this fine line between the MCs being gay for each other as a joke and playing their implied queerness -straight- gay (although I do enjoy a good canon queer rep)

[@melasn9836]

One older example whose name I'm not too clear on (and older otaku, please feel free to clarify/correct) is Mospeada, which had a character who was a soldier by day & a drag cabaret performer by night. Shockingly, when this was adapted into the 3rd storyline in Robotech, they kept this unchanged and even cast an openly gay VA (Cam Clarke) for the English role. It feels criminal to compliment Robotech in this day & age given the rights hording, but I feel like this example is worth a mention.

[@ashleyanne2056]

Small note: December 7th, 1941 is not really "near the end of the war". The bombing of Pearl harbor and the dropping of the atomic bombs were 3 years apart

[@HeavenlyMercury2800]

If a spin-off manga series for Sailor Moon were released about Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune raising Saturn I would read it bc the scenes in the manga of those 3 being good parents was too cute not to love

[@thisrandomperson1843]

I don't even watch anime that often myself, but it is nice when I watch a show I end up liking has at least one character that is queer in some way(ie. Amity and Luz in the Owl House, Barney in Dead End: Paranormal Park, Todd Chavez in Bojack Horseman, and Benson and Troy in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts). I remember even being happy when an episode of the 2018 She Ra series had a trans male character. It may not seem like a big deal to most people when a character that's from a minority group depicted in a good light is shown, but it can really make someone's day seeing a character that is like them in some way(and it even applies outside of the LGBT community as well).

[@rebecca_rh]

More of a video game series rather than an anime (even tho it has an anime adaptation), but *Ace Attorney* man

[@jleahy]

I love to see the discussion, but I think it’s important to note that being trans doesn’t have rules. If someone tries out a label and it doesn’t work out, they’re allowed to do whatever they want. There isn’t a wrong way to be trans.

[@artsysparks]

korea and china were not the only countries that were affected by the atrocities commited by japan, philipines as well, my greatgrandmothers region bicol was attacked by japan a few days after the bombing of pearl harbor and her and her husband had to flee to a remote area as a result of it

[@skewed-sadness9245]

Good video 👏👏

[@Zapdos7471]

Maria-sama ga Miteru and Class S in general is a fascinating offshoot of Japanese queer literature. It’s roots start in pre-war Japan, pioneered by Nobuko Yoshiya, a lesbian, and so much of it was lost and destroyed by WW2 and anti-gay legislation during that period. Maria-sama is so interesting because it is clearly Class S while also being a positive depiction of lesbians and trans women and subverts so many of the genre’s pre-war tropes. It’s also a really well done romantic story without a hint of sexualization.

[@Hjorth87]

A recent article in a Danish newspaper explored the Great Amnesia that surrounds the late imperial period. Even Grave of the Fireflies was used as an example of Japanese cinema reframing the war as the civilian tragedy against Japan, while obliterating the Japanese atrocities from memory. They also visit the Yasukuni tempel. It leaves me with a lot of mixed feelings about my own interest in Japanese culture and the big point on my bucket list about traveling in Japan.

[@0merf0]

im not really a big commenter but ive been working on a convention panel w a similar topic on and off and queer characters in anime is smth really interesting to me so this video was very much a treat ^^ there are So Many queer characters in anime when you take the time to look around and dig in deeper. honestly even just rewatching some old favorites after learning more about queer issues (and finding out that im queer myself fhksdh) made me realize just how many characters in super prominent series there are. haruhi fujioka is one of the first characters to come to mind when i think about queer coded characters, but theres also just the magical girl genre as a whole. even dismissing sailor moon and cardcaptor sakura, series that werent intended to be queer are just Super Super Super Sapphic and while more niche than anime as a whole, vocaloid producers have always incorporated queerness into their songs ! alluring secret ~black vow~ by hitoshizuku x yama is one of the first to come to mind, but magnet by minato-p is far more iconic and also very much a classic. even first love academy by nem featured a love triangle w a gnc sapphic woman. theres also the shuuen no shiori concept album ^^ (which id like to warn is kinda questionable????? im very fond of it but i also call it peak homophobic homosexual media orz ) this isnt even taking into consideration the new wave of vocaloid songs that have come out in more recent years like villain by teniwoha (a personal favorite of mine that even has an ongoing manga adaptation

[@style.exe.]

