So, my latest autism video, I asked if y'all would like to see a video diving into autism representation in anime, and the result was an overwhelming yes from the majority of you. There are plenty of characters suggested and some appear more frequently than others. Autism and mental health is something actually not discussed all too much, or at least not as often as it should be in Japan as a whole.
So it's actually nice to see there was a lot of great representation in the anime characters that y'all suggested. These are all They're all autistic Cody characters obviously, since autism isn't really something explicitly stated in Japanese media yet, at least from what I've seen in anime. There were however many different examples given from various genres of anime, and it was a really great selection overall, so thank you all for suggesting plenty of characters that I could use in my anime.
characters in the last video. I'll be breaking down what exactly works and what doesn't work about each character here. But before we begin, be sure to like this video and subscribe if you haven't already, share this video with a friend if you think they'd like it too, and also leave a comment down below letting me know if you want to see a video discussing autism representation in Japanese video games as well.
Also, check out my Twitch where I stream retro games. I've been pushing for Twitch Partner over there since I want to set up an autism awareness stream team on Twitch. So definitely check out my Twitch streams as well if you can and support over there too.
I've been going through the Kingdom the first time and also will be finishing up Epic Mickey Rebrush next Monday. We are also starting Spooky Games for Auttober. See what I did there?
We're gonna be starting Resident Evil starting tomorrow actually, so stay tuned for that. I have not played any of the Resident Evil games before, so they'll still be a first-time experience for me. But anyway, on to today's video. So the first example I want to give is one I've discussed before a little bit, that being Okabe Rinchiro from Steins Gate.
I've done an entire hour-long video on Steins Gate, so if you're curious, you can watch that as well to learn more about the show and my experience with it. It's actually my favorite anime of all time. Okabe himself is a very interesting autistic representation, since he's incredibly well fleshed out.
fleshed out, and showcases many good qualities such as loyalty, a high IQ, impeccable problem solving skills, and also plenty of flaws on the other side of the coin too, such as the feeling he needs to mask himself constantly, the uncertainty of how to interact with those around him at various moments in the show, and sometimes deadly sense of curiosity. Okabe is definitely autistic in my opinion, showing many traits in common with those on the spectrum, such as his hyperfixations on science and conspiracy theories, his social awkwardness, and pretty consistent masking throughout the show. The masking aspect of Okabe's character is especially well realized in the show since he's a shy nerd at heart who doesn't know how to act around people to fit in.
I talked about this during my hour-long video, but one of the best representations of this is when Okabe is forced to go on a date with Ruka, and it's a totally alien world to him. Okabe just does not know how to navigate the world of dating, or even just make neurotypical discussion, because that's just not really him. He has to mask himself to even get through the date with Ruka at all, which is a really interesting insight onto his autism and how he will mask in dire situations like the one in that episode where he's trying to save Mayuri.
Thankfully it seems to be just a one-time thing since he goes back to Ruka's shrine later in the episode and acting like the mad scientist Houen Kiyoma as he normally does and unmasking himself a bit there. This is actually really healthy to be honest and really cool to see represented in this show since constant masking can lead to autistic burnout which is something I know I've suffered myself in the past. And speaking of autistic burnout that is a great segue into to the next character I'd like to discuss that was suggested in the last video, that being Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service.
Kiki's Delivery Service is a very famous and very well-renowned film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, one of the most well-regarded and critically acclaimed film studios in the entire world. Several of their films are even considered some of the greatest films of all time, such as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke. Kiki's Delivery Service in particular stars a young witch-in-training named Kiki. Kiki turns 13 at the start of the movie and gets to move out on her own and try out things in a new city. A big theme of the movie is actually Kiki wanting to go out into the big city and explore the world, and also get a job doing what she loves, which she is able to do in the movie by starting a delivery service by delivering items to people via her broom.
However, as the movie progresses, Kiki begins to get more and more burnt out, and the job she loves so much begins to feel more like an actual job rather than fun for her like it was initially, and she ends up having to take a break from her work, then coming back to it. To me, Kiki, and this film in general, actually represent autistic burnout really well. Kiki's hyperfixation is learning all about witchy things and being able to bring joy to others by doing witchy things for them, being able to share her magic with the world.
For her, this is everything she ever wanted, and she goes really hard into it as a result. Many autistic people, myself included, will just throw ourselves into our hyperfixations and what we really are passionate about. Since for us, those sort of interests are often amplified to the nth degree. And for Kiki, that is the exact same thing here. She just throws herself into her work and wanting to be able to deliver things to people, but because she throws herself so hard into it, she ends up getting burnt out.
And I sort of see this as a form of autistic burnout because of how Clearly hyperfixated, she is on magic and witches and being able to bring joy to people by doing those things. She throws herself so heavily into it, it becomes not as fun for her. And she actually begins to lose her witchy powers because of this. To me, Kiki's Delivery Service is probably one of the most poignant representations of autistic burnout in anything.
And I'm really, really glad this movie exists for people like me. And all- also do suffer with autistic burnout from time to time. Speaking of Ghibli however, another suggestion I got in the comments was Prince Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke, another Ghibli film, and also one of my favorite animated movies of all time. I actually do think there's a fair bit of autistic codon with Ashita- Taka as a character. For one thing, the curse that he is given by the boar at the very start of the movie affects his arm and causes it to bulge and also have a bunch of dark energy oozing from it.
