L'arrache-chair

by Oto Tooda (Drawings), Vincent Marcantognini (Translator)

A moving collection of six short stories that explores what must be stripped away to find the truth and celebrates the beauty of embracing who you are.

Chiaki Ogawa has never doubted that he is a boy, although the rest of the world has not been as kind. Bound by his mother’s dying wish, Chiaki tries to be a good daughter to his ailing father.

Chiaki Ogawa has never doubted who he is, although the rest of the world hasn’t been as kind. Bound by his mother’s dying wish, Chiaki tries to be a good daughter to his ailing father. But when the burden becomes too great, Chiaki sets out to remake himself in his own image and discovers more than just personal freedom in his transition—he finds understanding from the people who matter most.

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Queer, Comics, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Fiction

193 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2019

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

From where I’m sitting (as a cisgender person), To Strip the Flesh is a very powerful piece – Chiaki has known he’s a boy from a very early age, but his parents’ refusal (or inability, which is a very different thing) to accept that has tormented him, especially his mother’s dying words exhorting him to “grow up and be a beautiful bride.” This isn’t a passively angry story; it’s one about trying to work through a situation that you’re afraid no one will understand, and in that it can be very relatable, no matter who you are or how you identify. In particular (and at the risk of sharing too much), I liked the way Chiaki reacted to his period - you don't have to be transgender to hate and resent it, or to want that part of your body gone. That brings us to the most visceral part of the story: Chiaki has a dream where his father, who butchers his own game, cuts off his breasts and removes his uterus. The scene isn’t gross, but it’s an on-point illustration of how Chiaki feels about his body, and how much he wishes his father could accept it and be a partner to him in being who he really is.

There are other stories in the collection, but To Strip the Flesh is undoubtedly the strongest. All of them deal with the need to be understood and to find a human connection, though, and the skill with which this theme is explored via different plotlines is impressive. This certainly comes with a few content warnings, one of which is for realistic scenes of butchering game, but it’s an excellent exploration of interpersonal relationships and a solid short story collection in general. Highly recommended.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book is a thoughtful meditation on gender affirmation as a trans man who has bonded with his father over their passion for hunting and field dressing their game is issued an ultimatum that threatens that bond.

The rest of the book is filled out with a variety of entertaining shorter works that range from fantasy to humor to horror. There's a couple clunkers, but this is a very promising debut manga.

[Yuan Sys · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my god I actually cried so hard to this at first I read it because I was like oh trans manga, gotta read because yk something I find relatable little did I know I was gonna end up sobbing over this one manga for a good 5 minutes because everything was so real?? Especially the part where Chiaki wakes up and holds a ** to his chest, and cries about how upset he is in his body I was just like wow. wow. I didn't expect everything to hit so hard. Especially with the argument with his dad, and the sweet ending really had me in tears (literally not saying this to be funny I was in tears) I'm so glad Chiaki had a friend that understood him. People like that are so hard to come across, I wish I had a pillar of support like Takatou. Loved the ending again, especially with the line "This is Ogawa Chiaki, currently looking for a girlfriend."

For pride month I totally recommend reading this!!!!

[Link · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can be pretty graphic but it was a fantastic read and I learned a lot! (Even as a trans person)

[paulita · Rating 5 out of 5]

this manga is fairly new, but i can't believe it doesn't have more reviews??? it was so good 😭 just like boy meets maria, it was short and bittersweet with a happy ending. it made me cry with how raw it portrayed trans people's experience over feeling as if they were in the wrong body. would definitely recommend this manga for parents of trans youth who are trying to understand their children better.

[IJ]

The title story gripped my heart and was written with so much frankness and honesty. The rest of the stories are good too. Toda sure knows how to write about parent-child relationships, something that makes my stomach turn when done poorly.

[Seoung · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED the first story, the others were fun but I could read a whole series with chiaki!

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise and pertinent look at GID, the character is a traditionally beautiful woman who feels like a man but uses her body to make money on YouTube doing a cliche manly topic like hunting and butchering. Their transition is less medically explained and more shown through their mental health and connection to those around them. Really good story.

The shorts here are all interesting little tales- an idols grandma misses them, a statue of David comes alive like Toy Story and a sun fish is easy to kill. A really solid collection of stories.

[Margherita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

[Isaac Badger · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
First story is a five star, the rest are decent

[Grace Arango · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been around a week since I read the first short story and then I proceeded on with the rest.
I really wanted to soak To Strip the Flesh (the short story) in and I'm so happy I did. I enjoyed the other short stories, but none of them were as strong as the first and as someone who has friends and family who are transitioning themselves, it reminded me of their resilience through it all.

I'm glad stories like this exist.

