Their idea of masculinity, albeit toxic in different ways, is not our toxic idea. Boys here are allowed to hold hands, play with each other, sit in each other laps, wear hair pins with hello kitty (not even joking), and it is considered just normal.
Looking at the anime from a perspective of it being JAPANESE I think that Goh and Ash have a mentor/mentee relationship and Goh admires Ash but is still on his own path. In Japan this would be a common trope, for example let’s say they were in our world and Ash had been a master animal researcher/collector for a decade and Goh wanted into that lifestyle… he pairs up with Ash because Ash knows so much, he blushes out of admiration and non-romantic love. I hope this makes sense? When I first came to Japan as a gay man I was like damnnnnn these guys are really gay, but in reality they’re not. I see Ash and Goh relationships everyday. I mean, in 10 years if they want to let Ash be an adult who is bisexual/gay/whatever I would love that, but this is a Japanese kids show.Īlso, need I remind you that Japan is a very conservative nation, gay marriage isn’t even legal here yet, I HIGHLY doubt that they’d put a gay couple into a kids anime. If anything it’s meant to show the value of friendship and loyalty. Anyway, that’s my piece from a Japanese - English teacher perspective.
In my opinion Goh could very well have feelings for Ash because he himself is gay or whatever, or because Ash is Goh’s first real friend.
