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Post by Nachtkern on Jun 22, 2022 14:02:12 GMT 1
This is a recommendations thread for animated shows and movies with LGBT+ themes or characters in it! There's a few rules to stick to that I'll explain below, but after reading those you can go ahead and add your own recs to this thread! And that's it for all the rules! You don't have to stick to a template, but if you want one, you can use this one:
[b]Title:[/b]
[b]Type:[/b] (movie/show/anime/etc)
[b]Genre/Audience:[/b]
[b]Link:[/b] (wikipedia/IMDb/myanimelist/etc)
- (a description of what the work is about, and if/what LGBT themes it has)
- (an explanation why you are recommending it)
- (optional: any content warnings or additional headsup)
... I think that about covers everything! I'll add some of my own recs to this thread later, but I wanted to go ahead and set it up so you guys can *checks back of hand* talk about how much you love the Bowl House |
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cowboy
Bud
YEE, AND I'M ONLY SAYIN THIS ONCE, HAW
Posts: 34
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Post by cowboy on Jun 23, 2022 17:28:38 GMT 1
HIIII id say i have quite a few but memory is difficult so here's just the one i'm watching right now giggle. i will return to this thread i will
Title: Dead End: Paranormal Park
Type: Television series
Genre/Audience: Supernatural adventure-comedy/kids
Link: IMDB page
- This one's cute! I haven't completely finished it myself, but it's a lot of fun to watch, if silly since its primary audience is mostly tweens. One of the protagonists is transmasc and MLM, and the show follows his misadventures working at—you guessed it—a theme park, where—you guessed it again—there's a lot of paranormal activity. His being trans and MLM isn't just thrown in there as a 'fun fact' either; there are B plots related to his experiences with his family and identity as well as trying to handle having a crush. The other protagonist, a South Asian girl pretty heavily coded as neurodivergent, struggles with day-to-day anxiety and wants to solve the mystery of the park itself. Her B-plots relate to her struggles with connecting to people.
- Part of why I'm recommending it is just that I picked it up recently on recommendation from a few friends LMAO. The voice actor Alex Brightman (known better for his Broadway career in School of Rock and Beetlejuice) is present and uses his Fun And Evil voice trick as well for acting out his character, and there's a musical episode with a sort of tribute to that. One friend who wanted me to watch it compared it to Gravity Falls, and while I totally understand the similarities in the setup with a location full of supernatural activity and elements of mystery, the humour style in Dead End is less reminiscent of that 2000s/early 2010s era, and I generally wouldn't compare the two since they're on pretty different levels with regards to production and writing style. However, I do actually find myself theorizing about how things fit together in the scheme of the world as I watch, which most shows don't really push me to do; it adds to the fun! I generally just recommend this for people who are interested in something easy and fun to watch, with just enough elements of mystery and below-surface plot for people to chew on if they like to think more about the shows they're watching.
- Since the show follows paranormal themes, there's quite a bit of slapstick violence, lighthearted talk of violence worse than the visual gags, lighthearted talk of death, and some elements of horror, but nothing exceptionally scary since it's for kids.
EDIT: since making more progress on the show, I'm gonna clarify the lighthearted talk of death: there's both comical discussion of it and brief serious discussion of it, particularly in the episode "Phantom of the Theme Park", as well as a non-graphic depiction of someone dying between episodes 8 and 9.
EDIT 2: another clarification! the transmasc protagonist explicitly states that he's trans, so that's not just a popular interpretation, light coding, or external word-of-god!
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cowboy
Bud
YEE, AND I'M ONLY SAYIN THIS ONCE, HAW
Posts: 34
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Post by cowboy on Jun 25, 2022 1:22:36 GMT 1
guess who's back. back again
Title: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Type: TV series
Genre/Audience: Action-adventure // kids, young adults
Link: IMDB page
- Here's a show I've really enjoyed and plan to rewatch soon! It follows Kipo Oak, a young Asian (if I remember correctly, Korean) girl who's been separated from her community, as she journeys through a post-apocalyptic world filled with oddities and mutated animals (known as "mutes") in an attempt to make her way home. While the LGBT representation is pretty explicit—a character outright says "I'm gay" and has a love interest—it's generally not the focus of the show; rather, it's more so about community and what brings different groups of people together.
