The number of animated series with LGBTQ characters increased from the previous decade. From 2000 to 2004, such characters appeared prominently in Queer Duck, Drawn Together, and The Venture Bros. all of which were Western animations. However, they appeared more frequently in anime series such as Gravitation, Kino's Journey, Kannazuki no Miko, and My-HiME. The shows airing during this period set the stage for those to come in 2005 to 2009, the latter part of the decade.

This list only includes recurring characters, otherwise known as supporting characters, which appear frequently from time to time during the series' run, often playing major roles in more than one episode, and those in the main cast are listed below. LGBTQ characters which are guest stars or one-off characters are listed on the pages focusing exclusively on gay, lesbian, non-binary, and bisexual animated characters, and on pages listing fictional trans, pansexual, asexual, and intersex characters.

The entries on this page are organized alphanumerically by duration dates and then alphabetically by the first letter of a specific series.

2000

Duration Show title Character debut date Characters Identity Notes Country 2000Descendants of Darkness Asato Tsuzuki Gay He is a god of death, who works at the Summons Department, and is Hisoka's partner. He begins to fall in love with Hisoka, and Hisoka with him, from the first episode of the series.Japan Hisoka Kurosaki Bisexual Also a god, but with strong psychic abilities, he partners up with Asato, who didn't want anyone to be his partner. Other than his love for Asato, Hisoka showed some level of feelings for a girl named Tsubaki Kakyouin.2000–2001Gravitation Shuichi Shindo Gay A vocalist, he has a chance encounter with Eiri Yuki early in the series. He falls in love with Eiri Yuki beginning in the first episode and over the course of the series manages to melt the cold heart of Eiri, with the two becoming a couple.Japan Eiri Yuki Bisexual A man with a mysterious past, he is a romance novelist whose book is "popular with female fans," but becomes interested in Shuichi. In one episode, "Winding Road," it is revealed that he has a fiancée named Ayaka Usami, but she backs away after seeing how much he loves Shuichi. 2000–2002 Gotham Girls 2002 Selma Reesedale Trans woman Selma Reesedale works for the Gotham City Police Department. She is revealed to be a transgender woman, which Batgirl discovers, and she later helps Batgirl. Batgirl is one of the only characters who knows Selma's secret. She is possibly the first trans sci-fi character to appear in any "superhero production". United States2000–2003X-Men: Evolution November 4, 2000 MystiqueBisexualCharacter designer and show director Steven E. Gordon confirmed Mystique and Destiny were lovers similar to the comics. Mystique and Destiny are both known for being in a long-time same-sex relationship in the comics. They are also attracted to both men and women.United States November 18, 2000 Destiny2000–2004 Inuyasha February 24, 2003 Jakotsu Gay Jakotsu is a member of the Jakotsutō, a criminal band of seven assassins. He is shown as being flamboyant, playful, and narcissistic, even liking Inuyasha, pursuing him as prey. He also has a strong preference for men, complimenting Koga's loin cloth and Sesshomaru's appearance, and flirting with Miroku. JapanQueer DuckOctober 11, 2000 Adam Seymour Duckstein Gay Adam is the main character of the series. He is presented as a stereotypical gay duck and has been a victim of gay bashing. However, in the series finale, he wakes up to discover that he had sex with a woman. Queer Duck is voiced by gay actor and comedian Jim J. Bullock.United States Steven Arlo Gator Gay Steven is Queer Duck's significant other. He is shy and insecure and is usually the voice of reason whenever Queer Duck gets himself or anyone else in trouble. He marries Queer Duck in a Jewish wedding in Vermont in one episode, "Wedding Bell Blues," (although they are often seen as having an open relationship); a moose was the rabbi. April 24, 2002 Melissa Duckstein Lesbian Melissa is Adam's sister. She is occasionally revealed to be lesbian throughout the series, in a relationship with Yvette, in episodes such as "Homo for the Holidays," and the movie. Static Shock September 23, 2000 Richie Foley / Gear Gay Best friend of Virgil Hawkins / Static, Richie is based on Rick Stone, an openly gay character from the Static comic book. Dwayne McDuffie, who developed the series and created the Static character, said he dealt with the homosexuality of Richie by writing him "aggressively and unconvincingly announcing his heterosexuality whenever possible...while Virgil rolled his eyes at the transparency of it" but it never came up in the show because it was rated TV-Y7-FV. United States2000–2007Harvey Birdman, Attorney at LawDecember 30, 2000 Harvey Birdman Bisexual Harvey Birdman has shown attraction to men and women. He had a same-sex relationship with Boo-Boo Bear and married him in the season 3 episode "Return of Birdgirl".United States Dr. Benton QuestGayDr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon are portrayed as a same-sex couple in the series. The first episode "Bannon Custody Battle" is about Race wanting to share custody of Jonny and Hadji with Benton, though it is revealed in court that Race Bannon is a robot duplicate created by Dr. Zin and the real Race was on vacation. The season 3 episode "Return of Birdgirl" deals with same-sex marriage as Benton and Race want to get legally married. Race Bannon July 14, 2002 Boo-Boo Bear Boo-Boo Bear is portrayed as Harvey's gay lover in the series.

