Kuranosuke Koibuchi and the Frame of Beauty

The story of Kuragehime (2014) takes a look into the apartment complex of five unmarried women who can be classified as otaku, unsociable adults with obsessive interests who are typically shunned by society.  These women, including the main heroine Tsukimi, are all designed to be conventionally unattractive.  They are considered, and even consider themselves, to be an entirely different species from the upper-class beauties known as the Stylish.

However, one day, Tsukimi has a fateful encounter with one of the Stylish-- a stunning "woman" who, on a whim, comes to her aid in a social situation.  It isn't until after the stranger stays the night in her room and removes his flowing wig that it is revealed to be Kuranosuke Koibuchi, the son of a powerful politician who just happens to be very interested in fashion and cross-dressing.  Under the alias "Kurako," he continues using his feminine persona to help himself as well as his new friends.  Through his genderbending, Kuranosuke stands as a strong testament to his own ideal about the transformative power of fashion to influence how a person is perceived.

Shuichi Nitori and the Non-Conforming Community

With a calm atmosphere, down-to-earth characters, and a genuinely honest tone, Hourou Musuko (2013) attempts a relatively realistic take on transgender issues (as opposed to something like this).  The series explores, primarily, the life of the main character Shuichi Nitori, who is introduced as a boy with a feminine appearance and feminine tastes.

Over the course of the series, and with the significant support of several friends and role models who also struggle with LGBT+ issues, Shuichi comes to terms with her identity as a transgender girl.  I'll use female pronouns to reflect this.

Aoi Hyodo and the Test of Manhood

For a series that can spark a 'cross-the-board range of opinions on gender, feminism, and androgyny, one needs to look no further than Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! (2005).

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! (literally, The Class President is a Maid!) is exactly what it says on the tin:  By day, the heroine Misaki is the tough-as-nails president of her school's student council, to whom all the male students must bow down.  But after school, she's a mild-mannered cosplaying waitress in a maid cafe, who must who cater to her male customers' every whim.

Obviously, a strict framework of gender identity is very potent in this series... while at the same time there are ventures by many different characters to cross those lines, the acceptable limits of which are constantly tested.  One of Misaki's classmates, Aoi Hyodo, embodies this test perfectly.

Yuri Kamanosuke and the Rejected Role

The anime Brave 10 (2012) is a historical fantasy that follows a journey to unite a group of ten ninja warriors who represent different elemental powers.  As the show touches upon themes of light and dark, good and evil, the character to be discussed is a highly sadistic and twisted hero who may challenge this binary... and, of course, challenges other binaries as well.

The warrior of the wind, Yuri Kamanosuke, is introduced in the third episode, using his own androgyny to his manipulative advantage.

Romeo × Juliet and the Androgynous "Act"

Of all the characters in history to be rendered androgynous, the last you might expect is the theater's most famous leading lady, the very icon of romantic femininity: Juliet Capulet.



...Yet, there she is.

Romeo × Juliet (2007) is a fantasy-infused anime adaptation of the classic Shakespearean tragedy, and it involves Juliet cross-dressing as a vigilante hero, basically forced into witness protection after the rest of her family is murdered by the rivaling Montagues.  Granted, the anime is certainly taking some liberties with the original story.  But it's not entirely inappropriate, considering that classic Shakespeare is already some of the gender-bendingest stuff in the literary canon.

Pokémon and the Art of Gender Differences

"Are you a boy? Or a girl?"  Despite the professor's notoriously binary inquiry at the start of every game, the Pokémon series (1996-current) is very good at handling gender fairly – not only through the human characters, but also through the Pokémon themselves.

The friendly sort of franchise which uses its popularity to promote positive things, it also understatedly presents a positive atmosphere with regard to gender.  It captures gender diversity with an open attitude, from having fun with fluidity, to featuring gender differences that make a difference by not making a difference.

Hetalia and the Symbolic Unity of Stereotype

On the flipside of an all-female world, the web-comic turned web-anime Hetalia: Axis Powers (2009-current) presents a "world" of its own with, instead, an overwhelmingly male main cast... although it's anything but testosterone-fueled.

