
chiba and her multiple attempts at a gaslighting into detransition speedrun
ngl I'm disappointed at how transphobia is framed in this manga, it's depicted as this completely natural response, especially since multiple positive characters still propagate it, and it's only condemned when it's a part of bullying.
The only adult trans person is a predator, and has a predator for a boyfriend
This author has an issue with confusing gender identity and sexual orientation(having trans women call themselves "gay" because they like men, or "becoming" women because they're gay) and it seems to be a bit better in this one, even if there's the whole part about Yuki becoming a woman FOR shii-chan(and not for herself) that I found strange.
Having the only existing trans masc character detransition later on was also weird, especially since Takatsuki had gender dysphoria even before puberty, which only intensified during it, so their experience was closer to a typical trans masc person than a typical detransitioner.
Overall while there were some relatable moments, taking in the whole manga made it feel like the person writing it only kind of heard about the experience from other people and didn't really try that much to properly understand it making it feel very half-assed

I do agree but a lot of it unfortunately is just japanese “culture” and ignorance when it comes to LGBTQ+ topics, especially when it comes to trans people. Even amongst LGBTQ+ people themselves in Japan there’s this thick layer of ignorance both towards others and themselves, which, tbh, is not even their fault because they’re just treated by the society this way, so they kind of start belittling themselves too. Not making excuses for the author, by the way, just saying that it’s a major-scale issue.
I kind of disagree about Takatsuki, though. While, yeah, it’s disappointing to see the only seemingly trans masc person turn out to be not trans (I’d say “detransitioning” is a bit of a wrong term to use here since it’s typically referred to medical detransitioning and not social detransitioning), it’s low-key some good representation of people searching for their identity, showing that it’s alright to change your mind later on and you don’t really owe anyone anything. Takatsuki might discover that they’re non binary or choose to identify as a woman or realise that they’re a trans-man, after all; and all of the listed options are absolutely fine, it’s a long process and it really shouldn’t be anyone’s business besides the person in question and medical professionals, really.
But otherwise yeah, I do agree that the author doesn’t have a very in-depth understanding of trans issues and even the portrayal of Takatsuki was kind of dookie, they coulda gone more into it tbh.

I agree that on it's face Takatsukis exploration of gender would be an interesting topic in itself and could be a relatable representation, however them being the only instance of macs identity(while the mangas full of trans fem rep) creates this narrative that trans masc people will just "grow out of it" even if they go though the exact same experience trans masc people usually go which is extremely prevalent in the anti-trans circles. I think it could be very easily mitigated by adding another adult trans character that's masculine, it'd also help the whole "all trans adults are predators" background framing that forms due to the only adult trans character that shows up being a predator. I think the issues aren't really with the representation itself, but the bigger picture of the manga itself, which due to the specific characters and stories chosen ends up with harmful ideas. This author doesn't really have good track record with trans and gay identities, often conflating the two, so I do think that's mostly due to how they actually see trans people. I know it's just due to authors ignorance but my disappointment in the topic is due to this manga being hailed as the holy grail of trans representation, when it clearly propagates unfortunate and harmful ideas about trans identities.

I love how moku goes beyond the manga conventions and plays with the medium like that. Those creative panels that bleed into others, the sudden changes in style ahhh I feel like theres so much emotion behind them, it really elevates the ambiance of light dread that acompanies the chapters I really love it
I hope the scanlators are able to find a good translator I always double check with their tl just in case I missed something :(

I am once again asking yall to understand that unofficial site tags =/= official tags. This series never had a BL tag on any official sites and Young Ace Up(magazine this is serialised in) always had only seinen in it. The only reason the official translation doesn't have a BL tag is because this was never a BL, it's a horror story with lgbt+ characters, that's it. The lack of a BL tag doesn't magically delete any gay romance or lgbt+ identities in the manga, all it means is the gay romance is not the crucial part of the plot because mangas rarely get the BL tag unless the romance is the focus(ex. "Kinou Nani Tabeta?" doesn't have a BL tag anywhere even though gayness and the gay relationship between the leads is a huge part of the manga). I haven't seen the author deny the queerness of the story on their twitter, just them saying they dont want this manga to be seen as a typical BL manga, so I'm confused af about peoples reactions and I think they're just too fujoshi brained to appreciate an actual queer story.

I guess it's because people came expecting the bl to be a somewhat huge part of it because of the tag, but fells somewhat cheated when the gayness is on the minimum. I remember when the Manga first dropped and everyone exited for the horror X BL tag because it's such a rarity (my speculation).
(I myself still want the gayness to grow more so when there's not much romantic relationship (?) between the leads I was a bit bummed, but I love horror and the writing is intriguing so I'll be staying.

Yeah the problem is people not checking the official tags since all it was ever tagged with on the official site was <Supernatural, Horror, Mystery, Suspense> since release. Unoffical sites like tagging any manga with gay romance or gay characters as bl and then have to delete that tag once the official translation gets released. It's really just an issue with how unofficial sites do their tags unfortunately. I do hope people wont attack the author for any percieved gay erasure, since that's not what's happening here :(
"I love my wife" copium