What up y'all? I'm Penn, a Black-Asian genderqueer freelance pop culture critic, and this is my column, Queerly Nerdy, where I critique queer geekiness in comic books, anime, video games, and more. This month, we are talking about the return of queer rapper Angel Haze, the mecha card-battler game Battle Suit Aces, and genderqueerness in the magical girl manga Shugo Chara.
Angel Haze Soars Again
During one of my recent middle-of-the-night bouts of insomnia, I happened to do a search on queer rapper Angel Haze and discovered that she had released a new EP, titled Purge! in early November. Given that it's been four years since their last music project, the Girl With A Gun EP, I was surprised and delighted to come across Purge!
Purge! embodies the braggadocio, queerness, and vulnerability that first drew me to their music back in 2012, when they released their mixtape Classick. The first two tracks of Purge! embody the swagger of someone who has dealt with personal change and haters, and have come back with a stronger spiritual faith and faith in themselves. In the track "Masters", there is a notable tone shift as both Haze's rapping and singing ability are showcased over an acoustic production with lyrics that shows Haze is still soul-searching even as they have made peace with something else. It's beautiful and one of my favorite tracks.
Following "Masters", the introspection continues on the tracks "Roots!", as Haze looks back on how their family shaped who they are and how they dream. Next, Haze looks outside herself on "ICU", which empathetically addresses someone who doesn't have inner peace in lyrics such as, "Wait, you say you feel halfway gone tho/And I think you muzzled the vision/Cuz half empty could really be half full." It feels like an enhanced version of Haze's song "Black Dahlia" from their 2013 album Dirty Gold. Purge!'s penultimate track, "Heaven" is one of Haze's sexiest songs, as she sings and raps over a slinky beat about a lover with lyrics like, "Love you like a rain storm/The wind is a wild card/On me when the clouds form/Reminisce bout good shit."
Get In The Robot With Battle Suit Aces
Developed by Trinket Studios, Battle Suit Aces is a 5 x 5 card battler RPG strongly influenced by the mecha anime subgenre (aka anime with giant robots). With over 30 mech pilots to recruit, you'll play from the POV of Captain Heathcliff as you guide his spaceship crew in a search for the mech suits known as Relics to combat the alien monsters known as The Frenzied. If you are a fan of mecha anime such as the Macross franchise, you'll want to check this out, and not just because the soundtrack slaps. It is available on Steam, Switch, and Playstation 5.
In fact, the heart of this game lies in the diverse mech pilots you command and recruit. Take Felix, who pilots the Blue Zephyr suit. He's a guy who loves heavy metal and is also Heathcliff's best friend. When Felix develops feelings for another guy, Heathcliff wholeheartedly asks for a "debrief" on what Felix likes about his crush. It's one of many fun moments in between story-related missions and character-related missions, especially since the entire ensemble cast feel like a found family. These characters make you look forward to the game's other aspects, such as crafting equip cards that serve as suit mods with abilities such as enhancing attack or granting armor that takes damage in place of health points.
Celebrate The Magic of Shugo Chara
Originally published in 2005, Peach-Pit's manga Shugo Chara is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It tells the story of elementary school student Amu Himamori, who gains the magical ability of three guardian characters who help her express different sides of herself. With Amu's positive influence, Nakeshiko/Nagihiko, one of the other main characters, eventually embraces their genderfluidity.
Although the manga doesn't use Western LGBTQ+ terms to describe Nakeshiko and Nagihiko, the character is reminiscent of Sailor Uranus, from Naoko Takeuchi's magical girl manga Sailor Moon. Sailor Uranus is a lesbian character who is described as, "both a man and a woman, with the strengths of both genders". Nakeshiko/Nagihiko's genderqueerness is represented by their guardian characters, which represent a person's inner self. These guardian characters help all the main characters embrace who they really are while giving them special abilities and transformation outfits. I won't spoil what the guardian characters are, but they made Nakeshiko/Nagihiko my favorite character in the manga besides Amu.
Next year, Kondansha will release a new 20th anniversary edition of Shugo Chara, alongside a new sequel series, Shugo Chara! Jewel Joker. With its unique take on the magical girl subgenre, Shugo Chara deserves to be discovered and rediscovered by readers new and old.
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