Transgender in Anime

[Jaimey]

So, I haven't seen it yet (the first episode JUST came out), but there is a new anime called "Wandering Son" (Hourou Musuko) about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy.

Here's some info from myanimelist if anyone is interested: http://myanimelist.net/anime/8426/Hourou_Musuko

I'll (hopefully) review it after I see a few episodes.

[Izumi]

since the anime is new haven't seen it, however, the manga was really good.  I continue to read it.

[Layn]

Hourou Musuko is great, but since it takes so long to update sometimes i have a hard time remembering details and where people are at and such. Really worth a read, and the first episode was great too.
the only complaint i have about the anime is that it starts off a few volumes in, meaning a lot of characters, relationships and backstory already exist, and most of it is just thrown at the viewer in a short time. I bet it must be confusing for people who never read the manga.

[Fuji]

Hourou Musuko was is one of my favorite comics.  It's gentle and serious and not patronizing.  The Fantagraphics Press is releasing it in English starting in February.  I think that's pretty big.  A press release said they were translating it because they thought it was an important work.  I'm encouraged by this!

I was surprised by that narrative jump in the first episode, but I think it will work out well.  I do wonder if people who are not familiar with the comic will be able to follow what is going on.  But where they started, it seems they are jumping into the period where Nitori (MtF) and Takatsuki (FtM) start going through puberty and struggling with the advancement of their secondary sex characteristics.  I think the "thing" that happens right at the end of the first episode indicates that.

I'm excited about this work because of the spectrum it represents.  Their adult MtF friend, Yuki, is a fantastic member of the cast, as well as Nitorin's friend Mako who thought he was maybe transgendered but then realized he was gay.  And Yuki is a straight MtF, but Takatsuki is an FtM who has been attracted to other males.  I think the variety of sex and sexuality in the characters is going to be an asset to the significance of the work as a whole.

Looking forward to the second episode Thursday!

If anyone is interested, it streams, translated and totally legal to watch, about an hour after it airs in Japan, on Thursdays, on crunchyroll.com. 

[Nobuko]

Sazanami Cherry is a manga that might interest some people. http://www.mangafox.com/manga/sazanami_cherry/v01/c001/ It starts off seeming like a typical 'Male attracted by trap, is surprised to find out the girl he's been crushing on is male' cliche, and then develops quickly as they go farther into their relationship while the mtf deals with conflict with her sister who doesn't accept her desire to be a girl.

As someone who has seen a bunch of anime and manga dealing with crossdressing and TG, it's nice to see a male protagonist attracted to a crossdresser / transgendered without immediately acting with revulsion and derision for once.

[Fuji]

Wow! I'm very interested!  I recently started watching something called Sasameki Koto, which is primarily about lesbian schoolgirls, but there is a feminine boy who crossdresses to attract the attention of one of the lesbians.  Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be interested in crossdressing for any other reason- he doesn't seem to like it very much at all.

Have you heard of Genshiken?  It's not new, but the manga (about a college Otaku club) just recently resumed, and there's a wonderful MtF in the club this 'year' in the Genshiken.  In a recent chapter, a regular straight character comes on to the MtF (pretty respectfully) even knowing fully that she still has a male body!  I was so excited- I would be really happy if she got to have a relationship that was respectful, non-objective and non-judgmental.  In any case, the new arc of the Genshiken is so far wonderfully progressive, and all the character's reactions to her are very interesting and mostly respectful (there's one character who initially writes the ->-bleeped-<- off as weird and she says some insensitive things, but seems to be coming around.  Maybe even attracted to her!)  This is also an interesting series because it is about adults, which is a nice change of pace form the middle school/high school dramas.

I'm going to check out Sazanami right now! Thank you for the recommendation!

[Layn]

Mako is gay, not transgender?  wow, i somehow didn't get that
talking about "trap"...  has anyone read the comments on horou musuko episode 1 on animetake? really disheartening

anyway, mangafox. thats cool! we formed a transgender horou musuko fan group from a... i think 100 page transgender fans thread there

[Fuji]

That's how I understood it- but I may be wrong!  The way I read it, Mako first connected with Nitori because he thought they both wanted to be girls, but eventually Mako seemed to lose the desire to crossdress, and my perception was that he realized he was gay but not necessarily transgendered.  Again! Might be wrong- I did read it through pretty fast the first time.  I think Mako admired Nitori's ability to pass, and of course, now he's in love with her.

I'll read through the later parts again, see how ze actually identifies zirself.  Mako is one of my favorite characters, so I should be sure about hir.

I stopped reading the comments on pretty much any anime site, and especially those linked to a comic or anime with any LGBTQ themes or characters.  They'll pretty much make you want to punch everything, they're so, so ignorant (and have ZERO desire to be educated! So try not to let it get to you...or stay away from 'em!)

[Ribbons]

Mako seems to still have an interest in cross-dressing. He's apparently not transsexual like Nitori though; just a gay gender variant boy.

The anime adaptation is not good.. But it is a good anime. I wish more manga and anime portrayed LGBT topics so realistically.

[Fuji]

Agreed.  Mako is definitely interested, at least.  Looked so cute with his little clover hairpin.  It was sweet when Niitori said they matched.

Episode two was rather dull.  I don't like the angry girl.  I want to be sympathetic but she just wont take responsibility for any of her hurtful actions.

I hope Anna Suehiro is in the next episode, I thought I saw her in the preview.

