One of the best yuri I've read so far.

I liked all the characters, well, beside the stepmother who is a real monster. But I especially loved the relation and the interactions between Rio and Sahoko.

Seeing those two, I was under the impression of seeing the incarnation of the True Love, very few couple (yuri or not) left me with that impression. Everything is so natural and perfect.

It's a real shame that this manga wasn't edited outside Japan. :(

So, if the doctor's thoughts are true, the next step in evolution is lesbians.

Homosexuality is a superior order of existence. No doubt here.

last edited at Aug 23, 2015 4:36AM

the only too yaoi iv read was the same plot idea (guy x guy that looks like a girl or is a girl now)

You know other stories where one member (or the two of them) of an established couple suddenly change sex magically?
Because this context is a first for me, and I find it pretty interesting. Usually in the "magical sex change gender bender" the MC start single.

If you know similar stories, I'm very interested in it, and I don't care if the couple is het, yaoi or yuri.

Anyway, I'm wondering, about God, why he did that?

• Because he don't like gay?
• Because that the only way for being married in Japan?
• Or it's simply a trial in order to strengthen the bond between the two? (the couple seems pretty recent)

I hope they'll face God in the future, somehow.

last edited at Aug 23, 2015 4:18AM

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

Thanks Tooko for the explanation!

I agree about the evolution of meaning of the words over the years.
Honestly I'm really new in the animanga culture, coupled by the fact that I'm non-native English speaker, the word "trap" eluded me for quite some time. And the expression "reverse-trap" was even worse. That's why I tend to stick to the original meaning after finding it. ^^'

That's another issue about that word (at least for me), even if "crossdresser" or "transvestite" aren't perfect, there is at least a direct link to the original meaning. "Trap" have no tie and is totally figurative.

But in that case, if there is no fitting word in English for that, in addition of the controversy behind the word "trap" which it is sometime considered as insulting, why not directly using the Japanese word? Like we do with "Tsundere", "Yandere" or "seme/uke"?

last edited at Jul 29, 2015 8:01AM

Most of the manga Hachimitsu translates ends up having a dose of one or the other in it, even though I wouldn't call most of them mean-spirited. It's mostly a result of genre trappings and culture, I think... Western culture certainly has its own set of horrible norms at work here, so I'm not exactly throwing stones. A story containing some transmisogyny or transphobia doesn't make it irredeemable, you just have to be willing to recognize it for what it is.

Yes, but in other hand, nearly every works of fiction possess similar flaws. For example a ton of yuri works are more or less heterosexist, with one girl assuming one way or another the "man role", recreating the man/woman dynamic as if it's a natural thing. It's less common and blatant than in yaoi with its seme/uke dynamic, but it is still present.

BTW every trans-related manga/anime I read/watched are heterosexist, and myself as a MTF trans' have similar flaws (minor misandrist traits). The only exception in my eyes is the character of Aikawa in Prunus Girl, which is for me a gender-fluid or intergender trans' even if it's not stated, mainly because of the "peach-cola flavor" story, and his/her general behavior.

The only way for not having that kind of flaw is to totally break the gender roles. And the very few stories which possess that potential (like Simoun) utterly fail. Because it's really, really hard to ignore the gender roles, the vast majority of LGBT folks are bound to them like the cis-people are.

So it's not surprising that the cross-dressing/trans' themed manga possess transmisogyny, heterosexism and similar traits. It's how our society works, alas. And if I have myself to write a story on that thematic, I will probably use these flaws too.

After that said, I agree with you; it would be better if the authors/translators/readers were more informed on that thematic. Especially Hachimitsu who use the word "trap" everywhere.
For example in the new serie Boy Skirt, if I understand well another conversation on Batoto, they have translated the word "Otokonoko" (literally "Male daughter") into "trap". I dunno what is the exact meaning behind the word "Otokonoko" for the Japanese folks, but with the etymology alone, it feels to be an odd translation at beast. And anyway, Izumi isn't a "trap" by definition, because he don't hide his sex and don't try to lure hetero-boys or lesbians.

last edited at Jul 29, 2015 6:24AM

I just read the synopsis of painter of the wind from Drama-lover, and it says the main girl falls for her teacher (a man), while she is dressed as a guy. So is the teacher cross-dressing too? If not, how is this yuri?

From what I understand, it's a love triangle between two women (one who cross-dress as a man) and one man, and from what that blog says, it's a yuri ending.

I still don't have see it yet, but it's definitely in my watch-list.

I think Bokura no Hentai is the only serious trap manga I have read, someone remembers any other?

Depends of what you call "serious" and what exactly you mean by "trap".

But two examples of manga where the MC pretends to be a "real girl" as a plot-element, without real comedic purpose behind the cross-dressing:
Shounen Ojo
Coda

For Coda the cross-dressing is purely circumstantial and temporary, while in Shounen Ojo, I'm under the impression that the MC is currently developing some kind of gender issues, especially with this passage at pages 12 to 14.

But Bokura no Hentai is the only one I've read which is that violent/depressing about the subject of cross-dressing.

For Sakura no Sono, I like it, even if it's really weird and I didn't understand the majority of what it's currently happening.

My issue with the characters isn't about Liz (I love cross-dressers and trans' characters), but I'm under the impression that certain characters aren't even humans, more like they are human-shaped mushrooms. Only Liz and Sakura, and perhaps the sensei seem to be proper humans.

last edited at Jul 27, 2015 3:05PM

As for Bye Bye Blondie, if the movie is a yuri, the novel isn't; it's an het romance. The author changed the sex of "Blondie" (Éric became Frances) between the publication of the novel and the making of the movie.

Wha.. Really? Damn, I loved the movie and was really looking forward to reading the book...

It's a shame isn't it? Still, as usual the book is better than the movie, but you won't find any lesbian stuff in it.

For the explanation of the change, Virginie Despentes (the author) said she "became lesbian at 35", she wrote the book before that and made the movie after.
If you really interested in her writing, try Apocalypse Baby, this one is yuri and good (and is in English). I didn't read the rest of her bibliography (but I will), so I dunno if there is yuri in her other novels.

Her other movie, Baise-moi, you'll find subtext at best, but it's more a trash-movie than anything else (sex (heterosexual), drugs and violence), no real place for any romance-stuff.

last edited at Jul 13, 2015 1:12PM

As for Bye Bye Blondie, if the movie is a yuri, the novel isn't; it's an het romance. The author changed the sex of "Blondie" (Éric became Frances) between the publication of the novel and the making of the movie.

From the same author, you have the novel Apocalypse Bébé, which is yuri. Unlike Bye Bye Blondie, this one seems to have an English version. I've read the French version, and it's very good, if you like the Punk ambiance.