The androgynous characters They are a common feature in most anime series due to Japanese culture. In Japan, female beauty is the main standard of beauty. Androgyny is therefore a highly valued characteristic, and like female beauty in the West, it denotes (or denotes) a sense of wealth, pride and reproductive health. Thus, women in Japan They tend to consider androgynous men as more “attractive” than those who have a more masculine appearance. It’s a cultural issue.
Everyone has their own preferences, but to a large extent, androgynous men in anime and manga are there to appeal to female audiences or to give that character a contrasting or misleading appearance or disposition. Japan isn’t the only country that values androgyny, but it seems to have historically valued it more than any other Eastern country I’ve researched.
Depending on the anime, androgyny can serve different purposes. Each character is developed differently with their own backstories, which makes it interesting to explore characters who are in the middle. For example, in Japan it is not uncommon to see men dressed in a feminine manner (otokonoko) or women doing the opposite.
Of course, it also depends on the particular anime. A character with an unidentifiable gender might be funny in a comedy and lead to some great comedic scenes, but in an anime that focuses more on drama, it would be different.
Additionally, there are the characters labeled ‘Hideyoshi’, who are men but are mistakenly seen as women by other characters. These characters are often there for funny misunderstandings and entertaining interactions that often induce laughter from the audience. Although they don’t contribute much to the overall plot of the story, they are well constructed and serve as comic relief that greatly entertains anime fans.
- In Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. (Oregairu: My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU), Hachiman, the male lead, said that he wanted to protect Saika’s smile when he had never said anything like that to other female characters.
- In Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara (If Her Flag Breaks), Megumu freaked out when the male lead called him a boy because he had been mistaken for a girl too many times.
- In STEINS;GATEKurisu was initially enraged by the protagonists saying that Ruka was a boy, arguing that “it’s rude to call a girl a boy,” until Ruka sheepishly admits that she was, in fact, a boy, to which Kurisu makes a face. of amazement.
- In Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (Baka & Test: Summon the Beasts), it was revealed that Hideyoshi was confessed by boys from other schools at least three times a month.
In summary, Androgynous characters and characters that do not clearly fit into a specific gender are common in anime because Japan does not allow gender roles to restrict its characters.. This diversity and freedom in character representation makes anime and manga much more enjoyable for a varied audience and demonstrates how Japanese culture values uniqueness and personal expression in its works of fiction.
Fountain: The Artifice
