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Claudine
En la cambiante sociedad de principios del siglo XX, Claudine nace en un cuerpo femenino que no refleja su verdadera identidad de hombre. Incomprendido por su familia, sus doctores y sus amistades, Claudine descubre el amor y el dolor a través de sus relaciones con varias mujeres que, una tras otra, le quebrarán el corazón e irán forjando su verdadera personalidad.
La gran Riyoko Ikeda, autora de La rosa de Versalles, explora los conceptos de género y sexualidad en este relato ambientado en la Francia anterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, una poderosa historia sobre la identidad, la cultura y la aceptación personal.
La gran Riyoko Ikeda, autora de La rosa de Versalles, explora los conceptos de género y sexualidad en este relato ambientado en la Francia anterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, una poderosa historia sobre la identidad, la cultura y la aceptación personal.
108 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 1978
10 people are currently reading
937 people want to read
About the author
Riyoko Ikeda
390 books276 followersRiyoko Ikeda (池田理代子) is a Japanese manga author and soprano singer.
As one of the 24-gumi, she has written and illustrated many shōjo manga, many of which are based on European historical events, such as the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution.
Her most famous manga is Versailles no bara (ベルサイユのばら, The rose of Versailles).
Other famous works include Oniisama e... (おにいさまへ…, Dear Brother) and Orpheus no mado (オルフェウスの窓, The Window of Orpheus) that won an Excellence award at Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1980.
As one of the 24-gumi, she has written and illustrated many shōjo manga, many of which are based on European historical events, such as the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution.
Her most famous manga is Versailles no bara (ベルサイユのばら, The rose of Versailles).
Other famous works include Oniisama e... (おにいさまへ…, Dear Brother) and Orpheus no mado (オルフェウスの窓, The Window of Orpheus) that won an Excellence award at Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1980.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
September 5, 2024
Ooo this one is tough. There are a lot of content warnings for this including: dead naming, misgendering, affairs, suicide.
The most important thing to take into consideration when reading this is the original publication date which was in the 1970s. Although there are many parts of this that wouldn’t necessarily hold up in 2024, there are many parts that show that Riyoko Ikeda was ahead of her time. This isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s depressing and sad with an intense ending that isn’t what we typically want showcased in relation to the trans experience. I think viewing this through a historical lens is important and illustrates the manner in which LGBTQIA topics and themes have evolved and been explored in manga. I’m giving this three stars because the story lacked in several areas where the plot and characters could have utilized more development. Nevertheless, I’m glad I picked it up as it’s my first title by Ikeda.
The most important thing to take into consideration when reading this is the original publication date which was in the 1970s. Although there are many parts of this that wouldn’t necessarily hold up in 2024, there are many parts that show that Riyoko Ikeda was ahead of her time. This isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s depressing and sad with an intense ending that isn’t what we typically want showcased in relation to the trans experience. I think viewing this through a historical lens is important and illustrates the manner in which LGBTQIA topics and themes have evolved and been explored in manga. I’m giving this three stars because the story lacked in several areas where the plot and characters could have utilized more development. Nevertheless, I’m glad I picked it up as it’s my first title by Ikeda.
October 7, 2018
Claudine might be a historical story created in the late 70:ies but I still feel that Riyoko Ikeda is at least 20 years ahead of her time (despite the tragic content and misgendering, but hey like I said it's created in the 70:ies in Japan, give LGBTQ+history a break!). 70:ies manga is quite a genre of itself, there's no subtlety or reading between the lines, everything is full on drama with breaking mirrors, swirling roses, shoujo-bubbles and glitter (and I kind of love it). The manga is very beautifully drawn. The story feels a bit rushed and there are some disjointed plot-twists that I felt were revealed in a weird order, but overall I still enjoyed this very much. I hope we will get more older shoujo-manga translated and officially released, it's a real treat to get to read (and buy!) these manga outside of scanlations.
June 15, 2020
As someone who has grown up worshipping Riyoko Ikeda's work for The Rose of Versailles finally being able to read her Claudine has been an enormous joy.
Despite the issues of misgendering and a generalised old sensitivity to questions of gender, the story is beautiful and heartbreaking and confirms Ikeda-sensei's talent in constructing complex characters that inhabit a world that is often hostile and uncomprehending.
The art - needless to say - is astonishing.
Despite the issues of misgendering and a generalised old sensitivity to questions of gender, the story is beautiful and heartbreaking and confirms Ikeda-sensei's talent in constructing complex characters that inhabit a world that is often hostile and uncomprehending.
The art - needless to say - is astonishing.
December 8, 2018
This 2018 English translation of Riyoko Ikeda's 1978 shōjo manga about the brief life and tragic loves of the eponymous protagonist is being hailed, to quote Wikipedia, as "one of the earliest manga to feature a transgender protagonist." While I'm sure this is literally true, it might be a bit misleading. The word "transgender," while it was coined in 1965, was not to my knowledge in popular or common use in English at the time of the short graphic novel's creation, and the then-more-common word "transsexual" is supplied in the book's English-language dialogue (I am not aware of the nuances of corresponding Japanese terms). Further complicating matters, even "transsexual" is anachronistic for the book since Ikeda's setting is early 20th-century France and her narrator a psychologist of the period: at this time, concepts like "inversion" might have been used by the sexual scientist to describe Claudine's dilemma.
