A year of “Yuridemption”?: LGBTQ+ Representation in Animation in 2025 [Part 2]

In my last part of this series, I talked about LGBTQ+ representation in animation in 2025, from January to mid-April. This post will cover from mid-April to mid-September, focusing on series such as #1 Happy Family USA, Oh My God… Yes!, Maebashi Witches, Lazarus, Once Upon a Witch’s Death, You and Idol Pretty Cure, and A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof, and films like Princess Principal Crown Handler Chapter 4, with varying levels of subtext and direct yuri themes.

#1 Happy Family USA, which began in April 17th, featured a lesbian character named Mona Hussein. She’s the teenage daughter of the Hussein family, who are Egyptian-American, and she is closeted lesbian. Bisexual actress Alia Shawkat, who previously voiced Gabrielle in I Lost My Body, Levi in Scavengers Reign, and Sharon in The Listener, voices her. Mona is in a relationship with Gina, a White girl voiced by Megan Stalter. She’s also a bisexual actress. Slater has played Kayla Schaefer in Hacks for 26 episodes. As LezWatch described it, in the sixth episode of the first season of #1 Happy Family USA, entitled “Daughter President,” Mona runs for school president. During that campaign, “her relationship with Gina is outed.”

April was the month that Oh My God… Yes! seemed to come to an end. It had various bisexual characters. All the while anime with yuri subtext continued to air on Crunchyroll, from Mono to Food for the Soul, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level season 2 to You and Idol Pretty Cure, and within the short series that spun off Lycoris Recoil. On the same streaming service, Maebashi Witches centered on female friendship, as did Anne Shirley. In contrast, A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof and Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty either had direct yuri (the former had a lesbian couple) or laid on the lesbian subtext pretty heavily. One reviewer, Sylvia Jones, even called Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty a proud, sapphic, and vulgar series, with various allusions to sex. Jones said they couldn’t “overstate just how wet this show is.”

In May, the fifth episode of Maebashi Witches revealed that protagonist Mai is in love with her friend Yua. While this is likely platonic love, rather than romantic love, it still shows that this series is yuri-ish in its own way. Even so, it centers more on female friendship than anything else. In addition, the Princess Principal Crown Handler Chapter 4 anime film was released on May 23 in Japan. Hopefully it will be released in a physical version sometime soon, as not all the films have been released on DVD or Blu-ray yet.

The continuation of A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof brought a canon lesbian couple (Kuro and Yuriko) to the screens. There also was yuri subtext between the two lead characters (Satoko and Konoha). Lazarus, a series by Shinichirō Watanabe, a director known for series like Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, and Carole & Tuesday, featured a queer character named Chris/Alexandra. She had once tried to escape the Russian Intelligence Service to be with her lesbian lover, Inga, but later decided to get plastic surgery and disappear so Inga wouldn’t get killed. She also had some interest in handsome men.

On May 31, a new episode of You and Idol Pretty Cure aired. During the episode, the two magic guides to the protagonists, Purirun and Meroron, agree to lock away their precious memories (Meroron’s love for Purirun and Purirun’s love for Uta Sakura/Cure Idol) in order to save the three protagonists (Cure Idol/Uta, Cure Wink/Nana Aokaze, and Cure Kyun-Kyun/Kokoro Shigure) from the enemy. They transform into Pretty Cures, specifically Cure Zukyoon and Cure Kiss.

The latter two purify Cutty, using their combined magic attack, who apologizes to the Pretty Cures. Not long after, the three Pretty Cures talk to Cure Zukyoon and Cure Kiss, and all three blush. Cure Kiss blows a kiss toward them, then Cure Zukyoon does a finger gun. More prominently, and relevant to the topic of this posting, after Cure Zukyoon does a finger gun again (which is a kinda gay thing), glass breaks. Cure Idol blushes and says, almost longingly, “Cure Zukyoon.” In the preview for the next episode, Cure Idol happily does the finger gun, with the two other Pretty Cures, and is confused. Idol and Zukyoon are shown sleeping in the same bed, saying “Zukyoon is so zukyoon, I’m going all zukyoon.”

Unfortunately, this four-episode arc, which continued through until June 28, fell into the tragic yuri trope (but not doomed). What I mean is that Purirun lost her memories of Uta, with Kokoro saying that Uta was only acting like a fan. They never expanded on this any more, as the episode on June 28 had a miracle occur. When Purirun is trapped by the enemy, she helped Purirun’s memories return. Although this made Uta happy, it also destroyed any possible romantic feelings she had. Even so, her sister, Meroron, obviously had feelings for Purirun. As such, she was jealous of anyone getting close to her.

One day earlier, June 27, the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid spinoff film, entitled A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved, began showing in Japanese theaters. The original series had been described critically by Erica Friedman. She compared it to Bewitched, adding that surely Tohru is in love with Kobayashi but the plot was incredibly boring. She gave the yuri a rating of one out of ten, meaning that it is yuri-ish at the very least.