30+ min fiona vid 💜💛

[@Thefoop]

My favorite queer manga is Go For It, Nakamura. Just a young gay boy trying to be noticed by his crush and failing hard. It's pretty relatable. I hope he gets a W some day. And my current brain rot anime rn is Oshi no Ko. Basically I believe, including a friend of mine, that Ruby might be Bisexual (Akane is debatable). And I personally Aqua is Ace imo.

[@OferZivony]

Did I miss it, or was there no mention of Fruits Basket? I really expected it to get a place of honor, considering the title... Please check it out if you don't know it. It's really really good and deals a lot with queer themes in a pretty straightforward, honest and inspiring way... I'm a bit surprised that Ranma is getting a special spot. I like the show, and on the surface it fits, but Ranma is clearly a guy, and his female form doesn't make him really different - it's just a physical change. But it's a very straight Shonen Anime\Manga otherwise. Anyway I liked the post :) Keep it up!

[@Turai12]

I rember how baffled my childhood egg was when reading Ranma. Why would Ranma be so upset??? Turning into a girl is every guys greatest dream. Ohhh to be young lol

[@BlackReshiram]

theres no heterosexual explanation for the way that falin from dungeon meshi looks at marcille in that one bath scene. you cant change my mind

[@Will0wisp_]

Omg ok you know Utena thank you so happy

[@SkaiCyan]

No mention of G-Witch at all? Suletta & Miorine are so great, and besides a throwaway line in the beginning their relationship is treated as totally normal.

[@commandercorl1544]

11:16 is that a kitty? :O

[@Cottencandyfago]

Ranma 1/2 was one of my favorite anime as a kid! I related to ranma and now know that that was partly because I’m genderfluid.

[@xxxHAPPYCHAPPYxxx]

Rose of Versailles fan here: Oscar is a cis woman who was forced into behaving like a boy by her father, she's not trans at all, and that's ok. - Fellow nb person

[@Thatmoonnamedjune]

31:48 WHERE DO I WATCH THAT?! That show seems like something I would love and I am in desperate need for some more gay shows!

[@unclefelix3412]

PATALLIRO MENTION LETS GOO

[@mewmewkitten]

also tomoyo and sakura were cousins in the manga!

[@NoiseDay]

Shout out to Stars Align, a sports anime where the main character has to be paid to join a team of losers. It's wholesome, but content warning for heavy themes including familial abuse. The main character meets a gay boy and trans kid in different episodes and basically says, "That's neat. I support you." And there's no big deal made about it. They aren't the main main characters (but I mean, it's an ensemble cast) and there's no drama involved in their coming out. Everyone's parents are garbage, but these kids are just. Here for each other :')

[@TheNightmareRider]

Would you be willing to list all the anime you referenced in text? I've been on a big Yuri binge lately after coming to understand my own saphic romantic leanings. I also recommend the manga "Love me for Who I Am", as a high school boy invites a gender NC student (who presents as feminine but is non-binary) to the Maid café his trans sister* owns called "Question Café", where all the staff are either trans or gender NC. It's a beautiful exploration of gender and sexuality which approaches it from multiple angles.

[@midnightbird3580]

Hey there! I'm the TikToker who helped out with this. If it's okay, I'm going to give you the list. I specified which ones contain yuri for you as well. Princess Knight Rose of Versailles (Sometimes called Lady Oscar, has light yuri, but it is sparse) Patalliro Stop! Hibari-kun Fight Iczer-1 (Has three to four lesbian characters) Dirty Pair (Coded yuri) Ranma 1/2 Sailor Moon (Yuri) Neon Genesis Evangelion Revolutionary Girl Utena (Yuri) Cardcaptor Sakura (Yuri) Simoun (All the yuri) Sweet Blue Flowers (Yuri) Whispered Words (Yuri) Shangri-la No. 6 Yuri on Ice Izetta the Last Week (Yuri) My Hero Academia Artiswitch Suzume

[@TheNightmareRider]

@@midnightbird3580 Cheers mate :)

[@Lost-Kid]

i wanna mention Eiji and Ash from banana fish because oh my goodness their relationship is just so queer coded so peak in the anime yet it can also be interpreted as just two platonic friends who care about each other so deeply that they would do anything for the other's well being and this is coming from someone who doesn't even like anime that much but appreciates a well written show (though I should warn people about some themes it depicts it is really fucked up outside of Eiji and Ash's relationship cuz it is about mafia and all the bad stuff comes with it)

