Gender? We Hardly Know Her! Anime UK News Celebrates Gender Non-Conforming Characters for Pride Month 2025
On Anime UK News, we’re celebrating the anime and manga characters that break gender norms, the ones who do not conform to the binary, the ones who celebrate who they are and make us love them, regardless of how they choose to identify.
Gender? We Hardly Know Her!
Darkstorm
One of my first exposures to gender non-conforming characters was Haruka Tenoh, aka Sailor Uranus. Introduced in 90s anime in the Sailor Moon S season (or Season 3 of the Crystal anime, or the Infinity Arc if you’re reading the manga) she was a mysterious new senshi who clashed with Sailor Moon, but seemed to want to help her regardless, keeping Sailor Moon at bay for her own safety. But Sailor Uranus wasn’t just any guardian; not only did she come hand-in-hand with her beautiful, talented girlfriend Sailor Neptune (aka Michiru Kaiou), making them one of the first Queer couples in anime, but also Haruka dressed like a traditional man, and liked more masculine hobbies like race car driving. In the anime, one of the best episodes of the S season is the formal introduction of Haruka, where Minako and Usagi mistake her for a man and try to flirt with Haruka, only to reveal the misunderstanding but become accepting of their new friends. It’s a great episode that plays into Minako’s and Usagi’s comedic timing and friendship, bouncing off Haruka’s ultra cool and confident persona, playing out like a romantic tragedy at first. Then Haruka gets chewed out by her girlfriend, Michiru, who tows the line between teasing Haruka and being in on the joke, showing off the pair’s dynamic too and drawing us to these characters. In the manga, Haruka bounces back and forth between male and female clothing. The manga explicitly says Haruka is both ‘male and female’, and we love Haruka for it. It was wonderful to see not just someone non-conforming be a hero but also be a powerful senshi, a loving parent to a reborn Hotaru, and loyal partner to Michiru.
Another character I wanted to include is Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha. Admittedly I was hesitant to include him, considering he was the subject of an offensive meme back in the day, but I do think he’s worth mentioning and celebrating as I always look back on the character fondly. Based upon the legendary paladin of the same name, Astolfo is the Rider Class Servant for the Black team, and from the very moment he’s introduced he makes an impact. He not only reveals his true name in his first scene (something that really shouldn’t be done in the Holy Grail War) but he also seems to be having a blast throughout the War; he loves a good bout, and he’s just a joyful person in general. He’s also one of the few characters who has a positive ending (where he gets to live a happy life) past the Holy Grail War, an event known for causing destruction and death in its wake. Astolfo looks and dresses feminine, complete with long pink hair, but addresses himself with male pronouns and fights with all his heart for his friends in the Holy Grail War. His gender is played for laughs at times in the anime, but Fate as a franchise has always been one to challenge gender in some ways. There’s the switching genders of known historical figures (like making King Arthur a woman in Fate/Stay Night) but also embracing real historical figures’ gender fluidity (like Chevalier d’Eon, who appears in Fate/Grand Order). Astolfo is a fun character and a good warrior, regardless how they choose to dress and identify.
Ian Wolf
There are many directions I can take when it comes to this feature. As AUKN’s resident CLAMP expert I can go into all the many non-binary and genderless characters they have created, but I have written a lot about them in the past and thus it feels like repeating myself. Thus perhaps a quick list is the best way, with CLAMP having non-conforming characters since their debut RG Veda with Ashura the god of destruction, as well as clone Nataku from X, angelic Kohaku from Wish, Yue and Ruby Moon from Cardcaptor Sakura, and Hana from Gate 7.
One of my earliest encounters with a gender non-conforming character was Haruhi Fujioka in Ouran High School Host Club – the character being a schoolgirl who ends up having to dress up as a boy when she’s forced to join her school’s “host club” after breaking an expensive vase. The main reason she’s made a member is because club president Tamaki doesn’t notice Haruhi is a girl until it is too late. This mistake is partly because Haruhi is dressed in a jumper and trousers rather than the skirt that is part of the girls’ school uniform, and also because she had to cut her long hair after a boy stuck gum in it. When watching the anime, Haruhi did remind me somewhat of those protagonists you get in Shakespearean comedies such as Twelfth Night, where male and female siblings end up crossdressing, leading to comic misunderstandings. For Haruhi however, it is not a brother or sister who is also crossdressing, but her own widowed bisexual father Ryoji, who uses the name Ranka in their female guise working at a bar. When it comes to their own dealings with gender, Ranka is much more out and proud, whereas Haruhi has to pretend she is male. While there is comedy in the crossdressing which might make some people uncomfortable, there is more to Haruhi than just this aspect, as much of the comedy in Ouran also stems from the fact that she is the only working class person in the entire school, let alone the club. One of my favourite running gags involving Haruhi is the fact that her frugalness results in instant coffee becoming a school craze. Haruhi is much more three-dimensional than you may first think.
A mention of Shakespeare earlier also gives rise to another non-conforming character based on the work of the Bard of Avon, despite the fact that the person in question was very much male both in the play based on them, and indeed in real-life. Put it this way: a series like Requiem of the Rose King would never get made in Britain, because if you even tried to depict a member of the British royal family as neither male nor female, the press would have a field day. The central figure in the series is Richard III, but rather than hunchbacked, he is depicted as intersex. In the series, Richard’s gender results in him being alienated from others, with even his own mother calling him a demon. As the series progresses, Richard ends up pursuing a gay relationship with the Duke of Buckingham. Now, while I suspect that many people in Britain would be fine with a gay monarch (indeed, there is evidence to support that Britain has already had at least one: James I of England/VI of Scotland was bisexual), so can you imagine what would happen if a member of today’s royal family came out as trans in any way, shape or form? You get the feeling that they would be hounded by the press just for expressing who they truly were, when there are many other royals who are much more problematic. Perhaps the weirdest aspect of this would be people asking what pronouns a transgender or intersex monarch would use. Of course that answer is obvious, as the royals already have one’s own pronouns.
Onosume
Politically, Japan is a very stagnant, conservative country that doesn’t like change and prefers to stick to its traditional values, so it’s important for media to keep broaching the topic of gender identity to keep these issues fresh in people’s minds.
One of the more recent anime to touch on the topic is Senpai is an Otokonoko, which shows these entrenched, traditional values clashing with freedom of expression, as Makoto Hanaoka struggles against their mother in their love of cute things and the desire to express their femininity.
I did initially approach the show with caution, as falling into the derogatory “oh no, it’s a guy in girl’s clothes!” pit is sadly all too common, and using the “otokonoko” term initially felt a bit sketchy as it’s sometimes used as a derogatory stereotype or generalisation. Yet the series has a refreshing take that portrays the agony of leading a double life, where being closeted at home can really crush you, yet when you’re out as yourself with friends you feel truly free. Then there’s the self-doubt and questioning, seen when Makoto tries to get rid of their outfits and try to conform to social norms, which goes as terribly as you expect. There are just aspects of Makoto’s character and how they react to situations that does feel relatable, and particularly being non-binary myself I’ve experienced very similar feelings in the past, particularly as a teenager.
Positive portrayals can come from unlikely places too. Would you have expected a children’s idol franchise to contain a gender non-conforming character? I certainly didn’t at the time but enter PriPara’s Reona West.
What I like about Reona’s characterisation is that it’s never really made a big deal of and Reona’s femininity is just accepted as a thing, and I think it sends a powerful message that it doesn’t matter who you are, but if you want to dance and sing and wear beautiful dresses and outfits, you absolutely can. There’s just a lovely message in the show for accepting people for who they are, and even when it introduces boy’s PriPara (to reflect the male idol industry), it never wants to put Reona into that box – Reona is just Reona!
I think the genre in general is just good for this sort of thing, particularly the more light-hearted or comedic shows. This is the genre after all that would give us Lily in Zombie Land Saga, one of the most ground-breaking transgender characters in anime of recent times.
But I think the message here is just to treat trans folks like normal people. At times it can be good to make a statement and show the hardships of being trans, non-binary or gender non-conforming, but it’s also good to show us as ordinary people living ordinary lives. We’re not the big hungry dinosaurs coming from women’s rights like certain groups portray us to be, we’re just trying to exist like everyone else. And this is why it’s fantastic to have characters like Reona here, who are just living their best lives.
Demelza
Being a mainstream shonen series that largely focuses on action-packed fights, Wind Breaker is ordinarily not the kind of series you’d think of when it comes to characters who explore gender. However, there is a considerable amount of depth to this series, and it’s home to one of my favourite non-conforming characters: Tsubakino (often referred to by their nickname – Tsubaki-chan).
Much like Darkstorm’s choice with Astolfo, Tsubakino is a character who still uses the he/him pronouns. But ever since he was a child, Tsubakino has been far more interested in cute accessories and makeup than he was in anything other boys his age were talking about. We’re shown how he struggled to come to terms with this, thinking of himself as not being ‘normal’, but in the end, he met an elderly couple who helped him come to terms with his identity.
Now, Tsubakino is a character who embraces the things he loves wholeheartedly and doesn’t let gender bother him. If he wants to wear the school uniform with a skirt and sport long hair, he will. He loves talking about make-up with the other fashionable students or geeking out over anything cute. And he adores protagonist Haruka Sakura for his willingness to embrace Tsubakino for who he is without judgment.
