Between the 21 Studio Ghibli movies launched from 1986 to 2014, not one in all them featured an brazenly LGBT+ character. Of course, that is not a critique on the standard of those movies, since they not often centered on any form of romantic relationships. For essentially the most half, the themes of friendship and platonic love have been on the forefront of the anime franchise.
However, 2014’s When Marnie Was There appeared as if it could possibly be an exception. The psychological drama undeniably had homoerotic themes all through that seemed to be establishing a doable love story between two ladies.
The story follows Anna as she discovers a seemingly deserted mansion, whereby she meets Marnie, a mysterious determine who emerges and disappears with out clarification. They develop a robust bond over the course of the movie, with Marnie serving to Anna come to phrases with who she is. But the character of Anna and Marnie’s relationship is not clear till the top of the movie, which could lead viewers to surprise, “Is Anna realizing she’s gay?”
Marnie and Anna are very bodily intimate all through the movie, usually holding arms and comforting one another. Even the movie’s poster depicts them with arms held back-to-back, a place that, have been they members of the alternative gender, would instantly point out to audiences that they are in love. They have extra bodily contact than Studio Ghibli’s official romantic pairings, whether or not it is Sophie and Howl, Ashitaka and San, or Chihiro and Haku. Even if no romance ever got here of the budding relationship, there are sufficient implications to foster subtext.