I emphasize all of this history at the outset because this slim, sturdy paperback edition of Claudine from Seven Seas Entertainment is a beautiful one, but it lacks much in the way of contextualization—contrast the informative introduction supplied by the translator to the recent translation of another shōjo masterpiece, The Heart of Thomas. Readers coming to Claudine for the first time and expecting a text in line with contemporary thinking on gender, a positive transgender representation, will certainly be disappointed. The book is too good, qua comics, though, to be simply hurled across the room in frustration.
This impassioned and operatic tragedy is structured by the three amorous involvements, and the three corresponding encounters with the psychologist narrator, of a young aristocratic woman named Claudine. Claudine begins at the age of eight to identify as a man, despite her mother's objection and her society's rejection. In adolescence, Claudine falls in love with the family's hapless maid, Maura, a relationship doomed because of its cross-class as well as cross-gender nature. Later, Claudine becomes attached to the high- school librarian as well as to the librarian's romantic vision of literature that is incarnated in this very book's very emotional texture. Claudine's final, fated love is for a dancer at university (a girl encountered twice earlier in the novel), and the severance of this relationship brings Claudine to a crisis. For despite Claudine's insistence on an innate male identity, French society does not permit her to live as a man; consequently, her lovers tend to terminate their affairs by insisting that, to quote the librarian, "But, Claudine. You're a girl..."
There is still more plot than I have recounted in this 100-page book, including the suggestion that Claudine has inherited "inversion" from the aristocratic family's beloved patriarch. This hint that, like the psychologist's concluding narration ("With her imperfect 'body,' Claudine nevertheless gave her everything and dared to love a woman") and the book's climax in self-slaughter, will not endear some contemporary readers to this supposedly pathbreaking but also sensationalistic and potentially exploitative story full of "queer tragedy" stereotypes.
On the other hand, Ikeda's romantic narrative invites such sympathy, and her art style is moreover so beautiful—a dazzling performance full of architectural splendor and decorative verve: Ikeda stipples and she hatches; she puts patterns in the flowers and the cobbles and the sconces; flames and flora dance fatally across the pages—that Claudine has to be hailed as a fine graphic novel, a superb example of comics. It should be seen in its multiple historical contexts, and queried as to its ideological character, yes, but also appreciated as a work of art we are lucky to have in a quality translation and edition.
I emphasize all of this history at the outset because this slim, sturdy paperback edition of Claudine from Seven Seas Entertainment is a beautiful one, but it lacks much in the way of contextualization—contrast the informative introduction supplied by the translator to the recent translation of another shōjo masterpiece, The Heart of Thomas. Readers coming to Claudine for the first time and expecting a text in line with contemporary thinking on gender, a positive transgender representation, will certainly be disappointed. The book is too good, qua comics, though, to be simply hurled across the room in frustration.
This impassioned and operatic tragedy is structured by the three amorous involvements, and the three corresponding encounters with the psychologist narrator, of a young aristocratic woman named Claudine. Claudine begins at the age of eight to identify as a man, despite her mother's objection and her society's rejection. In adolescence, Claudine falls in love with the family's hapless maid, Maura, a relationship doomed because of its cross-class as well as cross-gender nature. Later, Claudine becomes attached to the high- school librarian as well as to the librarian's romantic vision of literature that is incarnated in this very book's very emotional texture. Claudine's final, fated love is for a dancer at university (a girl encountered twice earlier in the novel), and the severance of this relationship brings Claudine to a crisis. For despite Claudine's insistence on an innate male identity, French society does not permit her to live as a man; consequently, her lovers tend to terminate their affairs by insisting that, to quote the librarian, "But, Claudine. You're a girl..."
There is still more plot than I have recounted in this 100-page book, including the suggestion that Claudine has inherited "inversion" from the aristocratic family's beloved patriarch. This hint that, like the psychologist's concluding narration ("With her imperfect 'body,' Claudine nevertheless gave her everything and dared to love a woman") and the book's climax in self-slaughter, will not endear some contemporary readers to this supposedly pathbreaking but also sensationalistic and potentially exploitative story full of "queer tragedy" stereotypes.
On the other hand, Ikeda's romantic narrative invites such sympathy, and her art style is moreover so beautiful—a dazzling performance full of architectural splendor and decorative verve: Ikeda stipples and she hatches; she puts patterns in the flowers and the cobbles and the sconces; flames and flora dance fatally across the pages—that Claudine has to be hailed as a fine graphic novel, a superb example of comics. It should be seen in its multiple historical contexts, and queried as to its ideological character, yes, but also appreciated as a work of art we are lucky to have in a quality translation and edition.
July 10, 2024
Great but sad
It sucks being a trans man in 1920s (?) France, but it sucks even more when your mom constantly misgenders you, believes that you're a lesbian (oh no!) but doesn't mind appealing to the gentleman in you when she can shop for affection from her rich neighbors - which leaves you with a very very dangerous girl bestie who is obsessed with you to a criminal degree.
Anyway this is from the "the gays are so tragic" era of fiction, so don't expect much uplifting vibes.
However, apart from the inevitable end in tragedy, this is a very layered and well-done portrayal of the trans-masc identity back when it was written in the seventies. I'd like to note that several people in the story vocally (and through their actions) support Claudine's masculine identity: his father, his doctor, the crazy bestie/neighbor girl who is obsessed with him, as well as the Uni Fraternity (they call it an "exception" but treat Claudine as one of their own).
So it's not all bleak! However, there is still a lot of intentional misgendering, micro-agressions and assholery from Claudine's mother and brother(s) and acquaintances. They suck!!!!! But they are not the sum of this work.
For the era, this would have been a true masterpiece if their could have been a hopeful outlook for Claudine. Honestly an open ending would have been fine. Just not ... that.
It sucks being a trans man in 1920s (?) France, but it sucks even more when your mom constantly misgenders you, believes that you're a lesbian (oh no!) but doesn't mind appealing to the gentleman in you when she can shop for affection from her rich neighbors - which leaves you with a very very dangerous girl bestie who is obsessed with you to a criminal degree.
Anyway this is from the "the gays are so tragic" era of fiction, so don't expect much uplifting vibes.
However, apart from the inevitable end in tragedy, this is a very layered and well-done portrayal of the trans-masc identity back when it was written in the seventies. I'd like to note that several people in the story vocally (and through their actions) support Claudine's masculine identity: his father, his doctor, the crazy bestie/neighbor girl who is obsessed with him, as well as the Uni Fraternity (they call it an "exception" but treat Claudine as one of their own).
So it's not all bleak! However, there is still a lot of intentional misgendering, micro-agressions and assholery from Claudine's mother and brother(s) and acquaintances. They suck!!!!! But they are not the sum of this work.
For the era, this would have been a true masterpiece if their could have been a hopeful outlook for Claudine. Honestly an open ending would have been fine. Just not ... that.
October 31, 2018
A fantastic read, maybe some of it doesn't hold up to how we discuss sexuality today, but for a manga about a trans-man written in the 70's it is light years ahead of it's time. It is also VERY of it's time, everything is laid out, there's hardly any subtext, and the "shojo flowers"... boy howdy are there a lot. The art is clean and striking, Riyoko's style is beautiful and conveys every emotion. I'm not thrilled with the ending, but I still love this, it's a remarkable piece of LGBTQIA history and I'm so glad it's got a modern day printing.
July 13, 2018
Jocelyne did such a good job on this one! I'm so glad she was the one assigned to this classic.
June 18, 2021
Beautiful art in Ikeda’s signature style, with a bit of a twist as the gilt of Versailles falls away in favor of something more intimate and provincial. Unfortunately, as with most manga, the pacing is breakneck and undermines the weight of Claudine’s life. We are thrown so quickly from one affair to another that there is little time to process Claudine’s grief or his growth. The same story expanded into another volume or two would likely have been more successful narratively.
This is a work that needs to be read in the context of when it was published. Attitudes towards transgender individuals, both textually and metatextually, are now outdated. Claudine is largely read and censured as a lesbian by others, and even his psychiatrist, while acknowledging him as male, deems him an “imperfect” one. That said, though its handling of the subject may be clumsy by modern standards, Claudine is nonetheless an ambitious and important story for late-70s Japan.
Ikeda’s œuvre is known in the west for its LGBT themes, but at the same time I often see her works criticized for not going “far enough” (i.e. depicting fulfilling adult queer relationships that fully reject heteronormativity). Again, though, keeping context in mind, we see both her subjects and the author herself working with the tools they had. One tragic tool ends up being beauty; there’s a sense in all of Ikeda’s tragic romances that these lovers die for beauty, for a beauty that’s theirs alone, ill-fit for a world in which they have no place. It’s its own sort of power, an elegant solution to an otherwise unsolvable problem. I wonder if the stories she would write today would end more happily, or if her characters can’t exist without the particular sort of queer loneliness of the 1970s.
This is a work that needs to be read in the context of when it was published. Attitudes towards transgender individuals, both textually and metatextually, are now outdated. Claudine is largely read and censured as a lesbian by others, and even his psychiatrist, while acknowledging him as male, deems him an “imperfect” one. That said, though its handling of the subject may be clumsy by modern standards, Claudine is nonetheless an ambitious and important story for late-70s Japan.
Ikeda’s œuvre is known in the west for its LGBT themes, but at the same time I often see her works criticized for not going “far enough” (i.e. depicting fulfilling adult queer relationships that fully reject heteronormativity). Again, though, keeping context in mind, we see both her subjects and the author herself working with the tools they had. One tragic tool ends up being beauty; there’s a sense in all of Ikeda’s tragic romances that these lovers die for beauty, for a beauty that’s theirs alone, ill-fit for a world in which they have no place. It’s its own sort of power, an elegant solution to an otherwise unsolvable problem. I wonder if the stories she would write today would end more happily, or if her characters can’t exist without the particular sort of queer loneliness of the 1970s.
April 7, 2015
For how wonderful the drawings are, I think the main story of this volume, Claudine, is a bit too quickly defined. Too many events happened in a too short time and the role of some characters is unclear.
Unfortunately, I think that the story lacks originality and the right story telling for being interesting, but one surely get caught and remained fascinated by how beautiful the drawings are.
In the same style are the two other short stories that follow Claudine. They are connected to one of Ikeda's main manga, Orpheus. The story development is as always full quite tragic events, though differently from Claudine, I did enjoy them more.