[@Elli_Hamato_Todoroki]

My favourite anime is My hero academia, quite clear if you look closely at my pfp because i put my two favourite characters in the backround (if you can’t see it then it’s Natsuo and Enji Todoroki)

[@supersthr9096]

I watch an old anime "dear brother" which was yuri, or as I was told. I myself as a lesbian who live around people that are heavily homophobic I hardly find people being silent when ever there is something related to lgbtq+ It really hurts that even I have to act like them or my life will be at risk Trust me , watching anime or reading manga or manhwa that is gl, yuri , or lesbian in general Is literally my only place to understand my feelings and thoughts about my sexuality. Unfortunately something I don’t understand while watching some anime’s especially the old ones , that the siblings kissing Idk if this is normal in some cultures or not ,but I grow up in a cousin marriage family and recently I found out of how much people are attacking the people who are okay with cousin marriage and keep calling it ((disgusting, or weird)) without letting them even think for a second But for some reason when in anime "dear brother" anime when the two sisters had feelings for each other and to the point they kissed , people were so okay with it IT MADE ME FREAKING CONFUSED , ARE YOU ALL OKAY ONLY WHEN IT’S SAME SEX SIBLINGS LOVE RELATIONSHIP?? I’m not saying I support cousin marriage or anything But I grow up always hearing that what I know or believe is always weird or disgusting by every part of the community I’m weird or disgusting to love the same sex I’m weird or disgusting to think that marriage cousin is normal. Bro idk but everyone is attacking everyone without having one second of thinking that the person might be hurt by these words .

[@nonamegiven202]

yeah I got to give love to Skip and Loafer this season, like most good rep is generally just found in already queer focused story so this Hetero romance anime giving us a genuinely well done transwoman was a nice surprise. like Stars Align is the only other non-queer anime time i seen that did a good trans character, a transman at that, and we even got a side story with a character questioning their gender identity and mostly landing on being non-binary there to boot.

[@michaelsingh8487]

Man, I didn't expect to get a history lesson, but I'm all here for it! Personally I'm enjoying Dr. Stone's queer rep, as it has three presumed aro characters in Senku, Kohaku and Kirasame, and also a nonbinary character, Francois.

[@lemon5000-tj6nv]

surprised you never mentioned banana fish as its one of the most popular bl manga and both the manga and anime are highly acclaimed

[@SurelyDraws]

37 minute Fionapollo video?? AND it's about queer anime??? Heck yes, let's gooooo 😎😎😎

[@britaingray5400]

I haven't watched much queer anime, but I have seen a bunch of queer web comics.

[@Hjorth87]

It's interesting how they can be so "progressive" in one area, and rather "regressive" in other. I use citation because looking at another culture through one's own cultural perception is always somewhat screwed. They only recently started exploring concent as essential to love making. Lot of rapy stories coming out.

[@luvscrans]

My fav anime is attack on Titan!!!

[@mara_kalat]

My favourite anime (✨Symphogear✨) is deeply Sapphic but only as subtext. If it was a western show I'd accuse it of queerbaiting, but I've always chalked up its lack of definitiveness as a cultural difference. This was a very interesting and insightful video, thank you.

[@CineShinya]

Brilliant and detailed analysis. I am extremely happy to see Patalliro wasn't left out from it as it's actually even now very big in Japan, impactful and daring to its plot and openly speaking about gay rights in marriage and parenthood. I would like to ask though, which's character's name is based on a Samurai? Bancoran's name is based on his inspiration, a detective from 30s' Henry Bancolin and Maraich (the ch sounds like "h" as in German pronunciation) means "rich" in German if spelled properly (mareich). Which is fair as he is Swiz. I will assume Kaze to ki no uta didn't make it to the list because...ah...the plot is way too heavy even if the art is divine....

[@Roxanne13579]

one manga (and accompanying anime) that I think has very nice lesbian representation is Bloom Into You ^.^

[@TheGypsyBrigade]

Spoilers for case closed, but I always liked the culprit from the moonlight sonata episode. For being so old of a show they were really well written and not something you'd generally see for lgbt+ in that time

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

CLAMP is a manga group not an animation studio.