With the coming of July, many series which had aired up to then, come to an end. The female friendship anime of Mono and Food for the Soul ended on June 28. The first of these was produced by Soigne. The second was produced by P.A. Works. In addition, another series centering on female friendship, entitled Maebashi Witches, ended on June 22. Once Upon a Witch’s Death, with yuri subtext, ended on June 17. In terms of more direct yuri themes, Ninkoro ended a few days earlier on June 26. That series had subtext between the protagonists, but also a secondary set of characters, Kei and Yuri, who are in a romantic relationship. Furthermore, the rocking sapphic series Rock is A Lady’s Modesty ended on the same day. Hopefully that series gets a season two and overcomes the one-season yuri curse.

Zatsu Tabi and Princess-Session Orchestra, which seemingly had yuri subtext (I didn’t watch them, so I don’t know), ended in June. In their place were a few others, specifically, the comedic Bad Girl on July 6, Harmony of Mille-Feuille on July 17, and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… on July 7. The latter was the only series noted as yuri by the manga publisher. July was also when the yurish bowling series, Turkey! (also known as Turkey! Time to Strike) premiered, on July 8. All the while, Anne Shirley, with its intimate female friendship themes, slowly morphed into ones emphasizing heterosexual romance (i.e. Anne’s crush on Gilbert), along with themes about coming of age, slice of life, and moving forward in life despite obstacles. You and Idol Pretty Cure went on with female friendship between the three protagonists.

Crunchyroll streamed the lion’s share of these anime, particularly the yuri-ish slice-of-life comedy See You Tomorrow at the Food Court and the bowling anime Turkey!, the female friendship anime Ruri Rocks, which features a friendship between high school student named Ruri Tanigawa and a grad student named Nagi Aruto as they collect minerals in the mountains. Others included season 2 of My Dress-Up Darling. The first season was said to subvert typical “depictions of masculinity and the sexualization of its female characters,” even as it is still “tangled in fan service and horny comedy.”

The first episode of the latter, on July 5, featured a shop clerk saying people should be able to wear what they want and imagining a male character wearing a bunny suit, rather than a girl. While There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… and Utagoe wa Mille-Feuille (renamed Harmony of Mille-Feuille before its premiere on July 17) didn’t originally have a licensor by the end of June, HIDIVE streamed Bad Girl, a yuri comedy about wanna-be gangstas, but no others. Prime Video was where My Deer Friend Nokotan and Magilimiere Co. Ltd showed. There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless..  also aired on the It’s Anime (powered by Remow) YouTube channel.

Of the aforementioned series, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… led the pack in actual-yuri series. Bad Girl, on the other hand, involved the protagonist, Yū Yutani, trying to attract the attention of a girl she has a crush on. Other series were yuri-ish, particularly Turkey!, Ruri Rocks, See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, and Harmony of Mille-Feuille. To be specific, these series only had yuri subtext, which can be enjoyable in its own way. This included the latter series listed which had themes of self-acceptance, raising your self-confidence, and female friendship. series with subtext are not, however, a replacement for series with canon yuri themes.

In fact, some of them, like Turkey! and Ruri Rocks, leaned more toward female friendship. The former series became a time travel series combined with bowling after the unexpected twist at the end of the first episode. The protagonists were sent back in time to the Sengoku period. I don’t why those who put out There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… made the decision but, after episode 2, each episode was only available for a week. This was something which limits how long people can watch the series. Despite claims that the series would begin showing on Prime Video and Hulu on July 10th, a check of both sides on July 14th showed original claim to be faulty.

Also, the third episode of Dress-Up Darling, which came out on July 19th, features a man who dresses up as a girl for cosplay and once had a girlfriend who criticized his outfits, feeling jealous, thinking he was with another girl, demanding he get rid of them. He didn’t do that. He dumped her instead. The episode focuses on the importance of self-love. He is glad no one was creeped out that he was a guy cross-dressing as a girl for cosplay, and has a very supportive family.

A few days earlier, Harmony of Mille-Feuille premiered, but did not show on any of the major outlets for Western animation but only in Southeast Asia. It has some yuri subtext, as it focuses on high school girls singing a capella together. This falls within what Christopher Farris and Steve Jones talked about on Anime News Network, saying in a post in early August that this is a “good season for queer anime,” citing queer themes and subtext in City the Animation, See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, Nukitashi, Call of the Night, You and Idol Pretty Cure, Leviathan, episodes of My Dress-Up Darling focusing on “[cross-dressing], gender nonconformity, and the emotional struggles therein,” plus The Summer Hikaru Died as a boys-love horror classic, and rightly saying “anime, of course, is no stranger to queer characters and storytelling.”

