cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/3459309
So this spawned from a discussion in the tracha matrix chat. We’re trying to come up with a list of any anime/manga that has trans representation, whether that’s good, bad, or meh. Here are the rules of what to include:
- Format (anime, manga, or both)
- Genre
- Title and brief description of the plot, major trans characters, and how well they are represented as trans.
- A simple rating of good, bad, or meh. This is so people can find good ones or avoid ones that are bad/problematic representations.
Hopefully these requirements make sense, but let me know if I should make any adjustments here.
id be curious about it. the japanese culture seems to be very anythingelsethatisntthem-phobic
Crossposting this from the other thread to include here as well:
- Manga
- Autobiographical
- The Bride Was a Boy - This is a true life story about the author’s journey to transitioning, from childhood to getting happily married. It covers a lot of issues trans people face and has informative sections covering topics that may be new to some readers, like explaining what LGBT means, what gender dysphoria is, and how Japan’s marriage and family laws hurt trans people. It focuses a little bit on Japan specifically of course, but the majority of it concerns things that could apply just as well in a lot of other places. Overall, it’s a pretty great intro guide to trans issues (though focuses primarily on the transfem side) and would be perfect for someone who is questioning, or even friends/family of someone who is trans and know little about the topic. It’s also extremely cute.
- Rating: GOOD
I’m gonna get the worst ones out of the way:
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Anime
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scifi / isekai / adventure modern fantasy fighting thing
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Re:Zero / Steins;Gate / Fate/Grand Order. The plots are mostly just anime slop, Re:Zero at least has a more interesting setup and I genuinely enjoy watching the creepy protag die repeatedly in new ways. Trans rep in each of these is ‘trans woman everyone calls a boy but is weird weeb lust bait’. Later manga Ferris comes out as a woman which is handled much better than the other two animes.
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Bad, bad, bad. One upside: the character designs are so motivated and cute, smfh. How fucking dare they draw me in with the cute outfits. Characters in order: Ferris from Re:zero, Ruka from Steins;gate, Astolfo from Fate.
Obvious better ones:
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Anime
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modern fantasy
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Zombieland Saga / My Hero Academia
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Good! Zombieland Saga has
Lily Hoshikawa and My Hero Academia actually has a couple of trans characters, some are villains and some are heroes and its a little lowkey, you have to pay attention and listen to the small lines where they mention they’re trans. Lily’s story is heartbreaking, she died of fright after hitting puberty and seeing a single hair on her chin and all the girls in her zombie pop band are very accepting of her. As for MHA, the villains have very sad and brutal stories, so keep that in mind when watching for Magne, who was not able to transition due to stigma and being poor, yet is constantly gendered correctly and Twice even berates the shit out of someone for misgendering his ‘big sister’. Yawara Chatora was in an all female cat-hero group and transitioned to male.
Lily from Zombieland:
Magne:
Yawara:
Trans Vibes Honorable Mention:
Your Name. This is honestly a tearjerker of a romance bodyswap movie and it feels trans as fuck and kinda gay as hell even though its technically straight. 10/10 one of the best anime movies I’ve ever watched.
Thanks for posting this!!! Zombieland Saga has been on my list for awhile and definitely looks fun. Also, I watched Your Name not too long ago and absolutely loved it.
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- Manga
- Slice of Life
- After School Mate - A coming of age story about a young trans man navigating a rough home life and the difficulties of high school. Relatively short (two volumes), but entertaining with likeable characters.
- Good.
