11 Animations with LGBTQIAPN+ characters to binge-watch

Stories featuring characters who break traditional molds are becoming increasingly common. With that in mind, we have listed several animated shows that showcase LGBTQIAPN+ characters fighting for their goals and motivations while bringing meaningful representation along the way.

These stories are packed with emotion and unforgettable moments that are sure to surprise you!

Nimona

An adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, Nimona takes place in a futuristic yet medieval world, showcasing a curious blend of high tech within a monarchy. In this setting, a heinous crime is committed, forcing Ballister Boldheart into hiding as he tries to prove his innocence to his childhood friend and great love.

Joining him on this journey is Nimona, a shapeshifting mystical being who takes various forms (sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl, or... who knows) and tries to help him on his mission, adding a heavy dose of chaos and sweet mischief to the mix.

Blending fun, mystery, love, and plenty of wild antics, dive into this incredibly creative adventure that delivers highly charismatic characters and a powerful underlying message!

The Owl House

Meet Luz Noceda, perhaps the cutest little weirdo you will ever see! Her obsession with pop culture and magic made her feel like a misfit in our world. Because of this, she took a trip to the Boiling Isles, where she discovered magic was real and could finally pursue her dream of learning to cast incredible spells, becoming as cool as the heroes in her books.

There, she finds great friends, formidable enemies, strange adventures, and a great love! Her heart beats faster for a classmate at her magic school, but will they be able to maintain harmony while coming from entirely different worlds?

I guarantee you will be captivated by the stories throughout the Boiling Isles! Kindness, love, and even naivety can become the key elements to changing a world filled with creatures, beasts, and magic.

Steven Universe

Steven Universe is one of the most unique shows out there. While it is common to see serious, cold male characters with destructive powers, Steven surprises you. He is a warm, empathetic, and sensitive young boy who wins over everyone around him with his passionate and gentle way of resolving conflicts. His only weapons are a shield and his charisma. Cartoons usually feature conflicts settled through battles and tests of strength, but here they are largely solved through conversations and love.

In the middle of a millennial war involving several planets, Steven grows up being raised by his mother's closest friends. They try to teach him how to be a good boy and how to protect himself, but he has his own way of doing things, which stands out for the emotional complexity it brings to the series. Several storylines serve as allusions to internal, romantic, interpersonal, and existential conflicts. The songs and life lessons might just leave your eyes watering and your heart comforted, so don't waste any time!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Returning as a reboot, She-Ra updates its story and revamps its visual style. With a lighter tone and restructured narratives, we follow Adora and her friends as they work hard to save the world from destruction while trying to rescue an old friend from the dark side.

We truly sympathize with all the characters! The series handles the development of each backstory with great care, beautifully showing us who they are. Every character gets their own small arc and moment to shine, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for us to relate to a little piece of each one.

Hazbin Hotel

Now moving on to more adult themes, let's head down into the depths of Hell! There we meet Charlie Morningstar, the legitimate daughter of the Lord of Hell, Lucifer, alongside her friends. They try to run a hotel aimed at saving people and helping them redeem themselves from their sins. It is a fun love story between a demon and an angel, packed with catchy songs, explicit language, and violence featuring controversial characters. I guarantee you won't regret it!

Helluva Boss

Set in the same universe as Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss follows a group of assassins from Hell and their obnoxious boss, Blitzo, who faces constant crises due to his inability to get close to anyone he meets! There is no shortage of action here, always featuring explosions, assassinations, deaths, and profanity (which is exactly what you would expect from Hell), but it always finds time to focus on the turbulent romance between an assassin and an aristocrat.

Harley Quinn

Finally realizing that her great love, Joker, is no good, Harley tries to forge a new path to claim the spotlight and ends up discovering a deep love for her partner in crime. With a series focused entirely on these two, trouble is always just around the corner! Featuring DC characters, we get to see these stories from a fresh perspective, now focusing on our favorite antiheroine and her crew of misfits.

Disenchantment

In a far from traditional enchanted kingdom, we meet Bean, a princess with a serious drinking problem and plenty of personal conflicts. Her best friends are a constantly sarcastic little demon who is still reluctant about his own morality, and a naive elf in love who always needs to be rescued.

It is a highly entertaining story where a lot happens, and the plot twist might just surprise you! Numerous mysteries appear and unravel throughout the show, and certain details from the very first season can turn out to be highly relevant as the plot develops, so I guarantee you won't be bored.

Dead End: Paranormal Park

Blending comedy and supernatural fantasy, Barney, a transgender teen, and his friends work at a haunted theme park house. They face many demonic creatures and apparitions but never miss a chance to have fun and discover more about themselves along the way, making the journey of self-understanding and emotional growth a main focus. The show is also based on a graphic novel series titled DeadEndia.

Arcane

Widely considered one of the best animated series ever made, you will love this exceptionally well-produced show, which features breathtakingly authentic animation, rich symbolism, and a masterfully crafted story.

Arcane adapts a portion of the League of Legends universe, setting its story between Piltover and Zaun, two neighboring yet completely opposite cities. Piltover is wealthy, high-tech, and advanced, while Zaun is an underground district plagued by poverty, toxic chemicals running through the streets, and incredibly precarious living conditions. The plot follows the lives of those caught in the crossfire of the war between these two places, where the main characters try to end the conflict through justice and equality, or sometimes through explosions and destruction.

It is a narrative filled with powerful messages about inequality, fresh starts, strength, and, of course, love.

Adventure Time

In a post-apocalyptic world, Finn the Human and his brother Jake the Dog are always ready for an adventure! Their world features a mix of demons, aliens, magical beings, and bizarre creatures, meaning there is always a journey to embark on, a mystery to solve, or a wild beast to fight.

The complexity of the story might just blow you away, since what starts as two silly characters goofing around develops into absurd cosmic plots with a deep mythology of its own.

With such sensitive and beautifully crafted shows, it is impossible not to fall in love! You will find yourself rooting even for the most complicated characters. These were the top animated series we selected on the topic.

Did you like the list? Had you heard of these before? Leave your recommendations in the comments below so we can share them in the next article!