The way this is portrayed in the film could actually be seen as a metaphor for sensory overload load in autistic people like myself. A lot of other autistic folks actually struggle with certain textures and especially certain sounds because they can overstimulate us very easily. In fact, one of the only moments when Ashitaka's curse is actually soothed is when he's in the quiet, serene setting of the Cedar Forest, and the forest spirit comes by and actually heals his arm that has a bullet hole in it.
To me, I see this as an example of autistic people being able to find solace in more quiet areas away from loud noises, and also away from mayhem. which is also a big part of the theming of the movie. But a large part of it is about machinery and industrialism versus nature, and how a lot of that can destroy nature and destroy the peace, too. Overall, Ashitaka is a great example of this, and a really cool portrayal. Obviously a different autistic portrayal than Kiki, but still a welcome one nonetheless, and very nuanced.
This is exactly what I want to see more of in anime, and really just media in general. A variety of autistic portrayals that show various areas of the spectrum, like what we just saw here with these two Ghibli characters. Another character that was suggested, although, lot was Mao Mao from Apothecary Diaries. This character has actually been suggested a ton over the course of me making these videos. However, I never actually watched Apothecary Diaries until now, and I gotta say, this is a very good show, and honestly one of the best autistic portrayals in any anime I've ever seen.
This show blew me away with how good it is at doing this. For those unaware, the Apothecary Diaries is about a young girl named Mao Mao who gets abducted at a young age, taken to a palace reminiscent of those in ancient Chinese culture. where she is surrounded by several concubines who serve the emperor. Her job is actually to be a poison detector or an apothecary, which is referred to in this show.
She has actually built up an immunity to poison funnily enough since she tested poison on herself a lot before she was abducted. As a result, she can actually taste a lot of the food that is presented to the emperor. and make sure it's not poisoned beforehand without really dying or getting any effects herself.
Big part of what makes Maw Maw such a great autistic betrayal though is how different it shows her from being from the other girls that she works with here. All the other girls that surround her in this palace are obsessed with beauty and trying to impress the Emperor. However, she doesn't care about any of that. She's just hyper fixated on medicine and herbs and poisons and all sorts of other things.
She is fascinated by the little things around her, which to me is a very autistic trait. And honestly, they portray it really well in this show with her getting super excited when she walks into a room full of different herbs and plants. Her keen attention to detail when it comes to the world around her and even just little things in spaces around her really show the autism coding, I would say.
Overall, definitely one of my favorite autistic portrayals I've seen. I'm definitely interested in seeing more of this show. Thank you all for suggesting it. Another one that I have touched on a little bit before but not totally in depth is Maya Fey, but specifically the Ace Attorney anime version of her here.
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the Ace Attorney games, and Maya Fey is one of my favorite characters in them for being a great autistic coded character. She is always extremely enthusiastic about a lot of her different hyper fixations, especially the Steel Samurai TV show, but also she shows an unwielding amount of loyalty to her sister and also Nick, and is always there to help him win cases in court when he needs it. She does have that quirky, over-the-top personality, but she also is extremely loyal to those around her and those she cares about, which, to me, really shows some great autistic coding.
Maya is one of my all-time favorite autistic-coded characters. I'm definitely glad a character like her exists in one of my favorite game series of all time. Once again, if you'd like to see a video of me talking about autistic-coded characters in Japanese video games, comment down below.
Another one that has been suggested a ton is actually Mob from Mob Psycho 100. This is a show I didn't watch until recently as well, much like Apothecary Diary. And much like that show, this is a very good, well-nuanced, well-rounded, autistic-coded character that is very easy to root for and the audience can very easily get behind. Mob is a kid with psychic powers that has never really felt normal or really felt like he'd fit in anywhere as a result.
It's hard for people to see him as just like them because they see him as so different given his psychic abilities. However, after meeting Suzaru, somebody who is actually just like him in a lot of ways, he ends up being able to accept himself and be able to spread that acceptance to others like him. This is great to see because not only has Mob accepted the fact he has autism, he's also trying to help others accept the fact they have autism as well, which is really cool to see.
Very good portrayal here. The last one I want to talk about today is actually Deku from My Hero Academia. I've been watching My Hero Academia with the Discord recently for the first time ever, because I'd never seen that show. It's been honestly really cool and much better than I expected.
I thought it would be very stereotypical and kind of by the numbers, but it's actually really interesting. Has a lot of great characters. and very good character development too. One of my favorites is Deku, because I do see him as autistic coded. He has a clear high- fixation on All Might and wanting to be like all the other heroes he sees.
He also is obviously very shy and very soft-spoken and often very nervous and very over stimulating situations, which is often pretty funny, but also really true for autistic people like myself. But the one thing he is especially good at is being able to observe things around him and be able to form a solution by having a key and attention to detail. When he and the others are in trouble, he's often able to help them get out of it by just observing around them. and being able to have a key and attention to detail, something they don't always have.
Deku is one of the best autistic portrayals in anime, in my opinion. This is amplified by the fact he's actually not a superhero initially. He doesn't have- he's not born with any superpowers.
He only gets them from All Might. So as a result, he's already automatically different when he sets foot in the superhero school. But as time goes on, people do learn to accept him and see what his true value really is.
In fact, he has the heart of a hero. It's a really heartwarming story overall. very much enjoying it. Overall, anime actually does have a lot of good autism portrayals, surprisingly, despite the fact autism and mental health aren't really discussed in Japan really as much as they should be like I said before.
It's very cool to see that there are a lot of surprisingly good portrayals here. I definitely hope we continue to see more of them in Japanese media, and I hope Japan chooses to embrace this sort of thing more and more. More awareness is important, and I'm glad we're seeing more characters that are coded like this in anime.
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