Miraculous: Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir is a hit show in over 120 countries. Created by Thomas Astruc, this series has had a steady rise in viewership since its premiere in 2015, gaining popularity among teens and children. My relationship with this show is complicated. Miraculous: Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir became my coping mechanism when I was bullied, earning a piece of my heart. Growing up I realized that sometimes good things don’t last. Knowing the reality of this famous show, I’ve come to share it with you.

Racism and Colorism: The Problem with Whitewashing

The Black Best Friend is a trope where a black character revolves primarily around the white lead. In this case we have two characters who fall into the trope, Alya and Nino. Even though we see some of their backstory, their main function is having their best friends back all the time. Not only that, but when they transform into superheroes, they get skinnier and whiter. This also applies to Max, whose skin color changes whenever he transforms. 

At the same time, we find racist characters in the show. In the episodes Kung Food and Animestro, Chloe is shown making racist remarks regarding Japanese culture. In the end she receives no repercussions for her actions, and simply states her racist remarks without being told right from wrong.

When Thomas Astruc was questioned about that he said he made Chloe racist because “she’s stupid” and it wasn’t necessary to call her out since “kids understood perfectly” and we don’t need to worry for them, since it’s an excuse for “own misunderstandings.” The worst part is that Chloe’s behavior is made to look normal.

Sexism and Misogyny: Where’s Is All That Feminism?

Four of the characters—Marinette, Chloe, Lila and Kagami—constantly fawn and fight over Adrien throughout the course of the series. Despite being strong characters, they fight for male attention to the point of being obsessed.

Marinette’s stalking of Adrien Agreste  has also been normalized to an unhealthy point. Breaking into someone’s home, knowing their exact schedule and following them around constantly, is not a proper attitude. She is allowed these behaviors and there is no allusion to how wrong it is, which only encourages viewers to believe it is normal. They unconsciously begin to accept in their minds that if you like someone, you can do all that and it will be seen as “romantic.” 

Likewise, something fans seem to forget is that Chat Noir’s behaviors are still Adrien Agreste’s. For those not familiar with the series, when inhabited by Plagg Adrien transforms into the superhero Chat Noir, gaining the power of destruction to stop the villains. Even in his altar ego we must recognize that they are still the same person, so there is no excuse for the continuous times he has tried to kiss Ladybug without her consent. She has repeatedly told him of her lack of interest and he continues to flirt with her, invading her personal space and having extreme jealous scenes. Much of this is seen as romantic, but the truth is that in a real-life scenario, this would be alarming. 

Thomas Astruc: A Problematic Creator. 

At this point, Internet users know better than to publically point out Thomas Astruc’s problematic nature. For some time now, Astruc has taken a defensive attitude towards anyone who corrects him, questions him or thinks differently from him. 

This is disappointing. Fans cannot express their opinions regarding the show without risking being blocked or insulted.

For example,  a Twitter user (@afrodite5683) asked Astruc if there would be a chance to “get a hijabi/muslim character on miraculous eventually” and he replied by saying that religion “is a private matter” and he wants to “keep children from any sensitive matter” What did he mean by keeping children safe?

Toxic Fandom: The Problem with Obsession 

The Miraculous Fandom has become incredibly racist, predatory, pedophilic, sexist, misogynistic and ableist.

Fans have taken negative attitudes such as sexualizing the main characters, especially in their superhero costumes. There are accounts in social media where they publish fanarts of Ladybug and Chat Noir, fourteen year olds, in obscene poses. Likewise, there are teenagers and grown-ups making sexual comments about them.

The toxicity of the fandom does not stop there. Fans are also sexist, hating Adrien Agreste’s female love interests, but praising Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s male love interests. People were happy about Luka Couffaine’s arrival to the program, and even didn’t mind when Marinette started dating him, but when Adrien became Kagami’s boyfriend, everyone hated her and made death threats. 

The amount of toxic attitudes that exist within this fandom are huge, and it needs to be mentioned.

Miraculous: Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir has declined quite a bit in quality. Being a series whose creator promotes hatred and denies freedom of speech, you can’t expect much. All in all, it is unfortunate that this very popular series, one that I loved so much, has come to this point. In particular, I no longer watch the show, if this is not your case, that’s fine. This article is not meant to criticize those who watch it, but to encourage them to analyze what they consume. At the end of the day, being open minded is essential.

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