Nyan's Hub

…..

Finally, Renmei’s 2021 series Lilies and Voices Born Upon the Wind (Yuri to Koe to Kazematoi) also presents a look into an asexual Yuri relationship, but without the romantic relationship of Doughnuts Under a Cresent Moon or Catch These Hands. Also, unlike those two titles, this manga notably openly discusses asexuality and LGBTQ+ identity using explicit terminology. Additionally, although lesbian attraction and the relationship between two women is at the story's core, its exploration of asexuality often takes an even more central role than in previous examples.

At the start of the series, the main character Matoi identifies as asexual, describing it as a lack of romantic and sexual feelings, which, as a reminder, is a common definition in Japanese LGBTQ circles. According to her, “That describes me perfectly,” and the character even clarifies other aspects of their identity, like that she is not a lesbian and is cisgender. Renmei does this to affirm to the audience that Matoi truly believes she is asexual and that the description resonates with her. Although by the end of the series, Matoi’s identity evolves, the author wanted to make it clear that she is not a closed lesbian or in self-denial in any way. Thus the series set the boundaries for exploring her evolving identity within the umbrella of asexuality.

It is unclear exactly how far into LGBTQ+ exploration Matoi is. However, she is assumed to be relatively new to learning about queerness. In the first chapter, she is shown to be watching a video describing “a look at LGBT,” possibly an introductory survey of queerness. She may have even discovered the term “asexual” in this video and, finding it the most accurate summation of her experience, decided that it described her best.

Matoi’s assertions about her sexuality are challenged upon meeting Yuriko, a 22-year-old biker who is also asexual. The two start seeing each other frequently for karaoke, motorcycle rides, shrine visits, and other reactionary activities. However, Matoi’s feelings for Yuriko are something more. At first, she attempts to rationalize it, saying that it is just fun to hang out with someone who does not get involved romantically, comforted by the knowledge that she has no interest in being physical while obsessing over Yuriko’s presence and every word. This justification is a retreat into her self-perception of her identity. As of this point, she believes herself to be asexual, and ties romantic and sexual attraction together.

Only after meeting Rio, a panromantic, demisexual woman and guide to Matoi in the LGBTQ community, does Matoi admits her feelings for Yuriko and the challenge it has presented to her asexuality. Talking through her feelings with Rio helps Matoi learn more about different asexual identities, finding a new label that more closely aligns with her truth, “non-sexual.” This experience also galvanizes her to learn more and continue building her knowledge of queerness. Matoi’s convection leads to her meeting an older lesbian couple, Rio and Chihiro, who serve as further sages of queerness and, as they are openly affectionate and sexual, provide a stark contrast to the feelings of the asexual characters.

Matoi’s newly found identity, nonsexual (ノンセクシュアル) is a term unique to Japan, where often, as previously stated, the label asexual refers to a lack of both sexual and romantic attraction. Nonsexual refers to someone who feels romantically drawn to others but does not experience sexual attraction (“Asexual.Jp Info”). It is thus identical to alloromantic asexual, a comparison Renmei themselves makes at the end of Lilies and Voices Born Upon the Wind’s final volume. Even as the split attraction model and its associate labels gain popularity in Japan, the term nonsexual is still employed, with over 80 percent of alloromantic asexual people identifying as nonsexual and only eight percent deliberately not identifying themselves as such (the rest being unsure or unfamiliar with the label or its meaning) (Miyake and Hiramori).

Want to check out the full article?