LGBTQ representation has always been a bit of a touchy topic in media. For example, the character of America Chavez was met with some pushback on social media for being gay. This has led to some people calling for censorship of Doctor Strange 2.
Despite these controversies, many creators continue to showcase fantastic LGBTQ characters. In particular, Japan has had a lot of great examples of LGTBQ couples throughout the years in anime and manga. While it's a long road ahead, these couples prove that writers can make amazing stories for people of any orientation and sexuality.
Eri and Wako (The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This)
The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This is an age-gap romance between two "roommates" named Eri and Wako. Eri is a professional writer while Wako is a professional voice actor. The manga is mostly a slice of life between a couple who likes to laze around and enjoy each other's company.
This manga is a wonderfully normal SoL manga that does a fantastic job showing how mundane yet captivating every day can be when you are with the people you love. It also manages to tackle conflicts such as generational gaps with casual ease, remaining relatable and wholesome throughout.
Sasaki to Miyano
Sasaki to Miyano is a story that might evoke some Heartstopper vibes due to the mild similarities between both stories. Both are set in high school, with a black-haired boy who is protected by a strong orange-haired confident guy that he feels very strongly about in complicated ways.
Of course, there's some divergence in the premise. Miyano is a "fudanshi", AKA a boy who loves to read Boys' Love manga. He doesn't want anybody to find out, but Sasaki is surprisingly accepting, even showing interest in the manga he reads. The best part about this anime is just how supportive the side cast is, all of them going "we know you two like each other, just go for it already!".
Tetsu and Mogumo (Love Me For Who I Am)
Mogumo was always bullied in school because of their short stature and shy nature. One day, they meet Tetsu, a boy who works at a maid cafe. After Mogumo shares how they feel about Tetsu, he decides to bring Mogumo to the maid cafe they work at and hopes to help Mogumo find out their identity.
Mogumo realizes that they do not like being called "male or female", and it's eventually settled on that they are nonbinary. To the cafe workers' credit, they immediately validate Mogumo's feelings. The couple in this manga is very cute, and Tetsu is very supportive of Mogumo's identity. Every step of the way, even confronting Mogumo's parents when he finds out that they struggle to accept him.
Yuri and Victor (Yuri on Ice)
Well, everyone knows this had to show up somewhere in any discussion of LGBT couples. Yuri on Ice is an amazing anime that uses ice skating as a way to explore various' characters' motivations, personalities, and yes, even their sexuality. Yuri and Victor's romantic relationship is one of the most well-known (and blatant!) ones in anime history.
Yuri on Ice manages to connect these two characters from separate worlds through ice skating. It's such a sensual sport and yet it also especially warms the heart. The love between Yuri and Victor makes one wonder why the ice hasn't melted from how warm the hearts of the audience must be.
Shion and Nezumi (No. 6)
No. 6 takes place in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, years after a bloody war that nearly wiped out all of humanity. On the surface, six city-states live in an uneasy peace, but darkness lurks beyond its many walls. Shion, an elite resident from the city-states, meets a mysterious boy named Nezumi.
Shion takes in the fugitive boy, and this drags him into a grand conspiracy that threatens the stability of the city-states. The representation here is subtle, but both the author and the show itself make it very clear Shion and Nezumi are romantically attracted to each other. Normalization of these romances, even in epic post-apocalyptic adventures, is important for representation.
Kase and Yamada (Kase-San and Morning Glories)
Kase-San and Morning Glories is the quintessential high school shoujo Ai. Yui Yamada is a shy, girly type who prefers to work in the school gardens, away from prying eyes. Meanwhile, Kase-san is the star of the track team and is popular in the school for her beauty and athletic skills.
Through a chance first meeting, Kase-San and Yamada find themselves falling in love with each other. The budding romance between these two girls is fun to watch and seeing it blossom much like the flowers Yamada tends to is satisfying. It's a classic romance with surprisingly little angst, a comfy read (or watch) for any fan of shoujo-ai.
Mike and Ryoji (My Brother's Husband)
This is a bit of an unorthodox one. In the main story, Mike and Ryoji are no longer a couple, but not because they broke up. Mike visits his husband's family because of Ryoji's untimely and tragic death. Despite that, the manga goes to great lengths to portray Mike's relationship with his husband in a positive light.
The way this manga portrays gay romance is also unflinchingly realistic. The main character, Yoichi, is forced to deal with his internalized homophobia, as he sees Mike being a wonderful uncle to his daughter. It's a great read for those looking to learn about how Japan views LGBT, especially in the modern day.
Yuu and Touko (Bloom Into You)
Bloom Into You is one of the most iconic shoujo manga in recent years. The manga focuses on Yuu Koito, a girl who loves shoujo manga and awaits the day when she would feel those same "bubbles and hearts" that the characters in her manga feel. Touko, the beautiful school council president, confesses her feelings to Yuu, and much to Yuu's confusion, she feels nothing.
If that sounds strange, then that's exactly the point. The story deals with how romance isn't going to be exactly like it is in the stories. Love isn't just about grand gestures and sudden feelings. Love takes work, it takes more than just a passing fancy. Bloom Into You is unique in its execution of the budding romance.
Shiro and Kenji (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)
In a genre saturated with sexual stories (for better or for worse), What Did You Eat Yesterday? stands out by starring a middle-aged gay couple living a satisfyingly mundane life in modern-day Tokyo. Shiro is a reserved lawyer while Kenji is a fun-loving hairdresser, and they both open up about each other's day in every chapter.
The manga cleverly uses their nightly dinners as a framing device for exploring the everyday lives of gay people in Japan. The manga purposefully minimizes the presence of sex (not sexuality) in the story, to break through the heteronormative view that that's all there is to gay stories. It's a refreshingly different take on the genre of gay romance, and it does it by focusing on the captivating mundanity of everyday life.
Chii and Chii's Husband (The Bride Was a Boy)
The Bride Was a Boy is a very short and very adorable autobiographical manga about the author's own experiences as a transgender woman growing up in Japan. While the overall tone is very light and comedic, it does take the subject matter seriously. The author is very honest about the struggles they had to face.
What makes the manga so lovely however is just how upbeat the author is about their life. They acknowledge that things were difficult. After all, being transgender in a culture such as Japan was a difficult thing to be. However, Chii manages to share her experiences in a supportive way that gives hope to any readers who might have felt the same things she was feeling.