Nah, they're wrong. She's an alien! A male alien. It's just that they take the form of a female human.

That would be AMAZING.

Think you guys are pulling quite a stretch to classify (what bascially is) a child.

(Guess this is what these forums are nowadays)

How about we go back and actually read my post and let's try this sentence again.

I SWEAR IF SAEKI IS AFTER ALL IN LOVE WITH TOUKA I DEMAND A DRAMA TAG BECAUSE IF THAT IS GOING TO BE THE CASE I NEED TO PREPARE MY HEART GAHD plz don't be a love triangle ;-;

Maybe is just the atmosphere but I feel like this is setting in a old school around year 50´s because the uniformed
is this wasn't for the cellphone I will believe is a old school

nanami: "Kouhai, please notice me"
koito: frowning face "WTF, senpai?"

nanami: "Kouhai, please notice me"
koito: frowning face "WTF, senpai?"

hahahahhaha

nanami: "Kouhai, please notice me"
koito: frowning face "WTF, senpai?"

hahahahhaha

That's great. I was thinking that too! :) haha.

The trouble I have with seeing the main character as aro or ace is much the same trouble I have when I see a trans character show up in manga. I simply don't trust J. Random Mangaka to know enough about the topic to Get It Right. And honestly, other than rare exceptions in the case of trans characters, manga in general hasn't given me much reason for confidence. I have my doubts whether the author knows much at all about ace and aro people, and it's mostly by coincidence their story concept resonates with those who are.

I could be happily wrong about that. I hope I am. But I find it's the exception rather than the rule.

The only time I've seen a trans character done right was in Kashimashi

The trouble I have with seeing the main character as aro or ace is much the same trouble I have when I see a trans character show up in manga. I simply don't trust J. Random Mangaka to know enough about the topic to Get It Right. And honestly, other than rare exceptions in the case of trans characters, manga in general hasn't given me much reason for confidence. I have my doubts whether the author knows much at all about ace and aro people, and it's mostly by coincidence their story concept resonates with those who are.

I could be happily wrong about that. I hope I am. But I find it's the exception rather than the rule.

The only time I've seen a trans character done right was in Kashimashi

Double House, Mermaid Line, most of Houro Musuko. I've only read the first few chapters of Kashimashi, but I wasn't aware of a good trans depiction.

If we are talking about Kashimashi Girl Meet Girl, I'm not sure we can actually talk about a trans character.

The MC never identified as a girl before being magically transformed into one (even though he's presented as "pretty girly" for a boy). He just accepts the fact easily.

last edited at Aug 7, 2015 9:13AM

If we are talking about Kashimashi Girl Meet Girl, I'm not sure we can actually talk about a trans character.

The MC never identified as a girl before being magically transformed into one (even though he's presented as "pretty girly" for a boy). He just accepts the fact easily.

Not exactly. The fact that Yasuna can see the face of Hazumu before the transformation is a hint toward that Hazumu was always a girl, as Yasuna can only see the faces of women, not men.

The whole plot (well, the relation Hazumu x Yasuna more precisely) does not make really sense without the fact that Hazumu is a girl from the start.

But yes, I failed to see where Kashimashi is a good handling of a trans' character. Because it totally dodges the problematic.

last edited at Aug 7, 2015 9:46AM

Yasuna's condition is not a power. It's a psychological disorder, as we see later, she even loses the ability to see women because of Tomari's "treason". She can't really see Hazumu's face in the beginning. She just sees him a little more clearly and can mostly draw him, because, somehow, his girlish behavior makes him less threatening, after she spends time with him gardening. But Hazumu never identified himself as a girl before his transformation.

last edited at Aug 14, 2015 3:37AM

Yeah, I find it hard to connect anything in Kashimashi with real-life trans people. It's a comedy that plays with gender and is good for what it is, but to call it a good portrayal of trans experience is reaching quite a bit too far.

There's an ongoing live translation right now by iHoshiku at
http://imgur.com/a/u0twy

okay, the pacing is occasionally awkward, but it's actually getting more interesting with the extrensic-introspective facilitator!

last edited at Aug 12, 2015 12:08PM

There's an ongoing live translation right now by iHoshiku at
http://imgur.com/a/u0twy

This is still brilliant. Just look at Nanami how she enjoys all those little emotions (that indirect kiss, meeting Koito's family, giving a present), while Koito has no idea why.

last edited at Aug 12, 2015 1:38PM

Okay guys, why hasn't anyone considered she's Demisexual?

