Nothinggg Better Than Torturing An Emotionally Repressed Character Until Every Single Trauma They've

i hope i am not only a mutual to you but also someone you can point at a fictional character and go "oh shit that guy on tumblr is super fucking mentally unwell about that one" about

Discussions of what "counts" as "canon" queer representation fall apart the second you start talking about media older than about five years or so. If your only metric for "canon queerness" is a character looking directly into the camera and explaining their identity in specific, modern, US-American-English terminology, you're not going to get a good picture of what queer media looks like. If your barometer for what counts as "canon" requires two characters of the same gender to kiss on-screen, you're not going to get a good picture of what queer media looks like.

Dr. Septimus Pretorius (portrayed by Ernest Thesiger in 1935's Bride of Frankenstein) was never going to look directly into the camera and explain his sexuality in 2024 terms, but he remains an icon in queer media history. You cannot look at that character (blatantly queer-coded in the manner of the time, played by a queer man in a film directed by another queer man) and tell me that he isn't a part of queer media history.

To be honest, even when discussing modern queer media, I would argue that the popular idea of what "counts" as "canon" is very narrow and flawed. I've seen multiple posts in the past few days that say the Nimona movie is "implied" trans representation, and I just...no, y'all, it's not "implied," it's an allegory. The entire damn movie is about transgender struggle, and the original comic is deeply tied into N.D. Stevenson's own queer journey. It isn't subtle. You cannot look at that movie and pretend that it isn't about trans struggle. It's blatant, and to say that Nimona "isn't canonically trans" is a take that misses the story's entire message, and the blatant queerphobia that almost kept the movie from happening. (I wrote a five thousand word essay about the topic.)

Queer themes, queer coding, queer exploration, and queer representation can all exist in a piece of media that doesn't seem to have "canon queer characters" on the surface. Most queer characters are never going to be able to explicitly state their specific identity labels, be it due to censorship or just due to the fact that scenes like that don't fit in some narratives. Some stories aren't conducive to a big "so what's your identity?" scene.

Explicit, undeniable, "this is my identity in no uncertain terms" scenes are very important and radical, and I'm not saying they shouldn't ever exist. I am saying that you can't consider those scenes the only way for queerness in a piece of media to be "canon."

Ahhh, this is a really good essay!!

There's a really good scene of Minamisawa that's in (currently untranslated) a drama CD that takes place between Holy Road and Chrono Stone, where Minamisawa got agitated over Gouenji and Kidou calling Sangoku's version of Rairaiken's rice bowl "not real Rairaidon" and went on an argument with Kidou over it loolll. I love how he went from apathetic to openly defending his friends...

(yes Gouenji and Kidou picked fights with middle schoolers. And Kidou got offended over Minamisawa calling him old. Grown ass adults)

I love Minamisawa's arc, I'm sad he left Raimon so early on bc I would've loved to see more of him, but it's still so satisfying.

I really like that he and the rest of Gassan Kunimitsu had to learn that they can't always depend on Fifth's rules. the team had already been following them even before Minamisawa joined, and he was already okay with - and kind of hoping - to just be able to fall in line and graduate with a good-looking student record. but having been in Raimon before, that seed was already planted about fighting for what you love, and he realized just what it was that he truly wanted- and that the only way for him to get it, was to fight like hell for it.

and I love that his teammates saw him give it his all and realized that Fifth's rules had been holding them back, and then and there decided to abandon those rules and throw themselves into the battle. not just to win, but for Minamisawa. because he fought so hard, against his old team no less, for something they were all hoping would just fall into their lap if they behaved and did as told. he, a newcomer, proved to them that standing by and watching wouldn't help them, and instead of disregarding him, they accepted his influence and fully committed to playing a fair and fun match. in a way, Minamisawa was to them what Tenma was to Raimon- a revolutionary wind.

him playing against his old team in the first place brings a lot of good drama also, like the betrayal and the anger and confusion- I don't know just how close he was with the other third years, but I think one of them mentioned that he hadn't told them anything about what school he was transferring to, or even that he was transferring at all. to their knowledge he just quit the soccer club and that was it. any feelings of betrayal make sense, this came out of nowhere for them.

and on his end, there seems to be some frustration about how things unfolded- he didn't leave for no reason after all, and even though he jumped at the opportunity to, it doesn't mean he feels apathetic about it. Minamisawa seems like the type of guy to act cool on the outside, but ruminate on things quite a lot inside his head. and he's not emotionless, leaving the team and Raimon as a whole had to be a big step for him, I just believe that he chose not to show it. it would be easier for everyone that way.

I really love that he acknowledged Tenma as a good player and a worthy addition to Raimon, giving credit for stirring the team with the wind of revolution. the effects that Tenma had on the team may have lead to Minamisawa leaving, but it also lead to him finding new friends and his own soccer at Gassan Kunimitsu, and ultimately reconnecting with Raimon after that match. he wasn't exactly welcome to change at first, but acknowledging and vocalizing Tenma's role in changing his life for the better is proof that he's changed and grown a lot.

and on top of that, Raimon assuring him that no matter what he'll do or where he'll go, there'll always be a spot for him at Raimon? that they'll always be waiting for him? ahhh man it's so good, it's that promise of eternal friendship and support, even after everything, even though he was the one who left. and they acknowledge that Gassan Kunimitsu needs a player like him, that he belongs to that team too now, but that it doesn't matter which uniform he wears- he will always have friends at Raimon.

Kidou and Genda putting so much trust in each other.... my kigens..... (scoops my crumbs)

when people call me their friend

sometimes a trans headcanon is 5 pages of careful textual analysis and reasoning and sometimes it's "i know this doesn't make sense but it's my favourite character and i get to decide the gender" and sometimes you have both within the same media and that's beautiful.

Clean scans from Animage, June 2014

Inazuma Eleven character designers, Ikeda Yuuji and Inoue Yuuko.

twitter limby art two

if we ignore the racist lips i actually really fuck with this design. i like the cabbage lookin hair

speaking of the lips i think it's funny that they forgot to draw them in this group shot. like he looks fine with normal lips why'd they have to give him the racist lips 💀

I’m afraid that when I say “my butch,” people, especially straight people, are hearing “my daddy.” That’s fine for many. But when I say “my butch”, what I mean is: