For what it's worth, keep in mind that Japan doesn't legally recognize a sex change without bottom surgery, so there's a lot of trans people living there who're still recognized as their birth gender because they don't want to sterilize themselves. So in the public eye, there often isn't a difference between a cisgendered crossdresser who's doing it for fun and a pre-op transgendered person who's changing their lifestyle along with their appearance. This can really muddy the way Japanese people approach and talk about transgender issues.

Edit: And as we might be seeing in this chapter, messes with the way young people learn about transgender related issues as well.

last edited at Jul 30, 2021 4:45PM

Uh, better move a couple towns away after that blunder.

Kita thought Sakuma was a guy in drag??? Am I reading that right? Or am I missing something?

That's the simplest assumption given his reaction, and he likely wants advice from her on crossdressing. Remember that one of the main recurring characters in Sasameki Koto was a crossdressing guy so there's author appeal there.

Kita thought Sakuma was a guy in drag??? Am I reading that right? Or am I missing something?

Yeah, it took me a while to piece it together but that seems to be right. He thought she was a man and was in awe of her "crossdressing" and wanted advice. Poor kid, that's mortifying as hell.

Bow before me mortals. somehow i was gifted with prophesy just this once.

last edited at Jul 30, 2021 8:42PM

.... did NOT see that one coming.

Bow before me mortals. somehow i was gifted with prophesy just this once.

( :⁍ 」 ) kowtow and woa

It doesn't look like that kid is turned on by girls.

They say "He couldn't get it up" with the girlfriend, so I guess there's that.

Still up in the air if they have gender dysphoria or not.

So, they may be trans, but not a lesbian.

last edited at Jul 31, 2021 5:51AM

What a horrible little sequence of events, I predict a shitshow soon.

last edited at Jul 31, 2021 6:07AM

It doesn't look like that kid is turned on by girls.

They say "He couldn't get it up" with the girlfriend, so I guess there's that.

Still up in the air if they have gender dysphoria or not.

So, they may be trans, but not a lesbian.

afaik a transgirl is still a girl so it's yuri if it turn out to be that.

Lilliwyt posted:

It doesn't look like that kid is turned on by girls.

They say "He couldn't get it up" with the girlfriend, so I guess there's that.

Still up in the air if they have gender dysphoria or not.

So, they may be trans, but not a lesbian.

afaik a transgirl is still a girl so it's yuri if it turn out to be that.

What do you mean?

I mean, if they turn out to be a girl, then they are heterosexual (or asexual) since they "can't get it up" for the girlfriend. So, it's not "yuri".

We still have not much information about their preferences, except that their first time with a girl was a limp disaster.

It doesn't mean they are attracted to guys. There was no hint in the locker room that they were having thought about their teammates.

So, from what I can gather from the few hints here and there:

• Girls don't interest them sexually ("can't get it up")
• They don't want to be all muscley (because of next point probably)
• They want to crossdress and pass as a girl, "like Sakuma".
• They thought Sakuma was a kindred spirit (a crossdressing man with a girlfriend?)

So, still unknown if they are trans.

last edited at Jul 31, 2021 9:38AM

I mean, if they turn out to be a girl, then they are heterosexual (or asexual) since they "can't get it up" for the girlfriend. So, it's not "yuri".

Transgirl on girl is still yuri on my book. It will be het if it's transboy on girl.

the crux is that two women together when one or more of them don't like women isn't actually gay

nobody contests that there are women involved, merely what their tastes might be

especially considering that the relationship was started on half-hearted feelings and not real mutual attraction

@Lilliwyt If he isnt attracted to women (he said he isnt aroused by his gf) then its not gonna be transgirl on girl yuri is it- they are asexual or attracted to guys- its not clear which yet- but if you have a trans girl on guy its not yuri.

last edited at Jul 31, 2021 11:02AM

some ppl dont get turned on when they aren't themselves, it can be a mental block. especially in such a gendered situation as that.

^I guess that could also be why- maybe he would be into girls as a girl himself but not as a guy? I didnt consider that.

In all this, people seem to have missed an extremely point revealed in the last page of this chapter

-> Sakuma has a deep voice

My mind can now only imagine her with Keiko Kubota's singing voice.

Lilliwyt posted:

I mean, if they turn out to be a girl, then they are heterosexual (or asexual) since they "can't get it up" for the girlfriend. So, it's not "yuri".

Transgirl on girl is still yuri on my book. It will be het if it's transboy on girl.

I don't think you understood.

Who said they are a girl/transgirl?

last edited at Jul 31, 2021 12:21PM

^I guess that could also be why- maybe he would be into girls as a girl himself but not as a guy? I didnt consider that.

Again, I direct you all to consider the most familiar explanation given the author. Masaki from Sasameki Koto was in love with Sumika but since he was delicate and liked crossdressing and she was a tough and tall karate practitioner, he saw her as the "guy" in their hypothetical relationship and himself as the "girl", with this only applying to their superficial behaviour, not their deeper mental state. Not saying it has to be the same case here, but I think there's a fair chance it'll turn out to be something similar rather than going into more complex territory that would start having to require a lot of attention and potentially take away from the main premise and characters.

@ Nya-chan 'afaik a transgirl is still a girl so it's yuri if it turn out to be that.' Is literally what you just said- that if they are a transgirl then its yuri- but like I said, since they said they were not turned on by their gf it wasnt gonna be yuri even if they are a transgirl..

So I guess I didnt understand? Anyways, I don't want to drag this minor point out more when we dont have much to go on- its better to wait and see, so I'll leave it there till we know more details. I wonder if this character is even going to be a significant subplot or if we are already done with them?

last edited at Jul 31, 2021 8:03PM

egghead

The fact that dumbass-san is a neighbor reminded me of Wako and Sakuma's fujoshi upstairs neighbor so I went back and reread those chapters and they only get funnier on rereading.

This page, in particular, kills me every time.

Also, on this reread I was struck by a thought… do you think Ataru's family owns a karate dojo? The parallels really jumped out at me now.