- I honestly really recommend this show; it's a delight to watch, none of the protagonists are white, and the music is fantastic. I find the characters really compelling—Kipo herself as an example is unendingly kind, no matter to whom, and the show tackles first the idea of using kindness as a weapon, then the idea of where (or rather, with whom) kindness can fail. The art style is really unique too, with a lot of sharp angles that aren't seen very often in a lot of today's animated shows as well as fun, colourful character and creature designs. You'll find themes of found family, ethical dilemmas, and the impact humans have on the environment here, all wrapped up in this little bow of a feel-good story with a well-executed ending and lovable character dynamics.
- While I wouldn't say this show is particularly intense, it does involve non-graphic violence, needles, and one instance of character death. Since most of the main characters are children, there is some child harm to accompany the cartoon violence, but they largely emerge unscathed. There are also a lot of large illustrated bugs, including one of the main characters.
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cowboy
Bud
YEE, AND I'M ONLY SAYIN THIS ONCE, HAW
Posts: 34
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Post by cowboy on Jun 25, 2022 21:31:37 GMT 1
i have another ^_^
Title: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Type: TV series (very short episodes except specials)
Genre/Audience: Action-comedy // kids
Link: IMDB Page
- OKKO is a three-season series of shorts, mostly episodic but with some overarching plot that becomes more prominent as the show progresses and approaches its finale, following the adventures of a young boy named K.O. working part-time at a bodega with young adult coworkers Rad and Enid. Like a couple shows for older audiences (namely My Hero Academia and One Punch Man), the setting of this show is one in which heroes and villains are an explicitly normalised part of society, though of course it's much sillier in OKKO, with lots of room for gags especially involving the recurring villain across the street from the bodega. The LGBT representation in this show is pretty direct, with LGBT-coded characters like Enid and Raymond, though the explicit aspects of the WLW and MLM relationships show up pretty late in the story, particularly in the last season, and LGBT theming isn't really prominent in the show as a whole.
- I know I've spoken pretty highly of both shows I've recommended so far, but I really do adore them, and the same goes for OKKO :D I think the character dynamics are really funny and often very sweet, and it helps build up the audience's connection to and affection for the characters before developing its overarching plotline. The show has heavy theming with found family/connections and self-love/self-worth, so if you're into that, I cannot recommend this show enough. The finale also made me tear up because I'm, super normal. It's really sweet and enjoyable to watch, especially if you like cartoon shorts!
- This show has cartoon/slapstick violence (including against a child), depictions of emotional manipulation (with a couple instances also against a child), and depictions of a character death. Since it's made to be accessible to pretty young audiences, it doesn't get intense by any means, and most cases of characters being harmed don't result in much tangible injury.
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cowboy
Bud
YEE, AND I'M ONLY SAYIN THIS ONCE, HAW
Posts: 34
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Post by cowboy on Jun 27, 2022 23:05:48 GMT 1
i missed yesterday cause i got busy but i am unstoppable i always come back
Title: LEGO Monkie Kid
Type: TV series (ten-minute episodes except longer ~40 minute specials)
Genre/Audience: Action-comedy adventure // kids, teens
Link: IMDB Page
Premise and LGBT themes
Monkie Kid, inspired by the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West, is a 2D-animated series (somewhat episodic at first, shifts to serial pretty early on as overarching plot develops) following the adventures of MK, a young adult working at a noodle shop who finds himself chosen as the heir to Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. The cast of characters are parallels (many are direct pulls, actually) from the classic tale, with Mei as a descendant of the White Dragon Horse, Tang as a parallel to the monk Tang Sazang, Pigsy as... Pigsy, known in the original Chinese as Zhu Bajie, and Sandy as, once again, Sandy, known in the original Chinese as Sha Wujing. Other featured depictions of classical characters include the Demon Bull King, Red Boy ("Red Son"), Ne Zha, and Chang'e. The show isn't quite just an adaptation of the original Chinese tale, however; it takes place years after the original tale, making the narrative parallels something of a cycle.
