This is a list of characters who cross-dress, whether LGBTQ+ or not, in animated series. This includes some characters listed on the list of animated series with LGBTQ characters page, drag queens, drag kings, tomboys, janegirls and others who cross-dress.
Cross-dressing generally runs counter to established gender norms and can be seen as a form of transgender behavior but it doesn't always indicate such an identity, even though popular media often "lump cross-dressing and homosexuality together."[1] There is also the phenomenon of "situational cross-dressing" where heterosexual characters cross-dress as a plot device or "other non-gender-expressive reasons," especially superheroes and supervillains.[2] [3] Harry Benshoff and Sean Griffin write that animation has always "hint[ed] at the performative nature of gender" such as when Bugs Bunny puts on a wig and a dress, he is a rabbit in drag as a human male who is in drag as a female.[4] This was preceded by cross-dressing in motion pictures began in the early days of the silent films. For instance, Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy occasionally dressed as women in their films. Even the beefy American actor Wallace Beery appeared in a series of silent films as a Swedish woman. The Three Stooges, especially Curly (Jerry Howard), sometimes appeared in drag in their short films. The tradition has continued for many years, usually played for laughs. Only in recent decades have there been dramatic films in which cross-dressing was included, possibly because of strict censorship of American films until the mid-1960s.
The names are organized alphabetically by surname (i.e. last name), or by single name if the character does not have a surname. If more than two characters are in one entry, the last name of the first character is used.
| Characters | Show title | Character debut date | Notes | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayumu Aikawa | Is This a Zombie? | He becomes a "mahou shoujo" as a result of absorbing Haruna's magic, resulting in him wearing a pink frilly outfit and all, in order to fight Megalos.[5] | Japan | ||
| Tomo Aizawa | Tomo-chan Is a Girl! | She is a teenage tomboy who is deeply in love with her childhood friend Junichiro Kubota. However, Junichiro only treats her more masculine than to be feminine, for she is often mistaken for a boy. Tomo has even been cast as the Prince for the high school play of Cinderella in episodes "My First Part-Time Job" and "Goodbye, Best Friend". | Japan | ||
| Masaki Akemiya | Whispered Words | Masaki likes Sumika, but when he notices that she is lesbian and likes Ushio he cross-dresses in order to catch her attention.[6] After his younger sister finds out, she sends pictures of him to a magazine and pictures of him start appearing in magazines under the alias Akemi Yamasaki. Ushio sees the pictures and develops a crush on Akemi and wants to meet 'her' as shown in the episode "4+1". | Japan | ||
| Aki | Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi | He is a transvestite who is the lifelong resident of the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade with an overly affectionate auntie-type attitude. In each parallel world, he often appears in various comedic female roles under the name Ms. Aki.[7] | Japan | ||
| Hibiki Amawa | I My Me! Strawberry Eggs | Graduated from college in athletics, he disguises himself as a woman so that he can obtain a job as a gym teacher under the alias of Miss Hibiki Amawa at the all-female Seitō Sannomiya Private School. He, however, has a school board growing suspicious of him and is exposed by one of his students, Fūko, who develops her feelings for him.[8] | Japan | ||
| Hime Arikawa | Himegoto | He is a cross-dressing boy, who is forced by members of the student council, like Aruku 18-kin, to wear frilly, girlish, outfits.[9] In the same series, Hime's brother, Kaguya, Hiro Toyotomi, No. 1, and Mitsunaga Oda, all of whom oppose the Student Council, also cross-dress. | Japan | ||
| Kaguya Arikawa | He cross-dresses as a girl like his brother, Hime, and every other male character in the series, apart from Yuuma.[10] | ||||
| Makoto Ariga | Wandering Son | Makoto, known as Mako for short, was assigned male at birth like Shuichi, expressing a desire to be a straight trans woman primarily due to her love of men and cross-dressing like Shuichi.[11] She even dreams of entering into a relationship with a cool adult man. | Japan | ||
