Literally meaning “kettle” or “cauldron”, “okama” is a Japanese slang word for gay men that tends to carry a very negative connotation. These characters are often excessively flamboyant, effeminate, and predatory towards younger men who aren’t at all interested. They’re rarely portrayed as attractive, instead having exaggerated mannish features that their makeup and outrageous clothes fail to hide in the slightest. Sometimes this even extends to the okama “wishing they were a woman” or “wanting to become a woman”, which conflates them with trans women in a way that’s unflattering and inaccurate for both groups.

Examples of okama characters include Mr. 2 Bon Clay from One Piece, Lussuria from Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Fisheye from Sailor Moon, Nico from Tokyo Ghoul, and Puri Puri Prisoner from One Punch Man. There’s even one from this anime season: Capellini from Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan, who is called by the slightly less offensive term “onee” (big sister) instead of okama and may or may not be a transgender woman. Regardless of whether these characters are heroic or villainous or what kind of character arc they go through, the fact that their personalities are based on the okama stereotype makes them part of the bigger problem.

LGBT people have been trying to clear up misconceptions about themselves since the dawn of time, so okama characters that deliberately misinform the public about what these groups are actually like undermine the difficult work that’s already been done. Same-sex marriage is still illegal in Japan and the LGBT scene is largely underground, so it’s easy for average folks to think that okamas, yaoi boys, and schoolgirl lesbians are the only kinds of queer people who exist. And if the world of anime keeps portraying gay men as predatory creeps who want to be something they’re not, that’s only going to perpetuate that stereotype even further. Anime has done away with other offensive stereotypes like blackface, so why can’t they throw this one out as well?