Okay I really don't see enough people talking about this so let's talk about how Maya Yamato is actually, genuinely canonically trans coded shall we

As you can see Maya is generally a little more on the gnc side, and prefers not to be in the limelight. She didn't seem too comfortable with idol things initially, and just enjoyed contributing from the sidelines

However this discomfort in idol stuff was more primarily from the self perception of her own image : Maya seems to struggle with her identity as a woman, and it's written in a way that's super in tune to a trans experience

Maya often used to beat herself up for not being "girly" enough, or not being "feminine" enough to be an idol, criticising herself for being tomboyish. This is a struggle a lot of trans people have with their identity and conforming to gender norms

She seems to struggle with the fact she is not a "typical woman", she's not comfortable with hyper feminine presentation, she isn't happy with her more ""masculine"" features

But she doesn't really. Want to be hyper feminine all the time. She's more comfortable being herself, wearing what she likes. A lot of trans people can become dysphoric when trying to force themselves to be the ideal of the gender they present themselves as,

which is something we struggle with as a result. This of course isn't the case for everyone! But it seems like Maya struggles with the common mindset that she's just "not enough of a woman", which is unfortunately whilst not true how many trans people feel

She is fantastic representation for trans people who do not wish to conform to their gender "norms" and struggle with doing so. Maya's arc has largely been about becoming more and more comfortable with the idol she wants to be

Her arc has addressed how as a trans woman she doesn't feel like enough of a woman to be the idol she's seen as, and has this disconnect within herself. It's really??? Incredible to see and incredibly well written

Her unique identity with what femininity means to her is incredibly well done. She is the opposite of a stereotype. She's learning that she's a woman, she's Maya Yamato, idol from Pastel*Palettes, and she doesn't need to be traditionally girly to be so

She's clearly figuring out her identity, and whilst not yet fully confident she's making strides. She knows that even without her idol dress she's still herself, but also that she's not bound to any presentation and she can be a woman in her own way

I don't see many people talking about it and as a trans person her whole arc of accepting herself and dismissing her doubts of "not being enough of a woman" is so amazing it blows my mind

So tldr stan maya yamato, this stuff is really explicit in canon if you think about it a little bit, and I think she's really underappreciated. Please remember that when you ask for trans rep in bandori, it's already there, just not in hyperfeminine form