2001

Duration Show title Character debut date Characters Identity Notes Country2001 Fruits Basket September 6, 2001 Hatsuharu Sohma Bisexual Hatsuharu is part of the Sohma family, a family cursed into turning into members of the zodiac when under stress or hugged by members of the opposite sex. He was born in the year of the cow and was often annoyed by people's comments about the stupidity of the cow from the zodiac, and blamed his troubles on Yuki who was born the year of the rat. However, Yuki helps him realize he needs to move past people's comments and enters an on/off relationship with Rin Sohma, who dumped him in Season 2, he refers to Yuki as his first love. Japan Puni Puni Poemy March 7, 2001 Futaba Aasu Lesbian Poemy's classmate and best friend, and she is madly in love with her, a fact to which Poemy is oblivious. In the final confrontation with the invading aliens, in the second episode, Futaba combines her power with Poemy's, and since Poemy is a representation of Earth, this act pacifies the planet's population, resulting in peace with the aliens. After this event, director Nabeshin casually mentions that Futaba is in reality the main character of the show. Her name comes from futa, the Japanese word for "two". Futaba is mostly a parody of Tomoyo Daidouji, the best friend of magical girl Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura who is also a lesbian. Unlike Tomoyo, however, Futaba displays more extreme fantasies and lesbian arousal whenever she is with her friend, who she seriously loves. JapanZoids: New CenturyJanuary 20, 2001 BenjaminGayBenjamin and Sebastian are Harry Champ's robots. They are the only other members of the Champ Team. Both of the robots are indicated to be gay in the Japanese version. In the episode "My Love, the Judge", Benjamin is shown to be in love with a male Judge Robot. This was censored in the English dub as the Judge Robot was changed to a female Judge. In the Japanese version of "In Search of the Ultimate X", both Benjamin and Sebastian were wearing bikinis and rubbing each other. Those scenes were cut in the English dub.Japan Sebastian2001–2002John Callahan's Quads!February 2, 2001SpaldingGaySpalding is Reilly's Australian physical therapist. He is a drama queen and openly gay. The last two episodes of season 1, "Fatal Distraction" and "Spalding in the Family Way" centered on Spalding as he tries to get back together with his former boyfriend Bruce and coming out to his family.CanadaAustraliaThe OblongsApril 2, 2001Biff OblongGayBiff Oblong was indicated to be gay when he showed attraction to a male coach. He was confirmed to be gay in a bonus feature from The Oblongs Complete Series DVD.United StatesAnita BidetTrans womanAnita Bidet is the owner of the bar Rusty Bucket and Pickles Oblong's friend. She is a pre-op transgender woman who is saving up money for gender reassignment surgery. The series creator called her a "drag queen".X August 25, 2001 Subaru SumeragiGaySubaru tries to hunt and kill Seishirō for killing his sister and when he succeeds, he states he has killed the one he loves most. Their past is elaborated in the manga, Tokyo Babylon, where it was shown Seishirō would often flirt with and tried to seduce Subaru as part of a bet: if Subaru could make him fall in love with him, he wouldn't kill him. While Subaru did grow to love Seishirō, Seishirō couldn't reciprocate but killed Subaru's sister Hotaru in his stead per her request, and as Seishirō dies, he confesses "I also.". before dying.Japan October 3, 2001 Seishirō Sakurazuka 2001–2003 Time Squad June 8, 2001 Larry 3000 Gay Larry 3000's voice actor, Mark Hamill, implied that Larry could easily have been interpreted as gay in the cartoon, due to his femininity and presentation as the "gay best friend" to Cleopatra in "Shop like an Egyptian", although Larry has stated on multiple occasions he dislikes humans in general. However, this show never stated his sexuality, although Hamill described Larry as fierce and flamboyant. United States 2001–2004 Braceface September 27, 2002 Mark "Dion" Jones Gay Canon gay male character as shown in the episode "Game, Set-up and Match". Sharon even tried to set Dion up for a date but it didn't work out. The show's official website called him "sweet, flamboyant and funny". Canada

2002