girls antics

CANONICALLY QUEER ANIME CHARACTERS THAT I REMEMBERED BUT WEREN'T ON THIS ARTICLE'S LIST:

Date Masamune Daley Wong Motoko Kusanagi Jakotsu Toru Shiro & Saya Monou Toya Kinomoto & Yukito Tsukishiro Tomoyo Daidouji Subaru Sumeragi & Seishiro Sakurazuka Utena Tenjou & Anthy Himemiya Juri Arisugawa & Shiori Takatsuki Suletta Mercury & Miorine Rembran Kenjiro Hato Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune Fatora Venus & Alielle

Have these poor otaku not heard of Date Masamune? Famously bisexual historical figure with MANY anime and videogame portrayals? Half his dialogue with Sanada Yukimura in "Sengoku Basara" (2009-2011) is just flirting. Heck, last year, I saw a little kids' anime with a Date Masamune cat whose whole gimmick is having a crush on the male main character cat! I just watched episode 6 to refresh my memory, and Masamunya is daydreaming about marrying Nyanpire!

And what about Daley Wong? He is canonically gay. Do otaku these days not know about "Bubblegum Crisis"???? That was standard issue anime watching when I got into anime! A fundamental scifi series! It even got a remake, "Bubblegum Crisis 2040", which didn't change Daley's openly gay status.

Motoko Kusanagi from "Ghost in the Shell" is canonically gay. The movies may skip over that, but the longer format series usually show her girlfriends or have her coworkers mention what a womanizer she is. I'm a little confused about that episode where she talked about having a childhood crush on a boy---the one who was hesitant about getting a prosthetic body because they weren't dexterous enough to make origami cranes at the time---while the rest of the series seems to portray her as a lesbian. So I'm not 100% sure if she's gay or bi.

There's also Jakotsu from Inuyasha. Not a regular character, but part of the Shichinintai (Band of Seven) who were reoccurring antagonists for several episodes until they were defeated. Maybe a little stereotypey, but a canonically openly gay anime character.

CLAMP has several gay couples. Unfortunately they do like to use them for tragedy, unrequited love, and the "bury your gays" trope.

We've got "X" (series known as "X/1999" in English localization) with Toru and Saya. A lesbian couple so in love that when it was prophesied that Toru would die, giving birth to the Sacred Sword at the Togakushi Shrine, Saya found a loophole, married the Shinto priest at Togakushi Shrine to ensure she would constantly be at that location, and thus became the one who died instead of Toru, giving birth to the Sacred Sword. I think the anime changed things so that Saya said she fell in love with her husband Kyogo Monou instead, or downplayed her feelings for Toru, or something I'm misremembering, but I grew up with CLAMP's manga, and that's what I go by. Besides, the plot later explains that the whole reason Saya's spirt ended up in the Sea of Tears is because she married a man she didn't love, while fully knowing that she was in love with another woman instead.

"Cardcaptor Sakura" has several queer couples. We've got Toya and Yukito. The teacher Toya dated before Yukito, could see the future, and she specifically broke up with Toya because she foresaw he would fall in love more deeply with Yukito in the future. And when she and Toya met again, she asked Toya if he was happy (being with Yukito), and he said yes. Unless I'm misremembering, the manga also has a panel or 2 explaining that Tomoyo was coincidentally repeating her mother's unrequited sapphic crush on Sakura's mother, by she herself having an unrequited sapphic crush on Sakura. But I just checked the Wiki and there was apparently a lot of weird editing mistakes in the manga that made Tomoyo seem straight, and then CLAMP had to use several interviews and future manga issues to clear up that Tomoyo's crush was actually on Sakura. O.o

I've had "Tokyo Babylon" on my shelf for years, but haven't finished the manga or the anime disks that I bought. lol But from my understanding, that whole series is steeped in the crush between the male leads, Subaru and Seishiro. And then it culminates in "X", because that series was a crossover continuation of several CLAMP series. During "Tokyo Babylon", Seishiro has this hidden omen running in his family about being destined to be killed by the person he loves the most. Within "X", Seishiro is killed by Subaru.

And how can we forget "Revolutionary Girl Utena"? Even if the series doesn't outright state them as gay, the whole series is built around their romance and then the movie has them out-right kiss. And it's not an accident situation or an animation that happens for only 2 frames, or something. It's an actual, romantic kiss, center-frame, as the resolution of that movie. Also Juri and Shiori are doing some unrequited things that I can't remember. But I remember Shiori being kind of toxic in the movie, like she was trying to make Juri jealous?

Speaking of Utena, "Gundam: the Witch From Mercury" is often compared to following Utena's outline, right down to the sapphic couple at the center. The series is still going, and I haven't been able to watch all the episodes so far, but if they truly homage Utena, they will advance from all their romance tropes between Suletta and Miorine, into hopefully an outright declaration of queer love. Here's hoping. <3

Can we count Kenjiro Hato from "Genshiken: Second Generation"? Because I don't know if they're "canonically" queer or not. Do we count them as "canonically" queer if they don't state they're queer? So much of that series is Hato still trying to figure out how they feel about crossdressing, about Harunobu Madarame, and being a fudanshi. I can't remember if Hato ever came to terms with any conclusions about themself. I can't remember if Hato ever definitely stated being in love with Madarame, or just spent all that time not quite understanding their own feelings. Is Hato a trans egg? Or is Hato genderfluid? Or did they just never figure that out about themself? Does Hato still identify as "male" by the end of the series? I don't remember! (But I'm sorry the series framed how Yoshitake treated you as a joke, because that was really uncomfortable.)

And how did I forget Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune? So famously gay, that when the first English dub tried to censor their relationship for the localization, it just turned into awkward "cousin loving cousin" dubs.

Almost forgot Princess Fatora and Alielle from "El Hazard: The Magnificent World". One of the first isekai genre series I watched. Fatora doesn't appear for most of the series, since she is a prisoner of the antagonists. But her girlfriend, Alielle, is in most of the OAV series. I remember them being very clearly lesbians, and after Fatora is rescued, I think they spent a lot of the sequel series chasing around the other girls in the cast.

Misushima – Genshiken Second Season (ep. 1,3,4,10)

In Genshiken Season 2, eps 1, 3, 4, 10. We are back at the Otaku’s club. Again, I couldn't help but notice some forms of discrimination towards the Otakus. The Miyazaki incident led to an Otaku scare, and social resentment towards those deemed Otaku arose throughout Japan.

Suzi being a foreigner, however, has not grown up in the Japanese culture affected by the Miyazaki incident. As such, she’s comfortable expressing her Otaku self, unlike most of the other portrayed Japan raised Otakus. 

The stereotypical Otaku perversion is also an ample subject in these episodes. We can see instances in the anime where the characters have to face their sexual desires toward fictional works. Despite this being a similar subject to that of the circumstances faced in the first season, there is a greater emphasis on erotic fiction. Particularly boy love. In season two, the cast is replaced by a group of “rotten” girls — or fujoshi,  is a Japanese term for female fans of manga and novels that feature romantic relationships between men. Even Kenjiro Hato had an interest in these boys love erotic works. Despite the perceived perversion associated with these otaku interests, they are not carried out. When Kenjiro and his alternate persona reflect on living out their boy love fantasies on the passed out Harunobu Madarame, they are never carried out. Toward the end, Kenjiro Hato discusses with Kaminaga some quite erotic boy love ideas, ideas that he denies real interest in for himself to partake.

Expressions of the characters Otaku’s interest is also of interest. Kanako cosplaying, Chika’s production of doujinshi, particularly boy love, And Souichirou Tanaka’s creation of cosplaying outfits are all examples of these Otakus' attempts to recreate their fictitious interests into a fiction of their own. Whether its an imitation of a fictitious character, storyline, or clothing style, These otakus are attempting to take their consumed fiction into their own non-reality.

who wanna give me $70 so i can buy kenjiro hato figures 😔

Today’s trap of the day is: Kenjiro Hato from Genshiken

it’s ya boi hato-kun! 🎨🎀✨

pose ref | art tag | find me on insta: doodelineart | on ao3: doodeline

Here he/she is! I'm glad to introduce Hato Kenjiro!

Am I the only one who started watching Genshiken Nidaime not knowing it's Genshiken next generation (and not even knowin Genshiken was a thing)? I felt so dumb when I found out.

Mizushima – Genshiken Second Season (ep. 1,3,4,10)

Although the reading of Saito's "Beautiful Fighting Girl" was paired with the last set of episodes and not these ones, I was able to find many strong connections between that chapter and this set, especially considering the chapter's conclusion. As mentioned in our classroom discussion, there has been a lot of stigma around the Otaku's interests in the works of fiction they enjoy and how those relate to their real-life interests, which was generated in large part due to the Miyazaki Incident. We also discussed, however, how that incident has been determined to be more of a one-time situation and does not reflect the reality of Otaku culture. As Saito mentioned at the end of the chapter, the vast majority of Otaku can easily separate their fantasies from daily life and how their preferences in fiction can differ from their actual preferences.

During these episodes, we see this idea a lot through Kenjiro Hato. He is the only male to become a member of Genshiken in this generation, however, when he joins the club, he does so dressed as a girl. He adopts a feminine persona and participates in all club activities as one, being welcomed by the other members in doing so. However, he does not permanently change into a girl, and has aid himself that he is not attracted to men either. He is the perfect example of someone who has his interests one way when it comes to fiction and cosplay, but is also able to separate this side of him from his interests outside. At the very end of the last episode, Hato's former schoolmate shows up and questions his sexuality, but I believe that this was not intended to make it seem like Hato is actually hiding his true self, but to show the custom reaction to seeing someone's Otaku interests: assuming that that is what they actually like in real life as well.

Oliver Talking About Cross-Dressing Characters Again

People like to send me recommendations of cross-dressers I might like, which is something that positively delights me. Since it’s become more common, though, I think I should spell out what I’m looking for in these characters.

First, this is my definition of a cross-dresser: Someone who wears clothing not commonly associated with their gender within their society. So, if a fictional world commonly acknowledges more than two genders and there are styles of clothing designed for those other genders, a cross-dresser can technically be someone wearing clothes of those third or more genders. I doubt that will come up often (since universes that don’t have a gender binary are less likely to gender clothing), but it’s something I wanted to specify.

Personally, as a cross-dressing man, I prefer male characters who dress in clothes typically associated with women. When looking for good male cross-dressing characters, there are three conditions I always keep in mind.

1) The character must identify as male.

This should be obvious, but it’s very important to me. Trans women are not the same as cross-dressing men. A trans woman can cross dress, just like I can cross-dress as a trans man, but a trans woman in a dress isn’t a cross-dresser. She’s a woman in a dress.

2) He must cross-dress of his own free will.

I don’t like seeing characters blackmailed into cross-dressing constantly because of how they look. That’s uncomfortable for many reasons. People should have their gender identity acknowledged, even if they’re cis, and they shouldn’t be forced to wear clothing that makes them uncomfortable.

There are plenty of good reasons for a character to choose to cross-dress. Koibuchi Kuranosuke and Forrest/Foleo cross-dress because they like fashion. They have different specific interests (Kuranosuke loves giving makeovers while Forrest makes his own clothes), but the core reasons are still similar. They just like looking pretty. Fujisaki Chihiro and Hato Kenjiro cross-dress because they feel more comfortable presenting as feminine to avoid judgment (Chihiro for being small and physically weak and Kenjiro for liking BL). Kanzaki Hideri cross-dresses because he has dreams of becoming an idol, and he feels he needs to prove to his parents that he has what it takes to be cute enough despite being a boy.

The important thing is that all these boys cross-dress because they choose to (and usually because they want to). So no Himegotos or even Maria†Holics.

3) He must be respected as a character and not be pure fanservice.

Give them motivations and interests. Show their strengths and flaws as a character. Show that the other characters respect their identity and clothing choices and take it seriously (even if it’s used for a gag sometimes). They need to be real, fleshed out characters. I don’t want every scene with them to be jokes about how they look, nor do I want everything to be weird fetish-fuel. I got more than enough of that from Hideyoshi, and I don’t want any more.

---

And that’s about it. If I ever make a mistake and call a character a cross-dresser when they’re actually transgender or something, feel free to politely correct me. Just be sure that is actually canonically the case and not solely your interpretation. If it’s not clearly said, then my interpretation is just as valid. I never want to take away representation from transgender ladies, and I have my trans headcanons, too. (I’m never taking Ruka, Daruku, or Nitorin. Those are beautiful girls and anyone who calls them “traps” can fight me.)

