My main focus is to examine what gay males are doing in a piece that is ostensibly directed toward heterosexual women as well as heterosexual sensibilities. I came upon this question over the last couple years when I noted how often this character type showed up in Shoujo anime. It was curious to me because these characters exhibit contradictory qualities that are at the same time homophobic and gay positive.[1] These crossdressing gay males, have marked feminine characteristics, unrequited love for the male "hero" or protagonist, are often the "butt" of the jokes by all the other characters in the anime and through these homophobic reactions by the other characters, would seem to deny the validity of a homosexual point of view or lifestyle. On the other hand, these characters are often the most competent and most sympathetic characters in the series. So, what is this character doing in a romantic shoujo anime series? I propose that these males parody and yet support the main heterosexual pairing. I would like to look at these shows as gay positive but ultimately the homosexual male serves the needs of heterosexual norms simply by the fact this character and his feelings are sacrificed and contained in the anime. I propose that the homosexual male is a displacement of female heterosexual desire that cannot be fulfilled by either sex or orientation, and because he copies the heterosexual female, he supports these norms.

        These are many questions that lie outside the scope of this paper. Shoujo manga and anime has always been a place where gender positions have been questioned. We can see this in the early work of Hagio Moto and the film They Were 11 to current examples of bishounen (beautiful) men who inhabit contemporary anime.[2] There are also numerous other examples of tragic homosexual love in contemporary shoujo anime that I will simply not have the time to discuss --Kunzite and Zoycite from Sailormoon, Agaha from Legend of Basara, Hanagata from Saber Marionette J to X; Shido and Kane from Nightwalker; Larva and Garline in Vampire Princess Miyu and many others.

        Principally I will be talking about two anime series with prominent homosexual characters. The first is Fushigi Yuugi (The Mysterious Play), created by Yuu Watuse which ran for 52 episodes (and two OVAs), and the second is Mahou Tsukai Tai (Magic User's Club) written by Ohta Tami (six episodes in the OVA and the TV series is currently running on Japanese TV). Both series are fantasy romances -- although Fushigi Yuugi emphasizes serious romance more than the other series. Since I assume most of you are unfamiliar with the plots, I will briefly summarize. The heroine of Fushigi Yuugi is a modern Japanese girl, Miaka, who reads a mystical book and is transported into ancient, magical China. There she becomes the priestess who is fated to bring together all the warriors of Suzaku and when she does, she will be able to summon this entity and make wishes (thereby saving the world, etc.). One warriors is Nuriko -- a courtesan to the emperor. She is blessed with incredible strength (typically a marker of masculinity) and in fact in her first appearance she saves Miaka trapped under a collapsed building, tossing large pieces of stone behind her as if she is looking through her laundry. After this dramatic entrance, Nuriko flirts with both of the heroine's chief love interests, Hotohori, the emperor, and Tamahome -- which infuriates and confuses Miaka. Nuriko is more of a woman than Miaka can be and forcefully displays her attraction to the male characters which Miaka can only hint at. Nuriko has longer hair, feminine clothing, a beauty mark. Miaka is clumsy, girlish and almost always shown in her school uniform. Nuriko is a "woman" to Miaka's "girl."

        However, Miaka accidentally discovers that this "she" is a he when Nuriko's clothing is pulled down far enough to reveal the lack of secondary feminine characteristics -- that is, no breasts. Immediately, Miaka states confusedly "you are a male?" and in her attempt to grasp this discovery, images of hyper-masculine body builders flash in front of her. Nuriko blurs gender distinctions revealing what Butler states that "drag implicitly reveals the imitative structure of gender itself" (175). That is, gender is a performance thereby negating heteronormative ideals. The hyper masculine body cannot be a natural one because of Nuriko's femininity. But it is the first image that Miaka thinks of.
 
        Before and after the discovery of Nuriko's physical sex, his advances to each male characters are not only rebuffed but also not taken seriously by anybody (as if, the male characters "naturally knew" that Nuriko was a male). In fact, he is looked at as unnatural. At one point, the little healers, Nyan-nyans, when they are helping Miaka and other wounded warriors, ask Nuriko if he could be healed. He says "I'm not hurt." To which the nyan-nyan replies "of your perversion." Nuriko obviously declines the offer and responds with comedic violence. In another scene, when Miaka and Nuriko meet again after a separation, we see another example of homophobia. Miaka and Nuriko grab hands. Miaka greets Nuriko with "are you still gay?" to which Nuriko replies equally as happy, "are you still stupid?" -- thereby implying that homosexuality is a character flaw even if it is endearing. On the other hand, this meeting -- in its joyful tone -- indicates that Nuriko and Miaka share a bond that allows them to joke with the other in this manner.

        In fact, Nuriko feels a kinship with females rather than an attraction. He explains that he has become a woman to replace his dead sister -- whose life was tragically cut short when they were both very young. Nuriko takes over his sister's identity -- her gender as well as her name. Nuriko has promised to fulfill the destiny of a woman and thereby becomes the feminine, overtly sexual and desiring female. The homosexual position has been co-opted by heterosexual female norms. Yet the anime series, with its focus on romantic heterosexual love, cannot sustain Nuriko's identity; He is literally sacrificed.

