Although homosexuality in Japan was never criminalized to the extent it was in countries such as the USA or the United Kingdom, members of the LGBTQ+ community still face discrimination on a cultural and social level with very limited legal protection.
However, this has not stopped queer writers and artists from producing queer works of art, nor has it stopped readers from consuming it. Japanese author Yoshiya Nobuko wrote novels about female same-sex love and relationships during the 1920s. Her work was very popular and directly influenced the development of both shōjo and yuri manga in the decades that followed.
Shōjo refers to manga developed specifically for female readers. With its heavy focus on romance and drama, shōjo manga focus more on interpersonal relationships, drama, and emotions. Internal conflicts take precedence over big action, so the struggles faced by queer characters over their own gender and sexual identities fit perfectly into this setup. Moto Hagio's The Heart of Thomas is an excellent example of this as it features lush artwork, lyrical prose, and primarily focuses on the relationships between young male students.
Starting in the 1970s, manga featuring same sex or queer relationships began to see mainstream, commercial success within shojo manga. Female manga artists began producing a new type of shōjo manga that featured beautiful artwork, complicated storylines, romances between same-sex couples, characters who challenged their gender or sexual identity, and other narratives that had a powerful and long-lasting influence over many burgeoning manga creators and readers.
Some of the most popular shōjo manga of the era were produced by a group of female manga artists that would later be called the Year 24 Group. Although these mangaka (manga creators) worked on and produced their manga separately, they were referred to as the Year 24 Group because they were all born around the same time period and were thus around the same age (early 20s). These young women revolutionized shōjo manga, and their influence can still be felt to this day.
In 1978, Riyoko Ikeda, a member of the unoffical group, produced one of the first commerically successful manga to feature an explicitly transgendered protagonist, Claudine. While early LGBTQ+ manga were groundbreaking, they were not without their flaws. Although these titles featured queer couples, they almost always ended tragically or featured instances of excessive abuse, such as Ikeda’s Claudine and The Heart of Thomas. Modern LGBTQ+ manga have made a significant move away from its tragic roots, but these early works have had a longlasting influence.
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