Asexual Representation in Anime & Games
Happy Ace week everyone! This week is the annual week of awareness and celebration of folks under the Ace (Asexual) umbrella, and to celebrate I’ve rounded up my favorite anime and games with great Ace representation, including both canon and head-canon examples.
So what is asexuality? A very strict definition: Asexuality defined as the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. Which is a very rigid definition and narrow way of looking at the ace spectrum especially if someone hits some of the ‘check marks’ of asexuality, feels their experience is that of asexuality but does not fall within that rigid definition, it can be a bit isolating and confusing.
Aceness exists on a spectrum from Asexuality, Demi Sexual, Gray Ace with many micro labels into between. If you want more insight on the Ace experience I highly recommend “I Am Ace ” by Cody Daigle-Orians who also has references to other ace authors in their book as well.
As someone who is under the Ace umbrella, I always look for representation of Asexuality in the media I consume, mainly: Anime and Videogames! And while there is MUCH work that still needs to be done when it comes to accurate representation of Asexulity that does not lean on negative stereotypes, trauma or trying to ‘fix’ Aceness; there is positive representation out there!
So let’s dive into some canon and head-canon examples!
Anime
Maomao | Apothecary Diaries
Apothecary Diaries revolves around Maomao, a young intelligent apothecary who works in the imperial palace as a servant after being kidnapped. However, once her talent and knowledge is discovered by higher-ups, most notably a mysterious eunuch named Jinshi, she is promoted and uses her medical expertise to help patients and genius level of deduction skills to help solve mysteries within the palace.
Maomao is a great case study for aceness because I believe she is very neutral to the idea of consummation. She is very matter of fact when it comes to activities that happen in the brothel where she grew up. Furthermore, when teaching about the ‘act’ itself to others in the palace, she does not react like how others around her do when it comes to situations that may be intimate-adjacent. For Maomao, it seems like intimacy and all things under the umbrella are just logical steps to pro-creation, but she fully understands it can be a resulting action due to love and is not insensitive to that fact.
The conversation of sex positive, neutral and averse arises often within the ace community, and Maomao definitely falls in the neutral department. Maomao could also be a case study of Asexuality when it comes to dealing with an Allo partner.
Frieren | Frieren: Beyond’s Journey’s End
Frieren is the main protagonist of Frieren: Beyond’s Journey’s End and she is the last living member of the original Hero’s party who defeated the infamous demon king, due to her being an elf and having a very long lifespan. We see Frieren’s Journey during the present era of peace and how she comes to understand the meaning of life and value the people closest to her.
She describes herself and her kind, the elves, as never feeling sexual or romantic urges; and theorizes that is why the elf population is dwindling. What Frieren was describing is asexuality and aromanticism.
Throughout the anime no one is trying to ‘fix’ that part of Frieren, they simply accept her for who she is. While it’s strongly alluded that Himmel the Hero had feelings for Frieren, to the extent of giving her a ring that symbolizes eternal love, he knew that emotionally and her outlook on life as far as time did not align and that she would not be able to return his feelings; ultimately never confessing his feelings for her. However, Himmel did help Frieren gain much emotional intelligence throughout their journey together when it came to interpersonal friendships and interactions with people, although she was never able to identify him courting her.
Kusuo Saiki | The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is a comedy anime series that follows Kusuo Saiki, a pink haired high school student with near god-like psychic abilities. His abilities include telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis, and teleportation. His powerful psychic abilities are a major inconvenience to him as he works tirelessly to keep them hidden from his peers and live a normal life. Naturally though his powers often put him in the strangest and most absurd situations, which combined with the slice-of-life anime tropes adds to the humor of the show.
Saiki is thought to be on the Ace (and Aro) spectrum. He displays no interest in his peers in the way some of them are interested in them. His internal monologue, while robotic at times, speaks about how he doesn’t get the hype around nakedness, is not waiting for ‘the one’, nor does he believe someone can change who he is simply because they desire him.
Saiki is debated a lot about his aceness, and how that aceness may show up especially as an adolescent. For me, I knew that I was asexual as a teenager but I lacked the language to describe how I was feeling. I related to Saiki A LOT in high school, minus the immense psychic powers.
Anzu Hoshino | The Romantic Killer
Anzu Hoshino, a high school girl who is obsessed with video games, chocolate, and her cat Momohiki. She is straightforward, cares a lot about her friends, has a strong sense of justice and cares VERY little about how people perceive her. She has no interest in romance and prefers to indulge in her hobbies. But, her life takes an unexpected turn when she is visited by a little magical mischievous wizard named Riri, who informs Anzu that she has been chosen for a special program designed to increase the birth rate in their world by making her fall in love.
Anzu FULLY rejects this ‘opportunity’ and we find throughout her story that she displays signs of aromanticism, but also asexuality. She has no interest in increasing the birth rate and simply wants to live her life. She values platonic relationships and companionship over romantic or sexual ones. Romantic Killer is VERY Ace/Aro coded.
Tsukasa Kazuki | The Romantic Killer
Tsukasa Kazuki is the handsome transfer student who transfers into Anzu Hoshino’s class. He is pushed towards Anzu by the wizard Riri as a potential suitor in the quest of her contributing to increasing the birthrate. Kazuki is unaware of this plight and often thinks of Anzu as odd most of the time. However, they do eventually grow to be friends!
Asexuality exists on a spectrum, and within that spectrum are MANY micro-labels. There is a microlabel called Caedsexual or Caedosexual, which describes an individual who may have once been allo at one point in their life, but due to past trauma/a traumatic event they now identify on the ace spectrum. That is not a micro-label that is used lightly within the Ace spectrum, that is why as a micro-label you don’t hear about it much because it is so specific and very personal. In the Romantic Killer, you see how Kazuki’s backstory could contribute to his aversion to relationships, intimacy and overall closeness to people.
Video Games
Krobus | Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley does not have particularly out loud in your face ace representation; there is what is widely accepted as an Ace option in companionship when it comes to asking Krobus to be your roommate. You and Krobus can go to the movies on most days and when you interact, you hug instead of kissing. While you cannot adopt or have children with Krobus, if you have an existing child from a previous marriage, Krobus will help you take care of them. I love the platonic companionship Krobus offers as an option in Stardew, and I hope that in Haunted Chocolatier, now in development by Concerned Ape, we have more Ace Options!
Alvin | Backstage Pass
Backstage Pass is a fun interactive visual novel dating sim where you play as an up and coming makeup artist/ college student Sian Goodin. While Sian hopes to coast through college but is confronted with the fact she has to rely on her skills and industry knowledge to get through the year. Along her Journey she meets many people and potential suitors. One of those suitors is Alvin. You have to dig deep to get to this interaction as Alvin is more of a side character, which is unfortunate but during his path he admits that he has romantic feelings for Sian but physical feelings, which does fall under the asexual spectrum.
Be warned, while BackStage Pass is a great game, it does have a lot of bugs, so pack your patience if you decide to dive into this game!
Parvati Holcomb | Outer Worlds
Parvati is a potential companion for the stranger in Outer Worlds and is canonically asexual. She is a shy mechanic who often names her machines. While she is a talented engineer she often lacks confidence and is a bit indecisive. She has had romantic relationships in the past, she reveals that none of them lasted due to her asexuality and aversion to physical intimacy. She states that her partners found her cold and felt that relationship was not fulfilling for them.
I want to make it clear that if someone does not want to be in a relationship with you (if that is something you desire) and blame your aceness as the reason why, they are simply not your person. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, and your person who will accept you and your aceness IS out there!
Dusa | Hades
Dusa in the game Hades, is based on Medusa. Dusa is an adorable floating gorgon head with snakes for hair, green skin, yellow eyes and carries a feather duster in one of the snake’s mouths. Dusa is a maid in the House of Hades and is not sexualized in any way. GLAAD writer Adam Weinred considered Dusa to be asexual and aromantic. Dusa’s friendship with Zagreus is adorable, and it is revealed at one point Dusa rejected Zagreus’s advances and from there their platonic bond only deepend which is why their interactions in some cases can be interpreted in many ways. They have a great deal of respect for one another and I love how healthy their bond is.
More Representation
I would love to see more video games have good, healthy, non-stereotypical Asexual representation. Games and game series I believe would knock it out of the park are Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, Horizon (Horizon Zero Dawn/ Forbidden West), and Persona. These games already have a strong baseline for queer representation, and could definitively represent asexuality along with other identities!
Games like Spirit City: Lofi Sessions, The Sims, Disney Dreamlight Valley and many more do great jobs of being inclusive by having items in the game that have the Asexual Flag on them which always warms my heart and shows that more and more people are becoming aware and informed on Asexuality and the Ace spectrum.
However, there is always room for more positive representation because everyone deserves to be represented in the media that they consume!
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