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IS 男でも女でもない性 [IS: Otoko demo Onna demo nai Sei] #2
IS : Otoko demo Onna demo nai Sei #2
愛しき子、春（ハル）。性別、「IS（インターセクシャル）」――。「2000人に１人」という確率ながら、いまだ“知られざる性”、IS。デリケートに揺れる「心と身体」をみつめ、家族の絆（きずな）を問う、話題の感動ストーリー！ 《CASE 3：春》 幸せいっぱいの出産を迎えた陽子たちに告げられたのは、赤ちゃんがISであるという事実……!! 医師から「性別の即決」「早期手術」「事実を隠すこと」を求められた新米パパ・ママの“決断”とは……!?
192 pages, Unknown Binding
First published December 13, 2004
12 people want to read
About the author
Chiyo Rokuhana
8 books14 followersName (in native language) : 六花チヨ
Birth date : August 25
Zodiac : Virgo
Blood type : B
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 17, 2011
No longer a collection of short stories, IS now focuses on an intersexuality, named Haru and Haru's struggles with school, and Haru's identity. Very sweet, and still very heartwarming, its refreshing to see such strong individuals like Haru. Although the artwork is very simple, it's beautiful in it's own way. The characters are wonderfully developed and i can't wait for how the rest of the series will turn out.
July 6, 2021
IS Volume 2 follows the birth and early years of Haru, an intersex child born with the physical characteristics of both sexes. Every bit as moving as the first volume, volume 2 expands its point of view so that we hear the concerns, doubts, and ultimately the fierce love and support of parents for their intersex children.
Not only did I weep reading this manga, their were times I wanted to reach through the printed page and throttle those enforcing the self-serving, gender biased views of society’s gatekeepers.
Please note that these seem to be out of print or at least hard to come by new; I ordered used copies from CDJapan, hoping some revenue finds its way back to the series’ creator, and read an online translation of the original Japanese. We need an official English release of this gorgeous manga!
Here is what I wrote for volume 1 of this series - it contains links I think might be helpful to some:
“Why are there just two ways of living: man or woman?”
Intense. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Amazing.
These manga have done more than perhaps anything else to re-commit me to the idea that the gender binary has to go, that it does more harm than good, and forces all kinds of people into boxes that prevent them from being their true selves, scaring them into grabbing hold of seemingly safe social conventions.
Another Goodreads reviewer says it all:
“It only took five chapters for me to cry like a kid, and I'm amazed by the beauty and the delicacy that is shown in this manga.” (Goodreads user: Drfoolish).
Some might be thrown off by the old school look of the art, but try not to let this distract you. The drawing style might not have the same look or polish that contemporary comics and manga have, but that doesn’t mean it’s less effective. The pacing of the narrative, what the artist chooses to show, and how certain visual elements are highlighted in the artwork are deeply moving, often having the feel of experiences taken straight from life. Indeed, I recall reading that the two short stories in Volume 1, and then the multi-volume story arc that starts in Volume 2, draw on the mangaka’s extensive research for the series, inching interviews with people who are intersex and their families.
I don’t usually quote other reviewers, but in this case I’ve found a number of other people have captured my reactions so perfectly that it makes sense to quote them:
“I have to admit I was moved more than once because of how Rokuhana deals with this rather sensitive topic. Her portrayals of Hiromi and Ryoma [in Volume 1] are nuanced and sympathetic. She shows us not only how they come to accept themselves for who they are, but how they come to be proud of who they are and how they negotiate walking a middle sex path when the world around them is so sharply divided into man or woman. And so much of this is during adolescence, so you don’t have to be intersex to relate to their worries, their anxiety about their bodies. In many ways, it’s what so many of us go through, but taken to an extreme.
One line in particular killed me. Ryoma is telling his best friend that he is intersex, and cries out, “男と女、どうして生きかたは二つしかないのかな？” (Why are there just two ways of living: man or woman?) And yeah, it sounds cheesy, but it just rang so true while reading it. Because really, why are we so invested in this binary system when so many people don’t fit in it (one in two thousand according to IS)?”
(Quote is from: https://brainvsbook.wordpress.com/201...).
Several months before reading this series, I had the good fortune to meet the producers of an excellent documentary on Intersex people (see below). These documentarians had the good sense to simple get out of the way and let real people tell their stories directly to the camera. It affected me deeply, and I highly recommend it for everyone. As the video makes clear, the most important things we as allies can do is talk about intersexuality - to raise awareness and call attention to the ways that members of our various communities are being treated unjustly, often with serious consequences for their physical and emotional well-being.
Intersexion Documentary
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QQdOp3C...
Not only did I weep reading this manga, their were times I wanted to reach through the printed page and throttle those enforcing the self-serving, gender biased views of society’s gatekeepers.
Please note that these seem to be out of print or at least hard to come by new; I ordered used copies from CDJapan, hoping some revenue finds its way back to the series’ creator, and read an online translation of the original Japanese. We need an official English release of this gorgeous manga!
Here is what I wrote for volume 1 of this series - it contains links I think might be helpful to some:
“Why are there just two ways of living: man or woman?”
Intense. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Amazing.