I was also very surprised by the final touch given to the story, which with a little bit of humour makes up for all the gloomy and serious tone. I thought at first that was a bit ouf of place, considering the general mood in which the stories were set, but then I realized that it was an excellent way to break the desolation and lead the plot development to a lighter path.
For all the Ikeda's fans I think this is a nice way to admire her beautiful drawings and read, once again, about such desperate lovestories. However, I can easily understand that they would be considered average by an "average" reader and that he could be put off track by the main themes of such stories. In Claudine, as in Versailles no Bara, we have a girl who is struggling with her sexuality, but here it is obvious that she has no intention to be like a girl and on the other hand wants to be like her father.
In the short stories connected to Orpheus, we have the unhappy relationships where two brothers end up falling in love, without being aware of their kinship.
Though, this is nothing so out of line to read in Ikeda's stories (or in many shojo manga).
Unfortunately, I think that the story lacks originality and the right story telling for being interesting, but one surely get caught and remained fascinated by how beautiful the drawings are.
In the same style are the two other short stories that follow Claudine. They are connected to one of Ikeda's main manga, Orpheus. The story development is as always full quite tragic events, though differently from Claudine, I did enjoy them more.
I was also very surprised by the final touch given to the story, which with a little bit of humour makes up for all the gloomy and serious tone. I thought at first that was a bit ouf of place, considering the general mood in which the stories were set, but then I realized that it was an excellent way to break the desolation and lead the plot development to a lighter path.
For all the Ikeda's fans I think this is a nice way to admire her beautiful drawings and read, once again, about such desperate lovestories. However, I can easily understand that they would be considered average by an "average" reader and that he could be put off track by the main themes of such stories. In Claudine, as in Versailles no Bara, we have a girl who is struggling with her sexuality, but here it is obvious that she has no intention to be like a girl and on the other hand wants to be like her father.
In the short stories connected to Orpheus, we have the unhappy relationships where two brothers end up falling in love, without being aware of their kinship.
Though, this is nothing so out of line to read in Ikeda's stories (or in many shojo manga).
June 19, 2022
3.5
when I picked this up I was worried about potential lesbophobia as well as a poorly-handled trans MC, both of which were (mostly) unfounded fears. this manga, originally written in the 1970s, follows the story of Claudine, a "man cursed with a woman's body". it's an epistolary work, written by Claudine's therapist, and mainly discusses Claudine's dramatic love life. this is very much an early shoujo work, meaning there's many, many panels of beautiful girls crying, often over a perceived injustice in their love life. the entire thing feels very gothic and maintains the same level of melodrama.
even though this is a relatively short story, I really felt for Claudine. the dysphoria depicted, while not delved into very deeply, is intense and traumatizing. there are only a handful of people that recognize Claudine as a man, and even those people tend to have a shallow understanding of what that means. Claudine's father sees himself in the face of his child, Anna Marie is convinced that her love is the purest because she has always seen Claudine as a man and the therapist is mostly placating except in his descriptions of Claudine's love life. amidst all this, I found myself wanting more about how Claudine felt and think this story could have been improved with solo scenes where Claudine tackles what it means to be a "man trapped in a woman's body".
unfortunately this story ends in tragedy which makes it clearer to me why I haven't seen this manga recommended more. I still think it's worth the read, but am grateful we have since moved on from such sordid, depressing tales.
when I picked this up I was worried about potential lesbophobia as well as a poorly-handled trans MC, both of which were (mostly) unfounded fears. this manga, originally written in the 1970s, follows the story of Claudine, a "man cursed with a woman's body". it's an epistolary work, written by Claudine's therapist, and mainly discusses Claudine's dramatic love life. this is very much an early shoujo work, meaning there's many, many panels of beautiful girls crying, often over a perceived injustice in their love life. the entire thing feels very gothic and maintains the same level of melodrama.
even though this is a relatively short story, I really felt for Claudine. the dysphoria depicted, while not delved into very deeply, is intense and traumatizing. there are only a handful of people that recognize Claudine as a man, and even those people tend to have a shallow understanding of what that means. Claudine's father sees himself in the face of his child, Anna Marie is convinced that her love is the purest because she has always seen Claudine as a man and the therapist is mostly placating except in his descriptions of Claudine's love life. amidst all this, I found myself wanting more about how Claudine felt and think this story could have been improved with solo scenes where Claudine tackles what it means to be a "man trapped in a woman's body".
unfortunately this story ends in tragedy which makes it clearer to me why I haven't seen this manga recommended more. I still think it's worth the read, but am grateful we have since moved on from such sordid, depressing tales.
June 14, 2021
CW: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Misgendering, Suicide, Murder, Death of a Parent, Incest
This story was a lot. We follow a trans man who people call by his deadname (or what would be his deadname) "Claudine", as he navigates his identity and the women that he falls in love with. I know this is a product of it's time, so it's hard to read this story with a modern lens. It takes place in early 20th century France and was written in 1978.
This is also a tragedy, which is important to keep in mind. The story itself is so sad, and not in the way that I enjoy.
The art, however, is beautiful. I can tell Riyoko Ikeda worked hard on this story. If you do read it, try to go in prepared. I'm still mixed on my thoughts on this one, but I think I'm going to be thinking about it for a while.
