Iconic LGBTQ+ Anime to Add to Your Watch List

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Anime expert Preston Hargrove shares his favorite gay anime

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Yuri!!! on Ice

2 Given

3 Banana Fish

4 Classmates

5 Love Stage!!

6 Revolutionary Girl Utena

7 Sasaki and Miyano

8 Bloom Into You

9 Junjou Romantica: Pure Romance

10 Paradise Kiss

11 Yuri Is My Job!

12 The Stranger by the Shore

13 Gravitation

14 Gakuen Heaven

15 Sweet Blue Flowers

16 Uragiri Wa Boku No Namae Wo Shitteiru

17 No. 6

18 Sekaiichi Hatsukoi

19 Whispered Words

20 Sukisho

21 DRAMAtical Murder

22 Merman in My Tub

23 Tokyo Babylon

24 Sarazanmai

25 Sailor Moon

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Co-authored by Preston Hargrove and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: July 9, 2026 Fact Checked

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If you’re an anime fan who’s also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you’re in luck. There are tons of popular anime series that include queer representation. Whether you’re looking for BL, yuri, or LGBTQ+ themes in general, we interviewed anime experts to compile a list of some of the best gay anime out there. Let’s dive in!

Popular Gay Anime

Anime expert Preston Hargrove recommends watching Given if you’re looking for a great gay anime. Other popular anime centering LGBTQ+ characters include Yuri!! on Ice, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Jonjou Romantica, Gravitation, and Sarazanmai.

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1

Yuri!!! on Ice

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1. 
   Anime expert Nicole Favarelli says Yuri!! on Ice is a sports anime following an ice skater named Yuri: “Yuri is the main character, and he starts training with his new trainer, Victor. They develop a very strong friendship [that] points towards a relationship.” Spoiler alert: the series even ends with an on-ice proposal, and the characters exchange matching rings.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Disney+

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Preston Hargrove is an anime expert based in Charlotte, NC. He has over 20 years of experience with anime culture and creates anime content online.

   Nicole Favarelli is an anime expert, as well as a film and video director. She creates content on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

   Megan Blue is an anime expert with over 25 years of experience watching anime. She creates anime content online as @TheFangirlWatches.
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2

Given

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1. 
   Hargrove says Given is a “really good” gay anime and “the music is absolutely phenomenal.” The story centers on Ritsuka Uenoyama, a guitarist in an amateur rock band, as he helps the band’s vocalist, Mafuyu Sato, heal from his grief and trauma. Along the way, they develop feelings for each other.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

3

Banana Fish

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1. 
   Banana Fish is a crime thriller centering on Ash Lynx, a teenage gang leader, who teams up with a photographer named Eiji Okumura to investigate a brainwashing drug known only as “Banana Fish.” Though the series is better known for its action, it also features a romance between the two main characters.

   • Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
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4

Classmates

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1. 
   Classmates, or Doukyuusei, is a coming-of-age BL anime. Hikaru Kusakabe is a musician with a carefree attitude, while Rihito Sajo is a timid honor student. When Kusakabe catches Sajo practicing for their school’s chorus festival, he offers to give him music lessons. They develop a friendship that soon turns into something more.

   • Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video (to rent or purchase)

5

Love Stage!!

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1. 
   This romantic comedy follows Izumi Sena, a young man born into a famous family, who was mistakenly cast as a woman in a commercial. Ryoma Ichijo is an up-and-coming actor who has been in love with the “woman” from the commercial since it aired. When Sena is convinced to reprise his role, Ichijo is surprised to learn that he’s actually a man, but that doesn’t stop his feelings.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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6

Revolutionary Girl Utena

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1. 
   This popular yuri anime follows Utena Tenjou, a tomboy who wants to become a prince. She enters a tournament at her school to win the hand of the “Rose Bride,” Anthy Himemiya, and together, they fight against gender roles and expectations.

   • Where to watch: Not currently on streaming platforms

7

Sasaki and Miyano

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1. 
   Sasaki and Miyano is a slice-of-life BL that follows Miyano, a shy student who loves BL manga, and Sasaki, a popular upperclassman. After a chance encounter, the two begin bonding by reading BL, and slowly their relationship blossoms into something more.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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8

Bloom Into You

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1. 
   This yuri coming-of-age anime follows Yuu Koito, a student who dreams of falling in love, but fears it isn’t possible when a male classmate asks her out and she feels nothing. She then meets Touko Nanami, who confesses she has feelings for Yuu. The series then centers around Yuu’s journey to discover her self-identity.

   • Where to watch: Not currently on streaming platforms

9

Junjou Romantica: Pure Romance

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1. 
   Junjou Romantica tells the stories of 3 different male couples. The primary story follows Misaki Takahashi, a student who is desperately trying to pass his college entry exams. His tutor is Akihiko Usami, a wealthy novelist who also writes BL. The other stories follow the relationships between a professor and a nurse, as well as a professor and a wealthy young man.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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10

Paradise Kiss

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1. 
   Paradise Kiss prominently features several LGBTQ+ characters, including a bisexual man and a transgender woman. It’s a coming-of-age story that follows high school student Yukari as a group of art school students recruits her to model for their clothing brand, Paradise Kiss.

   • Where to watch: Not currently on streaming platforms

11

Yuri Is My Job!

