20 Best LGTBQ+ Anime Movies and TV Shows, Ranked

How to use this ranking

“LGBTQ+ anime” is a broad label. Yuri!!! on ICE and given center male-male romance, while Bloom Into You and Sweet Blue Flowers center relationships between girls. Wandering Son and Zombie Land Saga are especially relevant to viewers looking for transgender themes. Princess Jellyfish and Stars Align are broader gender-expansive or queer-adjacent works rather than romance stories.

Explicit canon is prioritized, but influential works with queer-coded characters, gender-nonconforming themes, or long-standing queer readings are included when that distinction matters. “Boys’ love” and “girls’ love” are useful genre terms, but they do not automatically describe every LGBTQ+ experience, and a title’s genre label should not be treated as a substitute for examining its actual characters and relationships.

#1 Best Overall

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20. The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (2023 TV series)

Anisphia and Euphyllia’s relationship gives this fantasy series a strong sapphic center. The story combines royal succession, magical invention, dynastic expectations, and a romance that grows more explicit as the series progresses.

It ranks last not because the pairing lacks importance, but because the televised adaptation leaves substantial source material beyond its ending. Viewers who want a completed-feeling anime romance may find the stopping point abrupt. Those who enjoy fantasy world-building and do not mind continuing into the source material will find a lively, emotionally direct alternative to school-based girls’ love.

Best for: Viewers who want sapphic romance in a royal fantasy setting.

19. Kase-san and Morning Glories (2018 short film/OVA)

This compact girls’ love story begins with two high-school girls who are already in a relationship. Yamada and Kase do not need to spend the entire story discovering whether they like each other; instead, the drama comes from insecurity, distance, communication, and uncertainty about the future.

That premise makes it unusually affirming. The film is short enough to watch in one sitting and avoids the heavier trauma and ambiguity associated with several older queer anime. Its short-form format is important: it is a film/OVA, not a full television season, so it cannot develop every part of the relationship at the same length as a series.

Best for: Anyone looking for a sweet, concise WLW romance with an established couple.

18. Sailor Moon Crystal (2014–2016 TV series)

Sailor Moon has been historically important to LGBTQ+ anime audiences because of its same-gender and gender-nonconforming characters. Sailor Moon Crystal brings that franchise to a modern television adaptation and remains a useful recommendation for viewers who want queer visibility inside a large-scale magical-girl adventure.

There is an important caveat: representation and relationship details can vary between adaptations and localizations. Different releases have not always handled every character or relationship identically, so broad claims about the entire franchise should be avoided. Crystal works best as part of the franchise’s longer history rather than as a narrowly defined LGBTQ+ romance.

Best for: Magical-girl fans interested in a franchise with major queer cultural significance.

17. Cardcaptor Sakura (1998–2000 TV series and films)

This magical-girl classic treats several forms of same-gender affection as an ordinary part of its character relationships. The relationship between Toya and Yukito is a major queer subplot, while other characters invite bisexual or queer readings without the series being marketed as an LGBTQ+ romance.

Its importance lies partly in normalization. Queer affection is woven into a mainstream children’s story rather than isolated as a tragic revelation or a problem to solve. Some relationships remain implicit or are framed differently depending on the adaptation and localization, which is why Cardcaptor Sakura belongs in the list as a historically significant, queer-inclusive classic rather than as an explicit romance title.

Best for: Viewers who want queer representation within an all-ages magical-girl adventure.

16. Zombie Land Saga (2018–2021 TV series)

Zombie Land Saga is primarily a supernatural idol comedy, but Lily Hoshikawa gives it one of its most significant queer storylines. Lily is a trans girl, and her past, self-identification, and struggles with gender are treated as meaningful parts of her character rather than a disposable joke.

The series ranks below relationship-centered titles because Lily is one member of a large ensemble. Even so, the show’s combination of absurd comedy, music, and a surprisingly thoughtful examination of gender identity makes it an approachable choice for viewers who want trans representation without watching a romance-first anime.

Best for: Viewers who want a funny ensemble series with a substantial transgender character arc.