[Vamp(y) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first short story in this volume, followed by several of the shorts that contained the same characters, were my absolute favorite. I just wanted to keep following Chiaki's story more and more. The follow-up short where his dad recounts how Chiaki has changed to become more excitable and outgoing ever since he's started living how he's always wanted (while also fully accepted/encouraged by his father and best friend) made me emotional. I loved seeing Chiaki so happy and doing what he had dreamed of since he was a child: hunting side-by-side as father and son.

I will say that I think Chiaki's friend should have faced more consequences for the things he said before Chiaki left for Thailand. They were really unwarranted and seemed hurtful to me, though I know Chiaki mostly brushed it off as "I see you researched about it because of me."

I was glad that his father and friend came to understand him when he returned. His dad apologizing for hurting him by pushing his own beliefs on what *he* thought would make Chiaki happy all those years was one of my favorite scenes. My other favorites would have to be Chiaki's dream of his chest and uterus being stripped away (with all of the emotional metaphors behind it), then the short story set years later where he meets his friend's new girlfriend with a big, confident smile on his face.

Oda Toda's joint interview with Motigi in the very back of the volume was also a great bonus. Reading about how and why Toda created To Strip the Flesh only made me appreciate it even more. I also liked that Toda mentioned it was impossible to cover the many varied experiences of every trans person in one short story, then went on to mention that Chiaki doesn't represent the thoughts or desires of every trans person.

The additional shorts not related to Chiaki didn't interest me as much, especially the random one or two page stories toward the end. David in Love was a bit odd, even for me, but I could see the humor about it. I Just Love My Fave and Hot Watermelon were the next short stories I liked the most. Both focus on familial love and connection in different ways: between a deceased grandmother cheering on her idol grandson, and the troubled relationship between a mother and her son. The body horror analogy for the pain of giving birth, then it all being swept away after seeing one's child afterward so that he could understand his mother's feelings was moving to me, in a way. It was great to see them start to piece their relationship back together once they were on the same page.

All-in-all, I'd give this a full 5 stars for the first story itself. I'll definitely be buying myself a copy once it comes out!

[Gabriele | QueerBookdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

DRC provided by VIZ Media via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: trans Japanese protagonist, Japanese primary, secondary and tertiary characters.

Content Warning: meat butchering, animal carcass, sexism, transphobia, violence, cancer, dysphoria, gore.

To Strip The Flesh by Oto Toda is a contemporary short-story collection in manga format. I must have read the synopsis six times before reading the actual manga and each time I failed to notice that it said in the very first sentence that this was a collection of short stories. I only expected the story with the trans protagonist, but I was not unhappy with the rest of them. They were all unique and meaningful and the brilliant artstyle brought them to life exceptionally. The longest and my favourite was obviously the first one, namely the one about Chiaki, a trans man conflicted between his own wishes and his parents’.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transmascs who like butchery imagery lock IN NOW !!!! I found the main story in this anthology to be an extremely real and heartfelt expression of being transgender. I think the story was crafted with so much care and also the flashback to Chiaki’s friend helping him when he has a meltdown in junior high really felt so real and did make me tear up a little. I also really really appreciate that the phrasing is very straightforward in saying that Chiaki is a man as opposed to a majority of other manga i’ve read with trans themes where it tends to dance around it more and say things like “ohh this character who’s a girl.. really feels like a boy inside…” etc etc.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first story (the one with the trans MC) is interesting and really heartfelt and treats the trans main character with lots of care and respect (would be 4 stars if it was just that). The rest of the collection features more misses than hits for me unfortunately. I only liked "Hot Watermelon", a touching story about the relationship between a mother and her teenage son and felt nothing for the rest. I disliked one of the two page collection stories especially, which features a character that could at best be interpreted very nicely "just" as an incredibly sexist charicature, but seems much more likely to be transmisogynistic. All of this lead to me lowering my rating.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent selection of short stories. To Strip the Flesh is obviously the standout, but David in Love and the one with the mom and the son were also really fantastic. Great art, it’s apparent that they assisted Fujimoto but obviously their art is still their own. Also some excellent panel layouts and scene transitions in here. Just in general a great looking book! The interview at the back of the book between Toda and Motigi is very insightful as well.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Medical content

Representations: https://trello.com/c/KDqPb5YE/126-to-...

I think saying it's a collection of short stories around the same topic is a little misleading. Half of the book is To Strip the Flesh and the other half is a pretty random collection of shorts (a few 2 page mangas too) which are completely different in tone and none of the rest are about queer identities either.

Though, don't get me wrong, honestly I'd say To Strip the Flesh is good enough that you should get this manga JUST for that. And it's worth it as well. This is such a strong story of a trans perspective, and you can really tell it's an important story for the author to tell as well. There's a lovely interview at the back which I highly recommend reading through as well!
Honestly, I don't think I can say too much without just detailing everything that happens in the story so I'll just say, if you're trans yourself, questioning at all, a parent to a child who just came out as trans to you or just generally interested in trans lit - Read it. It's short, but powerful.

For the second half, the short stories. They're a bit of a mixed bag. I did enjoy them, but I wouldn't say it's a good idea to go straight from the end of TSTF right into... people fangirling over idols lol. They're a completely different tone, and completely different topics to TSTF. Maybe just read the first half, take a break, then come back and read the second half perhaps.
There is a right mix in there from the aforementioned idol fans to a living statue to a magical watermelon (that one was depressing and a pretty hard hitting story though weirdly enough!). There's a couple just joke ones which are pretty funny, but again feels really out of place amongst the more serious topics in the other stories.

Certainly well worth recommending, it's incredibly solid on the writing, very powerful and you can really tell the main topics are something close to Oto Toda's heart. Very character focused in an excellent way and really makes use of the few pages to fully convey everything.
This is an absolute must-read for TSTF alone at least!

[Maha AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I took a few days to let the manga sinks in and try to articulate my words to give a review that this manga deserves. So this manga is a collection of 6 stories that explore what must be stripped away to find the truth.

I applaud VIZ media and their translator for aligning the story with the original Japanese version; the translation was pretty good.

I also enjoyed the variety of Oto's art styles, from shojo to Western art style. However, what stands out most for me is how the emotion is conveyed through not only the character's facial expressions but also their bodies and surroundings.

The anthology's first and most famous story is called "To Strip the Flesh." Again, the translation was good at capturing the rawness of how a trans person feels about their body. This was a very powerful read with intense themes of goriness and emotions that added a strong element to the story.

The main character is a trans man named Chiaki with large breasts, a YouTuber who butchers meat and stream videos of what his father has hunted. When his father broke the news that he had colon cancer, he decided to fake a marriage and pretend to be married until his father dies.

The theme is about living for yourself.
The story uses the hunting metaphor to drive home the powerful emotions about bodily autonomy and freedom of self—poignant imagery like Chiaki holding a knife to his breasts.

In the interview at the end of the book with the author and the popular gay sex worker and creator, Motigi, he says,"'To Strip The Flesh' can only be written by someone who knows this pain."

The author admits that she has had similar feelings about her breasts and having a gender exploration but then decides she is fine in her current gender. So knowing that kind of pain can only be written by someone who understands it. Moreover, it brings out how genuine the story sounds.

CONTENT WARNING: the manga contains animal hunting, butchering, violence, and mild body horror.

The other stories are not LGBTQ+ related but follow the same message and narrative. I really enjoyed all of them, but my favorites are "Hot Watermelon"
The two-page manga collection "Dream."
"The Wound"
"God".

I highly recommend this manga to anyone who loves unique and emotional stories.

[Holly Cruise]

Graphic Novel Book Group, April 2025.

A collection of short comic stories, ranging from some two-page comics a the back, to the longer main story that starts us off, To Strip The Flesh is a collection of early career works by Oto Toda, about whom the English-language internet has basically no info. Everything I can glean about the author comes from the handy interview in this volume.

The main focus of To Strip The Flesh is the sensitively handled story of Chiaki, a young trans man who is trying to work out how to reconcile his true self with the social pressures which have thus far stalled his transition. His father cares a lot, but seemingly for the daughter he thinks he has rather than the son who is really there. Toda's art is lovely, crisp and clear, with some panels which are really visceral without being graphic. From the interview in the back I can't tell if Toda is gender fluid and currently content living as a woman, or if this is the artist's way of living out a version of young adulthood which they weren't able to live. But the story itself isn't heavy or foreboding, rather it is lighthearted and optimistic.

The rest of the short stories vary from really good to perfectly readable. If anything, apart from the quasi-autobiographical title story, most of what Toda does best is quite horror inflected stories of monsters, ghosts, animated toys and ancient rituals involving people's feelings. I do hope we see more of Toda's work in the West.

[Francis Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

So first of all I ordered this from the library just because it was a new manga, so I didn't have the faintest idea about what it was about. Then I got it, and the cover kinda spooked me? I was like, did I just get a manga about butchering?? Like, I remember getting Drifting Dragons and being so disappointed with the fact that it was basically glorified whale(dragons) hunting..
Anyway! I decided to give it a go cos I was intrigued.
First page starts with a banger! We see a very busty lady with a carving knife in hand, and the text: "Chiaki Ogawa is a man." Well! Colour me intrigued! Did I accidentally stumbled upon a queer manga?? I read through the story, and I found myself really resonating with our main character. (S)he wants to transition, wants to finally physically be the man (s)he is, but their only remaining parent, their dad, wants them to marry, to be happy and have a family, a desire we discover being the last wish of their dying mother. Our MC also wish to be a cool hunter like their dad, but since they were young the father has always said that "women can't hunt."
Long story short, we learn that the father is dying of cancer, so MC decides to "be a woman" until he dies, to not make him upset. Again, omg, so f relatable you know?? And well! Go read it if you want to know how it ends!

After this story we have a few more short ones, spanning from funny ones like "A dream" to incredibly melancholic ones like "God" and "Hot watermelon."

Definitely recommend this! Also rly love the design style!

[Rya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork, but definitely don’t recommend to those who are squeamish. (Good amount of body horror)
Also, there’s a few stories in this manga which I didn’t realize at first. The first story is probably half the book and is what’s written on the back. Really liked that story and it hit close to home. Wish it was focused on more.
The next three are short stories. 1st sad but cute, 2nd silly and a lil weird, and 3rd was emotional. The 3rd one hit me hard and I’m chalking that up to the artwork. It did an incredible job at showing the mind pain the characters were feeling.
And then at the end, there are two page comics. Nothing really to say about those.

[achilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

the strongest part of this story collection is the title story "to strip the flesh" to me. as a closeted-to-parents trans man myself, chiaki's story gutted me and made me cry.

but the story kinda fell down after the conflict of it. the story resolves, and then we get fragmented pieces that could have been a few more chapters, which left me wanting to read more of chiaki's story, yet there was none left.

and unfortunately, the rest of the stories felt pretty boring and made me push through to get to the end of the volume.

not sure if i will come back for another story collection by this author/artist, but if he does a full-volume story, i will definitely be reading it.

[Heather Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing manga collection, though I do agree with most reviewers that the title story (novella-length, really) is by far the strongest. I loved the happy ending (spoilers, I guess) and the way the characters get developed. I also loved the weird stuff in other stories, from the ghost grandma (which almost made me cry) to the freaky body horror in "Hot Watermelon." Basically, these stories run the gamut and will make you feel wildly different emotions, but they all work really well. Oto Toda is an amazing talent, and I can't wait to read more from them!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first short story in this collection "To Strip the Flesh" was wonderful - Chiaki is a man with a woman's body who limits what he does to prevent distress from his father. He makes money being a butcher on Youtube but just wants to have his female parts removed. It was an excellent story that shared the sadness of Chiaki. The other short stories in this collection I probably won't remember in a few weeks.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and moving collection; "To Strip the Flesh" is the strongest story in this collection, though I also liked "I Just Like My Fave," and "David in Love" was also sweet enough. Oto Toda is excellent at showcasing powerful emotional punches through pacing, and is a strong writer whose time spent studying human emotion and psychology has paid off in their storytelling.

A powerful queer manga from a creator on the rise—don't miss it!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

May 2023. LGBTQ manga about a trans man’s relationship with his father, coming out, and becoming comfortable in his identity.
Uses the family business, a butcher shop, and his dad’s hobby, hunting, well as it explores their relationship and identity.

Definitely recommend!!! The first half is several chapters on this character and is a 5/5 stars for me. The second half of the manga are standalone stories of various success that I’d rate 3-4 stars but don’t compare to the titular story. I ended up rating it 4/5 on goodreads due to the mixed quality of the overall volume.

Borrowed in physical form from Sac Library.

“To Strip the Flesh” by Oto Toda.

[Zilliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good, different from what I was expecting, but good. The strongest story was the title story, and the rest of the short stories weren't all winners, but there were some fun ones there and I'm interested in reading more from this author. I like the little interview in the end too, it was interesting to read the author's thought process and ideas about their own work.

[Jonah]

I really liked the first half of this, the trans story - I have read so few trans mangas. It was emotional, poignant, and funny (with a pretty happy ending!!) the second half of stories wasn't my favorite, I couldn't find a clear through line and just didn't find them that interesting. The 2 page manga stories were my favorite of that part.

1st half - 4⭐ 2nd half - 3⭐

[Ollie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the main story and I wish that the author just focused on expanding and adding more depth to that story rather than doing a collection of other short stories. The other stories were very short and felt like they were just ideas whereas the first story felt strong and was really enjoyable.

[Corbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 100 pages are a really strong one-shot about a trans man inspired by the mangaka's own early struggles with gender identity. Easy 4 stars.

The second 100 are a collection of unrelated random short stories that unfortunately fail to hold up to the strength of the first half. A low 3 stars for me.