A surprisingly beautiful manga with tons of transfemme rep
A surprisingly beautiful manga with tons of transfemme rep
High school student Tetsu Iwaoka notices that his classmate Mogumo is always alone at school. Wanting to give Mogumo a chance to make some friends, Tetsu invites Mogumo to work at his family’s maid cafe. Although Mogumo is initially enthusiastic, there is just one problem: this is a cross-dressing b...
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I read this manga a while ago and was really conflicted about the story, author, and representation (non-binary rep specifically). A lot of those worries went away in the last two volumes or so, but regardless of my overall feelings, the trans rep gave me a big dumb smile and I actually cheered during a specific scene :)
A few recs if you're hungry for more trans rep in manga after reading this:
Skip and Loafer: cishet romance but the main character's aunt/guardian is a trans woman, and has some of the best introspective scenes and subtle characterization I've seen for trans characters and felt intensely relatable to me, in a very sobering way.
Hourou Musoku/Wandering Son: this one's about two trans kids, and while a lot of people are very critical of it (myself included), I haven't really seen any manga that follow the lives of trans people so closely for so long. It also has an anime, which I haven't seen, so I can't really speak to its quality.
Bokura no Hentai warning, this one is HEAVY, but it stuck with me for a long time. It was thought provoking and had just enough wholesome moments to make it super memorable for me. CW for sex, abuse, and r*pe
And if you're interested in reading some manga that are memoirs about the authors' own trans experiences:
Hanayome wa Moto Danshi/The Bride Was a Boy: The auhtor shares her experiences as a trans woman in Japan, from childhood, coming out, getting health care, and eventually marrying her husband. Includes a lot of information about Japan's views and laws (at the time of publishing) on LGBTQ culture.
Umareru Seibetsu wo Machigaeta!: An autobiographical essay/manga about the author's experience getting sexual reassignment surgery in Thailand. This has less to do with the broader transgender experience, and focuses instead on a more detailed account of what the surgery and recovery was like. Lots of details here that I hadn't read anywhere else before, and the author is very charming! There's also an insane Grappler Baki reference that made me laugh so hard I almost cried.
Otokonoko Doushi Renai Chuu: former porn star Kaoru Ooshima shares the story of his life and career as a popular cross-dressing porn actor. I was skeptical about this one since its kind of about cross-dressing porn, but I actually really enjoyed it and found it super interesting (and there are also trans people, and we hear a bit about their experiences too!). Also, it was illustrated by Fumiko Fumi, the author/artist of the aforementioned Bokura no Hentai, and I love her art :)
Bokura no Hentai is also great! I finished it up last week and it definitely stuck with me in a good way despite the heavy themes. The unofficial afterstory was pretty uh... let's say bleak, but it did offer a bit of closure for one of the characters.
Kanojo ni Naritai Kimi to Boku Is another decent one where the MC is a trans girl. I do need to warn anyone that reads it that the author does something not great near the end which sours the entire thing for me, though some people may not see it the same way.
I haven't heard of this one, but I'll check it out! Thanks for the rec, and the warning!