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1. 
   In this romantic comedy, Hime Shiraki is a high school student who begins working at a cafe where all the waitresses pretend to be students at an all-girls boarding school, acting out popular yuri tropes for customers. Hime is paired with Mitsuki, who seems to hate her when they aren’t performing. But as they continue acting like they’re in love, they soon start to develop real feelings.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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12

The Stranger by the Shore

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1. 
   The Stranger by the Shore tells the story of the relationship between Shun, an aspiring novelist, and Mio, a grieving orphan. Shun is living with his aunt after his parents kicked him out for being gay. He meets Mio by the ocean, and the two slowly grow closer. Just as Shun is beginning to fall for Mio, however, Mio reveals he’s being sent to live on the mainland. They reunite 3 years later, as Mio confesses his feelings.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

13

Gravitation

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1. 
   Anime expert Megan Blue says Gravitation is “one of the first entirely gay romance stories in an anime, and it was one of the first to be dubbed and brought to the United States.” It follows singer Shuichi Shindo as he and his band seek to achieve fame. When his lyrics blow away one day, they’re found by the love interest, Eiri Yuki, who promptly tells Suichi his lyrics are “garbage.” Despite their rough start, Suichi can’t help but fall in love with him.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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14

Gakuen Heaven

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1. 
   This popular BL anime follows Keita Ito, a student who is accepted into Bell Liberty Academy (also known as BL Academy). He finds himself surrounded by handsome, talented boys who all have a romantic interest in him. In addition to romance, the story focuses on Ito’s journey to discover what makes him special.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Tubi, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video

15

Sweet Blue Flowers

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1. 
   Sweet Blue Flowers is a slice-of-life anime that explores the lives of teenage girls in the LGBTQ+ community. The story focuses on Fumi, a high school student who reconnects with an old friend, Akira, following a heartbreak. Fumi is attempting to come to terms with her sexuality, and Akira is there to support her while discovering her own love life.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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16

Uragiri Wa Boku No Namae Wo Shitteiru

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1. 
   Uragiri Wa Boku No Namae Wo Shitteiru, or The Betrayal Knows My Name, is a dark fantasy BL that follows orphan Yuki Sakurai, who discovers he is the reincarnation of the Light of God and gets caught up in a war between humans and demons. He learns he was a woman in a past life, and that his protector, Luka, was in love with him and has sworn to always protect him.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

17

No. 6

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1. 
   In No. 6, humans are separated into 6 city-states following a global war, with the 6th being the most advanced. The story follows a student named Shion, who offers shelter to a fugitive named Nezumi. As punishment, Shion is then forced to live in a poorer city. He and Nezumi then team up to uncover the truth behind several mysterious deaths and expose the city’s corrupt government. Along the way, they develop a romantic relationship and share a kiss at the end of the series.

   • Where to watch: Not currently on streaming platforms
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18

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi

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1. 
   Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, also known by the English title The World’s Greatest First Love, is a popular BL anime that follows multiple male couples who work in the same publishing house. One of the main plotlines focuses on Ritsu Onodera, a manga editor who discovers his tough boss is actually his first love from when they were teenagers.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

19

Whispered Words

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1. 
   Whispered Words is a classic yuri story. It follows high school student Sumika Murasame, who is secretly in love with her best friend, Ushio Kazama. Ushio is openly interested in girls, but she’s stated that she’s only into petite women, and Sumika is tall and athletic. The series explores the humor and complexities of young love.

   • Where to watch: Plex TV
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20

Sukisho

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1. 
   Sukisho is a romance and mystery anime that centers on Sora, a high schooler with amnesia. Both he and his roommate, Sunao, develop split personalities during his recovery. Here’s where things get complicated: Sora and Sunao have a tense relationship, but their alternate personalities are in love with each other. The series explores their relationship and the mystery of why the split personalities exist in the first place.

   • Where to watch: Tubi

21

DRAMAtical Murder

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1. 
   DRAMAtical Murder is a popular sci-fi anime that also happens to be BL. Aoba is a young man who has the supernatural power to influence people. He tries to keep his power hidden, but his life is disrupted when he’s suddenly forced to compete in a deadly virtual-reality game. The romantic elements are toned down in the anime, but the original visual novel heavily focuses on Aoba’s romantic encounters with other men.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll
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22

Merman in My Tub

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1. 
   Merman in My Tub is a funny, lighthearted BL anime. It follows high schooler Tatsumi, who rescues a merman named Wakasa and lets him live in his bathtub. This slice-of-life anime follows their daily lives and the chaos that comes with living with a merman. The characters don’t explicitly have a romantic relationship, but it’s heavily implied.

   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

23

Tokyo Babylon

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1. 
   If you’re looking for something a bit darker, the dark fantasy Tokyo Babylon may be for you. It follows a man named Subaru Sumeragi, who is the head of a group of spirit mediums. He and his team set out to solve occult mysteries around Tokyo. One of his team members is veterinarian Seishiro Sakurazuka, with whom Subaru shares a complex and tragic love story.

   • Where to watch: Plex TV
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24

Sarazanmai

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1. 
   Sarazanmai is a coming-of-age story centered around 3 middle school boys who are turned into kappas, a type of Japanese water spirit. To become human again, they must reveal their deepest secrets to each other to harvest shirikodama, or magical balls of desire. Many of the characters are gay; one of the 3 protagonists, Enta Jinnai, has a crush on his friend Kazuki, and two of the main antagonists, Reo Niiboshi and Mabu Akutsu, are in a relationship.

   • Sarazanmai was also created by Kunihiko Ikuhara, who directed Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sailor Moon.
   • Where to watch: Crunchyroll

25

Sailor Moon

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1. 
   Their relationship may not be the focus of the series, but Blue says Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are some of the most notable gay characters from anime, so we had to throw Sailor Moon in as a bonus. The series follows student Usagi Tsukino as she discovers she is the legendary guardian known as Sailor Moon and must team up with her fellow guardians to protect the Earth from evil. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are two of those guardians, who happen to be in a relationship.

   • Blue adds that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are important LGBTQ+ characters because their relationship was extremely controversial when the show first aired. Some countries, like the United States, even tried to write them off as cousins, even though their relationship was clearly romantic.
   • Where to watch: Hulu, Disney+, Pluto TV
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