        Nuriko's death scene supports both plot points and the heterosexual norm. The sequence takes a full episode with the ramifications lingering afterwards. Trying to move a large boulder to allow his friends to continue their quest, Nuriko is attacked by an enemy, stabbed through the heart. His last act is to move the boulder even as his blood gushes from his wound. In the delirium of the last living moments, Nuriko envisions a life with Miaka in the "real" world (her world -- contemporary Japan), driving around, shopping, and so on. It is a happy vision but an impossible one. This is perhaps the most moving event in the series and one that shakes up all the characters -- even the ones who never took Nuriko seriously. In fact, it is as if once Nuriko is dead, that it is possible to reveal deeper feelings and connections.

        In a much lighter vein, I turn to the shoujo comedy, Mahou Tsukai Tai with its overtly homosexual character, Aburatsubo. Like Fushigi Yuugi, this series uses the homosexual character to support heterosexual norms. Set in contemporary Japan, the story focuses on a high school club of magic users. Aburetsubo, the vice president of the club, has unrequited love for the president, Takeo whose heterosexuality is clearly proclaimed through his numerous --and often at inappropriate times -- sexual fantasies about the three female members.[3]

        Aburatsubo's look is very feminine -- long red hair, sultry looking eyes and fluttering eyelashes, that in his first appearance in the anime, a sign pops up to say "this is a man" so that there is no confusion. Unlike Nuriko, however, Aburatsubo doesn't dress overtly in drag (although he chooses to wear thigh high boots when in his witches gear) He wants to be seen as a man, albeit a homosexual one. His feelings for Takeo are made clear from the first moment. Takeo rebuffs his advances and a large source of humor in the anime derives from Takeo's discomfort at his colleague's advances. In this scene, we see Aburatsubo in the throes of a fantasy about Takeo while Takeo desperately tries to stay awake. Even without the overt markers of gender such as clothing, Aburatsubo's desire is clearly feminized. We also laugh at the situation because of Takeo's homophobia although there is an element of sympathy for his situation.[4]

        Aburatsubo's homosexuality is often the source of humor in the series but at the same time, he is the most competent member of the club. He is able to fly masterfully unlike Nanami or Sae. His magic spells almost always work -- unlike Akane's natural gift of magic where she has a tendency to make things spin before the magic takes effect. Outside of the club, he excels at everything he does -- sports and academics. He's popular and handsome; everything would be fine for him, except for his homosexuality.
 
        Like the initial relationship between Nuriko and Miaka in Fushigi Yuugi, Aburatsubo rightly sees the heroine, Sae, who has an unspoken desire for Takeo as a rival or as he calls her a "burden." Sae is unable, as Aburatsubo does so easily and frequently, to proclaim her love for Takeo. Unlike Nuriko and Miaka, however, this rivalry does not blossom into a friendship. Instead, we have a complication -- another female member of the club, Nanami, has fallen in love with Aburatsubo. It is here that we see that the homosexual role both co-opts the heterosexual female role and yet can never quite fulfill it. Homosexuality is rendered harmless by proclaiming it is "just like female heterosexual love" but it cannot, however, fulfill the heterosexual relationship.

        In this scene, Nanami has decided to confess her feelings for Aburatsubo even though she clearly knows that he is in love with Takeo. Aburatsubo tells Nanami that he loves her too because he understands the feelings of rejection -- never to be noticed by the loved one. Interestingly, the camera lingers on Nanami's reaction as Aburatsubo delivers his devastating yet empathetic rejection. We are meant to see how much this affects Nanami -- not Aburatsubo. His feelings are sacrificed in order to uphold the heterosexual norm -- that it is appropriate for us to feel for Nanami and only for Aburatsubo when his emotions match hers. It is also interesting in this scene that none of Aburatsubo's flamboyant characteristics are present. He speaks evenly and honestly -- as if this is his "true self" and his comic flirtations with Takeo only mask the pain. Like Nuriko who "becomes" his sister, Aburatsubo is twinned with Nanami and through her feelings, they share a special bond together.

        In conclusion, while these anime series flirt with subverting the heterosexual norm of the heroine and her love interest, ultimately, these norms are satisfied and secured by male homosexuality. The homosexual male is able to portray feminine desire when the heroines cannot and yet at the same time, never fulfill the destiny of heterosexual love. In her conclusion, Judith Butler claims that "Indeed, part of the pleasure, the giddiness of the [drag] performance is in the recognition of a radical contingency in the relation between sex and gender in the face of cultural configurations of causal unities that are regularly assumed to be natural and necessary" (175). In other words, a drag performance destroys what it means to be a "real woman" or a "real man" by claiming those typically "natural" categories are nothing more than social constructions. As seen in these previous examples in Fushigi Yuugi and Mahou Tsukai Tai, a man can be much more the woman than an actual woman. But since these are stories that emphasize heterosexual norms and romance, then the homosexual male's feelings must be made become merely a shadow of the heterosexual female's position.

[1] My study, however, is limited by what is made available to English speakers commercially and through the fan networks.
[2] Bishounen are often heterosexual men who have feminine qualities of beauty. At most, homosexuality is only hinted at and the homoerotic element is often brought out in fan mangas called "doujinshis").
[3] Although, oddly enough, sometimes Aburatsubo slips into these fantasies to play a very minor role.
[4] One might wonder why Takeo continues to associate with Aburatsubo but as the president of a very small and unpopular club, to lose even one member would be devastating to its continuance.