This story was a lot. We follow a trans man who people call by his deadname (or what would be his deadname) "Claudine", as he navigates his identity and the women that he falls in love with. I know this is a product of it's time, so it's hard to read this story with a modern lens. It takes place in early 20th century France and was written in 1978.
This is also a tragedy, which is important to keep in mind. The story itself is so sad, and not in the way that I enjoy.
The art, however, is beautiful. I can tell Riyoko Ikeda worked hard on this story. If you do read it, try to go in prepared. I'm still mixed on my thoughts on this one, but I think I'm going to be thinking about it for a while.
Read
November 18, 2018Trigger warning for suicide.
It's a sad story, filled with beautiful people and melodrama. But it was ahead of it's time, a classic manga, and by the author of Rose of Versailles. Worth a read in my humble opinion.
It's a sad story, filled with beautiful people and melodrama. But it was ahead of it's time, a classic manga, and by the author of Rose of Versailles. Worth a read in my humble opinion.
March 27, 2021
I was pretty critical of this at first- the drama was unending, there were some abrupt and unexpected "reveals," Claudine's gender is insinuated to be a result of seeing her father's affair with a young man, and I just feel like too much lit with trans characters is sad. (Which this is.) But now that I realize it was published in the 1970s, I'm actually kind of impressed. The main character's gender/sexuality isn't really held against him(?)- he's beloved by all throughout. So, I'm giving it some credit for being ahead of its time, and for the lovely art. Probably an important one to be aware of in the context of historical LGBTQIA lit, manga specifically; but not necessarily one I'd read or recommend for fun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2020
Simplemente me ha sorprendido gratamente. Pues en un acto de completa valentía, su autora expuso con toda audacia y sensibilidad, el tema de la transexualidad en un manga, en los años 70s.
Un manga que es todo un precedente histórico, para el reconocimiento de derechos de la transgénero y de todo el colectivo LGBT.
Se va sin duda a mis mejores lecturas manga del año.
Un manga que es todo un precedente histórico, para el reconocimiento de derechos de la transgénero y de todo el colectivo LGBT.
Se va sin duda a mis mejores lecturas manga del año.
June 1, 2025
"claudine" è stata una lettura che mi ha colta di sorpresa, mi ha proprio lasciato un segno indelebile. una storia struggente in un periodo in cui i temi affrontati nel corso della storia sono ancora poco trattati, ma la maestra ikeda ogni volta riesce a fare un lavoro magistrale. per quanto devastante, mi resterà proprio nel cuore la storia di claudine.
4⭐ e mezzo, un finale che ti lascia con l'amaro in bocca.
4⭐ e mezzo, un finale che ti lascia con l'amaro in bocca.
October 17, 2018
The art is top notch, absolutely my favorite style of manga; I have so much lover for Riyoko Ikeda as an artist. The story is pretty choppy and could have used some better transitions. I'm kind of over obsessive/life-defining love stories so it's not entirely my type of story either. I think this book could at least lead to some interesting discussion over what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman. And I do especially appreciate that this is a trans man's story as opposed to what I feel is the more visible trans woman story. But frankly apart from the gender identity question (which, now that it is a mainstream topic, is probably the main rea$on this book has finally been published), not much anything new in this story.
January 26, 2020
Sad, tragic story with utterly beautiful art.
This is a story about a trans man who lived in France in early 20th century, his loves, his heartbreaks.
I’m glad I’ve read it and I would recommend to read it but beware of anti-trans comments towards Claudine from the people around him.
This is a story about a trans man who lived in France in early 20th century, his loves, his heartbreaks.
I’m glad I’ve read it and I would recommend to read it but beware of anti-trans comments towards Claudine from the people around him.
April 28, 2025
4 stars
Claudine is a groundbreaking shojo manga. It follows a psychologist who is sharing/recounting a case study for Claudine. Claudine was born as a girl, but she feels that she is a man by age 8. This follows several Claudine's major loves for women and how they ending badly I can recognize the fantastic and amazing artwork that Riyoko Ikeda provides, but this story was just so mean to Claudine. I know what to expect because I have read Oniisama e... and watched its anime adaptation, Dear Brother. I am no stranger to the cruelty of Ikeda's approach to queer women often ending in extreme tragic circumstances, but that doesn't mean I have to love it. I just didn't love this one. I appreciate it, and some panels and pages are stunning. I have mixed and complex emotions toward Claudine. Honestly, I just wanted someone to see Claudine in the way that he deserved to be seen. There was a side character who claimed to see that, but I'm not buying it because it never felt honest or true. Know what time-period this is published in and while it explored trans themes and queer identity, it sticks to the tragic beats of the shojo genre in Japan.
Claudine is a groundbreaking shojo manga. It follows a psychologist who is sharing/recounting a case study for Claudine. Claudine was born as a girl, but she feels that she is a man by age 8. This follows several Claudine's major loves for women and how they ending badly I can recognize the fantastic and amazing artwork that Riyoko Ikeda provides, but this story was just so mean to Claudine. I know what to expect because I have read Oniisama e... and watched its anime adaptation, Dear Brother. I am no stranger to the cruelty of Ikeda's approach to queer women often ending in extreme tragic circumstances, but that doesn't mean I have to love it. I just didn't love this one. I appreciate it, and some panels and pages are stunning. I have mixed and complex emotions toward Claudine. Honestly, I just wanted someone to see Claudine in the way that he deserved to be seen. There was a side character who claimed to see that, but I'm not buying it because it never felt honest or true. Know what time-period this is published in and while it explored trans themes and queer identity, it sticks to the tragic beats of the shojo genre in Japan.