[@Michirin9801]

Y'know... When it comes to works of fiction, I mainly just watch anime for a good reason... Pretty much no other kind of media so consistently gives me non-hetero stories about girls! Well, aside from Manga, which does it even more... I just can't stand reading manga on a computer screen, I have to have the physical books...

[@Michirin9801]

I'd like to mention a few examples I've ran into over the years that weren't mentioned in the video: - In Galaxy Fraulein Yuna from 1995, the protagonist Yuna is gay and really overt about it. - You're Under Arrest from 1996 is a show about cops, which are bad, and it's also painfully het, but it *Does* have a trans woman in the main cast, which is SOMETHING... She's treated remarkably well for a show that old, though her treatment is FAR from perfect... - Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl from 2006 stars a trans girl who "got a shortcut to transitioning", let's just put it that way, and has two cis female love interests, it has its problems, but I just found it really wholesome how accepting most of the cast is to the protagonist's new identity, though I'll be honest, I don't like one of the love interests... - Hidamari Sketch from 2007 isn't *Explicitly* gay, but it hint-hint-nudge-nudges SO HARD about Sae and Hiro that it becomes air-horns-and-neon signs xD There's some other instances of queerness being explored within the show, that's just the biggest one, and I also personally headcanon Miyako as aro/ace, there's just no other good explanation for her. - K-ON from 2009... C'mon, you know this one lol Again, not explicitly queer, and in fact, they significantly toned down the queerness from the manga in the anime, but it basically helped spawn the deluge of hint-hint-nudge-nudge cute-girls-doing-cute-things sort of shows from the 2010s, the majority of which have a VERY soft spot in my heart, in spite of their lack of commitment to queerness... - Yuru Yuri from 2011 was my first explicitly queer show, right as I was starting to figure myself out, it has its problems (particularly surrounding Chitose and Chizuru, and well, Chinatsu is just kinda horrible sometimes) but it's not only very overtly gay, it's also hilarious, and really creative! - Madoka Magica, also from 2011, uhh, it's kind of a spoiler, and a long story, but trust me, it's queer lol - Sakura Trick from 2014 is more on the 'fanservicey' side of things, which I'm not a fan of, but it makes up for that with the most satisfying kisses I've ever seen put to animation! - PriPara, also from 2014, is a kids' idol show, and it has a surprisingly diverse cast, mainly with regards to trans/enby rep, and the show is very accepting and welcoming of such diversity, sadly though, they messed up the black rep... - Kiratto Pri☆Chan from 2018 is PriPara's successor, and though it doesn't have as much trans/enby rep, (really, just one single character with ambiguous gender in season 3) it flirts A LOT more with gay rep, again, never explicitly, but the plausible deniabilty gets thrown out the window fairly quickly lol - Bloom Into You, also from 2018, is a very good girls' love show, with deep themes and stuff - Mahoutsukai Precure, also from 2018, is the gayest Precure (that I've seen), but well, spoilers ahead, read at your on discretion: Has the two main girls raise a baby fairy together, and she grows up to call the two of them her "mothers"

[@hawshimagical]

michirin watches pretty cure? i am not surprised, but still very proud.

[@self-absorbed5269]

I'll be glad when they let male Sonic characters come out. There's a solid gay community behind that fanbase , and there's not at least one gay guy. Maybe that's why they won't use Mighty , he strikes me as the blunt honesty type.

[@addayang7456]

i still get bullied for watching anime

[@SaintofM]

23:00 mark when i am writing this. Alabama. Alabama is your answer

[@VictorTheAlien101]

Hi

[@howdyhey]

One piece counts right?

[@TuffBrandon997]

So this doesn't get hate for just being bigoted, I'm non-binary, pan-sexual and demisexual, but as much as I think representation for minority groups to normalize said minorities is a good thing. My biggest issue with a lot of representation is the fact that it is very one note and not actually representative of the things they are trying to represent. It is getting better I will admit, but I will always passionately argue against tokenization. As I see it, it hurts the cause way more than it helps. I have not watched much queer anime, so maybe it isn't as bad as western media as I see it. Maybe I need to watch some of it before I can come to a full opinion, but long rant short, imho not all representation is moving the cause forward and I think we need to call it out when needed, which I feel like you've done a pretty good job here

[@elifia]

The queer anime I've watched seems to avoid tokenisation and similar problems a lot better than a lot of western media. Often it's the main characters who are queer, and it's just treated as normal. It doesn't feel like they're just meeting a quota, nor does it feel like they're pushing a message. Queer characters are just allowed to be queer. I think most of these problems in western media come from executive meddling. Anime probably doesn't have that problem as much because it's largely based on manga/light novels which were written independently.

