CAINEv2

aka "The Transient Son"
Story and art by Shimura Takako
http://myanimelist.net/manga/585/Hourou_Musuko

Hourou Musuko centers around two main characters--Nitori Shuuichi, a boy who wants to be a girl, and Takatsuki Yoshino, a girl who wants to be a boy. However, don't be mistaken.

This is not your average gender bender manga.

While some manga may use gender identity confusion for the sake of comedy or merely as a cheap plot device, Shimura Takako thoroughly and realistically explores the issues of gender identity disorder and transsexualism in Hourou Musuko.

The story opens with the majority of the characters in fifth grade, and at nearly 90 chapters in, they are only now beginning to decide what high schools to attend. As you may be able to guess, the pacing is extremely slowwww, so if you cannot stand slow-paced and well-wrought stories, I suppose this manga just isn't for you. The mood and atmosphere definitely fall under the slice-of-life genre, but at its core, Hourou Musuko is a drama that takes place in a school setting.

What makes this manga shine--and this may seem redundant--is Shimura's skilled writing. Her characters are believable, and she makes it easy for her readers to understand them as people. Young and often foolish people. In fact, I think that her characters are so convincing that it is easy to dislike or even hate them, seeing as they are predominately middle-school-aged children. Another aspect of Shimura's writing that I really enjoy and that impresses me is the casual way she reveals certain events. In the manga, some things--for example, the formation of some unlikely friendships--happen that seem very abrupt but, at the same time, very plausible. I absolutely love the fact that it's just about impossible to predict who is going to end up with who, both in terms of friendship and love.

Also, the art is top-notch. In my personal opinion, anyway.

Yeahhhhh, I made this thread intending it to be discussion thread but also to see if I could rope anyone else (other than Aorii and Lan-Anh) into reading the manga. So, to start off, I guess I'll say that my three current favorite characters, in order, are probably Shuu, Doi, and Saorin. But I pretty much love them all, so... y'know...
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"Even if you forget the seatbelt in your car, don't forget the seatbelt of your heart!"

I'm waiting until after the anime airs in the winter.
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Noitamina series come Winter 2011~

I'm going to write a proper review for this in a few days now that I'm caught up...

given the fact it has short chapters (only 10vols in 90ch) and spans years of puberty with a large cast, it's actually not that slow...

I like Shuu, Saorin, and Seya here, in order~
but I hate Doi, stupid bully think he could suddenly change his mind and be friends? How about all those years of Trauma you inflicted >_> he at least owes a proper apology.
and while Shuu should definitely be a girl, I'm honestly still not convinced about Yoshino.

and also Alex, you read Prunus Girl? I'm still wondering which of these I like better (too different approaches, course)
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"Allow me to warn you that challenging my ingenuity is a dangerous sort of project, and may tend to make your life a lot more surreal."
"You crazy bastard! I'm gonna treat you like shit until you reveal your true form!!!"

Original post by (￣▽￣)ノ
I hate Doi, stupid bully think he could suddenly change his mind and be friends? How about all those years of Trauma you inflicted >_> he at least owes a proper apology.

Haha, Doi's a fairly unlikable character; I can't argue with that. I can completely understand the rationale for hating him.

I guess the reason I love him so much, despite his originally(?) rotten demeanor, is that he comes off as undeniably human and undeniably pubescent. Doi has bullied and teased both Shuu and Takatsuki all these years (and every now and then he gets just what he deserves), but even after all that shared history, when Shuu comes out and tells Doi straight to his face that he hates him--can't stand him, Doi is shocked. He can't comprehend it at all. Sure, as the reader, you say, "Of course he hated you! You made his life miserable all those years!" and this statement makes perfect sense logically, but the desire to be liked is a genuinely human, and a particularly adolescent, trait. Even though Doi did those things, it wasn't his intent to be hated. And for me, this is what really cements Doi as a powerful and sympathetic character.

I also like the fact that the two didn't immediately become BFF after that. It took a bit of work and time (though I guess in hindsight, it wasn't that long) before the two arrived at an uneasy truce. They came together not because of any strong inclination toward each other's company but because of Shuu's respect for Doi's writing ability and Doi's wish to be not-hated. All in all, I thought Shimura developed their "friendship" really nicely.

He kinda reminds me of Bando from Nobuta, whom I also liked, though Doi doesn't have the same "justification" for his actions.

What kinda boggles my mind is the Oka-Mako pair. Haha, but I'm definitely not opposed to it. Mako-chan's just too adorable sometimes.
Yeah, Seya's great. Maho really hit the jackpot with him, even if his first (misguided) love was really her kid brother.
And I really like the adult characters: Maho's and Shuu's dad, especially in the aftermath of chapter 65, Yuki and Shii-chan of course (I considered naming them as favorite characters, but I feel like they have the unfair advantage of being too cool and lovable), and that dead-stare teacher, among others.

I haven't read Prunus Girl, but I plan to. I have a couple volumes sitting on my computer...

Oh no, I'm rambling again.
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"Even if you forget the seatbelt in your car, don't forget the seatbelt of your heart!"

Mmmh I didn't really read it as friendship, more like mutual respect, and the fact Shuu really isn't the type of keep holding a grudge so he just let it go. Yeah, it wasn't quite intentional, but immaturity doesn't excuse the fact Doi hurt Shuu really badly and left lingering scars with Shuu (which are likely to keep hurting him time and again until something gets reversed), especially now that Shuu's made it clear--- or (shrug), I just hate bullies who go too far, at least until they sincerely try to make up for it.
I sympathize a lot with Bando too, but sympathy isn't the same as forgiveness, and it took quite a bit of the flower bucket for me to forgive most of what she did. I guess I'm just waiting for a time when Doi can go out of his way to really stand up for Shuu...