July 27, 2025
Sono rimasta un po’ delusa dalla lettura di questo manga che ho desiderato e cercato molto (pare, in effetti, che in Italia fosse fuori ristampa da un bel pezzo). La fumettista è la celebre Riyoko Ikeda, la madre della mia amatissima “Lady Oscar”, mio cartone preferito di sempre, e infatti la protagonista di queste pagine, la nobile Claudine de Montesse, richiama in tutto e per tutto la nota Oscar: è bellissima e si sente un maschio. Tanto che la madre, preoccupata, decide di portarla da uno psicologo quando è ancora una bambina, ed è così che si apre il fumetto. Segue ben poco, perché, nonostante queste sedute, Claudine continua a comportarsi, vestirsi e a sentirsi in tutto e per tutto un maschio, brillante, stupenda, invidiata, eppure incompresa, malinconica a profondamente sola….fino all’arrivo di un amore, con una donna, che avrà un tragico epilogo.
In poco più di 100 pagine si condensa questa triste storia che, per i temi che tocca, dalla disforia di genere al suicidio, avrebbe meritato più approfondimento. Nell’albo segue infatti uno spin-off del manga della stessa Ikeda “Orfeo”, da me non ancora letto.
Meravigliosi i disegni della Parigi di inizio 1900 ma la storia e la protagonista meritavano sicuramente più spazio.
In poco più di 100 pagine si condensa questa triste storia che, per i temi che tocca, dalla disforia di genere al suicidio, avrebbe meritato più approfondimento. Nell’albo segue infatti uno spin-off del manga della stessa Ikeda “Orfeo”, da me non ancora letto.
Meravigliosi i disegni della Parigi di inizio 1900 ma la storia e la protagonista meritavano sicuramente più spazio.
May 31, 2025
“La neve cade incessante. Purifica ogni cosa. La terra, adesso, sta dormendo. Pur possedendo un corpo ‘incompleto’, Claudine visse la sua vita pienamente e osò amare una donna… cedendo, infine, alla disperazione. Non so se fu quella stessa disperazione a spingerla a sacrificarsi per amore.”
Riyoko Ikeda really said facciamo soffrire un povero cristiano lanciandolo in un contesto storico in cui omosessualità e transessualità non sono minimamente accettati e compresi e facciamogli vivere una vita piena di inciuci e tradimenti che in confronto Beautiful pare una bazzecola!! okay tornando alla serietà questo manga è davvero bellissimo e adoro un sacco come la Ikeda già all’epoca parlasse di tematiche lgbt così apertamente, è stata una lettura super piacevole!!🙏🏻🩷
(Claudine e Rei davvero i miei protetti grazie sensei per avermi dato i miei due biondoni morti suicidi gioie vissute nella vita: ZERO)
Riyoko Ikeda really said facciamo soffrire un povero cristiano lanciandolo in un contesto storico in cui omosessualità e transessualità non sono minimamente accettati e compresi e facciamogli vivere una vita piena di inciuci e tradimenti che in confronto Beautiful pare una bazzecola!! okay tornando alla serietà questo manga è davvero bellissimo e adoro un sacco come la Ikeda già all’epoca parlasse di tematiche lgbt così apertamente, è stata una lettura super piacevole!!🙏🏻🩷
(Claudine e Rei davvero i miei protetti grazie sensei per avermi dato i miei due biondoni morti suicidi gioie vissute nella vita: ZERO)
August 11, 2020
Claudine es una historia que leeras en una noche, pocas páginas en una historia corta sobre una vida corta.
El arte de Riyoko Ikeda es como siempre una belleza pero algo que debemos resaltar es que este manga fue creado en 1978, en la actualidad aun es difícil encontrar mangas o animes que incluyan a personajes trans, mucho menos pensarlos de protagonistas, aun asi tenemos a Claude existiendo desde hace más de 40 años y creo yo que debería tener un poco más de reconocimiento del que tiene, porque lo merece.
El arte de Riyoko Ikeda es como siempre una belleza pero algo que debemos resaltar es que este manga fue creado en 1978, en la actualidad aun es difícil encontrar mangas o animes que incluyan a personajes trans, mucho menos pensarlos de protagonistas, aun asi tenemos a Claude existiendo desde hace más de 40 años y creo yo que debería tener un poco más de reconocimiento del que tiene, porque lo merece.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2021
A pesar de saber de qué trataba, me sorprendió mucho ver a un protagonista trans tan libre y abierto con su identidad en una época donde los prejuicios y la injusticia eran la moneda corriente.
Es cierto que algunos personajes tienen comportamientos tóxicos, pero teniendo en cuenta sus edades se puede comprender.
Rosemary me pareció muy interesante y me hubiese gustado que tuviese más protagonismo y desarrollo, tanto ella como Claudine/Claude y la relación entre sí.
Disfruté y sufrí esta historia, y creo que podría haber sido más extensa.
Es cierto que algunos personajes tienen comportamientos tóxicos, pero teniendo en cuenta sus edades se puede comprender.
