<p>@ Both of you, chill.
</p><p>First off, gender varies from culture to culture. The ideas you are arguing over don't even properly translate into the mainstream Japanese culture, let alone back out.
</p><p>Yes, there are actual trans characters out there. Hibari from "Stop!! Hibari-kun" is a great example of this from the early 1980s. That said, if you want to argue from a Japanese perspective, Rui is not. Crossdresser yes, trans no. There is a fine line between the two. While not confirmed, an argument could be made for nonbinary, but that's shorthand for "Doesn't fit into pre-prescribed gender roles of society." It does not mean a lot of the stuff people try to ascribe to it. (I'm looking at genderfluid/genderflux as core examples of what it doesn't mean, since those aren't genders, merely modifiers of one's gender.)
</p><p>Now, using Ruka from Steins;Gate is an interesting question. Is Ruka actually trans? An argument could be made for "yes, but because of traditional values she doesn't transition (ignoring the situation with the phone microwave)." An argument can also be made for "no, he just wishes he was a woman because of how much he's in love with Okarin and wants to be a woman due to orientation not gender identity (again as a result of traditional values)." There isn't a simple term in English for that second argument. ("Ruka is gay" is an understatement; "Ruka is trans" is an overstatement.)
</p><p>Then there's Dororo from the show "Dororo" (looking at 2019 version). She goes around and acts like a boy, talks like a boy, and is for all intents and purposes a young boy during the beginning of the show, but we know she's a girl. People try to argue that she's FtM trans, but quite simply that's not the case because she's merely trying to emulate her image of strength in order to fit her needs, desires, and goals. She's acting that way because she feels she has to, but we also see her admiration of strong women as well which serves to prove she's only doing what she thinks is strong.Her behaviour is not an inherent outward reflection of what she is, merely who she believes she needs to be.
</p><p>This why you can't just slap labels onto fictional characters to make yourself feel better. You aren't them. All you're doing is projecting your own ideals. This goes to both of you. TattoodSquid, Alluka does express desire to be seen as a woman as that is her gender identity. PikaPika200, you inferred that Rui wants to be seen as a woman, but that's not really implied. There is a serious difference between the two. It's like saying Alice from Bakugan is an FtM trans because her other form is that of Masquerade. You can't just assume that because they dress as the other sex sometimes then they must be trans. At that point Assassination Classroom's Nagisa is trans too, which we know for a fact he's not.
</p><p></frustrated_rant>
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