Goggled Anon posted:

Did you read Hourou Musuko?

Pretty sure that series ended with the trans female protagonist telling her girlfriend that she wants to be a girl and her girlfriend responds with "I guess that makes me a lesbian"

Pretty sure that series ended with the "transboy" Yoshino, who went as far a buying a binder and felt their identity was a boy for most of the series, finally deciding that being a girl and being called cute wasn't all that bad and it made things easier in life, so just abandoned that whole gender identity thing and wasn't feeling worse for it. Just felt a bit guilty to have abandoned her friend on the trans road. It was just a phase.

I sure hope this one doesn't go that route for the MC where they finally find love and accept the gender they were assigned at birth with.

... Which is fine because that also happens a lot IRL, especially with boyish girls exploring their gender ?

I thought Horou Musuko was one of the sweetest, deepest, finest and most subtle representation of transidentity in manga.

There’s a way that all these trans manga center cis pain that really starts to tick me off

I totally get whatcha mean. I wonder if this author is trans.

very interesting opinions. especially the first one. from my understanding of your comment, you seem to feel as though there is no room for cis people to feel emotions in a manga centered around a trans person, yes? it "ticks you off" when a manga you perceive as "trans centric" focuses on a non trans character. A non trans character that is an integral part of the story being told to us so far. this isn't just a "trans story". its a coming of age story. An unlikely friendship between two misfits finding their place in the world around them. It's about maturing through overcoming challenges and opening up your understanding for different kinds of opinions. even if those opinions are perceived as "transphobic" like Rika's mothers' behavior. sure she seems like an awful mother in the first few chapters. but that's because we are seeing her from rika's POV exclusively. it isn't until Rika truly listens to his mothers words, that we truly understand the concern and fear behind her actions. Understanding and respecting another persons opinions is not equivalent to agreeing with them and Rika is realizing that and learning from it. ^this is just one example of why this isn't just a "trans Manga".

to get back on track, Satsuki may not be the protagonist, but his presence is a necessary part of our protagonists story and personal development. so to say his emotions have no place in this story just because he isn't trans is a bit backwards yeah?

last edited at Nov 2, 2022 8:22PM

Goggled Anon posted:

Did you read Hourou Musuko?

Pretty sure that series ended with the trans female protagonist telling her girlfriend that she wants to be a girl and her girlfriend responds with "I guess that makes me a lesbian"

Pretty sure that series ended with the "transboy" Yoshino, who went as far a buying a binder and felt their identity was a boy for most of the series, finally deciding that being a girl and being called cute wasn't all that bad and it made things easier in life, so just abandoned that whole gender identity thing and wasn't feeling worse for it. Just felt a bit guilty to have abandoned her friend on the trans road. It was just a phase.

I sure hope this one doesn't go that route for the MC where they finally find love and accept the gender they were assigned at birth with.

... Which is fine because that also happens a lot IRL, especially with boyish girls exploring their gender ?

I thought Horou Musuko was one of the sweetest, deepest, finest and most subtle representation of transidentity in manga.

The fact that the last comment in this thread seems to be an unpopular opinion is truly frightening... with the intentions of helping more people understand, I'd like to elaborate a bit on what you said if that's ok. viewing gender as a piece of ones identity, people who realize they aren't trans after transitioning aren't any less trans than people who don't. people who think they are trans for a day are still just as trans in that 24 hours as people who are for a month, or a year, or their whole lives. being trans* (including non binary) isn't a destination. it's a living, breathing, life long experience. even if one day you wake up and realize you aren't, you still open and honestly felt that you were at one point. and there is nothing wrong with simply growing out of a phase in your identity. its human nature for fucks sake. god, its not even exclusive to humans! its just nature, straight up. our identity is a collection of phases that take place over the span of our lives. like the phases of the moon in a month, or the changing of seasons in a year. so to wrap up, detransitioning is a valid part of the trans experience. And as for Horou Musuko I feel that its representation of trans-identity was ahead if it's time and anyone who is willing to discredit this based on one character's failure to remain trans is simply missing the point of the manga. it tells the story of two different transgender experiences, and both are valid. even the one that realizes they maybe aren't trans in the end.

last edited at Oct 31, 2022 3:28AM

Man I hope we see more of Rika's classmate. While I wouldn't have any problems with a romance between him and Satsuki, I like their friendship too much, and Okazaki seems like such a nice girl, they would be cute together.

I am a bit confused about the not het label, it's my first time seeing it being used

I am a bit confused about the not het label, it's my first time seeing it being used

well not het is about situations that might look heterosexual at a first glance but aren't, like how Satsuki has a crush on Rika which might look het at a glance but because Rika is a transman isn't.

I am a bit confused about the not het label, it's my first time seeing it being used

well not het is about situations that might look heterosexual at a first glance but aren't, like how Satsuki has a crush on Rika which might look het at a glance but because Rika is a transman isn't.

Until the 3000 IQ trans girl Satsuki meme becomes canon

If that ch 6.5 extra actually leads to anything we could technically tag this het not yuri yaoi not het, that's gonna get confusing xD complete the set with bisexual if Rika ends up being into Satsuki as well xD

I am a bit confused about the not het label, it's my first time seeing it being used

well not het is about situations that might look heterosexual at a first glance but aren't, like how Satsuki has a crush on Rika which might look het at a glance but because Rika is a transman isn't.