Rosemary me pareció muy interesante y me hubiese gustado que tuviese más protagonismo y desarrollo, tanto ella como Claudine/Claude y la relación entre sí.
Disfruté y sufrí esta historia, y creo que podría haber sido más extensa.
June 7, 2025
Pensar la valentía de Riyoko Ikeda para contar una historia así en su época 🛐🛐🛐
February 12, 2021
El arte es bellísimo y Claudine me pareció un personaje muy entrañable. En su vida, el mayor problema fueron quienes le rodeaban, lo que me pareció muy deprimente. Claudine se merecía algo mejor.
Ahora quiero leer historias contemporáneas con personajes trans donde la tristeza y la tragedia no sean puntos focales de la narrativa.
Ahora quiero leer historias contemporáneas con personajes trans donde la tristeza y la tragedia no sean puntos focales de la narrativa.
September 4, 2018
Aunque estoy familiarizada con el trabajo de Riyoko Ikeda, especialmente por el animé “La Rosa de Versalles”, o como se le conoce en mi país y en general, “Lady Oscar”, fue originalmente “Claudine” el primer manga que leí de la autora. Pasó hace muchos años, cuando comenzaron a masificarse los mangas de forma online; lamentablemente la primera vez que lo leí estaba solo en inglés y aún no tenía del todo dominado mi manejo con el idioma y aunque tampoco puedo considerarme una experta actualmente, me es más llevadero que hace diez años. Por casualidades de la vida, lo he encontrado en español y más que releerlo, se ha sentido como si fuese nuevamente la primera vez que me encuentro con esta historia que, a pesar de ser corta, está llena de profundidad y de tintes trágicos.
A través de los ojos de un narrador externo, un psicólogo, conocemos la trágica vida de Claudine De Montesse, una hermosa e inteligente joven que, a pesar de haber nacido mujer, a los ocho años comienza a decir que en realidad es un niño y, por lo tanto, a actuar como uno, en modales, vestimenta y expresiones. La primera interacción entre Claudine y su doctor se ve desde el comienzo, cuando su madre lo lleva, preocupada de aquella conducta. Poco a poco conocemos los antecedentes de Claudine junto a su historia familiar que nos irán explicando los motivos de su confusión sexual. A juzgar por como los acontecimientos están narrados, se puede inferir que aquellos sucesos ocurrieron hace muchos años y que, debido a la rápida amistad que se formó entre médico y paciente, podemos ser testigos de todos los sucesos de la vida de nuestra protagonista hasta que suceda el esperado clímax que defina toda la historia. Todo contado sin buscar culpables en particular, con una mirada absolutamente neutral. No se tarda en conocer acerca de quién es la familia de Claudine, compuesta por sus padres y sus tres hermanos mayores. Lo que me ha llamado la atención particularmente es que, a pesar de estar preocupados de la condición de Claudine, no tienen problemas ni reparos en aceptarla tampoco y en tratarla como un chico, incluso hasta admirar el carácter masculino de la joven, algo que no siempre se suele ver tan rápido. El meollo del asunto es acerca de la vida romántica de la joven y lo mucho que sufrirá al sentir que su propio cuerpo es su mayor impedimento para amar plenamente. Así mismo se conocerán a tres amores que la marcarán, en tres mujeres distintas, cada uno de diferente manera.
Una de las cosas que siempre me ha gustado de Ikeda es el cuidado y elegancia que pone en todos sus trabajos. El modo en que dibuja y retrata a sus personajes tiene una clara influencia en el ideal de belleza de la Antigua Grecia. Tantos hombres y mujeres se caracterizan por tener buen porte y sus rasgos reflejan claramente la personalidad, hay emociones palpables en cada expresión y situación. Lo que sé de la autora es que además de ser mangaka también es una cantante soprano, por lo que su influencia artística y literaria, así como su gusto por la historia clásica universal es claramente notoria en su obra, especialmente si analizamos su más famoso trabajo. A su vez también admiro el modo tan abierto y lo adelantada que es al abordar temas que en esa época apenas se mencionaban, como la drogadicción, el suicidio, el lesbianismo, la homosexualidad y el ser transgénero, no por nada Claudine es uno de los primeros mangas en presentar a un protagonista transgénero, así que lo recomiendo absolutamente, les guste o no el género Shōjo, vale la pena echarle un vistazo, especialmente en una sociedad como la de hoy, donde cada día se busca una mayor aceptación y menos discriminación a quiénes son diferentes.
A través de los ojos de un narrador externo, un psicólogo, conocemos la trágica vida de Claudine De Montesse, una hermosa e inteligente joven que, a pesar de haber nacido mujer, a los ocho años comienza a decir que en realidad es un niño y, por lo tanto, a actuar como uno, en modales, vestimenta y expresiones. La primera interacción entre Claudine y su doctor se ve desde el comienzo, cuando su madre lo lleva, preocupada de aquella conducta. Poco a poco conocemos los antecedentes de Claudine junto a su historia familiar que nos irán explicando los motivos de su confusión sexual. A juzgar por como los acontecimientos están narrados, se puede inferir que aquellos sucesos ocurrieron hace muchos años y que, debido a la rápida amistad que se formó entre médico y paciente, podemos ser testigos de todos los sucesos de la vida de nuestra protagonista hasta que suceda el esperado clímax que defina toda la historia. Todo contado sin buscar culpables en particular, con una mirada absolutamente neutral. No se tarda en conocer acerca de quién es la familia de Claudine, compuesta por sus padres y sus tres hermanos mayores. Lo que me ha llamado la atención particularmente es que, a pesar de estar preocupados de la condición de Claudine, no tienen problemas ni reparos en aceptarla tampoco y en tratarla como un chico, incluso hasta admirar el carácter masculino de la joven, algo que no siempre se suele ver tan rápido. El meollo del asunto es acerca de la vida romántica de la joven y lo mucho que sufrirá al sentir que su propio cuerpo es su mayor impedimento para amar plenamente. Así mismo se conocerán a tres amores que la marcarán, en tres mujeres distintas, cada uno de diferente manera.