| Bastien "Twink" | Q-Force | Twink is an effeminate gay French Canadian who is a drag queen taking on several disguises, known as the "Master of Drag" for a group of LGBT superspies called Q-Force.[12] | United States | ||
| Yellow Belmont | Genesis Climber MOSPEADA | Also known as Lancer Belmont in Robotech, he is a soldier who takes on the disguise of a female singer named Yellow Dancer.[13] In the OVA, Sorji is living with Yellow in a cabin in the woods. | Japan | ||
| Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo | Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo | An eccentric man with bodybuilder-sized muscles and a giant yellow afro who fights the forces of evil using his nose hair, he cross-dresses throughout the series.[14] | Japan | ||
| Bugs Bunny | Looney Tunes | Bugs appeared in ladies garb or cross-dressed in at least 40 cartoons.[15] Other characters such as Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig, and Sylvester the Cat also cross-dressed. As Chuck Jones put it, they put Bugs in drag because it was "funny" with people not thinking that a male character turning was turning into something "inappropriate," with audiences liking it.[16] | United States | ||
| Clayface | Harley Quinn | In the Season 2 episode "Riddle U", Clayface disguises himself as a female student under the name Stephanie in Riddler University where he meets his pseudo-boyfriend Chad.[17] | United States | ||
| Cybersix | Cybersix | Throughout this series, during the day Cybersix dresses up as a male literature teacher under the alias "Adrian Seidelman" who teaches at the Meridiana High School in the fictional city of Meridiana. At night, she switches back into her usual attire: a leather outfit, cape, and hat, fighting villains. She is aided by her brother, Data 7, and Lucas Amato, her colleague, friend, and love interest. Cybersix only reveals her dual identity to Lori Anderson, a student who is infatuated with Adrian.[18] | Canada | ||
| D'eon de Beaumont/Lia de Beaumont | Le Chevalier D'Eon | Lia de Beaumont is killed and her brother D'eon de Beaumont seeks her murderers.[19] Ultimately, her spirit begins to inhabit his body whenever his life is in danger.[20] This character is based on the identity that real-life cross-dresser, Chevalier d'Eon claimed in a 1756 mission to Russia.[21] | Japan | ||
| Kaoru Daichi | Ladies versus Butlers! | Kaoru is a servant-ed student whose strict father raised her as a boy. She pretends to be a male student at Hakureiryō Academy, a boarding school where she is easily mistaken for a boy and has many fans in the upper-ed section, although she is worried that her true gender would be exposed especially when she is with her roommate Akiharu whom she unconsciously develops feelings for.[22] | Japan | ||
| Donizete (Scarlet Carmesim) | Super Drags | The series follows the adventures of Donizete, Patrick, and Ralph, three gay friends working in a department store,[23] who are also drag queen superheroes known as the Super Drags, named Scarlet Carmesim, Lemon Chifon, and Safira Cyan, and are responsible for protecting the LGBTQ community.[24] | Brazil | ||
| Patrick (Lemon Chifon) | |||||
| Ralph (Safira Cyan) | |||||
| Fish Eye | Sailor Moon | The villain Fish Eye is an effeminate cross-dressing man who is romantically interested in other men as first shown in the episode "Meeting of Destiny: The Night Pegasus Dances".[25] [26] He was changed into a woman in the English dub. | Japan | ||
| Oscar François de Jarjayes | The Rose of Versailles | Oscar is a young woman raised as a soldier, dressing and behaving as a man, whose former love interest is one of the series protagonists, Princess Marie Antoinette.[27] She also has a relationship with André, a childhood friend, who is only able to share one passionate night with Oscar. | Japan | ||
| Haruhi Fujioka | Ouran High School Host Club | She cross-dresses as a boy so she can work in a host club to pay off a debt she owes to the other members.[28] This cross-dressing is later exploited by the Host Club, which struggles to keep her true gender secret as noted in episodes such as "The Job of a High School Host!" and "A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy | " | Japan | |
| Ryōuji "Ranka" Fujioka | Haruhi's father Ryouji is bisexual and works in a gay bar as a drag queen under the name Ranka, as shown in the episode "A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family!" for example.[29] Ryoji still deeply loves his deceased wife, Kotoko, and declares that he works as a cross-dresser because he will never truly love another. | ||||
