(I actually wrote this earlier in the year as part of an application I sent to Anime News Network. Still a little salty that I didn’t get a reply so might as well post it here.)

I was catching up with the recent anime adaption of the game “Persona 5” when a certain inclusion reminded me of something I had hoped to forget. It was 2017 and I’d finally gotten my hands on “Persona 5”, a game I’d been highly anticipating as a fan of the franchise, but the delays seemed to be worth it for the stylish, engaging product we got. Well for the most part…. There was one moment in particular that rubbed me the wrong way, the appearance of these two characters:

The recurring characters of Beefy Trendsetter and Scruffy Romantic left me with one question, why are characters like this still appearing in this day and age? “Persona 4” came out in 2008 and that had a character struggling with their sexual identity in addition to a potentially dateable male character. While the latter was pulled just before release, this felt like a step in the right direction. It felt like a punch in the gut seeing these outdated comedy stereotypes of gay sexual predators making advances on teenage boys. It’s not funny especially in contrast with the attempts of the game to approach serious topics such as sexual harassment of female students by a teacher.

That being said I don’t think the choice to include these characters was done out of malice, in fact the game also features a character in drag running a bar who is presented much better. It feels more like a lack of understanding as to why this sort of representation is wrong. Every country has had its own issues with LGBT representation, Japan being no stranger to this. An example being comments by lower house liberal-democrat politician Mio Sugita in July of 2018 calling same-sex couples “unproductive”, questioning whether they were deserving of equal welfare benefits. Not the only comments of this nature made by the ruling house member. This led me to thinking, as an artform how does anime of the 21^st century deal with a hot topic such as LGBT representation?

BL and the Okama Effect

BL, or Boys-Love, is the first thought of most when they think of gay representation. However despite a notable manga following very few anime are released in this genre. There is also a gray area as to what defines BL, being made up of yaoi and shounen ai depending on the romantic vs sexual aspects of the character’s relationships. Exploring the ideas of “forbidden love” comes with its own problematic notions, early anime adaptions often being classed as hentai with sexual harassment rather than depicting healthy same-sex relationships, something which gives the genre a bad impression amongst anime fans.

Questionable themes are still prevalent, an example of this being 2016’s “Super Lovers”, following an 8-year-old adopted by his 16-year-old step-brother. Though this 8-year-old eventually becomes 16, the not-at-all subtle undertones of child grooming were more than enough to put BL fans off. There is a definite market here, as is obvious by the popularity of sports anime amongst the BL fandom. Despite this numerous studios are unwilling to adapt some of the more well received BL manga. One example of this is “Doukyuusei” or “Classmates”, a 2016 movie adapting the short 2006 manga of the same name by Asumiko Nakamura, depicting a sweet and simple romance between two male classmates from their initial development of feelings for one another to balancing this young love against their future aspirations.

Though representation in this field can often be respectful, this is still a niche genre unlikely to reach further than its niche audience, so how is the LGBT community represented in a more mainstream sense? Outside this specific subgenre, many references to homosexuality are in line with a character created in the 1980s, Homoo Homooda, often depicted as an over exaggeration of homosexual stereotypes with dark drawn on stubble, heavy make up and a lace fan. Not only did this character introduce the slur “h**o” to Japan but became the go to depiction for “okama” (a slang term for gay men). The extent of this stereotype’s usage in anime varies: however, being seen in popular shows such as Leeron from Gurren Lagann and Bon Clay from One Piece, who despite showing outdated characterisations are often depicted as reliable, understanding and heroic individuals.

Devilman in the Franxx: Polarising Opinions

More modern takes are starting to move away from these tropes to tackle representation itself. Two very different approaches can be seen in two of 2018’s most popular series, “Devilman Crybaby” and “Darling in the Franxx”. The 1972 “Devilman” manga saw people turning against each other over fears that any regular looking person could be a devil in disguise, only for humanity to prove themselves as the greater monsters. Though the theme of non-heterosexual love was present in part, director Masaaki Yuasa’s foray into the franchise took these themes and broadened them to compare the “Devilmen” and homosexuality in a fascinating take. Devilmen are individuals with the heart of a human and the power of a demon, similar to protagonist Akira, with the introduction of two reimagined Devilmen to this adaption for the sake of this comparison.

