At long last, the second part to last week’s “Queer Coding and Queer Characters” series is here! This time we’ll be taking a look at the queer characters in anime and manga.

In more recent decades, anime and manga have been an easier medium for creating queer representation compared to video games. The animation industry, at least in the West, has had a history with queer-coding and developing LGBTQ+ narratives. So it’s no wonder that many people are able to find examples of LGBTQ+ characters from their list of favorite shows much easier than from their favorite video games.

With that said, here are the Top Five Queer Characters in anime. Be warned, however, as there are spoilers to these series mentioned in this listing.

5. Leeron from Gurren Lagann

Leeron is one of the members of Team Gurren—a group of humans residing on the surface who aim to defeat the Spiral King and harness the Power of the Spiral to free humanity from having to live in dangerous, underground villages. This feminine-leaning, androgynous king is your typical tease that loves to mess with the more hypermasculine male characters in the show. He constantly makes flirtatious remarks towards Kamina upon their first meeting as well as some of the other guys on the team.

However, that’s not the only part of his character. Not only is he the engineer that works to fix any issues with Team Gurren’s mechas, but he’s also one of the smartest characters in the show that always manages to save the day when things look tough. He also plays the parent role to most of the crew as he’s one of the few adults present amongst the main cast, especially to Simon who goes into a depressive state after Kamina’s death early on in the show.

4. Mako from Kill la Kill

This hyperactive ball of cuteness is the sidekick to Kill la Kill’s protagonist, Ryuko, and grants her permission to stay in her home while she’s attending Honnōji Academy in search of her father’s killer. At the end of the series, Mako makes a promise to Ryuko to go out on a date with her if she wins the battle, even giving her a kiss. While there’s heavy speculation as to whether she has romantic or platonic feelings for Ryuko—especially since a date in Japan isn’t inherently romantic like it is in Western countries nor is expressing physical affection to one’s friends—their close relationship and Mako’s…expressive attitude towards Ryuko’s body paired with the ending of the show leaves many fans to believe there’s some sort of spark.

Regardless, Mako would be a great addition to history’s list of queer anime characters. Her hyperactivity makes her strong-willed, and she isn’t afraid to express her opinion to a higher authority as seen in her relationship with Gamagori of the Elite Four. Her kindness to Ryuko, a complete stranger to her at the start of the show, is also an admirable trait. Overall, there’s just so much to love about her.

3. Ymir from Attack on Titan

Anyone who’s watched the first two seasons of this glorious horror show of an anime were easily able to detect the chemistry between Ymir and Christa/Historia. Ymir is practically inseparable from Christa, devoting herself to protecting the other throughout the series until the second season. She even threw away her chances to graduate in the Top 10 of their class during their time at the academy so Christa could remain safe inside the walls as a member of the Military Police (who rarely ever left the safety of the inner walls). Not to mention her openly discussing them running away together. That’s some textbook queerness right there.

The best part about Ymir and Christa’s relationship is the casual approach the writers took. Lesbian and other wlw relationships are often fetishized for the male fanbase’s enjoyment—especially in shows centered around action and fighting like Attack on Titan—or stereotyped, but this pair was one of the few revolutionary couples that managed to steer clear of that. Such a shame that Ymir was not one of the lucky ones to make it out of this narrative alive.

2. Victor and Yuri from Yuri on Ice!!!

Yuri on Ice!!! took the internet by storm when it released in 2016, leaving its many fans waiting years for its heavily anticipated second season that has yet to release as well as a movie. Part of why it blew up the way it did was its portrayal of the relationship between the main protagonists, Yuri and Victor. To have two canonical gay men in a loving, healthy, consensual relationship in a show guaranteed the anime’s success, especially among lovers of BL, or Boy Love: a popular genre in fiction.

However, BL as a genre is more about fantasy and is a bit problematic in terms of its portrayals as it places stereotypical gender roles onto the characters and is often just porn for young, female viewers. In BL, you have the overly feminine “bottom” character—who’s appearance is more akin to a woman without breasts and has male genitalia—and the hypermasculine “top” character—think of literally any tall dude who lifts weights regularly except they just somehow naturally look like that. These portrayals essentially paint what looks like a gay relationship with a heterosexual overcoat by making one character look more like a woman and making the other character the manliest man you’ve ever met. If you’ve ever been asked or heard the question “which one of you is the guy/girl in the relationship?” you know what I’m talking about.

Thankfully, Yuri on Ice!!! is not an example of this as Yuri and Victor’s relationship is not fetishized nor does it project harmful gender roles onto its characters. We as the viewers get to see Victor’s infatuation with Yuri and vice versa grow over the course of the show. Not to mention neither character is made hyperfeminine nor hypermasculine in any sort of sense. Finally, some good damn representation!

1. Sailor Uranus and Neptune from Sailor Moon

Behold! The queens themselves! The first thing most people think of when they hear “gay characters in anime” is this lovely pair from Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon from the 1990s that was eventually remade in 2003. These two were so undeniably queer that Cartoon Network had to change a bit of the script and rewrite them as cousins rather than lovers so as to not upset conservative audiences while still portraying their close relationship. The writer of the manga and show herself confirmed that she wrote Uranus and Neptune—their original names being Michiru and Haruka—as a couple. They’re constantly seen gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes and flirting, which makes Cartoon Network’s decision to rewrite their relationship rather awkward. I think it’d be much easier to give kids the “they’re just super close friends” excuse rather than try to go with the hints to incest route.

Michiru and Haruka obviously take the place of Number 1 considering how iconic they are as queer representation, especially in an era where queerness was something not openly discussed as the AIDS crisis was still a big threat. While there were many other examples of queer characters throughout the show, Uranus and Neptune take the cake for being the most in-your-face. There is absolutely no denying their love and devotion to each other.

With that, our list is concluded. Who are some of your favorite LGBTQ+ characters in anime? Do you agree with these Top Five? Either way, I hope you enjoyed this segment and I’ll see you all next week!