this might be the most wholesome thing I've read on this site. now to read the rest of her comics...

Spoiler warning!

Yae has a point when she says her first time made her feel more like a child. I mean is sex by itself really that mature activity? It requires little to none of human intellectual capacity. If there were no consequences little kids could do it.

By the way whose bright idea it was to name all .zip files the same? My downloads folder is now a complete mess.

Like she says, it's supposedly a huge event. There's a huge cultural emphasis placed on sex as a rite of passage, as the thing that makes you an adult. It's part of why virgins get mocked for it; not having had sex is a sign of immaturity. This is all bullshit, of course, but it's been ground into a lot of us.

I love this manga, and I've reread it so many times, but I always get put off by the accidental trans subtext of Yae. It's really frustrating watching a character that seems... Pretty aggressively dysphoric just get handwaved as having a deep seated complex related to their attraction to women. Yae says at multiple points they wish they were born a boy, is deeply uncomfortable when they're referred to as girly and especially when their boobs get emphasized, and is absolutely pissed when it's assumed they're not the "man in the relationship", and the list goes on. (THEY LITERALLY BIND AT THE START) As a trans person, it makes a hot story that I really like pretty hard to read when the mangaka sets that up only to justify it away.

I really only have great things to say about Hanjuku Joshi otherwise, which makes that a huge shame.

Hmm, I honestly never thought to look at it thru that perspective. I am cis-female and I felt the same way as Yae at that age, so I suppose it could be seen from various angles?

Morishima is quite good at pacing the story in Hanjuku Joshi. There have been more than a few mangaka who go past 5 chapters and the story lines start needlessly meandering for shiggles.

Yeah, this is one of those manga that are just note perfect throughout. A great beginning, a great middle and a great end.

Posts like this are kinda evil, making me reread this once again (god knows how many times it's been now ;p).

Altough it did make me wonder if it really deserves the "lots of sex" tag, altough yes it is quite smutty it's not really porny in the sense that i associate with that tag. (I've already suggested a tag change)

I agree that "lots of sex" may be pushing it, I think most of the beginning was just Citose sexually harassing Yae like she just had some automatic right to touch and grope her whenever she wanted, even as Yae was begging her to stop. Bad example for females and males alike. No means No! At least by half way thru Chitose is learning it's about one's feelings first and these must be respected before someone can ask to go to the next step. I think Morishima does a great job showing not only a basic love story, but also a lot of underlying themes often missed be other mangaka. I especially like her adult manages as well. She was one of my first yuri mangaka to read and one of my favorites even today.

Why do characters in manga always go "it's so hot out here" at the same time they are wearing a sweater vest? Seems kind of counterproductive.

Morishima is quite good at pacing the story in Hanjuku Joshi. There have been more than a few mangaka who go past 5 chapters and the story lines start needlessly meandering for shiggles.

Yeah, this is one of those manga that are just note perfect throughout. A great beginning, a great middle and a great end.

Posts like this are kinda evil, making me reread this once again (god knows how many times it's been now ;p).

Altough it did make me wonder if it really deserves the "lots of sex" tag, altough yes it is quite smutty it's not really porny in the sense that i associate with that tag. (I've already suggested a tag change)

I think most of the beginning was just Citose sexually harassing Yae like she just had some automatic right to touch and grope her whenever she wanted, even as Yae was begging her to stop.

God I thought that was such a great moment (during the school orientation) and highlights just why I love this story so much. Chitose realizes she is in the wrong for forcing herself onto Yae, reflects on her past mistakes and how she doesn't want this to end the same as her first "love," immediately apologizes for it, and then they share a cute sweet moment, all within the same chapter lol. This is definitely one of my favorite reads!

last edited at Oct 21, 2020 5:08PM

This is kawaii art for adults. What really sets Morishima apart here from the cute-for-cuteness-sake kawaii mangaka is her fabulous draftsmanship (yes I understand the irony of that gendered term) - so strong and confident!

Time for another re-read!

I love this manga, and I've reread it so many times, but I always get put off by the accidental trans subtext of Yae. It's really frustrating watching a character that seems... Pretty aggressively dysphoric just get handwaved as having a deep seated complex related to their attraction to women. Yae says at multiple points they wish they were born a boy, is deeply uncomfortable when they're referred to as girly and especially when their boobs get emphasized, and is absolutely pissed when it's assumed they're not the "man in the relationship", and the list goes on. (THEY LITERALLY BIND AT THE START) As a trans person, it makes a hot story that I really like pretty hard to read when the mangaka sets that up only to justify it away.

I really only have great things to say about Hanjuku Joshi otherwise, which makes that a huge shame.

Hmm, I honestly never thought to look at it thru that perspective. I am cis-female and I felt the same way as Yae at that age, so I suppose it could be seen from various angles?

