Hidden gems of sexual orientation in Anime.
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When I was thirteen I watched my first anime show but that accidentally turned out to be Hentai. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really intrigued in the beginning. As I grew older I opened my mind towards the genre. I started watching shows that were called ‘cartoons for kids’. Little did society know that these ‘cartoons’ were not PG13.
Starting with the basics, I was completely hooked onto Pokemon and Beyblade. And many of you can relate with all the hype and craziness that came along when accessories of these shows made it in the market. Dragonball Z came next. And as much as I loved the action oriented scenes, I couldn’t help but drool over Vegeta’s attitude and physique. And how can I forget Bulma? She was the woman I looked up to. With her fierce nature and iconic bombshell frame, she caught every child’s attention. Boy and Girl.
Thanks to the pop culture, an awakening amidst the mass has dwelled on Anime. This class has got out and welcomed the LGBTQ circle. In various anime shows, the crowd within this section has been making a mark on the audience. Everyone plays with their orientation in some way at least once in their life and if you were a kid who grew up watching these shows, you have possibly found a show or two with validating characters when it came to gender and sexuality.
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In the hot picked anime, Attack on Titan, the female characters Ymir and Christa have one of the most dynamic relationships to ever be seen. Although they haven’t been labeled, as the series progresses, we witness how Ymir is willing to give up the safety of humanity to keep Christa away from harm.
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Another popular anime series that brings limelight is Ranma ½. This show can put up a question regarding your identity. The anime revolves around a male protagonist Ranma who is forced to marry a woman he doesn’t want a relationship with. Ranma is drawn upon with a curse where he turns into a girl when he is splashed with cold water and turns back into a boy when hot water is sprinkled. There are plots in the series where a female Ranma has the mind of a boy and is attracted to girls. Creator of the manga series, Rumiko Takahashi has also concluded that Ranma was a cisgender boy who turns into a transgender boy towards the end. This is probably one of the oldest series to bring so much focus on gender identity.
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Wondering Son is a show that portrays the life of a transgender boy in an intimate and honest way. There are scenes where Yoshino faces brutal harassment in school, his struggle with puberty and his attempts to come out to society. Another character in the series who comes out as a transgender girl , Shuichi talks about her side of life as well. When these two characters cross paths, they evaluate how their life has turned out after the process. Shuichi even professes her love for Yoshino but it is still unclear where they stand or what their sexual identities actually are.
As much these shows influence the young generation, it doesn’t stop there. LGBTQ stories have been taken dramatic measures. Amateur writers also drag the story line on websites for fan fictions. These stories have characters of a certain franchise, turned into lovers or rivals with the account of an alternate universe. What more could you want than to see two of your most favorite personalities come face to face with each other (pun intended)?
