Characters I interpret as Ace

This is not a complete list of every character in works I’m into that can be interpreted as Asexual and/or Aromantic.  They are characters I have a particular interest in interpreting this way, and largely came to this interpretation on my own before seeing any evidence that anyone else had also interpreted them as Ace.

I’m not Ace myself and so none of this is driven by a desire to see myself in these characters and in fact some of what I say may unwittingly reflect my own lack of understanding of Aceness.

Being Ace is a nuanced identity, besides the Sexual/Romantic distinction many make, there are some who wind up in sexual or romantic relationships in spite of identifying as Ace.  So some of these may be characters who the Canon gives a partner eventually but that doesn't invalidate my reading.  Some may even be characters who I myself also Ship with another character, but Shipping to me is not inherently Sexual or even always Romantic, it’s ultimately about liking the chemistry between two characters and wanting to see more of them together.

So I’m not even going to clarify whether I think a given character is Asexual or Aromantic or both as I’m not even sure I understand the line between them.

Cassandra Cain/Batgirl:  Since Batman is my oldest Fandom I figured I should start with the Bat Family member on that list. My direct experience with this character is limited, mostly Comics after she was no longer Mute but before Infinite Crisis, and even within that time frame is by no means complete.  But she does show a lack of interest in Romance.  She is the main reason for one of my above clarifications since I’m also a StephCass shipper, but how I view Steph’s orientation is solely defined by this Ship either.

Terra Branford: A good deal of her early game dialogue is about being unaffected by flirting of the charming male character and feelings like she lacks something because of it.  She’s from Final Fantasy VI originally released in the US on the SNES as Final Fantasy III.

Paul of Tarsus: Is not a Fictional Character but I wanted to cover him here anyway. Much of my efforts to debunk Puritan and Ascetic readings of the New Testament involves stressing how in 1 Corinthians 7 Paul expresses hesitance to even talk on this subject and clearly says he’s NOT speaking with the Apostolic Authority he is on other issues. The fact is he clearly has a lack of ability to even relate to the desires that most people have.

Rei Hino/Sailor Mars in the Manga/Crystal:  Rei in the Manga canon is quite adamant about her lack of interest in men.  And as someone more sympathetic to the Manga fans complaints about the 90s Anime then most it still bugs me when they default to framing how Rei was changed as Straight Washing a Lesbian.   Rei’s wording it as not interested in “Men” does not mean she is interested in women, we live a Heteronormative society where often the default way to express a lack of interest in Romance is to say you're uninterested in the other Sex. 

Anri Sonohara: There is a lot made in Durarara about her inability to Love in a traditionally romantic sense.  Made all the more awkward by her being bonded with a sentient magical Yandere Katana.

Akito Yamada: It’s particularly awkward when you are coming to an Ace reading of a Romantic Lead in a Romantic Anime, and one example of that happening to me is with the title character of My Love Story with Yamada-Kun at Lv999.  This character very heavily comes off as Asexual and the knowledge that the genre setup sees that as an issue he needs to overcome is problematic.  But at least that’s a Het Romance.

Yuu Koito: Bloom Into You is one of the most beloved Yuri Anime of the last decade, yet the Asexual vibes of its protagonist are just as thick.  Yuu isn’t the only possible Ace character in this show however. Seji Maki is definitely Ace, and there is the scene where he distinguishes his lack of interest in Romance from Yuu’s, but I don’t really think that means only one of them can qualify as Ace.

Ai Amatsu: Injuu Seisen is a Hentai series, so this might be the most baffling of all, how can I argue a Hentai character is Asexual?  Well the story involves evil Lust Demons as you might expect, and Ai seems almost completely immune to their lust inducing powers.  Now you might think that’s simply because of her own super power as one of the Twin Heroines of this series.  But her sister Mai who has the same magical gifts is absolutely NOT so immune, she is very very horny actually.