I think Yae is more somewhere in the middle. If you look at this:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/hanjuku_joshi_ch03#13
you see that it isn't just as straight-forward as "I want to be a boy". More, those feelings are shown later to be at least partially from a broken heart, so it may be more of a self-image thing than actually being trans. I'm no expert, of course, but that was my thought..

We have to remember when this was made. If it was done today, it might certainly seem a bit tone-deaf. But considering back then gay-marriage was a big issue, I don't think the author meant to have such implications.

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 7:30AM

Selene posted:

Time for another re-read!

I love this manga, and I've reread it so many times, but I always get put off by the accidental trans subtext of Yae. It's really frustrating watching a character that seems... Pretty aggressively dysphoric just get handwaved as having a deep seated complex related to their attraction to women. Yae says at multiple points they wish they were born a boy, is deeply uncomfortable when they're referred to as girly and especially when their boobs get emphasized, and is absolutely pissed when it's assumed they're not the "man in the relationship", and the list goes on. (THEY LITERALLY BIND AT THE START) As a trans person, it makes a hot story that I really like pretty hard to read when the mangaka sets that up only to justify it away.

I really only have great things to say about Hanjuku Joshi otherwise, which makes that a huge shame.

Hmm, I honestly never thought to look at it thru that perspective. I am cis-female and I felt the same way as Yae at that age, so I suppose it could be seen from various angles?

I think Yae is more somewhere in the middle. If you look at this:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/hanjuku_joshi_ch03#13
you see that it isn't just as straight-forward as "I want to be a boy". More, those feelings are shown later to be at least partially from a broken heart, so it may be more of a self-image thing than actually being trans. I'm no expert, of course, but that was my thought..

I never saw anything wrong with it. Yae is a girl during puberty that has complex about her body and is also a lesbian adding to the confusing feelings she's experiencing. After all thanks to media and conservatives, when you love someone of the same sex, your first thought will be that you should be opposite sex to be with them, not that lesbians exist. Because Yae liked girls, she felt like it was something wrong with her. Chitose might have been a bit rough and invaded her space, but ultimately she had good intention and helped Yae opened up. She noticed that Yae was binding her chest and hurting herself in the process, so she confronted her in a way she couldn't avoid. I'm not going to say that because Chitose is also a girl she was allowed to do it, but if she didn't, Yae might still live in self-denial. All in all being unsure about your gender and exploring yourself, especially after experiencing prejudice and discrimination due feelings different than "norm" as a kid is not unique to trans people. Many girls feel like being men would be easier or don't feel comfortable with their bodies, but later grow out from it. That's why while it's important, it's hard to decided when someone is really trans and when they're just feeling pressured and while allowing trans person to start hormone therapy young is great, it's equally important to make sure you're not forcing something on child that they might realize they don't want years later or worse, only after they'd already went through surgery.

The overall message of the manga is that it's fine to like girls while being a girl and that they like girls because they're girls, so while I agree beginning might seem misleading as if Yae was trans, it's actually part of exploration of her identity and those themes leading to ultimate conclusion that she's fine the way she is.

We have to remember when this was made. If it was done today, it might certainly seem a bit tone-deaf. But considering back then gay-marriage was a big issue, I don't think the author meant to have such implications.

It sounds like gay-marriage is not a issue anymore? In America, sure, but in most of the world, especially in Japan, it's still a big issue.

last edited at Nov 3, 2020 8:51AM

The overall message of the manga is that it's fine to like girls while being a girl and that they like girls because they're girls, so while I agree beginning might seem misleading as if Yae was trans, it's actually part of exploration of her identity and those themes leading to ultimate conclusion that she's fine the way she is.

Ah, yes, that's what I was trying to say I think ^_^;

It sounds like gay-marriage is not a issue anymore? In America, sure, but in most of the world, especially in Japan, it's still a big issue.

And, I suppose that was me leaning too much into generalizations, forgetting that our bubble here on this site is just that, a bubble, and trying to be too optimistic.. In my area of America it doesn't seem much progress has been made over the last ten years. It's quite frustrating. And I should definitely have had more consideration for other areas of the world before saying what I did, you're right. I normally do.

But...the fact that we talk about it as much as we do, that some countries at least are starting to come around, that more people are realizing just how natural it is.. Well, I think it's good to have that hope, especially here in 2020, where everything else seems to be going wrong.

I'm just as surprised that this classic never got the Big Breasts tag, for so long, considering it's something of a theme for the series that Yae is so Self-Conscious about having Large Breasts.

I Absolutely love this manga, especially it's message that being a lesbian is something to be proud of, I always end up re-reading the whole series every once in a while.

This one never gets old. It's such a beautiful coming of age story. Where two girls figure out their own issues while falling in love. And all in such a wholehearted way. I also love the relationship between Mari and Ran. Mari is such a cool character. She is coming on so strong all the time, but essentially she is very soft on the inside. God, it's all so wholesome!!

last edited at Nov 28, 2024 1:12AM