| Chihiro Fujisaki | He is a shy and wimpy student and skilled programmer in Hope's Peak Academy high school who has deep insecurity about his weak physique and is presumed initially to be a girl as he cross-dresses to hide his gender identity. After Monokuma threatens to expose everyone's secrets, Chihiro becomes determined to overcome his weakness and shares his secret with Mondo. But this leads the envious Mondo to, in a fit of jealous rage, smash Chihiro's head in with a dumbbell, making him the second murder victim. Immediately, the dying Chihiro leaves behind a laptop containing the Alter Ego program to help the other students right before his death. | Japan | |||
| Nagihiko Fujisaki/Nadeshiko Fujisaki | Shugo Chara! | Nagihiko is a long-haired boy who cross-dresses as his "twin sister" named Nadeshiko out of family tradition. He is a friend to Amu, whom he looks over and supports in her love life, though he has trouble telling her that he is really a boy.[30] Nagihiko also cross-dresses in his transformation Yamato Maihime. | Japan | ||
| Yui Goidō | Yui, the daughter of the richest family in Majima City, starts her own freedom of playing off of Keima Katsuragi after accidentally switching their bodies.[31] When they return to their old bodies, Yui decides to cross-dress as she becomes a more independent tomboy from her family. | Japan | |||
| Emilia Gudenburg/Emile Crossfode | Hundred | She is the third princess from the Gudenburg Empire who initially poses as a boy under the alias of Emile Crossfode, with only a few people aware of her secret until she later reveals her true identity.[32] Emilia is a roommate and love interest of Hayato Kisaragi. | Japan | ||
| Haku | Naruto | He is an androgynous teenage orphan who is a shinobi under Zabuza's tutelage and, when he is not in combat, dons a pink sleeveless kimono.[33] Due to his feminine appearance, Haku is mistaken for a girl by Naruto whom he bonds over their connections.[34] | Japan | ||
| Guy Hamdon (SheZow) | SheZow | An irresponsible preteen boy accidentally gains a magical ring of power that belonged to his late Aunt Agnes but is intended only for a girl, suddenly causing him to cross-dress and forcing him to save the world as a female superheroine called "SheZow".[35] [36] | Australia | ||
| Kokoro Hanabusa | I-Chu: Halfway Through the Idol | Kokoro, Momo and Runa are a trio of otokonoko idols, together known as POP'N Star, who present themselves female.[37] | Japan | ||
| Momosuke "Momo" Oikawa | |||||
| Tsuki "Runa" Kagurasaka | |||||
| Makoto Hanaoka | Senpai Is an Otokonoko | A young man who dresses like a woman despite his mother's disapproval and is in a love triangle with a woman named Saki Aoi and a man named Ryuji Taiga.ref name="ddnavi rev">Web site: https://ddnavi.com/serial/802583/a/ . ja:「どっちかじゃないとダメなんですか？」 女の子だと思って告白した先輩は男の子だった！女装男子をめぐる群像劇 . ja . Tachibana, Momo . 2021-08-23 . . . 2021-12-09 . 2021-07-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210726060002/https://ddnavi.com/serial/802583/a/ . live. [38] [39] The manga was later adapted into an anime, with the same themes.[40] | Japan | ||
| Tatsukichi Hayama | MM! | Tatsukichi enjoys cross-dressing (which induces his female alter-ego, "Tatsumi Antoinette XVI"). While cross-dressing, his alter-ego has a superiority complex.[41] | Japan | ||
| Hayashi | Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens | Like Ling, Hayashi is a cross-dresser. | Japan | ||
| Sir Integra Hellsing | Hellsing | She is the noble head of the Hellsing Organization who appears to be masculine and is referred to as "sir" despite being a woman, as well as the master of vampire Alucard.[42] | Japan | ||
| Him | The Powerpuff Girls | A mysterious, sinister, effeminate, and supernatural demon who has lobster-like claws, red skin, pointed ears, a hooked nose, yellowish green eyes, a long-curled beard, wearing makeup, a woman's red jacket and skirt, and black boots. Him's plans are usually psychological in nature, and often consist of manipulating events to either drive the Powerpuff Girls insane or drive wedges between them.[43] | United States | ||
| Akira Hiragi | Valkyrie Drive Mermaid | Akira is the benevolent Governor of Mermaid, and the founder of Wärter (German for "keeper(s)"), the island's peace-keeping force. While believed by everyone on the island to be the only male resident on Mermaid, she is actually a woman asked by her mother to act like a man in order to stay safe. For physical protection, her mother also provided her with an artificial Extar named Sri. Only Torino and Mirei knew her true gender until she was exposed by Momoka.[44] In an earlier episode "To Believe", with Mirei knocked out, Mamori has Akira drive with her in order to stop the terrorists, briefly exposing her identity to Mirei before leaving the scene. Furthermore, supplemental material revealed she was in a relationship with a woman named Haruka (who was her first Extar) in college, a relationship she still longs for as Mermaid's Governor. | Japan | ||
| Aoi Hyōdō | Maid Sama! | Aoi is the androgynous owner of Maid Latte café who enjoys cross-dressing due to his liking towards some "cute, girly things". He is known in his female persona as a cute Internet idol and also enjoys toying with the feelings of men, especially to Takumi Usui.[45] | Japan | ||
| Nagi Ichinose | Nyan Koi! | Nagi is the heir of a powerful yakuza family from Kyoto who, despite being a girl, starts assuming a more masculine personality, looking and behaving like a boy. She has a rare condition where she gets drunk from drinking soft drinks, which seems to give her homosexual-like, affectionate feelings towards other girls, including Kaede who calls her "Ichinose-senpai". However, Nagi starts falling in love with Junpei, who has a crush on Kaede, and resorts to extreme actions after being comforted by him.[46] | Japan | ||
| Jakotsu | InuYasha | Member of the Band of Seven, he is a homosexual mercenary who wears women's kimono and makeup in repeated attempts to flirt with both Inuyasha and Miroku, as first seen in the Season 4 episode "The Band of Seven, Resurrected!"[47] | Japan | ||
| James | Pokémon | He has a tendency to cross-dress, impersonating Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Jessie, along with famous celebrities.[48] | Japan | ||
| Julius | Cowboy Bebop | Julius is a feisty and flirtatious drag queen whom Spike Spiegel runs into while searching for Julia in the episode "Jupiter Jazz (Part 1)". He is the one who responded that he sees every women named "Julia" every day, and he suggests Spike to find Grencia, the sax player at the Blue Crow city who sometimes seems to be with women.[49] | Japan | ||
| Yuuki Kagami | See Me After Class | In order to avoid being expelled, a teacher, Ayana Kakinozaka, has Yuuki cross-dress and becomes his guardian.[50] | Japan | ||
| Honjō Kamatari | Rurouni Kenshin | A cross-dressing member of the Juppongatana, he is gay and in love with Shishio Makoto as shown in the episode "To Make a Miracle: The Battle at the Aoiya." He tends to dress as a woman but knows he will never be as loved like the female Yumi or Shishio's right-hand man since Sojiro is far more skilled.[51] | Japan | ||
| Yuu Kashima | Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun | Kashima, otherwise known as the "Prince of the School", is a tall and androgynous student of class 2-G whose prince-like personality makes the other schoolgirls fawn over her and who acts as every masculine lead role in school's Drama Club, although she is openly fond of Masayuki Hori, president of the Drama Club, and wants him to consider her favorite "cute kōhai".[52] She is the best friend and classmate of Mikoto Mikoshiba. | Japan | ||
| Kei | Dirty Pair | A hot-headed, aggressive woman who is the first to open fire, often with a short temper. She is a tomboy who is attracted to manly, muscular men, while her teammate Yuri is more feminine, preferring cultured, refined men.[53] | Japan | ||
| Akira Kenjou (Cure Chocolat) | Kirakira ☆PreCure à la Mode | One of the six magical Cure girls, Akira has a boyish appearance that is unknown to others why.[54] [55] She is a gentle, and lesbian, high school student who has a strong sense of justice like a dog and flirts towards Yukari Kotozume/Cure Macaron.[56] In the episode "The Targeted School Festival! Chocolat in Wonderland | ", Akira wears a costume as the "Prince of Hearts" for the Alice in Wonderland-themed school festival. | Japan | |
| Ash Ketchum | Pokémon | In one episode, Ash cross-dresses in order to disguise himself to get into the Celadon Gym since he had been banned from there in the past for causing a fuss as shown in the episode "Pokémon Scent-sation!." He also cross-dresses in other episodes as "Juliet" in the episode "Love at First Flight," in a maid outfit in the episode "Tanks for the Memories" as "Ashley" at a theater in the episode "Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige | "[57] and as a female nurse in the episode "Real Life...Inquire Within." | Japan | |
