Pokémon's James would win RuPaul's Drag Race according to past winner Aquaria
James will not sashay away
Team Rocket’s James dressing in drag is a time honored tradition on the Pokémon anime, right up there with Pikachu shocking people and ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’. In fact, James’ outfits have caught the eye of Aquaria, a drag queen, anime fan, and former winner of the RuPaul’s Drag Race TV show.
Aquaria was in attendance at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards recently, and spoke with Polygon from the red carpet. Polygon asked them to finally settle the matter of which anime character would win if they were a competitor on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Naturally, Pokémon’s James was the response, with Aquaria explaining that “her drag is always creative and unique”:
“Who would win RuPaul’s Drag Race? Obviously James from Team Rocket in Pokémon. I feel like every episode she has to get into quick drag to go snatch some Pikachu. Her drag is always creative and unique and very nerve-giving and really talented!”
Congratulations, James! We all know how much you love capturing Pokémon, but if that doesn’t work out, maybe this could be a career pivot. Watch a clip of Aquaria’s full response from the Crunchyroll red carpet below:
@polygon @Aquaria is the expert, but who do you think would win?? 👀 #rupaulsdragrace #anime #pokemon ♬ original sound - Polygon
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conangiga
I'm pretty sure the japanese animators didn't want to mock anything. You're seeing and chasing ghosts.
nin2000
2M agoThe bad dude dresses up as a woman. It’s not done to celebrate drag but to deliberately mock it.
I'm pretty sure the japanese animators didn't want to mock anything. You're seeing and chasing ghosts.
There's a long history of queer coding villains, but that often has the unintended side-effect of making queer people identify with them. Case in point, Team Rocket are gay icons.
More to the point, it's not like drag in cartoons is limited to "bad guys." The most famous animated drag queen ever is Bugs Bunny. (Who, incidentally, would trounce James on Drag Race, with all due respect to Aquaria.)
Ghosts? I prefer the term transliving.
I guess the point of bugs is, is the costume done for comedic effect, or as a serious affirmative social commentary?
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