Last time, we explored the queer subtext in the first four parts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Very few characters have been confirmed as LGBT, but there’s enough evidence in the text itself to imply that many others lie somewhere on the spectrum. This time, we’re focusing on parts 5 through 8 to see which characters could possibly be gay based on their personalities and interactions with their peers. Come join us!
Outside of the niche yaoi and yuri genres, the LGBT community doesn’t have much in the way of positive representation in anime. For every good character like Utena or Yuri Katsuki, there are dozens of stereotypical creepy flaming gay men or touchy-feely women. Can’t there be an anime where queer characters just exist and can kick as much ass as anyone else without their sexuality defining them?
Fruits Basket’s Zodiac curse sounds pretty silly when you first hear it: if a cursed person is hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they’ll temporarily transform into an animal. It seems like the perfect set-up for a wacky comedy, and the first few arcs of the story treat it that way. But once you think about it on a deeper level, it becomes clear that the curse prevents its members from forming any kind of intimacy with other people—from casual friends to even their own parents. And at the center of it all is the Zodiac’s “God”, Akito, whose iron grip on the Sohma family quashes any attempt at freedom with gaslighting and fits of rage.
Joestar Struck is a fun little otome game that lets you date any of the first four JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure protagonists (Jonathan, Joseph, Jotaro, and Josuke) in a Japanese high school setting. The development team had previously released a demo of Josuke’s route about a year ago, but now we’ve got the full game to explore!
You’ll love this Ren’Py visual novel if you can’t get enough of these boys with just their canon stories alone. The player character has no set gender and the romance elements only go as far as kissing, so it’s accessible for all orientations and age groups.
The power of hype and friendship is strong with this one—it’s Hiro Mashima! This prolific mangaka is best known for the shounen classic RAVE (which is called Rave Master in the West) and the bombastic magical quest known as Fairy Tail. If you’re looking for a fantastical story with a mixture of (slightly ecchi) comedy and hype-tastic fight scenes that run on raw emotion instead of cold logic, then Mashima is the author for you.
Today, we’re taking a closer look at Mashima’s career—his debut, his highs and lows, and what he’s up to now that Fairy Tail has ended. What is it that makes his work special, and has he kept up that same quality over his 20 years of publishing? Power up your magic with the help of your friends and join us!
In Part 1, we explored the history of manga publication in America—from redrawn versions of Astro Boy to flipped artwork to authentic Tokyopop manga volumes and all the way to online streaming. Once manga became popular with American audiences, it influenced them to create their own works that resembled the Japanese originals they loved so much. And thus, new hybrids of West and East came onto the scene to add a new dimension to the traditional world of American comics. Let’s take a look at some of them!