Una de las cosas que siempre me ha gustado de Ikeda es el cuidado y elegancia que pone en todos sus trabajos. El modo en que dibuja y retrata a sus personajes tiene una clara influencia en el ideal de belleza de la Antigua Grecia. Tantos hombres y mujeres se caracterizan por tener buen porte y sus rasgos reflejan claramente la personalidad, hay emociones palpables en cada expresión y situación. Lo que sé de la autora es que además de ser mangaka también es una cantante soprano, por lo que su influencia artística y literaria, así como su gusto por la historia clásica universal es claramente notoria en su obra, especialmente si analizamos su más famoso trabajo. A su vez también admiro el modo tan abierto y lo adelantada que es al abordar temas que en esa época apenas se mencionaban, como la drogadicción, el suicidio, el lesbianismo, la homosexualidad y el ser transgénero, no por nada Claudine es uno de los primeros mangas en presentar a un protagonista transgénero, así que lo recomiendo absolutamente, les guste o no el género Shōjo, vale la pena echarle un vistazo, especialmente en una sociedad como la de hoy, donde cada día se busca una mayor aceptación y menos discriminación a quiénes son diferentes.
February 2, 2021
Un manga que te hace pasar por muchas emociones. Tengo el corazón roto por Claudine 😭
March 16, 2021
"Creo que, el amor que ella sentía era verdadero. El tipo de amor que va más allá de toda idea preconcebida de lo que el amor debería ser y que realmente toca el corazón."
Muy lindo y triste a la vez .
El dibujo es realmente hermoso 😍
Muy lindo y triste a la vez .
El dibujo es realmente hermoso 😍
April 21, 2017
I have been waiting for a good time to read "Claudine...!" for a few years now--having finally sit down to actually get through it, I'm glad I did.
Claudine de Montesse(sp?) came out to their parents as male at the age of eight during the 19th century--effectively coming out as trans--and their father was especially accepting, along with their childhood friend. His mother, however, figured he was ill, and took him to see a doctor--the doctor and Claudine become friends to some degree, and it is established that Claudine isn't ill in the traditional sense.
What I especially like here, is that trans issues are portrayed seriously, and it's not the entire character of Claudine, and the story doesn't focus on the fact they are trans--it instead chooses to focus on his life, only bringing up the matter of sex and gender when necessary, mainly in romantic environments.
Though the plot isn't especially fantastic, and the art's expressions are a bit over the top--though I would expect no less from the seventies--what I absolutely love most about Claudine is the respectful portrayal of a transgender person, breaking the usual portrayal of flamboyance among LGBTQA+ portrayals in Japanese media, and so early on as well!
To someone more interested in romance and this art style in particular, perhaps this would have received five stars--it's not my cup of tea, though I enjoy what it stands for in its time, and even now if we look back upon it.
Claudine de Montesse(sp?) came out to their parents as male at the age of eight during the 19th century--effectively coming out as trans--and their father was especially accepting, along with their childhood friend. His mother, however, figured he was ill, and took him to see a doctor--the doctor and Claudine become friends to some degree, and it is established that Claudine isn't ill in the traditional sense.
What I especially like here, is that trans issues are portrayed seriously, and it's not the entire character of Claudine, and the story doesn't focus on the fact they are trans--it instead chooses to focus on his life, only bringing up the matter of sex and gender when necessary, mainly in romantic environments.
Though the plot isn't especially fantastic, and the art's expressions are a bit over the top--though I would expect no less from the seventies--what I absolutely love most about Claudine is the respectful portrayal of a transgender person, breaking the usual portrayal of flamboyance among LGBTQA+ portrayals in Japanese media, and so early on as well!
To someone more interested in romance and this art style in particular, perhaps this would have received five stars--it's not my cup of tea, though I enjoy what it stands for in its time, and even now if we look back upon it.
February 15, 2016
Decades ahead of its time and still a great story about the struggles of someone dealing with transsexualism, especially in a time when it wasn't understood at all. I've seen some complaints about the story's length and I can appreciate them, but I feel like it's still told well and I personally prefer shorter comics, so a lot of that is up to the individual. It lays the drama on a bit thick, but that was the trend at the time and it happens in a lot of Riyoko Ikeda's work, so that's par for the course. Really enjoyed it.
June 28, 2018
A translation from a Riyoko Ikeda work originally published in the late 1970s. Claudine concerns gender identity and dysphoria. In many ways, the narrative seems ahead of its time in dealing with such an issue. Ikeda is an author I've been wanting to read, given the place of Rose of Versailles in the field.
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