Over the past several years, animation studios and creators have made a greater effort to include and represent LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. For a long time, it was taboo even to show them in an animated show unless it was for a quick gag, and usually only relegated to adult animation likeFamily GuyorSouth Park.
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Thankfully, we’ve made significant steps since then as we’ve seen numerous shows aimed at both kids and adults take the concept more seriously. While some shows still drop the ball — fans still aren’t quite over the wholeVoltron: Legendary Defenderdebacle — there are several that manage to nail it, and the world is all the better for it.
Adora and Catra — ‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’
Throughout its five-season run,She-Ra and the Princesses of Powerspent a lot of time developing the complex relationship between Adora (Aimee Carrero) and Catra (AJ Michalka). Both Adora and Catra were raised to be a part of the Horde, but after Adora found that the Horde was causing suffering in Etheria, she turned away from the Horde to fight against them leaving Catra feeling betrayed.
Throughout the show, Adora and Catra are at odds until the fifth season, when Catra’s conscience catches up with her, and she betrays the Horde. Catra is eventually rescued by Adora and joins the fight against the Horde, and it is finally her confession of love to Adora that saves Etheria.
Caitlyn and Vi — ‘Arcane’
Both of these characters could not have come from more different backgrounds. Caitlyn (Katie Leung) is a rich, royal girl from Piltover who joined the Enforcers as a way to make a difference, and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) is a poor, law-breaking survivor from Zaun who has gone through tragedy after tragedy. The two initially meet out of necessity as Caitlyn searches for the culprit behind the explosions that killed several of her allies.
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During their investigation, though, the two bond and gain a mutual attraction towards each other — an attraction that puts Vi at odds with her sister Powder, who is now going by the name of Jinx (Ella Purnell). While their relationship isn’t fully formed yet,Arcanewill be continuing sometime post-2022, so we can expect to see more of the power couple then.
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy — ‘Harley Quinn’
While they debuted in the comics long before appearing in animation, the 2019Harley Quinnseries marks the first time the couple has appeared in this form to the general public. Following Harley Quinn’s (Kaley Cuoco) misadventures after breaking up with the Joker, the show is an irreverent and hilarious take on the DC Comics mythos while refocusing Harley’s character Quinn as her own person disconnected from the Joker.
This is best represented in her relationship with Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), which goes from one of friendship in the first season to a more explicitly romantic one in the second. After sleeping with Ivy during a drunken celebration, the deed strains Ivy’s relationship with Kite Man (Matt Oberg), and he eventually leaves her once he realizes she loves Harley. The two then officially get together, much to audiences' delight.
Howard and Harold — ‘The Loud House’
Before Howard (Michael McDonald) and Harold (Wayne Brady), LGBTQ+ parents didn’t exist on children’s television. There might be a passing reference here and there, but other than that, parents were almost always straight, and if they weren’t, it was exclusively in adult animation.
The Loud Housechanged everything in that regard. Howard and Harold, the adoptive parents of Clyde, who is the best friend of the main character Lincoln Loud, are not only the first married gay couple in a Nickelodeon show but also make significant waves in representation by simply being stellar characters. They are wholesome, hilarious, and McDonald and Brady are clearly having a blast playing the characters, making the pair unforgettable.
Korra and Asami — ‘The Legend of Korra’
One of the more famous LGBTQ+ couples in recent years simply due to their revolutionary status, Korra (Janet Varney) and Asami (Seychelle Gabriel), are unique among LGBTQ+ representation in that it was by complete accident. Both characters were initially straight in the early writing stages, having been part of a love triangle between the both of them and their shared affections for Mako (David Faustino), the hot-headed, angsty firebender.
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However, the love triangle was divisive among fans and critics, but the writers quickly found that Korra and Asami had much stronger chemistry and thus planted the seeds in Seasons 3 and 4 for a slow relationship to begin to form between the two. It worked out, as fans loved the change, and the show ended with the two officially together.
Luz and Amity — ‘The Owl House’
The Owl Houseis revolutionary among animated shows for having no shortage of LGBTQ+ representation, including a non-binary character in Raine Whispers (Avi Roque). Its most talked-about representation from fans is the relationship between Luz Noceda (Sarah-Nicole Robles) and Amity Blight (Mae Whitman), which has been blossoming throughout two seasons at this current point.
Amity and Luz were initially at odds with each other, with Amity hostile towards Luz mainly due to her jealousy and the pressure she puts on herself. Luz finds common ground with her, and Amity learns to open up to other people. She gains a crush on Luz and eventually confesses, which Luz reciprocates after some thinking.
Marceline and Princess Bubblegum — ‘Adventure Time’
While it took nearly ten seasons to go ahead and do it, there were hints for fans that Marceline (Olivia Olson) and Bubblegum (Hynden Walch) were more than just friends. Throughout its run,Adventure Timeslowly built a rapport between the vampire queen and the princess of the Candy Kingdom and kept it mostly ambiguous for fans and audiences.
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And then the finale, “Come Along with Me,” happened, which officially confirmed what pretty much everybody knew — that Marceline and Bubblegum were romantically involved. Their relationship is further explored in Distant Lands, which has the two dealing with conflicts from Marceline’s past.
Ruby and Sapphire — ‘Steven Universe’
WhileSteven Universe’sgems are technically genderless and run on different rules than humans when it comes to sexuality, their female presentation and creatorRebecca Sugar’sgeneral philosophy towards the gems made it, so they worked as LGBTQ+ couples in the public eye. Ruby (Charlyne Yi) and Sapphire (Erica Luttrell) are the most obvious of this, being usually portrayed fused as Garnet (Estelle) due to their love for each other.
Ruby and Sapphire themselves are rarely seen, though they are given episodes to explore their relationship outside of fusion, particularly in the fifth season, where Sapphire feels betrayed by Rose and believes their relationship to be a lie. After learning more about themselves, the two get back together, continuing their relationship on their terms instead of simply being together for Rose’s sake.
Troy and Benson — ‘Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts’
While there have been several headways into more diverse LGBTQ+ representation, gay and bisexual men are still underrepresented, especially in all-ages media. This is what makesKipo and the Age of Wonderbeastsan essential show in making that headway. Benson (Coy Stewart) is one of the show’s lead characters and is revealed to be gay early on after he respectfully turns down Kipo (Karen Fukuhara), who has a crush on him.
Benson later meets a boy named Troy (Giullian Yao Gioiello) and gains a crush on him rather quickly. While their development is mainly relegated to quick glances and a couple of choice words, the two end up together in Season 3 and remain that way until the end.
Yunan and Lady Olivia — ‘Amphibia’
The most recently revealed couple on the list, Yunan (Zehra Fazal) and Lady Olivia (Michelle Dockery) are members of King Andrias’ (Keith David) royal court in Newtopia, unaware of his true motivations until the end of Season 2 in thebombshell episode “True Colours.”. Yunan and Olivia both unwillingly swear allegiance to Andrias but attempt to escape Newtopia with the Marcy Wu (Haley Tju), which leads to Marcy being possessed by The Core. Eventually, they work together with our heroes to stop Andrias' plans.
Both Yunan and Olivia share glances with each other throughout Season 3. They have several moments together, hinting at a shared affection — one that is confirmed in the epilogue of the series finale, “The Hardest Thing,” where two of them are now married and serving as dignitaries.
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