Things Get Better?: LGBTQ Representation in Animation in 2022 [Part 1]
Komichi Akebi of Akebi's Sailor Uniform happily welcomes all the LGBTQ animated shows in this article. Logos of my favorite anime with LGBTQ themes which aired throughout 2022 are shown in this graphic which I created
In January 2022, I wrote that there was a possibility that in 2022 things would "get better" in terms of LGBTQ representation, with new fandoms developing from shows which take risks by telling diverse stories. Although 2022, in some regards, more than lived up to this possibility and went beyond, there were challenges.
Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the nineteenth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on January 16, 2023.
In the world of anime, some series with implied, or directly represented, LGBTQ characters, came to an end. [1] Often times these series had yuri themes. For instance, there were somewhat strong undertones between the protagonist, Komichi Akebi, and her friend, Erika Kizaki, in Akebi's Sailor Uniform, and the protagonists of The Demon Girl Next Door, Yuko Yoshida and Momo Chiyoda, and those of the short-lived, but intriguing, yuri isekai, The Executioner and Her Way of Life. In the latter series, one of the protagonists, Akari Tokitō, has a crush on Menou, a female assassin with a duty to kill her. At the same time, Menou's aide, Momo, has a crush on her and is jealous of how close she is getting to Akari.
One series, Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story, blew representation out of the water, with strong romantic themes between Eve and a Japanese girl she plays golf against, Aoi Amawashi. Eve is often unaware of how romantic she is toward Aoi, who has a clear crush on her. Erica Friedman of Okazu, a well-known reviewer who focuses on lesbian themes in anime, even wrote that she may "start measuring other anime based on how amazing this one was". Other series ranged from having implied to more direct themes, including Vampire in the Garden, Do it Yourself!!, Bocchi the Rock!, Healer Girl, Lycoris Recoil, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.
There were additional anime with LGBTQ themes or characters. For instance, Life with an Ordinary Guy who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout, which had a three month run from January to March 2022, featured a reincarnated protagonist, Hinata Tachibana, who is heavily implied to be a bisexual trans woman. The spinoff from the popular Rooster Teeth series, RWBY, named RWBY: Ice Queendom, featured a non-binary nightmare hunter, Shion Zaiden. Christine Brent, Senior Brand Director for Rooster Teeth, confirmed this and said she would like to have similar characters in future productions.
Apart from these series, there were implied yuri themes in the ongoing idol series Love Live! Superstar!! and second season of Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. Such themes were also present in Management of Novice Alchemist, Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit, KanColle: Itsuka Ano Umi de, My Master Has No Tail, Prima Doll, Smile of the Arsnotoria the Animation, Shine Post, and many others, [2] all of which began, and ended, in 2022.
Many of these series are on Crunchyroll, one of the biggest anime streaming services. With its recent merger with Funimation, Crunchyroll now dominates the anime streaming market, and will likely continue crackdowns on pirate sites. Its only real competition is YouTube, smaller sites like HIDIVE (owned by AMC), and streaming services such as Netflix, Tubi, and Hulu.
© 2022-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.
Notes
[1] Some could say that the final season of Princess Connect! Re:Dive has yuri subtext and point to the second season of Dota: Dragon's Blood featuring an Elven thief named Fymrym, who was once in a polyamorous relationship with a woman and two men, with her partners murdered by Luna, who attacks the Elves who don't worship Selemene. Also, Komi Can't Communicate featured Najimi Osana who has an ambiguous gender and Ren Yamai who is a lesbian, a bisexual man named Apollo in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, gay characters like Nagi and Soldier in Goblins Cave and Suma in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Attack on Titan has LGBTQ characters as well, as does One Piece.
[2] Others, as listed on Yuri Anime Reviews, include Teppen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laughing ‘Til You Cry, League of Nations Air Force Aviation Magic Band Luminous Witches, Kakegurui Twin, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Final Season, RPG Real Estate, Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost, Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall, Cue!, Slow Loop, and Girls' Frontline.
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[May 14 - Sixth Sunday of Easter
St. Matthias, apostle and martyr]
"For example, I'm a reliable boss,
in my presence, nothing gets in MY way!
No matter where this knee takes me,
I ain't using it for things like praying,
be the best of the best, is what fate says!"
-excerpt from 'RULE ~Kiba o Ugate yo~'
Binge-watch some martial arts movies, and prep up some ramen, as we give a big honor to the ultimate genius himself - Ren Kizaki! Time to celebrate with everyone, and of course, even Overlord (or Champ) is here to be with you!
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