LGBT theming isn't particularly prominent in Monkie Kid—however, there are word-of-god confirmations of LGBT identities for some characters, alongside in-show coding:
- Show artist Ashe Jacobson confirmed MK's pronouns as he/they and Red Son's pronouns as any (Original Twitter links here and here, screenshots/image pulls here)
- Team members on the show encourage polyamorous shipping of MK, Red Son, and Mei, calling them the "traffic light trio"
- In-universe discouragement of a direct romantic relationship between MK and Mei, with MK expressing disgust at the idea of Mei having romantic interest in him, so there's no heteronormative pressure of them becoming love interests for one another
- One-time gag early season 1 can easily be interpreted as transmasculine coding for MK
- Pigsy and Tang are very close, and are popularly interpreted by fans as being in a MLM relationship; Tang expresses total disinterest in women during the show
So while explicit LGBT identities and romance is heavily curtailed, I'd say this is overall a really LGBT-positive show, and not the first by this animation studio to be LGBT-positive (I'll write up a recommendation on Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles later, I promise)!
Why the rec?
I'm a really big fan of LEGO in general, and Monkie Kid is a whole different style of animation not seen in previous LEGO works like Ninjago and The LEGO Movie. The vast majority of LEGO television/movie media has been computer-generated 3D animation, even The LEGO Movie which emulates a stop-motion animation style; by contrast, Monkie Kid is 2D animated, bending the rules of LEGO while still retaining the style of character models and even LEGO pieces making up some props. The animation quality is fantastic as well; previous works by this studio are Glitch Techs and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, both marked by dynamic movement, expressive character work, and over-the-top special effects. Monkie Kid is no exception to this, with several combat sequences that play with perspective, visual effects, and dynamic changes to the linework. If you're a fan of high-quality animation, Monkie Kid is eye candy.
The show easily falls into themes of found family and self-discovery, with both wholesome and funny character dynamics, as well as insights into individual characters' additional depth as the story progresses, particularly MK and Red Son. Most of the more nuanced character exploration takes place in season three, with themes of self-worth and the harm that comes from self-sacrifice/emotional self-harm for others' sake.
With the target audience of kids/teenagers, about half the show is comedy, with running gags like "noodle boy" and visual references to other media like Dragon Ball Z (in fact, Sun Wukong's voice actor is known for having voiced Goku—there's some joke to be said here about a Monkey King typecast). In terms of emotional investment, it's not quite comparable to shows like The Owl House or Adventure Time, with emotionally devastating finales; however, it still has an enjoyable story, especially for audiences familiar with Journey to the West. Knowledge of the original tale isn't necessary for enjoying the show, of course—though I have plans to read the original novel, I really have little to no familiarity with it, but I find myself having a great time watching Monkie Kid.
Content warnings/accessibility
Thus far my biggest complaint with the show is a fatphobic gag in episode 2; that aside, what I can note in Monkie Kid is animated violence, mostly slapstick/comical with more instances of tonally serious violence as the show progresses; instances of MK hallucinating, which can be stressful; the depiction of a harmful relationship between parents and their child; comical, blunt-force self-harm; a depiction of amnesia; and the depiction and handling of a toxic relationship. There are also a lot of animated bugs, with a major antagonist and their accompanying lackeys being spider-themed, and the show plays heavily into the scare factor there, particularly with MK's arachnophobia.
The TV specials are listed separately from the rest of the show most sites where you can watch, so be sure to watch the TV special LEGO Monkie Kid: A Hero is Born before the show itself since it sets up the premise for the rest of the show, then LEGO Monkie Kid: Revenge of the Spider Queen before season 2.