Until the 3000 IQ trans girl Satsuki meme becomes canon

true true, at that point we'll need a "het but not the way you think" tag

last edited at Dec 30, 2022 6:50PM

tbh, i kinda thought this was a last chapter cause of the way it looked. hoping for more, trans mangas are very rare after all uwu

If that ch 6.5 extra actually leads to anything we could technically tag this het not yuri yaoi not het, that's gonna get confusing xD complete the set with bisexual if Rika ends up being into Satsuki as well xD

Those two gay idiots are out here collecting the letters of LBTQ+ like they're thanos

If that ch 6.5 extra actually leads to anything we could technically tag this het not yuri yaoi not het, that's gonna get confusing xD complete the set with bisexual if Rika ends up being into Satsuki as well xD

BRUH

tbh, i kinda thought this was a last chapter cause of the way it looked. hoping for more, trans mangas are very rare after all uwu

There's 13 "main" chapters and 2 volume extras. We've just reached the end of volume 1.

People be warned again: in Japanese, I'm pretty sure the blond guy doesn't employ any pronoun.

The translator went to great lengths to gender Rika as a "he", even in the mouth of the other characters, and it's coming >back to bite them, because Japanese can do completely away with pronouns when referring to someone else. So, by >using masculine pronouns, the translator changed the relationships dynamics.

I have Vol2. already, so I checked back to Vol.1
Rika himself used "Ore". Uncle called him "Rika-kun". So the translator was correct. The owner of one of the festival stalls did mistakenly think that Rika was a female by asking Satsuki if Rika was her girlfriend. Rika replied that they were friends. So by saying that, it bypassed the subject of gender.

Goggled Anon posted:

Did you read Hourou Musuko?

Pretty sure that series ended with the trans female protagonist telling her girlfriend that she wants to be a girl and her girlfriend responds with "I guess that makes me a lesbian"

Pretty sure that series ended with the "transboy" Yoshino, who went as far a buying a binder and felt their identity was a boy for most of the series, finally deciding that being a girl and being called cute wasn't all that bad and it made things easier in life, so just abandoned that whole gender identity thing and wasn't feeling worse for it. Just felt a bit guilty to have abandoned her friend on the trans road. It was just a phase.

I sure hope this one doesn't go that route for the MC where they finally find love and accept the gender they were assigned at birth with.

Wasn't the ending actually pretty ambigious In that we can't really say whether or not Yoshino did detrans because they came to the conclusion of being cis, if they are ambigious or if it is a temporary detransition, which actually up the majority of detransitioning in real life contrary to what many bad faith actors try to suggest, because Yoshinio was at the moment just not in the headspace to be openly trans and transitioning and therefore opted to live as a girl for the time being. As far as I know, the Mangaka herself stated that it is up to the reader whether Yoshino is trans, so I guess Yoshino is more of a case where readers can project how they want to read the ending of Yoshinos story, whether or not they are an example of who experimented with their gender identity during youth until coming to the conclusion of being cis, if they might be non-binary or genderfluid or if they are temporarily detransitioning because they're in a stage of their life in which performing as female might be overall easier than the tribulations of openly being out

Satsuki: an entire chapter of existential angst and self loathing over his attraction to his friend and roommate

meanwhile Rika:

As the partner of a trans man in a t4t relationship, I approve of this manga.

Feeling bad for Satsuki, since it's not like he can help his attraction. It's possible he's in some way not straight, though. I mean, for a while I was attracted to this fairly feminine gay boy back in my youth (ew, feeling old rn) and I liked feminine guys a lot more than I do now, and the biggest reason for that is because I turned out to be bisexual and I was redirecting my attraction for women onto feminine guys.

Based on his reasons for liking Rika, his gender might not even be as much of a factor as Satsuki presumes. He seems to like Rika for who he is but, y'know, comphet is a thing. So Satsuki probably presumes he, as a "straight" man, must be attracted to Rika because he's afab; even though there are other possibilities that would allow for Satsuki to be attracted to Rika without presuming that he must be viewing Rika as a "girl" on some level.

Like...bruh, you could just be not-straight. Rika's trans manliness could be part of the reason you find him attractive. Consider. Please.

Based on his reasons for liking Rika, his gender might not even be as much of a factor as Satsuki presumes. He seems to like Rika for who he is but, y'know, comphet is a thing. So Satsuki probably presumes he, as a "straight" man, must be attracted to Rika because he's afab; even though there are other possibilities that would allow for Satsuki to be attracted to Rika without presuming that he must be viewing Rika as a "girl" on some level.

Like...bruh, you could just be not-straight. Rika's trans manliness could be part of the reason you find him attractive. Consider. Please.

I hope you're right, I got that vibe too.

I know the ship isn't going to work out but I'm sad that this chapter made the ship seem even less likely to happen.

Ah, Satsuki discovered how much and annoying the constant obsession of other people about someone else's gender is.

You dont wanna correct someone, cause then you yourself are seen as annoying and wierd. But you also want them to stop saying the wrong things.

We truly live in a society.

well, at least Satsuki understands what his problem is (and that it's a problem with himself and not Rika). that's certainly better than a lot of cis people lol

I hope Satsuki realizes he's queer and that he likes Rika for super gay reasons. I'm open to whatever happening, relationship-wise, though I still want Rika to have more interactions w the girl he has a crush on

I just noticed how the artist often draws blank spaces around the characters to make them standout against the backgrounds. That's a nice detail. Overall, I'm really enjoying this artstyle. I've also never seen a short-sleeved hoodie before reading this and it's making me want one.

Mod Note

Deleted a swath of comments with little relevance to the manga. Banned the obviously transphobic commenter. This thread is for the manga After School Mate. Manga threads generally aren't the most appropriate place for long discussions about the essence of transness. Thanks.