15. Stars Align (2019 TV series)

The premise is a struggling middle-school soft-tennis club whose members face problems far beyond competition. Abuse, family instability, financial hardship, and emotional neglect shape the team’s daily life. Within that broader portrait of adolescent vulnerability, the series also addresses gender identity and self-expression.

Stars Align is not a romance-first recommendation, and its representation is best described as thematic rather than as a complete LGBTQ+ storyline. Its value is its refusal to separate identity from the other pressures young people experience. The sports framework becomes a way to examine whether a young person can claim any control over their own life.

Best for: Viewers who want serious character drama and queer-relevant themes rather than a central romance.

Rank #2

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14. No. 6 (2011 TV series)

In this dystopian science-fiction story, Shion and Nezumi are drawn together while confronting authoritarian control, class division, and political violence. Their bond is materially important to the plot, and the relationship becomes explicitly romantic rather than remaining decorative subtext.

The series is stronger at atmosphere, moral conflict, and political allegory than at resolving every part of its relationship arc. That unevenness keeps it below the more emotionally complete romances on this list, but the combination of speculative fiction and a consequential male-male relationship remains distinctive.

Best for: Science-fiction viewers who want romance integrated with dystopian politics.

13. Princess Jellyfish (2010 TV series)

This comedy follows an ensemble of women whose unconventional interests and social isolation bring them together. Gender-nonconforming fashion and a memorable cross-dressing character are central to the series’ interest in people who do not fit conventional gender or social roles.

It should not be sold as a straightforward lesbian or gay romance. Princess Jellyfish is better understood as gender-expansive and queer-adjacent, with its strongest contribution coming from its empathy for outsiders and its resistance to rigid ideas about appearance, femininity, and respectability.

Best for: Viewers who want a funny ensemble story about gender presentation and social nonconformity.

12. Adachi and Shimamura (2020 TV series)

Adachi and Shimamura’s relationship develops through hesitation, emotional dependence, internal monologue, and the gradual recognition that their attachment is romantic. The series is deliberately quiet. It is more interested in fleeting interactions and private uncertainty than in constant plot escalation.

That slow-burn approach is its greatest strength and its main limitation. Viewers who enjoy atmosphere and introspection may find the pauses emotionally precise; viewers seeking a decisive romance may find the adaptation frustratingly incomplete. The anime also does not cover the source novels and manga as fully as a reader may want.

Best for: Patient viewers who prefer subtle, contemplative girls’ love.

11. I’m in Love with the Villainess (2023 TV series)

Rae Taylor’s attraction to Claire François, the supposedly villainous noblewoman, is not a hidden subplot. Rae’s explicitly lesbian desire drives the fantasy-comedy romance and gives the show a directness that many earlier yuri anime avoid.

The premise also deserves a careful qualification. Rae’s persistence, the power imbalance between the characters, and the series’ comedic treatment of her pursuit will not work for every viewer. This is a heightened fantasy romance, not a realistic coming-out drama or a model of uncomplicated courtship. Its appeal is the high-concept combination of open lesbian desire, royal politics, magic, and comedy.

Best for: Viewers who want a forthright lesbian protagonist in an irreverent fantasy romance.

10. Sasaki and Miyano (2022 TV series, plus film)

Miyano begins as a boys’ love fan who is comfortable consuming queer romance as fiction. His relationship with the older Sasaki gradually makes that subject personal, forcing him to distinguish between enjoying a genre and recognizing same-gender attraction in his own life.

The anime’s appeal is its warmth. Communication, patience, and small emotional realizations matter more than melodramatic obstacles, making it one of the most approachable school romances on the list. The franchise also includes Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation, a film that continues their story.

Best for: Newcomers who want a gentle, low-conflict MLM romance.

9. Doukyuusei (2016 feature film)

This hand-drawn film follows two high-school boys whose relationship develops through music, school life, and mutual vulnerability. Its compact structure gives the romance a clean emotional shape without requiring a multi-season commitment.