Following a premise of "anthropomorphize every country on the planet into a lovable bishonen to act out farcical renditions of historical events," the series thrives on the eye-candy of unusually pretty men.

Rather than having one token gender-bender to highlight, nearly every character has an air of androgyny to them, embedded into the artistic style.  Maybe it would be a stretch to say that the androgynous style can reflect some deeper level of unifying ambiguity, that it's somehow related to the overarching themes of world peace.  ...But sure, why not?

Hideyoshi Kinoshita and the Custom Gender Field

There's an intellectual battle going on!  Let's see those warriors' profiles.

Name:  Hideyoshi

Gender:  Hideyoshi

...Huh?

From Baka and Test (2010) comes one of the teasingest traps to ever be set on the anime stage.

Crona (Soul Eater) and Dealing with Gender in Fiction

"...I don't know how to deal with this!!"

From the supernatural adventure Soul Eater (2008), this is Crona's compulsive catchphrase.

Well, when it comes to gender, I guess one way to deal with it is... don't.

Amidst all of anime's androgynes, here's one of very few who can be called truly, thoroughly ambiguous. Not only in looks, or in attitude, Crona really is effectively genderless: never revealed as either male or female.

Jun Watarase and the Magical Transgender Dream

Jun Watarase is a supporting character in the anime Happiness! (2006).  Have you heard of it?  If not, maybe that's because it was overshadowed by another series released within the same time frame and with a coincidentally similar summary.

Happiness! can be described as a school comedy, featuring a girl named Haruhi and her friends in a prestigious but eccentric academy... (didn't we cover this already?) ...which includes a special division for gifted young mages to be taught the arts of magic (nope, this is new!).

Meet one of Haruhi's friends, Jun.  Jun is very popular among the male students at this half-magic school.  One look at that cute face and you'll surely see why!  ...But you can guess where this is going, can't you?

Kino's Journey and the Imprinted Identity

An understated gem among slice-of-life anime, Kino's Journey (2003) follows the travels of the titular protagonist through various bizarre and unique lands.  If you haven't seen it, you should see it.  Even if you aren't concerned with androgyny, you should see it.  But while we're here, let's talk about androgyny.

Aboard a sentient motorcycle named Hermes, Kino rides with no particular destination. The fearless, gun-toting traveler has only one rule:  Stay in each country for exactly three days and two nights, just long enough to experience its customs but not long enough to get too attached.  From a traditional country that imposes cruel coming-of-age rituals on its children, to a mechanical country that found a way for people to read each other's thoughts, the themes explored are outlandishly exaggerated yet hauntingly familiar, and they often raise strikingly philosophical questions about real human nature.

One more such philosophical question might be implicitly raised through the main character's own identity.  Until the fourth episode, there is no indication whatsoever – not through clothing, not through mannerisms, nor through discussion – of Kino's gender as either male or female.  That's because there's no need for it.  Kino doesn't particularly identify with either label.  Kino's singularly well-affirmed identity is that as a traveler, as nothing more than an (allegedly) impartial observer of the surrounding world....

Haruhi Fujioka and the Gender "Trap"

It would be a travesty not to kick things off here with perhaps the most celebrated androgyne in recent anime history, Haruhi Fujioka of Ouran High School Host Club (2006).  Anime fans are likely to be familiar with the premise of this popular series, but have a summary just in case:

A frumpily-dressed new student named Haruhi stumbles into a clubroom full of handsome upperclassmen, and breaks an expensive vase.  Unable to pay for the damage, Haruhi is forced to earn money by joining their club, which is essentially a PG-rated escort service.  He must spruce up his appearance and entertain the school's female population on dates until he has cleared his heavy debt.

SPOILER:  The twist is, he isn't a "he."

Males and females alike proceed to fall in love with her.  I mean, can you blame them?

As per the jargon of the gender-bending genre, a "trap" usually refers to a male character who appears so feminine as to trick others into believing that he is female.  Haruhi, then, might be considered a "reverse trap": a female superficially mistaken for a male.

Yet Haruhi stands out for being, not only superficially androgynous, but also androgynous of mind.