beta
There's a lot of feelings in the comments. A lot of truly incomprehensible views on this story too. I think it might be because they read it with a strange viewpoint from the beginning. Like, they mark this as X type of story, when it is not. It's also important to understand that storytelling in japan is different than western storytelling, and in order to enjoy it you really shouldn't look at it with the same lens. The other thing to keep in mind is, and this will be useful for reading everything else too, you really shouldn't think a story is only going to showcase one single thing, or that it will focus and revolve around it.
For example here people are mostly focused on this being a story about transgender solidarity or something very similar to this sentiment. When it's simply, from the beginning, a story of Shu-chan's childhood and adolescence. It starts with Takatsuki-kun, because Takatsuki-kun was the hero and the giant who kick started Shu-chan's bravery and shaped her entire life by just being there. As they grow things start changing, and the dynamic change, they grow apart and experience bullying, love, fights and everything that comes with growing up. They started off as each other's mirror image, but end up as very different people. On their outings in childhood, Takatsuki-kun is shown as the braver of the two and more ready to embrace being the opposite of their AGAB, but as they enter middle school, Shu-chan is the one who is a lot more accepting of herself, and the one who can't really handle hiding. Sure, Takatsuki-kun is shown as wanting to have a dick, wearing a binder, and disdaining the girl uniform, but almost always conforms to the norm and even feels hesitant to defy it, only keeping a short haircut. And with the tension between them, Shu-chan still has Mako-chan to talk to, while Takatsuki-kun, even while receiving a lot less scrutiny and backlash than Shu-chan for their presentation, is still living their life being treated as a girl. Even more so when they go to different high schools, Shu-chan, finally experiencing puberty, can only see herself as a girl, and has no desire to live as a boy, while Takatsuki-kun, who has already been going through the changes for 2 or so years, ends up realizing they don't despise the girl clothes they used to hate, and so, as they were offered to try modeling a few times in the past, start to actually consider it. Here is where some people think the dysphoria was 'cured' by modeling, when modeling actually came after the dysphoria lessened. Not much thought is put into the fact that, for years, besides the school uniform, Takatsuki-kun only ever wore masculine clothes, while Shu-chan, only ever wore feminine clothes in short intervals, and as such, their level of superficial satisfaction has always been different. Takatsuki-kun ends up modeling, and realizing, that they don't want to become a boy, nor do they have to become one, we are left with that, but I really do wonder why people assume they are a girl, does not being a boy automatically mean you're a girl? As this story is focused on Shu-chan's journey, even if we are shown glimpses of other peoples paths, it's still just glimpses. There were many hints about Takatsuki-kun, but I don't think many people focused enough to pick it up, as they only take what is explicitly stated, so I will mention it here, during their school fashion show, when the 2 of them are holding hands on stage, people guess that both might be boys, even as they are both wearing feminine outfits, and then say that it doesn't matter, and then near the end, Takatsuki-kun is deciding to start dressing androgynously, and still they are almost always shown wearing masculine clothing, and truthfully, almost definitely still wearing a binder, which hints at Takatsuki-kun not being a girl, even if they are not a boy either. On the other hand Shu-chan has decided to work in a okama bar, and that she is a definitely a girl, even if she still presents as a boy in public.
About the other characters, because people consider all of them evil, for me that is truly difficult to grasp, I suppose it comes from that fact that in their life, they have a lot of people who are very american drama accepting, and many out people as well, to be honest, that is a little bit of a problem when reading this, and stories like this, because the starting point is very different, and the expectations are also very different. I actually see this story as very very optimistic in terms of behavior of other people, as I actually assume irl the chances of it being a lot closer to horror are higher than it being this good, and how tiny are the chances f it being better. Very realistic to the bond between siblings, as they fight often but there's still closeness and affection. As for Yuki-san, I'm not sure how people missed the fact that she is trying to relive her school years in tandem with Shu-chan, as she had so many regrets from that time in her life, rather than stalking, she uses Shu-chan's trips as a trigger to make that step.
The casual transphobia, yes, there is much of it, but 99% of the time it's very intentional to have it, as a show that these people are very much a part of japanese society, and they are very much children who still live under the mindset of those norms. Even Yuki-san,-back in the beginning- knowing that Takatsuki-kun wants to be a boy calls them a girl, even if she herself is trans and should be aware of the feelings that come with such rejection -can only judge per the tl not sure if in the raw she did acknowledge- tho here I do have to mention that I am uncertain if this is something that would be considered alright in japan, as I did see in other manga similarly acknowledging both the true gender and AGAB and it was also very nonchalant. As for the sister, who is shown to be judging then accepting than judging again, very understandable, it's not an uncommon character archetype, called tsundere.