New Project: Non-Cis Character Database

There are, unfortunately, not very many trans, intersex, nonbinary, or otherwise non-cis characters in anime. However, this is not the same as there being none. In light of this, I'm announcing a new project: The Non-Cis Character Database, because "The Database of Non-Cis Characters Appearing in Japanese Pop Media -- A Study in Representation" is …

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Non-Cis Character Database: Rio Hasegawa (Zombie Cherry)

(Thanks to Veth for sponsoring this entry! If you'd like me to write about a character of your choice, consider donating to the blog -- all donations go towards obtaining legal copies of media I discuss on here and otherwise keeping the site afloat.) Zombie Cherry is a shoujo manga about a girl named Miu …

Be Good For Me, Ico; Be Good For Me, Yorda

The word ico, イコ, doesn’t mean anything. It does, however, bear a striking resemblance to iiko, 良い子, “good child.” Be a good boy, Ico; let the castle devour you so that we may be safe. Be a good girl, Yorda; let mother hollow you out so that she may live forever. Be a good child, …

Non-Cis Character Database: Chiaki Ogawa (To Strip the Flesh)

I was unsure whether or not to bother writing about To Strip the Flesh, a short story by Oto Toda originally published in Shonen Jump+. Or rather, I wasn't going to write about it -- there wasn't an English translation anywhere, and as long-time readers may be aware, I tend to find media explicitly about …

Non-Cis Character Database: Hikaru (Mascara Blues: “A Long Dream – To Be Myself”)

Mascara Blues is a collection of three unrelated shoujo manga one-shots by Io Sakisaka -- creator of the popular Blue Spring Ride -- focusing on the love lives of three different high school girls. The first two, the titular "Mascara Blues" and "Draft of Romance," are fairly unremarkable, at least for the purposes of this …

Non-Cis Character Database: Flea/Mayonne (Chrono Trigger)

[First things first: names. In Chrono Trigger, many of the character names -- especially those of NPCs -- differ wildly between the original Japanese and the English localization. The character I’ll be talking about is called Mayonne in Japanese and Flea in English. I’ll be referring to them as Flea, both because I’m writing in …

Non-Cis Character Database: Nagi “Alice” Arisuin (Chivalry of a Failed Knight)

There's a certain genre/subgenre of light novel that follows a certain specific pattern. Magic exists in the world of these stories, and there are high schools that focus on teaching this magic. The protagonist possesses some kind of incredible magical ability that is nonetheless unrecognized by the evaluation systems of these schools, leading him to …

Non-Cis Character Database: Carole and Tuesday

Carole and Tuesday is an anime about two young musicians trying to hit the big time, directed by the legendary Shinichiro Watanabe, creator of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy, to name just his most notable productions. As his first new work in five years, it was met with a great deal of excitement …

Non-Cis Character Database: Cowboy Bebop

[This post contains mild nudity in the form of ambiguously presenting nipples.] Cowboy Bebop -- if you somehow aren't familiar with one of the most classic anime out there -- is a space western about a ragtag group of down-on-their-luck bounty hunters. The crew, gathered on a ship called the Bebop, is made up of …

Non-Cis Character Database: Jeanne Hishida (Genkaku Picasso)

Genkaku Picasso is an odd little manga about a high school boy named Hikari Haruma, called "Picasso" because he's constantly drawing. He's killed in a freak accident, only to be brought back to life with the power to see into people's hearts through his drawings and the requirement that he use this power to help …

Non-Cis Character Database: Nanashi (Samurai 8)

Nanashi -- originally meaning “nameless,” but later written as “seven desires” -- is a minor but important character in Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, a sci-fi/samurai manga written by Masashi Kishimoto and cancelled at 43 chapters. They're also a surprisingly well-handled genderqueer character, especially considering Kishimoto’s history.  Samurai 8 revolves around the titular Hachimaru, …