Ask John: Can You Provide Background on Homosexuality in Anime?

Question:
As a bisexual anime and manga fan, I am pleased by the portrayal of gay and lesbian characters in different series, most notably Utena. Is homosexuality more accepted in Japan or just by anime and manga creators? I would also like to know of more series with homosexual characters, and which anime shows were the first to showcase alternative relationships.

Answer:
I’m no expert on Japanese culture, and even less on homosexuality and alternative lifestyles, but based on what I know from my experience with anime, and my recollection of Nicholas Bornoff’s non-fiction book Pink Samurai: Love, Marriage & Sex in Contemporary Japan, Japan does not actually “accept” homosexuality, but is simply tolerant of homosexuality, in the same way that Japan is tolerant of virtually any and every sexual orientation or fetish in a variation of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality. Japanese culture accepts virtually any private behavior, as long as it remains private and personal, or public only in socially approved circumstances, such as night-clubs.

While early anime titles like Rose of Versailles featured a female character raised as a male, who wore male clothes and acted like a man, the first real homosexual anime that I know of is the second episode of the Cream Lemon OAV series from 1984, which introduced lesbian pornography to anime. Oddly enough, while male homosexuality, known as “yaoi,” has its own well-known and well defined genre, lesbianism, known as “yuri,” is a much more amorphous genre, possibly because so much anime is produced for male audiences. Virtually every hentai anime series features at least brief instances of lesbianism. The F3 OAV series focuses exclusively on lesbian activity. As you’ve mentioned, Utena has some overt lesbian references in both the TV series and the movie. Sailormoon’s Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are often a source of astonishment for their unabashed relationship. Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, while not actually “yuri,” has distinct, obvious lesbian innuendos.

Yaoi anime actually does have something of a presence in America through domestic translations of Earthian, Kizuna and Fake. There are numerous import only yaoi anime titles, including Bronze, Song of Wind and Trees, and Fish in the Trap, that are fairly easily available through generous fansub distribution groups. For more information, allow me to recommend two web-sites: Josei Ni: A Resource and Guide to Homosexuality, Bisexuality and Transgenderism, and Aestheticism.com.