At the same time, there was a bisexual character in Solo Camping for Two, Mizuki Hino. She is one of Shizuku’s best friends and openly bisexual, flirting with her, even saying they should spend the night together. Another animate series, Women Wearing Shoulder Pads, featured a lesbian character named Marionetta who loves other women in an alternate Ecuador in the 1980s. In the series Long Story Short, Shira Schwooper is married to another Black woman, Kendra Hooper, and they have two sons together.

Abbi Jacobson, who is bisexual, voices the aforementioned Shira. She previously voiced the bisexual Princess Bean in Disenchantment and Katie Mitchell in the over-hyped The Mitchells vs. the Machines, which as a sequel in development. Nicole Byer, who voices the aforementioned Kendra, has voiced a variety of characters over the years. This included Blythe Rogers in Velma from 2022 to 2023, to give an example. As for There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, the anime became more interesting with a growing romantic dynamic between Satsuki Koto and Renako Amaori. It made me root for them more than the Mai Oduka and Renako relationship, to be perfectly honest, even if it isn’t the show’s endgame.

As August continued, yuri subtext series appeared as well. One such series was Turkey! The sixth episode seemed to be the queerest one of the entire series. One protagonist, Sayuri Ichinose, becomes closer to a woman samurai, Suguri Tokura. She even saves her from a bandit killing her, with part of the scene shown above. In the end, Sayuri comes around to Suguri’s point of view. She even says she would be willing to kill if it was to protect her. Suguri somewhat echoes girl princes (also known as Bifauxnen) like Utena Tenjou in Revolutionary Girl Utena and Oscar François de Jarjayes in Rose of Versailles, plus similar characters in Maria Watches Over Us and Sweet Blue Flowers. 

Suguri also gives Sayuri a cinch after she begins to menstruate. Haruki Iwata, who voices Sayuri, previously voiced characters in Revue Starlight (Mahiru Tsuyuzaki), Assault Lily Bouquet (Mai Thi Yoshimura), and D4DJ (Towa Hanamaki). These series have direct or indirect yuri themes. Kikuko Inoue, who voices Suguri, previously voiced Sailor Aluminium Siren/Reiko Aya in Sailor Moon season 5, Ritsuko in Yamibou, Yurika Hakonaka in Yurikuma Arashi, protagonist Shūko Komi in Komi Can’t Communicate, Miyako Asō in Magilumiere Co. Ltd., and Wakako Tatsunami in A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace. Most of those series have yuri themes on some level. Turkey! continued the aforementioned subtext in later episodes.

The third season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder had some nice moments. It featured Michael, the gay character voiced by a Black gay man (E.J. Johnson), wearing a dress. The two dads of Maya and Francis “KG” Leibowitz-Jenkins, Barry and Randall to be specific, have a bigger role. There’s also a number of other badass Black characters. The series further addressed issues such as black beauty and colorism, with the latter addressing something people have criticized the original The Proud Family and this reboot/revival for. It focuses on racism, wealth, power, and the push-and-pull between children and parents, plus a sprinkling of magic, as well. There were even some in-jokes.

In early September, I wrote a newsletter which described the female friendship themes in You and Idol Pretty Cure, the influence of the Pretty Cure franchise on Western animation like My Adventures with Superman, and the differences between Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. I stated that the Rose of Versailles movie was a must see film, which is, like the original 1970s series, “continually relevant with everything going on in the world, especially in terms of privilege and inequality.” It can be seen through a transgender interpretation, particularly with a “wildly bold and empowering story on gender, acceptance, and identity,” summarizing a quote from another commentator, a Black woman named el ray.

In that same newsletter, I noted that a sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card will be returning (maybe this year?). There was, at the time, several series with direct, indirect, or subtextual yuri themes. I pointed to Ruri Rocks, with female friendship mixed with romantic subtext (possibly the same in Summer Pockets), plus yuri subtext in various series. That included a comedy named Bad Girl, a time travel sports series named Turkey!, and the second season of a spinoff named Nijiyon Animation from Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. I pointed to a yuri romcom harem, There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, also known as WataNare, as well, describing it as a “hot mess, with questionable characters, but focuses a lot on the difference between love and romance, and what it means to be in love with someone.”

I further pulled in various reviews of Ruri Rocks and its female friendship, while describing Anne Shirley as a series with female friendship as central, “particularly between Anne and her friend Diana Barry” with some intimacy. I said that their connection has “carried into other adaptations” of Anne Shirley’s story. In that newsletter, I further pointed to those who shipped Mira, Zoey, and Rumi, three protagonists of KPop Demon Hunters, as “polytrix,” along with queer allusions in the film and noting upcoming series in October. The next part of this series will cover LGBTQ+ representation in animation from mid-September to the end of 2025, with focus on Futurama, the Knights of Guinevere pilot, and others.