The first is Miko, childhood friend of track team star Miki Makimura, whose life in her shadow has spurred a jealous hatred towards her alongside feelings of worthlessness, seen as she allows men to have their way with her. This is the original impression we’re given of Miko, but over the course of the series it is revealed that this isn’t her true character, but a façade that she tries to trick herself with in an attempt to hide her true feelings of romance towards Miki. She comes to this conclusion after finding no pleasure in either sexual or romantic advances from men, followed by her transformation into a devilman and her coming to terms that it’s okay to show who she truly is as those she cares about most will accept her no matter what, even if she is shunned by society.

At the other end of the scale we are introduced to Koda, a famous up-and-coming athlete more willing to accept his sexuality and identity as a devilman. A character surrounded by rumours and whose identity resulted in the accidental death of his lover, he has no one to rely on, instead believing society’s claims that he is a monster, someone who cannot fit in and instead chooses to join the demon’s side. Yuasa manages to seamlessly introduce underlying themes of sexual identity and societal expectations into a classic work without them appearing out of place, subtle comments that one does not need to notice to enjoy the work.

In comparison the comments on homosexuality made in “Darling in the Franxx” stick out like a sore thumb. Though much of it’s fanbase turned against the show due to “lazy writing” towards it’s finale, the seeds of disappointment were sown considerably earlier. The show features teenagers piloting mecha in a two-person unit, one male one female, a sexual metaphor that is in no way attempting to be subtle as they have to synchronise and rely on each other while the male character holds the female’s “butt handles”.

Enter Mitsuru, a character initially portrayed as a rival attempting to prove himself superior to our protagonist Hiro. However it is later revealed that this hatred stems from his true feelings of love for Hiro as the first person who showed him any affection and the person who gave him his name and identity. At the time I was interested as to where this was going but did not expect the character to be told that he was not in fact in love with Hiro; he was just confused because Hiro showed him affection. Over the course of the series another character “Kokoro” develops feelings for Mitsuru, which he does not reciprocate, however the show frames it as his duty to give up on his dream of piloting a mecha with Hiro and instead he must father Kokoro’s child, growing to love her over time and acting as a reliable husband.

To emphasise these themes, they’re repeated with a fellow pilot Ikuno, who expresses her love for squad leader Ichigo and her desire to pilot with her, only for this to be shrugged away as mistaken kindness. Following this we do get a scene showing a same-sex piloting attempt, but Ichigo is uncomfortable and half-hearted making this seem unnatural. This results in Ikuno remaining paired with fellow outcast Futoshi, who isn’t physically good enough to provide for Kokoro and has a scene where he acts as the priest for her wedding, taking on a literally celibate role. While “Devilman Crybaby” highlights the need for acceptance, “Darling in the Franxx” highlights the ideology of homosexuality being unproductive for society and the greater good.

The Influence of a Director’s legacy

One of the most well-known directors when it comes to LGBT representation in anime is Kunihiko Ikuhara, who despite his small portfolio has produced cult classics as the creator of “Revolutionary Girl Utena” and director of a significant amount of “Sailor Moon”. “Sailor Moon” created a phenomenon with the inclusion of one of the first canon lesbian couples of Sailor Venus and Uranus, while Utena saw a unique spin on the shoujo genre with a lead female aspiring to the role of a dashing prince and providing a psychological exploration of sexuality. Yet after this there was a notable gap of 12 years before his next significant directorial role in the 2011 show “Mawaru Penguindrum”.