That's whAT I SAID.

Though it's not a popular sexuality to begin with. She could be demi-romantic.

THANK YOUUUU We just need to up its popularity

last edited at Aug 13, 2015 3:56PM

Yeah, I find it hard to connect anything in Kashimashi with real-life trans people. It's a comedy that plays with gender and is good for what it is, but to call it a good portrayal of trans experience is reaching quite a bit too far.

As a real-life trans person, I identified very strongly with Kashimashi. It was blindingly obvious that, although never allowed by the writers to actually come out and say so, Hazumu was much happier and more comfortable as a woman. The change allowed her to really bloom into the person she was meant to be, and had wanted to be all along. It is not a real-life trans experience, certainly - if only it was - but it is absolutely an MtF wish-fulfillment fantasy.

As for the rest of this discussion, it makes me sad that people are exerting this much effort trying to categorize and psychoanalyze the main character based on very little evidence. Leaving aside the problem of deciding a character is incapable of romance or sexual attraction simply because she doesn't obviously display the signals of it (yet), this is a yuri manga, and the ultimate result seems eminently predictable.

This is something I've been noticing quite a bit in recent years: unless a character gives a blatant showing of desire or yearning, her very capacity to experience them is called into question. This is not a sound way to make assumptions about fictional characters, whose emotions and motivations are usually hidden from the reader for narrative reasons, let alone real people.

I find this manga adorable and super cute, I love how it has a natural and calm yet comfy pace

I find this manga adorable and super cute, I love how it has a natural and calm yet comfy pace

I agree, it has something calming and I appreciate the fact that even though she knows the pres is in love with her, she doesn't freak out or start avoiding her or something like that.. Feels more realistic and relatable that way in my opinion.
I don't mind the occasional angsty moment, but I feel like There has been A LOT of angst-filled yuri lately so this is a pretty welcome change :-)

This is just getting cuter and cuter, and I love it. Hooray for slow-pased non-angsty yuri!

As for the rest of this discussion, it makes me sad that people are exerting this much effort trying to categorize and psychoanalyze the main character based on very little evidence. Leaving aside the problem of deciding a character is incapable of romance or sexual attraction simply because she doesn't obviously display the signals of it (yet), this is a yuri manga, and the ultimate result seems eminently predictable.

This is something I've been noticing quite a bit in recent years: unless a character gives a blatant showing of desire or yearning, her very capacity to experience them is called into question. This is not a sound way to make assumptions about fictional characters, whose emotions and motivations are usually hidden from the reader for narrative reasons, let alone real people.

I say let the ace/aro folks have their cake. (Are cake jokes dead yet??) It's extremely rare to see ace/aro characters get prominent screentime, let alone being a protagonist.

I agree that given the genre, it may seem fruitless to speculate about a character's lack of sexual and/or romantic attraction. However, I think it's equally sad that a much larger portion of humanity are quick to hop on romantic/sexual ships at the drop of a hat (i.e. with very little evidence) without considering that characters and real people can be perfectly happy without sex or romance in their life. There's plenty of ace and aro erasure in society, so why not just appreciate all the different view points in this forum?

As for the rest of this discussion, it makes me sad that people are exerting this much effort trying to categorize and psychoanalyze the main character based on very little evidence.

Really? Isn't this the sign of good writing when people start thinking about it and adding their own feelings and thoughts to it because it is genuinely a thought provoking argument of one way or another or many other ways?

I find it more invigorating stimulus than

'OMG SO CUTE ///*//_//*/// THEY ALL SO LOVEY DOVEY'

(not to say i hate those types of stories, but they're generally just thoughtless fluff. Like eating dessert. No real sustenance, just all calories).

This is getting better and better.

Poor Saeki, I want her to end up with Nanami, at least she has true feelings for her, not to mention she is her childhood friend. I feel like she's been left out...

Everytime when I see a new chapter coming out I hope that it won't break my heart D: