LGBTQ+ representation in the Pokemon anime

[MizuTaipu]

Yeah, definitely not anything explicit in the show.

 

[UxieLover1994]

I acknowledge this might be controversial to say, so I apologize if I cause offense.

LGBTQ+ representation in children's (or heck, any) media has been a very icy topic in the West for decades. Back in 2017, Disney was blasted by the right-wingers for including gay characters in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. The scenes in question were the wardrobe dressing three men in drag (two ran away, one embraced it), and Lefou dancing with another man for a moment at the end. Zootopia also has a gay couple, but it was only implied in the film, and later confirmed by the producers.

It would be nice to have a proper representation of the LGBTQ+ in the anime, but it does have the risk of offending the intolerant, and getting some episodes banned in the dub. Even if the character in question is from the games, and is LGBTQ+ in canon.

 

[Rockapheller]

Call me crazy but in a very foolish way, I just can’t unsee how Sylveon is very transgender promotion in all ways. It is a very feminine looking Pokémon with 87.5% male ratio, and its regular color and shiny form color make up pretty much the transgender flag lol. I can’t tell whether it was on purpose or just random coincidence, but either way, it is indeed a very cool coincidence by all means if it is what it is.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Not sure if he(?) is gay or not, but his personal pronoun is "atashi" a pronoun always used by females, which implies Harley is a trans woman.

 

[Eitarou]

Not sure if he(?) is gay or not, but his personal pronoun is "atashi" a pronoun always used by females, which implies Harley is a trans woman.

No. In Japan, it's a common stereotype for gay men to be extremely effeminate, down to their speech patterns.

 

[L-05308]

If the anime goes on forever, we’ll see some eventually but I feel like it’ll be a long time coming.

 

[noworry]

I'd like to think so but I did pick no because I don't think there will be any proper representation. For it to count to me it needs to be at least a character of the day who is openly LGBT+ without there having to be any behind the scenes confirmation. Maybe that's a lot to ask but I think we've come far enough to demand more than background characters in media, and Japan did actually have Sailor Moon with a pretty clear lesbian couple, so I don't see the issue.

Pokémon has interestingly enough started making characters with darker skin colours (that aren't caricatures), so I do think it's possible they'd focus on being even more inclusive in the future. That being said I don't think the anime is gonna be what's gonna push for it, I think it'd have to start with the games.

 

[Silktree]

Pokemon isn't romance-driven, so I am not sure what it is they can do other than the likes of Harley and Zoey. Same-sex parents just for the sake of it?

 

[Jewel the Quaxly]

Pokemon isn't romance-driven

Well, they could portray other members of the LGBTQ community, like for instance having a CotD who uses nonbinary pronouns for the whole episode. It doesn't have to be through romance.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

No. In Japan, it's a common stereotype for gay men to be extremely effeminate, down to their speech patterns.

Problem is, many of these "stereotypical gay men" ("okama") are actually transwoman.

 

[noworry]

Pokemon isn't romance-driven, so I am not sure what it is they can do other than the likes of Harley and Zoey. Same-sex parents just for the sake of it?

Having other members of the LGBT community (in terms of gender expression) have already been brought up, so I'm not gonna touch on that right now.

There are a lot of ways to introduce a couple to the anime without the show itself having to be romance driven. It could be everything from parents to a random couple owning a business, I don't think we're gonna get a gay romance between the main characters because so far we haven't really gotten any straight romance either (aside crushes and the likes). It doesn't have to be anything big. I know some people think it's "forced" or "shoehorned in" to have random gay characters appear but to that I honestly just ask why? There are tons of straight couples in media, in the background, in the lead, as a main plot or even forced in at the end of shows and movies, so I don't get why characters can't be gay just for the hell of it.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Pokemon isn't romance-driven, so I am not sure what it is they can do other than the likes of Harley and Zoey. Same-sex parents just for the sake of it?

Does Zoey really count though? With Harley it was pretty explicit but with Zoey, there really wasn’t anything pointing that way. Sure she wore her hair short and her contest outfits were mostly suits but that kinda feels like stereotyping a tomboy as LGBT, especially when nothing about her personality or interactions with others even pointed that way.

 

[Gengarzilla]

I would never be personally against it, do not get me wrong, but it's not something I'm expecting to see in the near future. It's too prickly a thing for the anime to be explicit about when we still have countries that outlaw such lifestyles. Even in one where gay marriage is legal, like the US, there would be plenty of feathers ruffled.

 

[Hydrogenium]

I think that it would be nice to see a homosexual Pokémon character. It’s not like homosexuality is a human invention, right?

 

[Eitarou]

We already had that one Toxapex.

 

[FelipePR]

Well it seems that the issue of gay marriage is recently being addressed in japan. So, it is possible that, over time, there will be greater representation of the LGBTQ+ community in anime. However, I believe that initially it will continue to be more indirect or superficial.

On the other hand, Japan seems to have a weird crossdresser and maybe transgender fetish (like that Nazi Loli anime), and it was even present in the original Pokémon anime, like when Ash and James dressed up as characters of the opposite sex.

 

[jjliang]

Do you think there will eventually be a Journeys episode revolving around the Ralts line, even having a Gardevoir and a Gallade appear together? In this case, multiple members of the Ralts line would appear, the whole process of how some Kirlia can evolve into Gallade and others into Gardevoir (the former only occurring with males using Dawn Stones) would actually be explored, and some of the Gardevoir featured would actually be outright stated to be male, although the lead Gardevoir would still be a female.

 

[Mr. MoonStone]

Well it seems that the issue of gay marriage is recently being addressed in japan. So, it is possible that, over time, there will be greater representation of the LGBTQ+ community in anime. However, I believe that initially it will continue to be more indirect or superficial.

Are you referencing the same-sex partnership program in Tokyo? It's a step in the right direction for sure, but it's not nearly as inclusive as it seems to be. It's also important to note that that system only applies to Tokyo, and most of Japan is much more conservative than its major cities. The hurdles that rural Japan is really going to have to jump thru until same-sex marriage is even brought up in a serious discussion is definitely going to be a challenge.

 

[Isaac the Investigator]

It's pretty unlikely in the next few years, for reasons people have already gone over in thread. But if the Pokémon anime continues for decades more, which seems inevitable at this point, then we'll almost certainly eventually see queer representation, although there's no guarantee that it will be positive representation.

 

[Alola]

Huehuehue I think it would be fun to have an episode where Ash & Go act like how Pikachu and Piplup did in Sticking With Who You Know!, with Chloe being the one to save the day. We need more displays of male and male affection.