For Pride Month, Anime UK News spotlights favourite characters who break gender norms, the ones who celebrate who they are and make us love them, regardless of how they choose to identify.
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Gender? We Hardly Know Her! Anime UK News Celebrates Gender Non-Conforming Characters for Pride Month 2025
- Thread starter darkstorm
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RadFemHedonist
Guild Member
Really enjoyed and appreciated this article, was nice to see a mix of characters I know and love and ones that I'm unfamiliar with and now want to watch/read the things they're featured in! 
Just Passing Through
Titan
I will ever be waiting for a Wandering Son home video release.
ayase
State Alchemist
Good article, thank you AUKN writers for presenting this in the thoughtful and decidedly personal way that you have, something almost no other media website bothers to do in the era of click and outrage bait.
While I admit to not being familiar with a whole lot of characters or shows listed here, another who I think deserves a mention is Aoi Futaba from You're Under Arrest. Some of the characters' wrong-headed behaviour towards her in the beginning might be a tough watch for some people (they even have the "shared facilities" debate within the context of the show, which is pretty incredible for something from 1996) but I think it's quite good that it shows others don't understand Aoi at first, but then they do, and then they accept her for who she is. Because understanding, both seeking it and helping to provide it, is something which seems sadly in short supply around these issues in real life. Aoi is a capable cop and a decent human being, which is really all that matters. And while the show doesn't shy away from some of the issues she faces as a trans woman, she's nearly always strong enough to deal with that herself or shrug it off as the situation merits. As such she's my kind of person in general, regardless of gender identity.
While I admit to not being familiar with a whole lot of characters or shows listed here, another who I think deserves a mention is Aoi Futaba from You're Under Arrest. Some of the characters' wrong-headed behaviour towards her in the beginning might be a tough watch for some people (they even have the "shared facilities" debate within the context of the show, which is pretty incredible for something from 1996) but I think it's quite good that it shows others don't understand Aoi at first, but then they do, and then they accept her for who she is. Because understanding, both seeking it and helping to provide it, is something which seems sadly in short supply around these issues in real life. Aoi is a capable cop and a decent human being, which is really all that matters. And while the show doesn't shy away from some of the issues she faces as a trans woman, she's nearly always strong enough to deal with that herself or shrug it off as the situation merits. As such she's my kind of person in general, regardless of gender identity.
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ActionFaust
Cardcaptor
This season's Maebashi Witches had a pretty great bit of GNC representation with the character of Kyoka Kitahara. Kyoka's presentation, clothing and hairstyle definitely leans more androgynous than her fellow witches. Even her performance outfit opts for shorts instead of a skirt. This is eventually expanded on when we see Kyoka's home life later in the series where her parents' expectations are laid clear. They want her to present more feminine and act more appropriately as the successor to the family. Amidst this pressure Kyoka has at least found some comfort in watching a non-binary presenting VTuber. Gender expectations are just one of the many topics Maebashi Witches tackles and the show approaches these themes with great sensitivity. Having read some of writer Erika Yoshida's posts on Bluesky it definitely seems like she has a genuine interest in these topics and I'd love to see her explore them further with a potential second season.
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