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Post by Nachtkern on Jun 27, 2022 23:57:00 GMT 1
Title: Tokyo Godfathers Type: animated movie Genre/Audience: comedy drama, 16+ Link: www.anime-planet.com/anime/tokyo-godfathersTokyo Godfathers is a 90 minute comedy-drama about three homeless people who find an abandoned baby, and set out to find her mother. Wacky hijinks ensue, among a whole bunch of other stuff. The movie is by Satoshi Kon, the same director who made Paprika and Perfect Blue, and like those, it has gorgeous animation and music. Its story and writing is both extremely fun and emotionally rough at times, showing the turbulent lives and struggles of its homeless protagonists. T'isn't the season, but Tokyo Godfathers is a great Christmas movie, just maybe not for the entire family if you have young siblings. The three main characters who find the baby are all very different people; one is a runaway teenage girl, one is a retired bike racer, and one is a transgender woman. You get to learn a little bit more about each of them over the course of the movie, and they all play an important role in the whole. It isn't necessarily great about its transgender character - some homophobic/transphobic or generally dated language is used, and the depiction may lean a bit on the caricature side of things, partially because the movie is an adult comedy. I'm recommending it despite that, because all three of its main characters are treated with love. All three of them are marginalized in different and similar ways, and while the movie has an overall positive and fun tone, the difficulties they face for their place in society are treated with realism, instead of all being reduced to a joke. Besides that, the movie also has some mature content in it, including somewhat graphic violence (against homeless people and in general), nudity, and attempted suicide (on-screen, but no one dies).
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Post by Nachtkern on Jun 28, 2022 0:18:45 GMT 1
Title: Promare Type: animated movie Genre/Audience: sci-fi, action Link: www.anime-planet.com/anime/promarePromare is movie with two specials (watch these at the end), that combined, are a bit over two hours long. It's set in a world where a terrible firestorm took many, many lives about 30 years ago, and since then, people have been turning into mutants who can manipulate fire. The protagonist, Galo, is a firefighter who risks life and limb to put out fires caused by the mutants together with his department, and they must face off against Lio and his terrorist gang of mutants - with eventually the fate of the whole world at stake. It's also visually stunning, with fantastic animation, and vivid colors. I'm recommending this because the LGBT theming in Promare isn't subtle - it's a genuine and prominent part of the narrative, reflected in its story, its characters, and even the style of its animation. I could write a whole analysis of it and the meaning of its use of triangles and squares in its art, but it's really better you experience it for yourself first. I don't want to spoil you, so all I'll say is that it's a very kind and genuine story about accepting yourself and accepting others. Being an action movie, there's quite a bit of cartoon violence in it, and a lot of fire. A few parts are a bit graphic, and there is on-screen death. I'd say it's probably like... a 12+ movie.
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Post by Nachtkern on Jun 28, 2022 0:49:15 GMT 1
Title: Revolutionary Girl Utena Type: anime series Genre/Audience: fantasy, drama, magical girl, 18+Link: www.anime-planet.com/anime/revolutionary-girl-utenaRevolutionary Girl Utena is a 39 episode long anime series, and an often-referenced classic. There isn't really anything else comparable to RGU, and I would recommend watching it just to understand, given you are properly prepared for it and can stomach its contents. RGU changes you as a person. RGU is about fourteen-year-old Utena, who suddenly finds herself wrapped up in sword duels with other students at her school, over the right to possess the rose bride, Anthy. Although Utena originally wants nothing to do with all of that drama (lol), she comes to feel protective over Anthy, taking up the role of a prince that protects her. RGU is explicitly about LGB themes and nonconformity, but also about the cycle of abuse and how to break from it, victimhood and identity, grooming, sexuality, and the transition between adolescence and adulthood. It deals with some incredibly heavy themes, and the show is long and a bit strangely paced, spacing all of that out and balancing it with some lighthearted comedy. Utena is overall pretty straightforward, but a lot of its storytelling is metaphorical or kind of abstract. There also is a movie called "The Adolescence of Utena", which follows a slightly different story where Utena turns into a racecar. If you watch that, you should do it after the anime. Before watching the show, you should properly prepare yourself for it. There's a full per-episode content warning list here: vilecrocodile.tumblr.com/post/178113936017/repost-from-old-blog-revolutionary-girl-utenaAnd the general gist of it is that RGU pretty explicitly contains grooming, CSA, rape, incest, and in general abuse and sexual harrassment. In terms of gore/violence the show isn't very graphic, but there is a part where a lot of swords pierce someone's body. There is also a scene with attempted suicide. It's in general well-told and doesn't come across as fetishistic or suffering porn, but it's still overall a really, really rough watch. RGU is an 18+ show, and even then it's not for every adult.
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