| Makoto Kikuchi | iDOLM@STER: Xenoglossia | 2007 | Makoto is popularized as the "pretty-boy idol" within 765 Production and has accumulated more female fans than the male ones because of this. Her father, the famous race-car racer, raised her as a boy for he wished only for a son. But despite her androgynous appeal, she has to become an idol in order to find a way to a much more feminine presence for herself and to show others that she can have a girly side as well. | Japan | |
| Kino | Kino's Journey | Kino was assigned female at birth, but has a "androgynous persona," alternating between using feminine and masculine pronouns, while resisting those that attempt to pin a gender on her as a "girl" or "boy."[58] Kino has also been described as a cross-dresser. | Japan | ||
| Sakura Kinomoto | Cardcaptor Sakura | In the Season 2 episode "Sakura and the Blacked Out School Arts Festival", Sakura takes on the role of the Prince, while her love interest Syaoran Li embarrassedly has the role of the Princess, to put on a play of Sleeping Beauty for the Festival of Arts at Tomoeda Elementary School.[59] | Japan | ||
| Yūsuke Kinoshita | The Ping Pong Club | Although he is usually the quintessential "pretty boy" in the ping-pong club, in one episode Maeno and Izawa dress him like a girl and it's now Tanaka who's chasing after him.[60] | Japan | ||
| Kitsunezuka Ko'on-no-Kami/Seymour "The Big" Cheese | Kyatto Ninden Teyandee/Samurai Pizza Cats | Seymour "The Big" Cheese is the advisor to Emperor Fred who wants to overthrow Little Tokyo. He is a flamboyant fox who crossdresses.[61] The Big Cheese took on a female persona called Mrs. Ratina in the episode "Samurai Charm School".[62] In the Japanese version of "Samurai Savings Time", it is explained the reason why The Big Cheese cross-dresses is that he saw his future self crossdressed.[63] In contrast with most 1990s English language dubs at the time, The Big Cheese's gender was kept. The only change was his species as he was changed to a rat. | Japan | ||
| Kuranosuke Koibuchi | Princess Jellyfish | He is the son of a rich political family and loves to cross-dress in women's clothing and makeup, appearing in various fashionable outfits throughout the series, as well as several different wigs.[64] [65] He uses the alias "Kurako" in front of the other Amars to hide his gender.[66] | Japan | ||
| Subaru Konoe | Mayo Chiki! | Female protagonist of the story and a second-year high school student who works as a butler for the Suzutsuki family. She has to cross-dress because Kanade's father has allowed Subaru to be his daughter's butler only if she can spend the entire three years at school with her true gender undiscovered.[67] Her physical features allow her to fool everyone into believing her to be a boy until Kinjirō accidentally discovers her secret in the show's first episode as shown in the episode "End of Earth". Her cross-dressing is a major theme for the rest of the show. | Japan | ||
| Toru Kouno | Princess Princess | The three boys were selected to be the "princesses" at the all-boy school they attend as first shown in the episode "The All Boys School's Princesses". They cross-dress as girls, which is a tradition with the purpose of breaking up the monotony of life surrounded by nothing but males.[68] They are expected to encourage others at school, and cheer at school events as shown in episodes like "Yuujirou's Past". | Japan | ||
| Yuujirou Shihoudani | |||||
| Mikoto Yutaka | |||||
| Seiya Kou (Sailor Star Fighter) | Sailor Moon | Together known as the Sailor Starlights, they are a group of three genderqueer Sailor Guardians who land on Earth, disguising themselves as a group of male pop stars called "The Three Lights" in search for their princess, Kakyuu, whose planet Kinmoku was destroyed by villainess Sailor Galaxia. Seiya Kou, leader of the Starlights and the lead vocalist of The Three Lights, develops his/her romantic feelings for Usagi Tsukino, though she is actually already engaged to Mamoru Chiba, whom he/she calls odango and attempts to forge a bond with. | Japan | ||
| Yaten Kou (Sailor Star Healer) | |||||
| Makoto (Mako-chan) | Minami-ke | Makoto is an elementary school student and classmate of Chiaki Minami, who is forced by Kana Minami to dress as a girl under the name Mako-chan so that he can get closer to Haruka Minami whom he loves the most and avoid detection from Chiaki.[69] [70] Makoto also shares a friendship with Tōmo due to their similar gender problems. | Japan | ||