While no stranger to controversial topics this series took a back step from homosexuality, the theme appearing in only a minimal amount of episodes surrounding the character of “Yuri”, who is initially presented as a strong yet elegant shoujo style character. However, another hidden side to her is revealed, characterised by the love she held for her deceased childhood saviour Momoka, leaving an emptiness that no man can fill. Despite believing herself to be an ugly human who requires fixing, someone who’ll never be accepted according to her father and sole family member, it’s the acceptance of a caring stranger that gives her a place to belong, a love that becomes her identity not just a passing phase. The depiction of this character shows her as imperfect though, abuse by her father has in turn caused her to be uncaring and abusive to others, while less of a statement on her sexuality it does lead to one uncomfortable scene in her actions towards another female character.

Ikuhara’s next foray into animation, 2015’s “Yuri Kuma Arashi” or the literal translation “Lesbian Bear Storm”, returned to focus on societal views of homosexuality. This show was widely divisive and failed to garner the popularity of Ikuhara’s previous works due to its attempts at comparing the portrayal of lesbians in wider media with anime fandom, rather than attempting to appeal to the yuri fanbase amongst other criticisms. The plot centres on the segregation of two separate worlds with two separate ideals. The human world sees lesbianism as a secretive activity to be kept behind closed doors as the young maidens of this world must retain their purity, their romances are very of the moment. It is in this world that the invisible storm occurs, a force that punishes those society chooses to exclude or rather those who choose to act outside the norm and display their sexuality rather than allow it to remain hidden. This is a clear statement on the lack of acceptance society has for homosexuality, expecting this to be just a phase of youth, while commenting on the yuri genres idealistic views of pure love alongside unrealistic standards of femininity and solidarity.

In comparison we see the world of the bears, who despite their cute appearance are dangerous predators that must be hunted down before they taint youth’s innocence and eat them leading to their death, portraying lesbianism as a danger towards youth that must be ousted. As a vicious form of sexuality in comparison to a chase one, both are shown as broken realities. With love portrayed between our two protagonists, between a bear and a human from different worlds, a love they must constantly stand trial for, must constantly defend, it is deemed a love that does not belong in either world. In other words a healthy homosexual relationship falls foul to a lifetime of oppression. The ideas explored are not new in the world of yuri manga, with many titles exploring relationships between adult women. Hence these arguably dated ideas affected the impact this show had at the time of its release rather than it’s more pressing societal commentary.

The Struggles of Trans Recognition

Though homosexuality is still a niche theme in anime it is far more prevalent than other LGBT areas. This is one of the reasons for the notoriety of “Wandering Son”, a 2011 series based on the long running manga of the same name providing a respectful yet serious take on transsexuality and gender identity of teenagers. The show follows Shuuichi Nitori, who despite being male enjoys wearing women’s clothing and appearing effeminate, and their classmate Yoshino Takatsuki, who is uncomfortable with identifying as female, choosing to attend school in the male uniform, for example. They find comfort in one another, with Nitori displaying a longing to be a female in love with a male Yoshino.

The plot not only explores gender identity but the conflicts that come with this, discovering yourself through puberty, how this affects your relationships, acceptance from family and friends, all while displaying a childlike innocence in its approach as mirrored by the soft colour palette and art style. A prime example of this occurs in the episode where Nitori plans to attend school in a female uniform, unable to see what sort of reaction this would have, stubborn in his resolve despite the advice of his friends because if female students can wear a male uniform why can’t Nitori do the reverse. “Wandering Son” is unique in its resolve to approach a difficult topic in a genuine and often harsh way, choosing realism over sugar coating, one which pays off by promoting better understanding of trans identity.

With Ikuhara’s new show “Sarazanmai” set to release in April it is theorised that this work will centre on homosexuality in teenage boys, further pushing the development of sexual representation in anime. Though negative depictions still exist in modern Japanese animation, anime exists as a unique means to express commentary on current Japanese society and to push boundaries in both a positive and negative light. The popularity of recent manga such as “My Brother’s Husband” and “My lesbian experience with loneliness”, exploring the sociological aspects of homosexuality, show that now more than ever there is a market for LGBT representation across various media forms. Especially in Japan following years of such topics being unwelcome discussion in light of social conformity and a lack of LGBT rights.