10 Great Representations Of Transgender Characters In Anime And Manga

It’s no secret that the media’s representation of transgender characters has not been the greatest. While there have been some great strides in recent years to represent people from all walks of life, anime and manga have proven to be a bit behind the curve in that regard.

Despite all that, anime and manga have also showcased some of the best transgender characters in media. Characters such as Lily from Zombieland Saga from recent years, as well as iconic characters from the early 2000s such as Hana in Tokyo Godfathers, prove there are great stories out there for transgender characters.

Lily (Zombieland Saga)

Zombieland Saga was one of the best anime of 2018, and Lily is part of why that is. Lily is the first openly transgender character part of a major anime idol group, but before that, she was a legendary child actress when she was alive. Unfortunately, the stress of a TV career and severe body dysphoria eventually led to Lily getting a heart attack the moment she started puberty.

Lily’s design evokes colors of the transgender flag proudly, with teal and pink being major motifs. Most importantly, all of her fellow idols were supportive and treated her exactly the way she wanted to be treated. And according to the Anime News Network, a meme of Lily being anti-TERF was once printed and shared in U.K. Parliament, so Lily likely has the unique honor of being the only anime character ever to be mentioned by a Scottish MP in a public place of law.

Natsuyoshi Utsumi (Our Dreams At Dusk)

Utsumi is an outgoing and friendly guy with a bit of a passive streak. He’s quick to forgive and almost always has a smile on his face. However, he often keeps his real feelings hidden and is actually quite opinionated once people get to know him.

Our Dreams at Dusk is very much a story about the LGBTQ+ experience, but it makes a point of not making orientation the entire identity of characters. Utsumi is a kind person working a regular job who hangs out with his friends after work. He’s not a token FtM character. He’s just Utsumi, and that’s incredibly important for normalizing trans representation in media.

Tiger (My Hero Academia)

My Hero Academia has a very colorful cast of characters, and it was a surprise to many audiences when they found out that Tiger, the fourth member of the Wild Wild Pussycats, was actually a transgender man.  This fact is never stated, nor used as a surprising plot twist in My Hero Academia, but the author, Kohei Horikoshi, has confirmed that Tiger was indeed trans, as reported by CBR.

As far as trans characters go, Tiger isn’t the deepest nor does he even get much focus. However, his brief portrayal is incredibly positive, as he is a confident but supportive man. The fact that a transgender male character, shown in a positive light, is in one of the biggest anime shows ever is pretty good progress.

Alluka (Hunter x Hunter)

Alluka is Killua’s affectionate and kind sister in Hunter x Hunter. She is very clingy towards Killua as a result of her other family member being apathetic towards her at best, and very abusive at worst. As long as Killua is around, though, Alluka seems to be perfectly content, which is why she is so attached to him.

Yoshiro Togashi has had a history of including transgender characters in his stories, and Alluka is a heartfelt but subtle example shown through her friendships with others in Hunter x Hunter.  Killua using Alluka’s preferred pronouns, as well as not mincing words when he calls her his sister, are a nice respite from the scorn she gets from her other family members.

Seiko Kotobuki (Lovely Complex)

Seiko was one of the few girls that Otani briefly dates in Lovely Complex. Upon finding out Seiko is transgender, Otani is shocked and starts avoiding her. Though this definitely leans into the “unsettling gender reveal trope,” Otani eventually snaps out of it though and starts accepting Seiko for who she is.

Seiko is a great character because of how cheery and upbeat she is, but she’s not so flat a character that this is her only trait. For example, there’s an episode about her dysphoria, something rarely touched upon in media. Lovely Complex showcases a character going through this experience but also shows how her friends are a great support structure for her.

Shou Fujita (Stars Align)

Shou Fujita only makes a brief appearance in the series, but his inclusion is important to the story. Maki Katsuragi, one of the series’ main characters, had an abusive father. Maki’s mother, Aya, soon makes the decision to leave and officially divorces him. Soon after, she starts dating one of her old college friends, Shou, and they have one of the most positive LGBTQ+ adult relationships in anime.

Shou recollects how lost he felt during his younger years, detailing the discomfort he felt wearing girl’s clothes and having to live under what he believed was “a mask” to appease society’s norms. However, as soon as he moved out and started living true to himself, he became much more confident. That feeling of a weight being lifted off one’s shoulders is one that many LGBTQ+ folks can relate to.

Togata (Fire Punch)

From the same author of the Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimotowande, Fire Punch is a very intense story in every sense of the word. However, Togata themselves is represented very well in the story, especially how their gender plays into their characterization. They have a deep love for films and idolize action heroes — so much that they tend to be as crass and snarky as the films are.

However, in the post-apocalyptic hellscape of Fire Punch, films have long been banned from being made or watched. Despite Fire Punch‘s wild story, the discussion of Togata’s identity struggles is actually dealt with a lot of tact and is a great representation of transgender characters who have experienced severe dysphoria.

Nitori Lily (Wandering Son)

Many anime fans have likely already heard of the anime Wandering Son and its surprisingly tactful handling of the topic of transgender identity, in particular, its main character, Nitori Lily. Growing up, Lily always felt strange. Her character arc specifically focuses on the transgender experience from elementary school all the way up to adulthood.

Wandering Son is at its core a coming-of-age story. Just as much as gender, viewers explore Lily’s relationships with her friends and family, and showcase a whole range of different reactions to her status as a transgender girl. Her story explores the emotional beats of going through gender dysphoria really well.

Ryo Watari (Boys Run The Riot)

High schooler Ryo Watari always hated his uniform because it reminded him that he was seen as a “female.” Ryo has always struggled with his gender identity, and rightfully fears the judgment he would receive from his peers and family for it. His only respite is when he can go out wearing his favorite clothes, and be seen the way he wants to be seen.

Seeing a genuinely well-written FtM character be the protagonist is a refreshing change of pace. It is very much Ryo’s story, and his journey to gain confidence and express his true self through his fashion. Clothing is an integral part of how society “views” people and the anti-establishment themes of Boys Run the Riot go hand in hand with that.

Hana (Tokyo Godfathers)

From the brilliant director Satoshi Kon comes Tokyo Godfathers, one of the best 2000s animated movies. The story is about three people without homes finding a baby abandoned amidst piles of garbage on Christmas Eve. One of those three is Hana, a transgender woman. Hana is one of the most unflinching portrayals of a transgender character in media, and with that comes a lot of discomforts.

Hana’s backstory of finding work as a drag queen singer in a club to make ends meet, constant misgendering from others, living with severe disease, and of course, homelessness, are very real problems that many transgender individuals face to this very day. While Hana is a worst-case scenario, it’s important for such scenarios to be given light. Satoshi Kon might not have been transgender himself, but he understood the importance of appropriately representing the trans experience.

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