| Randy Marsh | South Park | Stan and Shelly Marsh's father, Randy, produces music and performs as a female singer called Lorde, as first shown in the Season 18 episode "Gluten Free Ebola".[71] And in the Season 13 episode "Pinewood Derby", he disguises himself as Princess Leia to sneak into the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.[72] Randy also cross-dresses in the collectable card mobile game , such as in the roles of Pocahontas and Poison Ivy. | United States | ||
| Parade MC | Blue's Clues & You! | The Parade MC is an animated version of Nina West; a drag queen who hosts a pride parade and performs a tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", entitled "Families Go Marching", alongside the LGBTQ animal families in the sing-along video.[73] [74] | United States | ||
| Tōma Minami | Minami-ke | Tōma is a tomboyish girl who, like Makoto, regularly cross-dresses as a boy among her three brothers, Haruo, Natsuki and Akira Minami. Although she is not related to the three Minami sisters, Tōma is adopted by Chiaki Minami as her "brother" due to their exact same surname. She also develops a friendship with Makoto as they both share their similar gender troubles. | Japan | ||
| Makoto Mizuhara | El-Hazard | Makoto has an uncanny resemblance to Princess Fatora Venus. So as to not ruin alliances, he cross-dresses as her for six of the seven episodes of "The Magnificent World" OVA.[75] Some characters like Shayla-Shayla call him a pervert for doing so, as noted in the episode "The World of Hot Springs," while Alielle tries to have sex with him thinking he is Fatora as noted in the episode "The World of Beautiful Girls." After his true identity is revealed to the royal court in the sixth episode, "The World of Gleaming Light," he wears his usual school clothes (a formal suit and tie) for the rest of the original OVA, "The Magnificent World." In the next OVA, "The Magnificent World 2," he puts on woman's hair and pretends he is a sister of Fatora, which Fatora uses to her advantage so she can kiss Shayla-Shayla in the episode "The Bride of Roshtari." | Japan | ||
| Itsuki Myoudouin (Cure Sunshine) | HeartCatch PreCure! | One of the four magical Cures, Itsuki initially disguises herself as a boy to substitute as the heir of the middle school and dojo in place of her ailing brother Satsuki Myoudouin, while still maintaining her great love for cute, feminine things. She is also mistaken for a boy by Tsubomi Hanasaki/Cure Blossom, who originally developed a crush on her, before she reveals herself to be a girl to her. | Japan | ||
| Shima Nishina | Kiss Him, Not Me | She is a lesbian underclasswoman who is a fujoshi, like her lover Kae Serinuma, and cosplays as a male butler for whom Kae initially mistaken her for a man due to her androgynous appearance.[76] | Japan | ||
| Shuichi Nitori | Wandering Son | Shuichi Nitori, otherwise known by and, is a lesbian transgender woman and often dresses to assume the role of the female gender, and is often described as cute, able to appear as a girl while cross-dressing, which is encouraged by their friends Yoshino Takatsuki and Saori Chiba.[77] Later on, they exhibit signs of gender dysphoria and displays an outward attraction to two characters in the series—Yoshino, a transgender man, and their female classmate, Anna Suehiro. The latter date for a shirt time, until the relationship is broken off, and later resumed. | Japan | ||
| Nuriko | Fushigi Yûgi | Nuriko initially dresses and acts as a woman named Kang-lin, one of Hotohori's concubines because Kang-lin was his twin sister who died and he wanted to keep her memory alive as shown in the episode, "The Seven Stars of Suzaku".[78] He enjoys cross-dressing, as indicates in the episode "Even If I Die...", and is in love with Hotohori, but later also grows to love the main heroine Miaka as indicated in the episode "Brief Parting". | Japan | ||
| Hikozaemon Ootaki | Ah! My Goddess | He dresses in punk-style and is an ex-directors of the Nekomi Motor Club. He cross-dresses just like Tamiya. | Japan | ||
| Wataru Otori | Stop!! Hibari-kun | Jun Otori's mother, Wataru, is an eccentric otokoyaku who takes on the role of Rhett Butler for the play of Gone with the Wind in the episode "Lovely! School Takarazuka". | |||
| Peppo | Peppo is a gay boy who enjoys cross-dressing as a girl,[79] leading some reviewers to mistake him as transgender.[80] He develops feelings for Albert. | Japan | |||
| EJ Randell | Clarence | She is Jeff Randell's lesbian mother who poses as a man, even in her muscular appearance, so that she can be with her wife Sue Randell, Jeff's other mother, in the few episodes such as "Jeff Wins" and "Clarence the Movie". | United States | ||
| Red Guy | Cow and Chicken | The Red Guy is the flamboyant devil who often disguises himself under female personas, such as Miss Barederriere the lunch lady and Queen Cleopantless of Ancient Egypt, in both the main show and its spinoff I Am Weasel. | United States | ||
| Renren | First Love Monster | An androgynous boy, cross-dressing idol, and the object of fanaticism by Arashi, much to Chiaki's chagrin.[81] [82] | Japan | ||
| Bender Bending Rodriguez | Futurama | Bender, the high-tech male robot, has the affections to several of his ex-girlfriends throughout the episodes. However, in the episode "Bend Her", Bender cross-dresses as a female robot under the name Coilette to participate in the fembot league of the Earth 3004 Olympic Games where he claims five gold medals in the competition.[83] He then develops romantic feelings for another male robot called Calculon, whom he later becomes engaged to. Eventually at the wedding, Bender does not attempt to hurt Calculon with a divorce, instead faking his own death as he then changes back to his old self. In another episode "Proposition Infinity", he falls in love with a human named Amy, but after the proposition is approved, he dumps her after he realizes that he has to be monogamous[84] and goes with a bunch of "robot floozies" instead.[85] | United States | ||
| Roger | American Dad! | Roger is the very zany pansexual alien who lives in the Smith family's attic.[86] Roger is shown to assume different aliases[87] 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.[88] | United States | ||
| Gintoki Sakata | Gin Tama | He is a frequent cross-dresser, even having an alter-ego once he has cross-dressed as a girl: "Paako."[89] The latter first appeared in the 24th episode of the series. | JJapan | ||
| Princess Sapphire | Princess Knight | Princess Sapphire is a girl who is raised as a boy by her father the King, since women are not eligible to inherit the throne.[90] In addition, she is born with both a male and female heart but refuses to give up her boy heart as she needs it to vanquish evil.[91] Nonetheless, Sapphire falls in love with and marries Prince Frank. | Japan | ||
| Sarasa | Basara | The story's protagonist, she balances her aggressive and masculine features with "requisite compassion towards the weak" while cross-dressing. Since she takes the name of her murdered twin brother Tatara, even among her allies few people know she is a girl. | Japan | ||
| Jyoji Seki | Doki Doki School Hours | A narcissist and bishounen, he is flamboyant and often cross-dresses.[92] Often going to school in makeup, outside school, he has been seen in skirts and even a full ladies' kimono. | Japan | ||
| Izumi Sena | Love Stage!! | Izumi, a bisexual boy, dresses up as a girl in episodes such as "Because I Was Able to Meet You", and when Ryoma, the man he loves, finds out that he is actually a guy in drag, he is angered.[93] | Japan | ||
| Mariya Shidō | Maria Holic | Mariya is a cross-dressing boy who attends Ame no Kisaki,[94] a Catholic-based all-girl academy, as a girl as a means to win the chairmanship of both the all-male and all-female schools as shown in the episode "A Flirtatious Kiss." When Kanako first meets Mariya, she is instantly attracted to his playful femininity and kindness. He often teases Kanako by playing with his long blonde hair, speaking in a soft voice, and smiling sweetly, but Mariya turns out to be quite sadistic in nature. | Japan | ||
| Shuichi Shindo | Gravitation | Shuichi is a pink-haired gay high school singer who wears his sister Maiko's school uniform and dons a maid outfit in attempt to capture the romantic attention of Eiri Yuki, who was formerly engaged to Ayaka Usami.[95] | Japan | ||
| Yūjirō Shiratori | The High School Life of a Fudanshi | Yūjirō is a gay effeminate cross-dresser with a liking toward men, as indicated in episodes such as "Everyone's Fun Times", with strong "female power".[96] | Japan | ||
| Ayame Sohma | Fruits Basket | Yuki and his flamboyant older brother Ayame, the Rat and Snake of the Chinese zodiac, occasionally cross-dress because they look good in women's clothing. Their androgynous cousin Ritsu, the Monkey of the Chinese zodiac, feels comfortable and more confident only by cross-dressing regularly in kimono and is initially mistaken for a woman by Tohru because of his feminine face and long hair.[97] | Japan | ||
| Ritsu Sohma | |||||
| Yuki Sohma | |||||
| Hitoshi Sugoroku | Nanbaka | Hitoshi is an effeminate otokonoko who looks, dresses and behaves like a woman.[98] He is the younger brother of supervisor Hajime Sugoroku, as first shown in the episode "Idiots with Numbers!" | Japan | ||
| Leslie Robin Swisher (Veronica) | The Simpsons | Leslie Swisher is a pro golfer who disguises himself as a woman under the name Veronica to participate in the LPGA golf tournament, seen in the episode "There's Something About Marrying". He even cross-dresses as a bride when he is about to marry Patty Bouvier, who wears a white tuxedo as a groom. Patty, however, refuses to marry Leslie after discovering that he is really a man, because she is lesbian.[99] | United States | ||
| Toraichi Tamiya | Ah! My Goddess | Tamiya, as does Ootaki, both cross-dress.[100] Tamita is an ex-director of the Nekomi Motor Club and is a dark-skinned, hulking man. | Japan | ||
| Ryuzo Tanami | St. Luminous Mission High School | A boy who dresses up as a girl in order to attend a private girls' school with his friend, Kaihei Kijima.[101] | Japan | ||
| Utena Tenjou | Revolutionary Girl Utena | Utena is a bisexual teenage tomboy who expresses her desire to be a "prince" as she cross-dresses to be a male student, but with her shorts on, at Ohtori Academy where she has been drawn into a series of swordsmen's duels to win the hand of her close friend, Anthy Himemiya, a mysterious girl who is known as the "Rose Bride" but is later revealed to be connected to "End of the World",[102] [103] while Utena is also in love with Anthy's brother, Akio Ohtori, as shown in episodes like "The Barefoot Girl", even though Akio has been sexually assaulting Anthy.[104] Utena also cross-dresses to appear as a boy,[105] [106] with the relationship between her and Anthy becoming more sexually-tinged in the film adaptation Adolescence of Utena. | Japan | ||
| Haruka Tenou (Sailor Uranus) | Sailor Moon | Haruka is one of the Outer Sailor Guardians who is a swordsman and acts like a charming boy, though she is really a cross-dressing girl, to get the romantic attention of Michiru Kaiou, with their relationship kept in the English re-release of Sailor Moon.[107] [108] | Japan | ||
| Ringo Tsukimiya | Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000% | He is the clarinet playing teacher of Class A in the Saotome Academy who likes to cross-dress as a pink-haired woman because of his agency.[109] His biggest dream is to perform as a male idol. | Japan | ||
| Luka Urushibara | Steins;Gate | Second year in Kasensou Private Preparatory Academy, and Mayuri's classmate. Born biologically male, he has the personality of a polite, well-groomed and justified kind of beautiful girl. He doesn't push his opinions much upon others and is a bit gullible. When he does, though, he's quite bashful and blushes quite a bit. Because he's quite serious by nature, he simply believes what others say. Rintaro makes him out to be his student on his own, and is currently in the middle of brainwashing him. He's a very shy person, and often turns down Mayuri's requests to cosplay. At some point later in the series he asks to send a mail to his mother's pager in the past (known as a D-Mail), before he was born in attempt to change his gender to female, given his own internalized feelings that his feelings towards Okabe would never be accepted as a guy. This is eventually undone again when Rintaro realizes he has to erase all his previous D-Mails to save one of his other friends. | Japan | ||
| The Amazing World of Gumball | 2013-2018 | Gumball and Darwin cross-dress in "The Tape" and "The Worst", while their father, Richard, does so in "The Finale", "The Name", "The Safety", and "The Lady". Leslie, Gumball's classmate, dresses in drag in "The Petals". | United States | ||
| Ling Xianming | Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens | Ling is a man from Tokyo who has a short temper, enjoys cross-dressing, and is an assassin.[110] | Japan | ||
| Hamaji Yakumo | Hamaji is a bisexual optimistic boy who cross-dresses as a very cute girl. He has occasionally flirted with Takuma but ultimately marries his best friend Maki.[111] | Japan | |||
| Kazuki Yasaka | Sarazanmai | Kazuki, the middle school student, poses as female idol Sara Azuma to take selfies for his younger brother Haruka Yasaka,[112] although the real Sara is actually a kappa who is the love interest to Prince Keppi. Kazuki's gay classmate Enta Jinnai has a secret crush on him. | Japan | ||
| Yukikaze | Demon Lord, Retry! | A B-rank adventurer who is accompanied with fellow adventurer Mikan. He is often been described as a "girlish boy" because of his feminine appearance, cross-dressing as a girl in episodes such as "Yu Kirino". He is deeply infatuated with the Demon Lord Kunai after being saved twice by him.[113] | Japan |