I really don't think Mako thinks much of anything of Oka, more just hanging out with Oka as a matter of convenience, especially after what happened between him and Shuu that them a bit awkward. Mako for some reason isn't very keen to the girls side like Shuu is, so he needed someone to latch onto that'll give him the room he needs while still maintaining a close distance --- Oka seems like a very good choice. Other than that I really don't see anything between them :P

The adults are very nicely done, but tbh they just don't have the direct involvement to round them out as well =\ (like Shii-chan has precious few lines anywhere and I really want to know more about how him+Yuki got together, especially from his perspective as the normal guy dating the trans-woman). Also lol their middleschool teacher, when he tried to press his own ideas onto their play; was thinking omg that's so annoying but so true! xD
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"Allow me to warn you that challenging my ingenuity is a dangerous sort of project, and may tend to make your life a lot more surreal."
"You crazy bastard! I'm gonna treat you like shit until you reveal your true form!!!"

Mmm, yeah, mutual respect or understanding is the more appropriate term for what's between Shuu and Doi. I'm not saying that Doi should be forgiven or is in any way redeemed for what's he's done just yet, but I liked the ambiguity of his actions--that the reader and Shuu and all his friends had to really wonder if he was being a dick or making an effort at being nice. I want to see their relationship develop further, but if this is as far as it will go, that's fine too.

Really, Mako's crushes tend to be, more often than not, fleeting. So it makes me laugh a little every time he finds someone new. But earlier I mostly meant the friendship between the two. When it happened, it was kinda, like, "Wait, what. You guys are friends? ...That's kinda cute, actually." This tends to be my reaction to a lot of the friendships in Hourou Musuko.

I also like the Mako-Saorin interaction, though there isn't so much of that anymore.

Their middle school teacher who wanted to put on a mystery play kinda reminded me of Sawako's dad in Kimi ni Todoke. It's like, "Oh Haruhi, so presumptuous, but I can't exactly hate you."
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"Even if you forget the seatbelt in your car, don't forget the seatbelt of your heart!"

lol Mako's crushes~ well, defines the fact he's yet to actually fall in love--- also, I'm pretty sure he doesn't has a gender-identity issue as much as his mind spun homosexualism into it (shrug). Oh he prefers cute things, but that doesn't mean---

Saorin is a remarkable character whom I wish gets more presence, frankly.

and wrote up a review proper for it, although maybe a bit too objective xD
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"Allow me to warn you that challenging my ingenuity is a dangerous sort of project, and may tend to make your life a lot more surreal."
"You crazy bastard! I'm gonna treat you like shit until you reveal your true form!!!"

Hmmm, I think being objective is probably an appropriate manner to write about Hourou Musuko. It was a good read, but now I kinda want to see how Prunus Girl measures up (not that I plan on comparing them too rigorously).

Yeah, I love Saorin's sometimes irritatingly blunt and straightforward nature. Under that elegant exterior, she's got quite a bullish attitude. I do wish she got more screen time (which seems to have been dwindling more and more), but I think her character may work best as a support role.

And I'm also eager to see what path Takatsuki will choose to walk.
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"Even if you forget the seatbelt in your car, don't forget the seatbelt of your heart!"

Unlike Hourou Musuko, Prunus Girl isn't attempting to be realistic at all; Prunus Girl's approach is basically to leave the whole gender identity issue so ambiguous it forces the issue of gender perception out with its jokes.

Saorin's type is definitely better as a support character. I just like her because as much as she has some really irritating/selfish attitudes, she follows her personal beliefs/ethics without holding back (unlike most characters, as well as RL people); quite admirable and resulting in more than a few cases of 'justice well served'.
tl;dr not wearing a stupid persona mask + heart in right place = awesome \o/
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"Allow me to warn you that challenging my ingenuity is a dangerous sort of project, and may tend to make your life a lot more surreal."
"You crazy bastard! I'm gonna treat you like shit until you reveal your true form!!!"

Just browsing the Hourou Musuko episode 1 discussion on MAL.

HAHA, it's like I'm part of some giant inside joke. I wonder when (if?) they'll address Yuki-san's situation. Maybe when Doi forces Nitori to introduce Yuki-san to him?
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"Even if you forget the seatbelt in your car, don't forget the seatbelt of your heart!"

there is a HUGE split of opinions on Hourou Musuko thus far...

a lot of ppl think this show is too boring, not entertaining enough, not blunt enough... w/e (shrug).

but the general consensus from non-readers is that the beginning is too confusing. Not surprising given how many chapters they skipped. But given the speed they're dropping hints of past occurances... I'm pretty sure they'll at least drop some lines on Yuki-san's situation. Probably won't be very detailed and will leave the less attention-focused completely in the dark, though.
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"Allow me to warn you that challenging my ingenuity is a dangerous sort of project, and may tend to make your life a lot more surreal."
"You crazy bastard! I'm gonna treat you like shit until you reveal your true form!!!"

and since I decided to try blogging Hourou Musuko episodically (there's so much to think about in this series!!!)~

http://www.major-arcana.net/zanaikin/2011/01/hourou-musuko-episode-2-saorin-and-takatsuki/

still loving it~
_________________
"Allow me to warn you that challenging my ingenuity is a dangerous sort of project, and may tend to make your life a lot more surreal."
"You crazy bastard! I'm gonna treat you like shit until you reveal your true form!!!"