Doukyuusei is particularly easy to recommend to newcomers to queer anime cinema. The visual style is delicate, the character work is intimate, and the drama comes from the boys learning to be honest with each other rather than from an enormous external plot. It is a film, not a television series, so it belongs on a watchlist for a single evening.

Best for: Viewers seeking a tender, self-contained BL film.

Rank #3

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8. The Stranger by the Shore (2020 feature film)

Set in Okinawa, this concise film brings two young men together by the sea and follows the relationship as it encounters family pressure, emotional guardedness, and adult responsibility. The romance is direct, but the characters are not reduced to a simple fantasy of perfect acceptance.

Its strongest practical advantage is its self-contained format. Someone who wants a polished male-male romance without committing to several seasons can begin and finish the story in one film. The emotional conflicts are familiar—fear of rejection, family expectations, and difficulty articulating needs—but the Okinawan setting and restrained visual presentation give the film its own atmosphere.

Best for: Viewers who want a compact, visually polished MLM romance.

7. The Adolescence of Utena (1999 feature film)

This film is a surreal, compressed reworking of the ideas established by Revolutionary Girl Utena. It intensifies the gender, desire, and liberation themes while using a more overtly erotic visual language and a bolder cinematic structure.

It is best approached as a companion or alternate interpretation, not as a straightforward sequel. The film assumes an interest in the symbolic world of Utena and is therefore a less forgiving first introduction than the television series. For viewers already receptive to its theatrical imagery, however, it offers a sharper and more concentrated version of the franchise’s queer critique.

Best for: Fans of the television series who want a more surreal and provocative reinterpretation.

6. Sweet Blue Flowers (2009 TV series)

Fumi and Akira are childhood friends whose lives become entangled with desire, heartbreak, family expectations, and social pressure. The series is restrained and emotionally observant: queer experience is allowed to include tenderness, confusion, embarrassment, and ordinary disappointment rather than being reduced to either tragedy or sensationalism.

The show also broadens its perspective beyond a single identity label, including a character whose bisexuality is part of the story. Its refusal to turn every queer experience into a catastrophe gives the series an enduring warmth, even when the characters make painful choices.

Best for: Viewers who want a quiet lesbian coming-of-age drama with emotional complexity.

5. Wandering Son (2011 TV series)

Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki navigate gender expression, puberty, dysphoria, friendship, and social pressure in one of anime’s most serious treatments of transgender themes. The series observes adolescence from close range, where clothing, names, bodies, school, and the reactions of other people can all become sources of anxiety.

Wandering Son is not a conventional romance, and its youth-focused perspective can be emotionally demanding. The anime adaptation is also incomplete compared with the full source story, so viewers should not expect every character’s journey to receive a final resolution on screen. Its importance comes from the care and seriousness with which it portrays gender self-discovery.

Content note: The series deals with dysphoria, bullying, puberty, and social rejection.

Best for: Viewers specifically seeking a thoughtful anime about trans identity and adolescence.

4. Bloom Into You (2018 TV series)

Yuu Koito has always expected romantic love to feel a certain way, but when she receives a confession, she discovers that she does not experience attraction as easily as she imagined. Touko Nanami, meanwhile, falls for Yuu while carrying her own complicated ideas about identity and selfhood.

The result is one of anime’s most nuanced lesbian romances. The series treats uncertainty about attraction as a genuine experience rather than a defect that must be corrected, which has led some viewers to read Yuu through an ace-spectrum lens. It also gives both girls emotional agency instead of making one a simple lesson for the other.

The anime does not tell the entire manga story. Seven Seas has published eight English manga volumes, making the Bloom Into You manga a useful option for readers who want the complete narrative beyond the televised adaptation. Confirm the edition and availability before purchasing.

Best for: Viewers who want emotionally precise WLW romance and a thoughtful treatment of attraction.

3. given (2019 TV series and 2020–2024 films/continuations)

given uses music as both a language for grief and a way for its characters to build trust. Mafuyu and Ritsuka’s relationship develops within a band, where songwriting and performance force private feelings into public expression. The story also follows Haruki and Akihiko as their relationship develops.

Grief is not merely background decoration here. It shapes how the characters communicate, how they create, and how they understand the possibility of loving someone after loss. That emotional focus gives the franchise more weight than a simple school BL premise, while the band setting supplies a clear visual and musical identity.

Rank #4

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The franchise consists of the 2019 television anime, the 2020 film, and a two-part continuation released in 2024. This makes it a larger commitment than a single film, but also gives its relationships more room to develop.

Best for: Viewers who want male-male romance intertwined with music, grief, and creative collaboration.

2. Yuri!!! on ICE (2016 TV series)

For viewers who want a sports anime with a central same-gender romance, Yuri!!! on ICE remains the most accessible starting point on this list. Japanese figure skater Yuuri Katsuki is struggling professionally when legendary skater Victor Nikiforov takes an interest in him and becomes his coach. Their coach-athlete relationship develops into a committed romantic partnership.

The series works because the romance is not detached from the sports story. Performance, confidence, public vulnerability, ambition, and intimacy all affect one another. The skating sequences provide spectacle, but the emotional engine is Yuuri learning to perform and live with greater trust while Victor becomes more than an idealized figure at the edge of the rink.

For collectors, the announced Yuri!!! on ICE Blu-ray 10th-anniversary SPECIAL Blu-ray & CD BOX is scheduled for December 23, 2026 as a Japanese release. That announcement does not establish a U.S. release, English subtitles, region compatibility, price, or current retailer availability, so check those details before ordering. The planned film ICE ADOLESCENCE should not be presented as an upcoming watchable release: its official status is postponed/canceled.

Best for: Viewers who want the clearest entry point into a romantic MLM anime that is also a compelling sports series.

1. Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997 TV series)

Revolutionary Girl Utena is the strongest overall choice because its queer themes are not an accessory to the story: gender, desire, power, romance, and liberation are the story. Utena wants to be a prince rather than a conventional princess, and she enters the academy’s dueling system, where victory gives her the “Rose Bride,” Anthy Himemiya.

The relationship between Utena and Anthy is central to both the emotional drama and the series’ allegorical structure. The show questions the roles that patriarchal romance assigns to its characters, then complicates that critique with symbolism, repetition, and psychological violence. Its gender play remains unusually rich decades after its original broadcast because it does not offer a simple checklist of identities; it asks who gets to act, who is possessed, who is protected, and what liberation might require.

Utena is also the most demanding recommendation here. The series includes abuse, incest, sexual violence, coercion, and disturbing power dynamics. Those elements are not incidental, and the series’ metaphorical style can make them harder rather than easier to process. Viewers who want a light romance should start elsewhere; viewers willing to engage with difficult material will find one of anime’s foundational queer works.

Watch the television series before The Adolescence of Utena if you want the clearest introduction. The 1999 film is a more compressed, surreal companion and should not be treated as a conventional sequel.

Best for: Viewers seeking a landmark work of queer anime, gender critique, and symbolic storytelling.

Before you choose where to watch

Streaming and home-video availability is title-, territory-, edition-, and date-specific. This list does not claim that every ranked title is currently available on a particular U.S. service or retailer. Licensing changes, and a catalog listing in one country may not exist in another. Search for the exact title in your territory and check whether the release is subtitled or dubbed, whether the disc is region-compatible, and whether a film is being listed separately from its television series.

That caution matters especially for older series, Japanese collector releases, and franchises with multiple adaptations. Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon have localization histories that can affect how relationships are presented. The Adolescence of Utena is a film rather than another season. Kase-san and Morning Glories is an OVA/short film. Yuri!!! on ICE’s announced 2026 anniversary box is a Japanese release unless a separate regional edition is confirmed.

Final recommendation

Start with Yuri!!! on ICE if you want an accessible romantic sports story, Bloom Into You if you want the most carefully observed WLW relationship, or given if music and grief appeal to you. Choose Wandering Son for transgender themes, and choose Revolutionary Girl Utena when you are ready for the most ambitious—and most difficult—work on the list. Together, these titles show why LGBTQ+ anime cannot be reduced to one genre, mood, or kind of representation.