[@eidenno4662]

trap isnt abot transgener though? i understant that it can have some unfortonate meanings but it is own thing seperate from trans people sorry abot grammar english not my first languge

[@the33rdguy]

Your character gives me way to much gender envy 😭.

[@poisonmarigoldch]

I am going to explain two things. But baring the fact that I've been up for 60 hours, this might not come off as intended. First, you use the terms Shoujo-ai and Shounen-ai, do not do this. As I have had explained to me many years ago by an actual Japanese person, the terms are Yuri and Yaoi, there is no distinction. Shoujo-ai, and Shounen-ai, are used by groups outside Japan to try and denote a more innocent romance that those depicted in Yuri and Yaoi [seen as the more mature stories]. However in Japan, these are used more often in line with the terms of Lolicon and Shotacon. So, if you use them in Japan, you will start getting dirty looks. Now secondly, and this may be a bit of a mess, but; Trap characters are not meant to represent, or be a parody of Transgender individuals. There might be examples where this is the case, but that is well into the minority of Trap characters. A Trap is simply depicted as a character wanting to dress/act opposite to how they should dress/act. Like if a character is a boy, but they want to be cute, they will dress as a girl because that's what they believe cuteness to be. Or, the opposite as with a girl dressing as a man to seem tough. Being a Trap has nothing to do with gender identity, it is simply how you want to express yourself. Kanzaki Hideri from Blend-S is a decent example of this. He wants to be an idol, so he dresses in women's clothing to match his vision of that role. He doesn't say he wants to be a girl, he only wants to be cute. Take Suburu Konoe from Mayo Chiki!, she dresses as a male because of the circumstances in her life. She does not view herself as a man, nor has she shown any desire to be one. Yet, any comedy from her act of being a butler is simply because her boss, is scared of girls. Sure, there are some that use Traps as cruel jokes towards people, but that doesn't mean they are mocking Transgender people, although I'm sure people have used them to do so in the past at some point. It is simply a character that they want to use to get one over on the audience. However, this is simply the opinion of a very exhausted dinosaur, so take it as you will. Also, I'm fading fast so I might have missed it, but did you mention Gunbuster? I always assumed the leads in that show were Yuri. Kashimashi is the best Yuri.

[@hydrahydrangea]

no one piece? :(

[@_Artoria_]

Hunter x Hunter? Anybody? Alluka is a trans girl… killua and gon are the cutest couple ever, leorio and kurapika act like a married couple…

[@eljoel89]

I had no idea Tiger was a trans man.

[@kaidabeula2700]

Every time I see your name, I think it says "Filipino". I'm terrified of calling you that in a conversation.

[@wiggie666]

Strawberry panic hell yeah. I think the Japanese perception of homosexuals is to be honest awful most of the time .if you read enough gl and bl it's like yikes. Great video.

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

On one hand, the word qu**r makes me uncomfortable On the other hand, I like anime and am part of the lgbt+ community So I'll watch this, but wince whenever you say the word "qu**r" (cannot wait for the hate comments)

[@AnotherCraig]

I find it really interesting that there are such strikingly different takes on that word. Personally, I much prefer using it (both for the community and for myself), but I accept that others aren't as comfortable with it. If you're willing, could you maybe explain your feelings on it a bit? I'm curious to get your perspective.

[@AlixL96]

I mean, as far as your personal feelings go, there's nothing wrong with that. It's a useful term, especially in academics, and it has a long and important history, but none of that has to change your honest emotional reaction. I personally am a bit iffy about a ton of words people use to describe themselves and their identity. All we can do is just let people use their words when they talk and use our own words when we talk.

[@alannielsen4099]

As a gay man i reallllllly hate the style of yaoi anime n manga n their themes idk who thought super exaggerated proportions, being raped and constant depressing themes was good story and character development or was hot? its not it really frustrating there was nothing and still is nothing that properly represents gay men we get close with some new shows but they still just dont get it.....its like the saying goes if you want something done right you gotta do it yourself this is why i try to make real n not so sexualized gay art.