Forum - View topicBest LGBTQ+ Characters of 2019
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Romuska
 Subscriber Posts: 802 |
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I couldn't agree more with the sentiment that people tend to not want to acknowledge relationships outside of the norm unless they're specifically told to. But that door swings both ways! As a Black man and a gay man myself it's not often I get to see characters that look or live like me in popular fiction so I often decide how to interpret the characters I like unless told otherwise. Hell, Dragon Ball is my favorite manga of all time and I fully acknowledge it's not exactly known for it's timeless representation of LGBTQ characters. But unless Toriyama says otherwise Yajirobe is gay, Karin is gay, Piccolo/Kami-sama are gay and Black, and Son Goku is aesexual! |
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Nobooks
 Posts: 8 |
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I'm really surprised that Enta wasn't mentioned at all given the mention of Reo and Mabu. I mean, unlike them he's one of the main characters and is gay.
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Jin_Uzuki
 Posts: 28 |
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I would argue Reo and Mabu are main characters too, they are super central to the narrative. Also Enta's arc was... not very good and kinda went nowhere, as well it not being particularly original (Yet another gay side character in love with the main protagonist?). |
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DavetheUsher
 Posts: 505 |
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I mean, Reo and Mabu are clearly fanservice. The mountains of merchandise they get and the spin off should show who it's all aimed at. And BL stuff like Given is of course made for BL fans, given the magazine it was published in. No one's denying gay characters exist, just pointing that most of them are aimed at straight people to oogle. Everyone knows yaoi and yuri are genres, but there's also a reason why those genres get so many complaints.
Magne was kinda just the okama stereotype a lot of anime do though, right down to them having obvious stubble/5 o'clock shadow all the time. And then the whole Overhaul thing, uh. I mean, I know people are really starved for representation, but Magne was always played up as a punchline. |
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Jin_Uzuki
Posts: 28 |
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They are not *just* fanservice, given they are super important character-wise. And Sarazanmai is not even marketed as BL anyway (The anime), it's just Ikuhara doing his usual stuff and writing what he wants like he has been doing for years. Also I'm not sure why the fact that there is fanservice matters in the end. You know fujoshi are not the only ones that can enjoy Reo and Mabu's fanservice scenes, right? Fanservice is everywhere in the industry. Is the writing good? That's all that should matters. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15499 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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A problem I had with Sarazanmai was that it kind of felt like gay characters were sort of toxic, what the glasses guy did out his attraction I would say should have been enough to stop their friendship because he was toxic about his feelings. And I think Reo and Mabu were also pretty awful people who killed a lot of people, including an almost successful child, just for the chance that whatever feelings they had for each other could be helped. Really not sure what kind of gay icons you want that are wrapped up in themes of police corruption around a sort of fetish like element of them all over each other.
Momoko and Yu were great though, they are a part of how I think LGBTQ characters continue to feel normalized. Luca too, loved their character. |
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Jin_Uzuki
Posts: 28 |
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Pretty much every Ikuhara's character ever does awful things at one point. I'm not sure why you would single out Enta over Toi, the literal criminal or the dude who gaslighted his brother and stole people animals. Or really any other similar character like Juri, Nanami, half of Penguindrum cast, etc.
The appeal of his writing is that he actually writes people with actual flaws. And the bad things Enta and Reo did were unrelated to their sexuality. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15499 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Weren't they doing the awful things for each other or to be with each other. One thinking that he could get his real boyfriend back and the other thinking that he was some fake? |
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Jin_Uzuki
Posts: 28 |
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... Yes, but none of it has to do with the fact they were gay. Or rather, they weren't villains because they were gay, their homosexuality wasn't antagonized. Heck, they were not even villains in the end. I don't know how familiar you are with Ikuhara's writing, because these kinds of characters are completely normal for him regardless of whom they like. Anthy, Kanba, Ginko, etc. Enta on other hand is very similar to characters like Nanami and Tsuwabuki, and these two are literally the straightest characters in Utena. He tends to re-use his themes a lot so there is nothing new under the sun, except this time the cast is pretty much all-boys. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15499 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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They tried to throw a little boy into a giant blender, and chances were had done similar things already. Their touchy feely thing was usually followed up by them essentially killing a person who did not deserve to eventually have their entire existence removed. To me it always felt like the sexuality was being used to excuse the fact that they were murderers using their power as police for their own ends. Forgiven in the end because they had a sad past and really liked each other. |
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Jin_Uzuki
Posts: 28 |
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I mean, I don't dispute that their actions through the show are evil but they are literally not presented as villains at the end, but unwilling minions of the main villain (Who is a... concept, just to nail how literally we are supposed to take these things) with a tragic past that got manipulated and later literally help the main trio actually fix the whole mess. I don't tend to take Ikuhara's stuff literally when it comes to more supernatural side of the story so people getting write off the existence is not something I think about too much, since he usually just use those things to explore certain themes and they aren't often meant to be taken literally. |
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SheRrIs
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I have to disagree with the article as well. No matter how much I wish Lio and Gallo were canon, this is simply not the case as confirmed by the production staff. I think the title of the article should be changed to 'Best LGBTQ+ Ships of 2019'.
As for Leo and Mabu... They did plenty of evil things. And that is fine and I accept it. I personally like plenty of villainous characters. The thing that bothers me is that the consequences of their actions are never elaborated upon and they get off pretty much scot-free, with the narrative treating it like no big deal. Meanwhile the characters (Tooi, Enta) whose only transgressions were juvenile small-time stuff, like helping big bro cultivate cannabis or stealing (indirect) kisses get legit unhappy ends. |
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Rederoin
 Posts: 1427 Location: Europa |
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Its a crime to not include somebody as cute as Noa from Wataten
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TheOtakuX
 Posts: 344 Location: Wooster, Ohio |
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Unlike other characters, Noa wasn't obvious in the anime. I didn't even realize she was intended to have a crush on Hinata until I started reading the manga. |
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whiskeyii
 Posts: 2249 |
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Magne was absolutely a not-great stereotype, but the most recent MHA episodes firmly cement that Magne’s desire to be treated as a woman was meant to be taken seriously, as both of the League members employed by Overhaul correct him when he refers to Magne as male. In an industry that regularly employs a knee-jerk “huh, that’s kinda weird/creepy/gross” reaction to MTF characters, Magne feels like we’ve reached something of a milestone in terms of halfway decent shonen LGBTQ+ rep. On another topic, my only issue with the Promare ship is that Lio looks (and is described as) “young”; I’d be way more onboard if the show ever clarified that Lio was also an adult, because I’ve never been fond of adults paired up with teenagers. :/ But given that parting shot of Lio and Garo in firefighting uniforms, I’m all aboard for Adult!Lio fanfic! 
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