These manga have done more than perhaps anything else to re-commit me to the idea that the gender binary has to go, that it does more harm than good, and forces all kinds of people into boxes that prevent them from being their true selves, scaring them into grabbing hold of seemingly safe social conventions.
Another Goodreads reviewer says it all:
“It only took five chapters for me to cry like a kid, and I'm amazed by the beauty and the delicacy that is shown in this manga.” (Goodreads user: Drfoolish).
Some might be thrown off by the old school look of the art, but try not to let this distract you. The drawing style might not have the same look or polish that contemporary comics and manga have, but that doesn’t mean it’s less effective. The pacing of the narrative, what the artist chooses to show, and how certain visual elements are highlighted in the artwork are deeply moving, often having the feel of experiences taken straight from life. Indeed, I recall reading that the two short stories in Volume 1, and then the multi-volume story arc that starts in Volume 2, draw on the mangaka’s extensive research for the series, inching interviews with people who are intersex and their families.
I don’t usually quote other reviewers, but in this case I’ve found a number of other people have captured my reactions so perfectly that it makes sense to quote them:
“I have to admit I was moved more than once because of how Rokuhana deals with this rather sensitive topic. Her portrayals of Hiromi and Ryoma [in Volume 1] are nuanced and sympathetic. She shows us not only how they come to accept themselves for who they are, but how they come to be proud of who they are and how they negotiate walking a middle sex path when the world around them is so sharply divided into man or woman. And so much of this is during adolescence, so you don’t have to be intersex to relate to their worries, their anxiety about their bodies. In many ways, it’s what so many of us go through, but taken to an extreme.
One line in particular killed me. Ryoma is telling his best friend that he is intersex, and cries out, “男と女、どうして生きかたは二つしかないのかな？” (Why are there just two ways of living: man or woman?) And yeah, it sounds cheesy, but it just rang so true while reading it. Because really, why are we so invested in this binary system when so many people don’t fit in it (one in two thousand according to IS)?”
(Quote is from: https://brainvsbook.wordpress.com/201...).
Several months before reading this series, I had the good fortune to meet the producers of an excellent documentary on Intersex people (see below). These documentarians had the good sense to simple get out of the way and let real people tell their stories directly to the camera. It affected me deeply, and I highly recommend it for everyone. As the video makes clear, the most important things we as allies can do is talk about intersexuality - to raise awareness and call attention to the ways that members of our various communities are being treated unjustly, often with serious consequences for their physical and emotional well-being.
Intersexion Documentary
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QQdOp3C...
November 20, 2025
While vol 1 was made of short stories, in this one we start following a japanese family who discover their child is intersexual.
It can be a bit difficult to read the point of view of the parents who seem to be centering the talk around themselves and their feelings.
I enjoyed it a lot nonetheless because you can see the difference in treatment between very young children and adults when it comes to having a child different from others. Even under the guise of good intentions, some can be extremely cruel especially in their rejection.
I do love the little family depicted here, especially the siblings
It can be a bit difficult to read the point of view of the parents who seem to be centering the talk around themselves and their feelings.
I enjoyed it a lot nonetheless because you can see the difference in treatment between very young children and adults when it comes to having a child different from others. Even under the guise of good intentions, some can be extremely cruel especially in their rejection.
I do love the little family depicted here, especially the siblings
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2022
A beautiful series, if you're intersex (or in some cases, trans/nonbinary) this story will hit home. Doesn't have the polish of new manga and it's hard to find, however don't let that trick you into skipping it. Extremely underrated and a favorite of mine as an intersex man.
April 7, 2019
這部少女漫畫呈現雙性人主角性別角色受外界強制更動的痛苦（兼有雙性性徵、本來認為自己是男性的主角，竟然被學校強迫一定要依出生登記的性別穿女裝上學），會讓讀者對飽受歧視的人群更有同情心。（寫於2014年）
全文：https://hou26.org/zeta/comic-gender.htm
全文：https://hou26.org/zeta/comic-gender.htm
March 15, 2020
If volume one was short stories collection, here we follow one IS character from birth, to teenage years in later volumes. This one is more focused on the parent, who have given to the world a baby who is intersex, and now they are facing the choice of how to proceed with this situation and what would be the right decision for the future happiness of their child - to select a certain gender, have the operation and hide the truth in order to fit into this binar male/female community or accept the unique physique of their child and raise them as IS in order to give them control over their destiny.
I remember watching the tv- adaptation of the story. I want to rewatch it now. I cannot tell, how accurate is description of such bodytype, but I felt deeply for the main character Haru, who tried to navigate life in the best way possible and just wanted to be accepted as a human being and not to be judged because of their body.
I've got 5 volumes in now, and I like now the story goes and the art is beautiful. So on I go.
I remember watching the tv- adaptation of the story. I want to rewatch it now. I cannot tell, how accurate is description of such bodytype, but I felt deeply for the main character Haru, who tried to navigate life in the best way possible and just wanted to be accepted as a human being and not to be judged because of their body.
I've got 5 volumes in now, and I like now the story goes and the art is beautiful. So on I go.
February 20, 2016
The format of the manga moves away from short stories to one consecutive story about Haru, starting with their mother's pregnancy until their elementary school years and first gender identity issues.
Again, very moving, gentle, and touching. Highly recommended.
Again, very moving, gentle, and touching. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews