The number of animated series with LGBTQ characters, from 2005 to 2009, changed from those aired from 2000 to 2004, with the addition of various LGBTQ characters in Western animation. In the latter case, this included characters in series such as American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, Superjail!, and Archer. Even so, most of the LGBTQ characters still appeared in anime. Prominently, LGBTQ characters appeared in Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, Simoun, Strawberry Panic!, Canaan, Kanamemo, Sweet Blue Flowers, and Whispered Words.
This list only includes recurring characters, otherwise known as supporting characters, which appear frequently from time to time during the series' run, often playing major roles in more than one episode, and those in the main cast are listed below. LGBTQ characters which are guest stars or one-off characters are listed on the pages focusing exclusively on gay, lesbian, non-binary, and bisexual animated characters, and on pages listing fictional trans, pansexual, asexual, and intersex characters.
The entries on this page are organized alphanumerically by duration dates and then alphabetically by the first letter of a specific series.
2005
Duration Show title Character debut date Characters Identity Notes Country2005Best Student CouncilApril 20, 2005 Kaori Izumi Lesbian She is an assault squad rookie, and in Episode 3, "Payapaya in the Best Dorms," she admits she has a secret crush on Kanade Jinguuji and is jealous of Rino. JapanEmbracing Love March 31, 2005 Kyousuke IwakiGayIwaki comes from a conservative, traditionalist family while Katou comes from an open and accepting family. Despite this, Katou ultimately wins Iwaki's love, as shown in the first OVA, "Haru wo Daiteita," and shown in the series as a whole.Japan Youji KatouGift July 2, 2005 Nikey QueerNikey is an anthropomorphic cartoon dog and a parody of Mickey Mouse. In the 22nd episode, Nikey gets into a same-sex relationship with SKLet, a campy gay skeleton. The two stay as a couple for the rest of the series' run.France July 16, 2005 SKLet Gay He Is My Master April 21, 2005 Anna Kurauchi Bisexual She's bisexual, flirty, and constantly tries to do perverted acts with Izumi, who is mostly disgusted by her lesbianism. She was originally attracted to Yoshitaka, but because of Izumi's relentless effort convincing her to stay away from Yoshitaka, she mistook it as sign of interest, thus she fell in love with Izumi and became Yoshitaka's maid to follow Izumi, as shown in the 3rd and 4th episodes. JapanLegend of DUOApril 21, 2005 DuoGayVampire Duo discloses the secret of purana, an essence of living force, to humans so they may be able to survive past extinction as shown in multiple episodes. Duo is punished and his friend Zeig is sent to punish him, as they have an ongoing conversation about the importance of human existence throughout the series. Their relationship is not just platonic friendship and the two show a continuing attraction to each other, with Zeig carrying Duo to a future life in the final episode. Afterwards, the narrator describes Duo and Zeig as vampires "in love."JapanZeigLovelessApril 6, 2005 Ritsuka AoyagiGaySoubi, who has an attraction to young boys, often flirts with Ritsuka, much to his discomfort from the show's first episode. The two slowly grow feelings for each other. Writer and poet T.A. Noonan describes their love affair in the manga as falling into "both orthodox heterosexual and subversive homosexual contexts," as Ritsuka treats Soubi as an adult. In an interview with Yun Kōga, she said that while she doesn't consider the manga yaoi, but her fans do.Japan Soubi AgatsumaParadise Kiss October 3, 2005 Jōji "George" Koizumi Bisexual George is a designer at Parakiss. He is bisexual and sees himself as an "equal opportunity lover", including with the protagonist, Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka as shown in episodes like "Atlier" and "Future," and Isabella previously had a relationship with Joji.Japan October 20, 2005 Isabella Yamamoto Trans woman Isabella was assigned male at birth, but lives as a trans woman as revealed in the episode "Rose." Robin Brenner calls the character "one of the most realistic and accepting portrayals of a transgender character in anime," with the same applying to the manga. She acts as a mother figure to the members of ParaKiss and inspired George to make several dresses for Isabella since childhood. 2005–2006 My-Otome October 6, 2005 Tomoe Marguerite LesbianShe harbors romantic feelings for Shizuru, as shown from the first episode of the series, with Tomoe having a dark side as revealed later in the series. Japan2005–2008 Ben 10 February 18, 2006 Rojo Lesbian Rojo is a leader of a biker gang. She uses alien tech. Rojo was confirmed to be a lesbian by co-creator Duncan Rouleau on April 20, 2020, and she was in a relationship with fellow gang member Azul. Rojo also appeared in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse. United States2005–2011Fudêncio e Seus Amigos 2005 Conrado Khaki PansexualOne of the main characters of the series, his head is a persimmon that people often mistakenly believe to be a tomato. Conrado is hopelessly in love with Zezé Maria who he sees as the "perfect woman." Zezé is either a cross-dresser or a trans girl as shown in the episode "I want to be Cazé Peçanha." Conrado knows about this, but that does not stop him from loving him/her, regardless of whether Zezé Maria is a boy, girl or whatever Zezé identifies as.Brazil May 8, 2008 Zezé Maria Ambiguous Zezé Maria is one of the students at the school, with his/her name roughly translated into "Joe-Joe Mary". Zezé has the appearance of a witty little girl with a manly voice, often referred to using pronouns and articles of either gender, regarded by friends as a 'trans girl.' Zezé is shown to be attracted to men in one episode as shown in the episode "Zezé's Girlfriend." In another episode, "Gay!!," all the students become temporarily gay except Conrado, and Zezé Maria calls herself a lesbian, but Funérea (another girl) rejects her on the grounds that she became a lesbian too and does not think of Zezé as a girl. 2005–2014 The Boondocks December 11, 2005 Gangstalicious Gay A supporting character, he is a closeted homosexual and goes to great lengths to keep this secret from the public. He was formerly involved in a secret homosexual affair with a gangster named Lincoln who attempts to kill Gangstalicious for betraying their love while on tour, and at some point assaulted a record label executive and rapped about it on TRL only to be arrested later. He was also involved in a relationship with a hip-hop video vixen named Jessica Ethelberg, who later wrote a book revealing he was gay (despite the fact that there were already countless obvious clues to the fact beforehand) in the episode "The Story of Gangstalicious". United States2005–presentAmerican Dad! February 6, 2005 Roger Pansexual Roger is the very zany pansexual alien who lives in the Smith family's attic. Roger is shown to assume different aliases and a carousel of seemingly-endless lives, often outrageously deceiving numerous people. This includes a sweatshop owner, a bastard son of a prostitute and whore, wedding planner Jeannie Gold, news anchor Genevieve Vavance, and Meredith Fields (assuming the life of a socialite of the same name), along with hundreds of other personalities he embodies.United StatesMay 1, 2005 Greg CorbinGayGreg and Terry had a penchant for minor bickering, flirting, and working on stereotypical "couples' issues" on the set or in other scenes of the show. Greg is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans. He is presented as being very culturally sophisticated, at one point causing Stan to choose him over Francine as his guest to get into Avery Bullock's high-end party. Greg and Terry have a surrogate baby daughter, Liberty Belle. In a 2008 interview, show creator Seth MacFarlane said that he hoped that with these characters the show is "doing a small part to advance progress," and talked about writing funny scenes with both characters. In the season 13 episode "Anchorfran", their relationship came to an end when Terry dumped Greg to follow 311. Terry Bates February 23, 2015 Devin Lesbian Devin is a member of a lesbian roller derby team.
2006