Introduction
To celebrate the upcoming International Asexuality Day, I decided to create a list of some of the aspec characters. If you’re unfamiliar with the term aspec, it’s a shortened way of referring to the aromantic/asexual spectrum. Quickly referencing both aromantic and asexual identities and the community as a whole. Some of these are canonically (officially) aro and/or ace. Others are either agreed upon by the community. The rest are characters that I see as aspec. I’ll also spend some time explaining why I think they’re good representation/why I relate to them as an aspec individual!
Saiki Kusuo (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K – Shuichi Aso)
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K (aka Saiki K) follows high schooler Saiki K. Who happened to be born with ESP. He resents his powers, which include telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, and many more. These abilities often force him into hijinks or cause him more trouble than they’re worth in his mind. Especially with his friends, an eclectic group of highschoolers determined to spend time with Saiki.
A good amount of the fandom sees Saiki as aroace, though most agree he’s at least asexual. There are many reasons why fans identify him as aspec, such as specific moments in the anime/manga. One example being him repeatedly looking down at his classmates for being romance obsessed. And going to ridiculous lengths to avoid romance-coded moments with female characters like Chiyo Yumehara or Aiura Mikoto. Or only continuing on a date with Kokomi Teruhashi when bribed with desserts.
He often expresses exasperation with the idea of romance and sexual attraction. Along with not falling for Teruhashi’s various tricks to make him say “oh wow,” in response to her beauty. If you want to see some of these moments, the video below will lead to a compilation of some of the moments described!
Senku Ishigami (Dr Stone – Boichi, Riichiro Inagaki)
Senku Ishigami is another fairly infamous aroace character, though I’ve seen him represented/interpreted in many different ways. Some fans depict him as both aroace. Others see him as just asexual. There are even fans that label him as demisexual or cupioromantic. Demisexuality refers to those who don’t experience sexual attraction without having a close, emotional bond with someone. While cupioromantic refers to individuals who want a romantic relationship but experience little to no romantic attraction to others.
Senku is the main character of Dr Stone, in which the entire world’s population has been turned to stone. He then takes on the mission and burden of reviving the world and bringing it back to the modern era. All through the diligent application of science. Others may argue that these depictions of Senku’s sexuality aren’t realistic. Saying the strain of survival would draw anyone’s attention away from relationships. However, there are many moments that also support him aspec.
Firstly, he seems to put very little value in romantic relationships. He promptly marries and divorces the village priestess, Ruri, to gain materials. Senku also agrees to be Luna’s boyfriend in order to gain her loyalty, with seemingly no intentions of keeping that commitment. He refuses to answer questions/rise to provocations about possible partners. Such as when Ginro makes fun of him for asking about Homura, implying he’s interested in “petite” women. Or his reply to Ruby’s question about his “type.”
There are also many moments where he makes fun of common romantic tropes/plights. For example, when he compares Hyoga to a school girl nervously confessing her crush during his confrontation with Tsukasa. At the beginning of the series he describes Taiju as “illogical” for keeping his crush on Yuzuriha quiet. If you want to see some of these moments and others, I’ll provide a video below to another clip compilation!
Someone-san (Our Dreams at Dusk – Yuhki Kamatani)
If you’ve read my article about Our Dreams at Dusk, you already know some of my feelings about Someone-san. This is one character on this list that is canonically aroace. Someone-san’s sexuality is depicted realistically, impacting her relationships with other characters and the way she perceives the world.
Someone-san is a major character within Our Dreams at Dusk, though she mainly lingers in the background/narrative of the story. She’s depicted as mysterious and almost magical. Able to jump off cliffs without being harmed and being able to float/walk across the sky. But it’s not just these strange abilities that truly make her mysterious. It’s also her almost disconnected nature to the rest of the cast. Her infamous line being, “You can talk but I won’t listen,” not providing judgement but not truly giving advice either.
We only gain more perspective on her character as the series continues. And through the few moments where we can see beyond the Someone-san she presents to the world. For example, when Tchaiko receives devastating news about his partner, Someone-san tearfully encourages him to go to him. And during a chapter where Tchaiko reveals some of Someone-san’s past through the lens of their first meeting.
She explains some of the inherent isolation that comes with being unable to engage with romantic/sexual attraction. Comparing it to watching everyone else enter ships and sail off into the ocean, forced to watch from the shore. She also has a heart-to-heart with the main character Tasuku. Where he expresses that he views her sexuality as a cause for her behavior. Someone-san explains that isn’t the case. That instead, that her sexuality is only one part that makes up the multitude that is her being. Their conversation ends with Tasuku coming to the realization that neither her sexuality or behaviors matter. Rather, her very existence is enough to justify itself.
Overall, I found Someone-san to be an interesting depiction of being aspec, one that’s realistic and respectful. I would heavily recommend Our Dreams at Dusk to anyone looking for new series with queer representation!
Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece – Eiichiro Oda)
Monkey D. Luffy is the main character of one of the most iconic manga/anime series, One Piece. It follows Luffy’s journey to becoming the Pirate King, a legacy created through the execution of Gol D. Roger. Who claimed with his final breath to have gathered all the treasure he collected in the Grand Line. (A stretch of treacherous islands). And dared watchers to find it. Which set off an “age of piracy” as people put their faith and hope in the seas, fostering the environment that Luffy grew up in.
He’s an incredibly excitable character, action orientated and decisive, proclaiming to friend and foe that he will be, “King of the Pirates!” His main focuses are; completing his goal, gathering crewmates, and going on grand adventures. Even if it means going head-first into danger or being incredibly reckless. He also ate a devil fruit called the “Gum-Gum” fruit as a child, turning him into a “rubber man.” Which allows him to stretch his body, making him invulnerable to blunt force attacks and many different attack moves himself.
Many fans depict him as aspec, as he shows very little/no interest in relationships. Instead, he’s more focused on taking steps that allow him to complete his goal, having fun, or finding meat to eat. Other fans may claim that he isn’t asexual and/or romantic. That is his simply naive or too focused on becoming the Pirate King for a relationship. But there are plenty of moments that indicate him being aspec.
One famous scene being his introduction to Boa Hancock. She is the captain of the Kuja Pirates, a warlord, and the empress of Amazon Lily. Boa also possesses the powers of the “mero-mero/love-love” fruit, which turns a victim’s love/lust against themself, turning them to stone. It is established in the series that Boa is, “the most beautiful person in the world,” able to trap anyone due to her looks. However, when she tries to turn Luffy into stone, it doesn’t work, resulting in confusion from both characters.
This scene, among others, is used to showcase Luffy’s possible asexual and/or aromantic orientation. He doesn’t partake in fawning over female characters, like Sanji, often laughing at those who do. Along with not expressing romantic interest in characters that could be possible love interests. Such as Boa herself, as she swiftly falls in love with Luffy. When faced with Boa’s fawning, it either flies directly over his head or he laughs it off. He’s also completely unaffected by being kissed by Reiju, who does so to suck the poison out of his system after eating the skin of a deadly fish. Instead, his first thought is to ask for more of the fish, then thank her for saving his life.
Connwaer (The Magic Thief – Sarah Prineas)
Lastly, this is a rather self indulgent pick on my part. Connwaer (or Conn) is the main character of The Magic Thief series. He is introduced as a talented pick pocket, fighting to survive on the streets of Twilight. The darker, grimier side of the city of Wellmet. Everything changes when he picks the pocket of a wizard, accidentally taking his locus magicalicus. (A stone/gem that channels a specific wizard’s magic). And surviving, despite doing so being a death sentence in this world. The wizard, Nevery, is intrigued by this and takes Conn in and eventually agrees to let him become his apprentice.
This book was, and still is, a favorite of mine growing up. I fell in love with the world, its characters, and the various twists and turns of the plot. The mechanics of the magic intrigued me and I loved decoding the notes left in between chapters. I also couldn’t wait to see Conn discover more new things about magic. Completely revolutionizing how his world would view and treat it. However, one of the biggest draws to this series to me, an unknowingly aroace individual, was the fact that Conn didn’t have a love interest.
Instead, he gains a best friend in Rowan, daughter of the duchess of Wellmet. A mentor in Nevery the wizard. A protector/friend in the housekeeper/bodyguard, Benet. And family in his cousin, Embre. This series showcases many different kinds of relationships, rather than focusing on romantic ones. While there is romance in the background between Rowan and Embre, Conn expresses little interest and zero jealousy, despite his closeness to Rowan. Instead, Conn focuses solely on learning all he can about magic.
While this may just be me projecting on one of my favorite characters of all time, I found myself relating to Conn. His utter lack of interest in romance was a soothing balm to me. And his near obsession with learning and experimenting echoed my own love of reading and writing. It allowed me to follow my own path, assuring me I didn’t have to be as interested in relationships as my peers.
In the series, Conn expresses no interest in finding a partner or a relationship. Instead, acting dismissive or confused of the concept or the way it’s expressed. If anyone else has read this series and can see Conn as being aspec, let me know!
Conclusion
I hope you all enjoyed this little list of aspec characters. If you have others to add or other details you felt like I missed, feel free to reach out or comment below. International Asexuality Day is coming up soon and I felt like this was a wonderful way to celebrate. This site is all about representation. Both the representation we intentionally put into our work and the representation we make from the work’s of others. I encourage you all to check out these series, take some time to educate yourself on aspec people/issues, and share with the people you care about in your lives. Happy International Asexuality Day!
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