Increasingly, people are starting to realise that segregating things by gender (such as children’s toys!) does absolutely nothing but create arbitrary rules that make people feel bad about their interests. It makes me happy to see such a popular mainstream series depicting a character like Tsubakino as, well, normal, as these things should be. Everyone should be allowed to love whatever they want, and I hope Tsubakino inspires or gives just a little bit of courage or reassurance to those who need it. Like Onosume said above me, shows need to depict characters like this as ordinary people living their lives like everyone else, and that’s something Wind Breaker has done wonderfully with Tsubakino.
Sarah
“A mid-winter trip to the ocean? Real lover suicide vibes.” Yuka to Yatora.
One of the most popular – and impactful – characters in Blue Period, Tsubasa Yamaguchi’s award-winning manga about young artists, is Ryuji “Yuka” Ayukawa. We first meet Yuka when they make an unforgettable impression on fellow high-schooler Yatora, leaping past him, carrying a canvas. This happens just before Yatora experiences a life-changing coup de foudre when seeing a painting (that canvas) by one of his senpai. Yuka was born male but has been identifying as female by wearing the girls’ uniform and is going through some considerable issues at home as a result. Yatora finds it difficult not to still think of him as Ryuji as they’ve known each other a long time – but when (in Volume 5) he’s going through a really bad patch due to the stress of the university entrance exams, it’s Yuka who comes to his rescue. Yuka’s also been going through a very difficult time – but it’s because their parents are in no way ready to accept Yuka’s life choices and have thrown out Yuka’s cherished possessions.
So Yuka and Yatora go off to the seaside (even though it’s mid-winter and bitterly cold) and in talking together – and doing self-portraits in the nude at the small hotel they’re staying in – both come to new understandings of who they are and what they want to do with their art and their lives. These are really insightful conversations, including Yuka’s self-revelatory admissions about possibly being bi. Yatora doesn’t see Yuka for quite a long while after that as their life choices take them in very different directions… but when Yuka does reappear, it’s like meeting an old friend for the readers (as well as Yatora).
Skip and Loafer (Misaki Takamatsu) is all about high-achiever Mitsuki leaving the very small island where she lives to go to high school in the big city Tokyo so she can study hard, attend university and become the influential businesswoman/politician of her dreams. None of this could happen if Mitsuki wasn’t able to stay with her aunt Nao, a very fashionable person who works as a stylist in the fashion industry and dotes on her niece, while never pressuring her to lose her charming island ways. Nao, we eventually learn, was born Naoki (Mitsuki’s father’s brother) but after a difficult adolescence, has fully identified as female – and Mitsuki has been a staunch ally since childhood.
The revelation that Nao is a transwoman is done so subtly and gently by the mangaka that it’s really not until a late chapter of flashback that we see how unhappy Nao was as a boy and how Mitsuki helped her to be her true self. One of the many special scenes showing aunt and niece together, a flashback in Volume 5, is especially touching as it shows Naoki (as she was then) going to collect little Mitsuki from nursery. As they sit in the fields afterward, making flower chains, he says wistfully, “I’ve always wished I could be a pretty girl who wears pretty things like you.” So Mitsuki makes him a flower bracelet and, beaming, tells Naoki that he looks ‘super cute’.
The struggles that Yuka and Nao have faced growing up are not underplayed in either of these works but both mangaka depict them as becoming very much themselves and living the lives that they choose to do, Neither are the main protagonists but the way they interact with and influence the main characters gives a positive impression of living today on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum which is heartening to see. Yuka seems to have come through their earlier difficulties and Nao is a supportive adult who knows instinctively when to be there for her niece (and her friends) and when to stand back. Both manga recommended here have been very sympathetically adapted to TV series. Blue Period (2021) is available to watch on Netflix and Skip and Loafer Season 1 (2023) is available on Crunchyroll, with a Season 2 coming in 2026.
Rui
For a medium originating in a country which is often criticised for its poor record on LGBTQIA+ rights, anime is blessed with a surprisingly broad selection of gender non-conforming characters. A certain type of person might conclude that the prevalence of these characters is part of some twisted agenda corrupting modern youth, yet the west has had a history of queer-coding its cartoon villains and alien characters for far longer than I’ve been alive – and there are countless examples of western children’s shows playing with society’s gender expectations for the sake of a joke or plot twist. With anime, the emphasis on ongoing storylines with consequences simply means that these characters and their identities are often explored in a uniquely interesting way rather than appearing as thoughtless one-off gags.
I’ve always been particularly attracted to shows with large ensemble casts and part of that appeal is that the larger the roster, the more likely it is that somebody in it will subvert the gender binary and present in a more fluid, free-spirited way. For me, it’s a more relatable outlook. Making people feel more included is inherently comforting; these characters resonate deeply with people who already struggle to conform to outdated traditional gender roles in their daily lives even when their portrayals can be clumsy, underdeveloped or even offensive, especially when viewed through western eyes.
Perfect representation will never exist in media because a thousand different viewers will have a thousand different opinions on how gender should be depicted. Some prefer to cleave to idealism and ignore the issue entirely, portraying wonderful societies where gender and sexuality don’t matter at all and everybody is free to be themselves, while others believe that it’s disingenuous not to bring real-world prejudices into the fantasy. For many, that sense of triumphing through adversity is part of the inherent romance of characters who don’t fit in – but for others, especially those who have faced those prejudices firsthand, having to repeatedly educate viewers on the same topics quickly becomes tiring to watch.
And then there are the titles which ambitiously start out with good representation only to flounder later on. For a medium with so many memorable gender non-conforming characters, it’s a little depressing how often they get killed off, sacrifice their self-expression for another character’s storyline or need a traumatic backstory reason for being different! However, for all that their depictions are sometimes controversial, I have personally taken a lot of comfort from non-conforming and transgender characters such as Nuriko (Fushigi Yuugi), Grell (Black Butler), Oscar (Rose of Versailles), Hana (Tokyo Godfathers), Isabella (Paradise Kiss) and close to half of the cast of Fruits Basket. A few awkward plot twists here and there cannot ever take those positive memories away.
While very few shows live up to my idea of perfect representation, the best ones are those which either help me to understand a different lived perspective to that of my own, or which show free-spirited characters uninhibitedly living their lives on their own terms. It’s already been mentioned but the classic Sailor Moon casually presented viewers with a diverse range of expressions of femininity back in the day, allowing people of all ages to see that there are many different ways to be a girl (or to not be a girl), and I also want to take a moment to appreciate Demelza’s choice above. It’s much rarer to see positive examples of gender non-conforming characters in shonen works so it was a wonderful surprise to meet Tsubaki-chan in the currently-airing (and unusually progressive) battle manga Wind Breaker!
As for gender non-conforming characters who particularly stand out for me, I’d like to start with Kenshin Uesugi from Sengoku BASARA and all of its various spin-off works.
Kenshin is presented as a mysterious, princely, androgynous warrior with a slim, muscular physique yet a delicate voice and mannerisms, which frequently reference the famous all-female Takarazuka Revue theatre troupe. In contrast to Ian’s example of Richard III above, this choice takes direct inspiration from the persistent rumours that the real historical warlord might have been born female or intersex, even though his legacy was that of a shrewd, well-respected military leader who earned the nickname ‘Dragon of Echigo’ for his skills on the battlefield at a time when gender roles were much less flexible. While the real-world warlord was broadly considered a masculine figure, the Sengoku BASARA character based on him is never addressed using masculine pronouns and always neatly sidesteps the need to conform to gender stereotyping (they’re even voiced by a woman in Japanese and a man in English). Kenshin also has a swooning fangirl in the form of their adoring ninja servant, whose heart flutters whenever her commander’s name is mentioned. However, Kenshin’s identity is never the punchline in a joke.
It’s a silly series but I appreciate that rather than being comic relief, the most gender non-conforming character in the cast is a powerful, pious veteran with hot-blooded battlefield rivalries of their own: a person the other characters go to for advice and take great pains never to underestimate. They’re one of the older characters in the series, neatly dismissing the argument that non-conformism is a phase which people outgrow, and no matter what the truth was about the real Kenshin Uesugi, their reimagined design quietly highlights the hidden history of women, intersex and non-binary people across the world who were never able to be their true selves in societies where strict gender roles were enforced.
I’d also like to introduce one of my favourite contemporary non-binary anime/manga characters: Opera from Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!. As a recurring side character in a comedy show, their gender is never confronted directly in the main story but it’s obvious from the way that they present themselves that they are not interested in conforming to binary gender roles. And everyone just accepts it without batting an eyelid, getting on with their daily lives.
Admittedly, there’s already a lot of physical diversity across the various species of demons in the series’ enormous cast, but Opera is such a strong example of a non-binary character that they stand out amidst the chaos. It helps that they’re also an efficient assistant to one of the leads and an intimidating force of nature when they feel like it, with a dry sense of humour no matter what the situation. Sometimes, good representation doesn’t have to tackle a deeper social issue or interrogate the role that people have to play in their society. Sometimes, it’s enough just to show the end result of a society which celebrates queer joy and gender euphoria as natural parts of the human experience – and I do hope that the real world won’t take too much longer to catch up with that ideal, both here and in Japan.
Do you have a gender non-confirming anime/manga character you love? Let us know in the forum!
