a feminine youthful look is their equivalent of Schwarzenegger at his peak for us
Japanese history disagrees with that, since Japanese males neither looked feminine nor they behaved in a feminine manner. Even the chonmage. People say the origin of this style was purely practical (samurai shaved the top of their heads because it made wearing helmets easier), but i wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some metaphysical meaning since the "head" is the symbol of masculinity. Same reason why traditionally only male Jews were allowed to wear the Kippah.
Now, what IS true though is that Japanese culture did have something analogous to European romance, where femininity had a crucial role in the path towards spiritual realization taken by warriors (Dante's Divine Comedy is the highest example of this concept, Beatrice literally guiding Dante through the highest levels of spiritual realization in the
Paradiso). We see something of that in Sanjuro, where Mifume's character is "tempered" through the intercession of a feminine influence (which is shown to be frivolous but with a wisdom of its own).
I will agree on one thing though. Feminine beauty in men in Japanese anime and media has nothing sexual about it. The first example that came to my mind was from the old Hokuto no Ken anime i used to watch as a kid, specifically the story of Rei and Yuda. From what i remember, Yuda was a narcissist who at one point had his ego completely shattered after becoming raptured by the grace and beauty of Rei's fighting style. Unable to cope with the fact someone's else beauty could "enter his heart" (given that his narcisism made him think nobody was more beautiful than himself), he hatched a plot to destroy Rei, and also tried to elevate his own beauty through crotesque means, by wearing make up and taking up feminine features, or by surrounding himself with beautiful women, out of which he demanded absolute perfection (and if they didn't meet his standards he would just throw them at his men for their amusement).
At no point did sexuality enter into this story. Yuda was not "gay", secretly or otherwise. His confession after Rei defeats him was not a confession of love, but a final admission he knew deep down he couldn't be as beautiful as the latter. His feelings towards Rei had to do with admiration, not sexual attraction. I can only imagine what a modern "localizer" would do with a story like that.