Speaking of which, I will never use the term “trap” to describe these characters. The term is a problem in a lot of ways, even downright offensive, and you’d never call someone in real life a “trap.” They’re cross-dressers, drag queens, femboys (in some cases), or whatever they want to be called. They’re never traps.

“... Is Kio Shimoku suggesting that all good Japanese salarymen are primed and conditioned to pantomime sou-uke behavior? (or seek it as release?) Or even that the seme x uke trope might have been invented as a woman’s burlesque of annoying and all too prevalent patterns of male deference and demands for authority; suck up, kick down recast as fetish? More likely he is spinning a parable that affirms that as long as the employed male respects the order of forms they will be economically rewarded, given agency over underlings and allowed a measure of “play time”, even misbehavior outside of the all-important work social. “

Halo Portfolio Reviews

Anya Landolt, designer at Halo has sent this.

Just wanted to send you an update on the portfolio reviews I mentioned Hato were going to set up to support graduates. We have just gone live on instagram and wanted to pass along the details: We have a batch of Guides who have offered 1-3 half hour portfolio reviews that will take place online. The experts cover a really exciting breadth of industry, and more will be added in the future. For August - September the guides are:Kiera Blakey - Curator of Art on the Underground, Henry Ward - Creative Director of the Freelands Foundation, Moira Lascelles  - Deputy Director of UP Projects, Anna Gerber - Founder and Creative Partner of Visual Editions, Helen Fuchs and Marisa Jensen of Ustwo Studio, Umi Lovecraft - Architectural Designer, Creative Strategist and Activist, Kenjiro Kirton - Co-Founder and Creative Director of HATO, and Anya Landolt - Designer and Workshop Leader at HATO. If anyone would like to apply for a time slot the available dates will be sent via email to the subscribers of Hato Student Society, which you can sign up to here. So pleased you reached out when you did, it definitely left me with food for thought which has ultimately led to this! Would be great if some Kingston Students met experts within that group and received some great advice, I have loved working with all of them and think they are all doing very interesting things.

Genshiken second season

Genshiken Season 2 comparing with its predecessor has make a lot of changes. The visual aesthetics is certainly improved as it introduced more colorful filter and the new soundtrack is certainly more dynamic. On the other hand, while the second season continues to depict Otaku culture, the new season shifted its narrative around the character development of Hato Kenjiro to provide a detailed context of the growing yaoi content consumer and cross-dresser.

In episode 3, a psychological side of the effect of cross dressing is discussed. The audiences are presented with the imaginary feminine ego of Hato, who, throughout the episode, fantasize the interaction between Madarame and Hato himself with typical BL cliches. While this can be interpreted as a third person narrative created by Hato to fictionalize reality with meaningless yaoi elements similar to what we saw with Ogiue’s fantasy of Sasahara and Madarame, it can also be considered as a manifestation of the fictionalized sexuality of Hato similar to how Madarame struggled to talk with Saki in the last season. As argued by Seito in his writing that Otakus distance themselves from their sexual perversion through objectifying their sexual attraction in fictional context and shifting orientation of their sexual desire, Hato’s imaginary ego, born from Hato’s effort to fit in the fujoshi community, not only allows Hato to normalize his affinity with yaoi content but also separate his implicit, potential homosexual tendency from the reality within the realm of the simulacra. However, as presented in hato’s previous traumatic experience, the fictionalized sexuality does not always isolate from that of reality. In the conversation and interaction between Hato and Mardarame, we can see that Hato clearly develops an ambivalent feeling for Madamrame.  Different from his previous fantasy we can sense a genuine sense of affection within his interaction with Madarame. Nevertheless, while such feeling is certainly beyond the realm of heterosexual friendship, Hato chooses to desexualize this feeling for Madarame to maintain a normal friendship with Madarame. This again, serves as an example of how Otaku fictionalize sexuality from reality.  

Unphantomable levels of rustle. Can’t wait for the next chapter. Shit’s got me coming back forveer.

There are probably only five people on tumblr who care about these characters but I don’t care. These nerds have given me nothing but grief for the past 70+ chapters. I’ll be so glad when their date is over. fucking losers. I love them.

-S

「落書き」

Okay, fine. You rustle’d me good, kio-sensei. mad/10.