Agreed on the adaptation.  Maybe it's just best as a manga.  But this is nice to see as an anime.  I wonder if something like this will have an effect on people's conceptions of transpeople?

[Ribbons]

And Yuki is a straight MtF, but Takatsuki is an FtM who has been attracted to other males.   

I wouldn't say Takatsuki is gay just yet. Nitori? I can firmly say I believe she's lesbian, but Takatsuki really doesn't have much romance yet.

The closest we've gotten were his fantasies about Nitori sparked by tension, his relationship with Yuki (especially when he just met her; though that may have been more of a "I passed" sort of reaction), and his psuedo-romantic rivalry with Chiba.

The whole "teacher crush" thing going on in the manga right now seems like another misunderstanding; like how Nitori thought she liked Takatsuki. It seems like admiration.

Episode 2 was nice.. Episode 3 was a bit boring though.

From what I've seen the reaction was either positive with people, a "trap" reaction, or an "Ew, gross!" sorta one. Mostly the first one though; a lot of people consider it the best anime this season. Not like this season is good though

This series seems like one of those "Realistic and thought provoking/educational" series that rarely appear.

For example, Koi Kaze. It was a series relating about two long lost siblings who fell in love, which wasn't made any better by the fact one was an adult and the other a teenager. It was realistic, and really made people think about these sorts of relationships.   
Or IS, which was an Intersex related manga.

[Kairi]

I knew there was an anime in production about six months ago and I think it was time they made one with transgender as the theme.

I finally watched episode one last night after spending hours downloading various versions from different fansub groups only to find that my Netbook lags like crazy on HD videos with the subtitles being out of sync with the audio.

I have never seen the manga so I can't comment about the differences. I must say I was impressed with the water colour style artwork and the portrayal of theme. I liked it very much since I am a fan of anime and the story revolves around a theme which I associate with. I did however find the character introduction a little confusing so I am going to rewatch the episode. I will be following through with the rest of the series... In fact, this is the first time I am following a series which is broadcasted in Japan at the same time so the weekly wait to follow the story shall be exciting!

[Jaimey]

I like what I've seen so far!  The first episode is a little confusing, but it clears up as you go along. 

[Tamaki]

I've watched four episodes and really enjoying it. I'm going to go back watch them again now that I kind of know what going on. They jump right in and don't try to soften the blow at all. The slower pacing is nice and I like how they don't let the side stories overwhelm the main story.

I've never been into manga, it just doesn't click with me for some reason. The good thing is I'm not always comparing the anime to the manga which takes away some of the enjoyment for me. So how does the manga compare with the anime, does it follow exactly?

[Fuji]

I've never been into manga, it just doesn't click with me for some reason. The good thing is I'm not always comparing the anime to the manga which takes away some of the enjoyment for me. So how does the manga compare with the anime, does it follow exactly?

Not exactly.  You may have heard that the anime jumps into the story in the middle.  The manga starts when Nitori first begins learning that she is a transexual.  She dresses up and answers the door at home as a girl, running into a guy from his big sister's class.  The boy dogs Nitori's sister to set him up with this "beautiful girl," and it sets up the hairy relationship Nitori has with his sister, who liked that very boy.  You've met him- he's her boyfriend now (though she is sensitive to the idea that he still may be attracted to her "brother".)

The story follows through Nitori's relationship with Takatsuki, and her relationship with Chiba, and when Nitori confesses to Takatsuki and gets rejected, and when Chiba confesses to Nitori and gets rejected. You also meet their wonderful transexual adult friend Yuki, and learn about her past. There's Chiba's awful suitor, and her fair-weather relationship with Christianity. Nitori's stint as a model with his sister, and seeing her career as a model begin.

The anime jumps in after all this, when the confessions are passed, and they're adjusting to puberty and looking to start relationships and think about futures.

I was sad not to see a lot of those wonderful moments, but I understand that an anime season is only 13 episodes long, and you have to do what you can.  But the whole story is so rich and sensitive, I would recommend the manga over the anime in a second.

[Ribbons]

The anime is quite different. I was thinking of making a comparison video on Youtube, but I'll wait until it ends. There are various differences. Scenes are changed a bit, new scenes are added, the sequence of scenes is changed, etc.

It's a nice anime on its own, but not a good adaptation.  I find it odd how everyone sounds like they're going through puberty, though they don't begin until after they enter middle school (just recently Nitori's voice has began cracking).

[LifeInNeon]

The shot of the bathroom signs in the opening credits just kills me. I'm still sniffling after that moment and I'm six episodes in.

I'm loving the show so far. I'm watching it with my girlfriend who is having a lot of trouble with my transition. She's still adjusting, and it's been very helpful in showing her what it is like.

[Layn]

i finally got to watch the anime! it was so beautiful! it was a bit fast paced, but i think that was good, even though it skipped a lot of things that might have been interesting. and the music! i'm still listening to the opening and specially the ending song! The ending didn't quite feel like an ending, but that's alright, after all it isn't an ending, not in the manga and definitely not for Shuu. But i did like they chose to end at a moment where Shuus character development was at a point you could feel optimistic for her.

[My Perfect Requiem]

Hourou Musuko made me realise that I am trans... When I first heard about it, I didn't know why it seemed interesting to me, but after watching the anime and reading the manga, I realised that I am who I am. On top of that, it's a beautiful anime - one of the best I've ever watched