放浪息子 4

Wandering Son #4

by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son has garnered extensive praise (from the GLBT community, from manga fans, and from comics fans in general) for its uniquely funny, warm, and sensitive treatment of the travails of two Japanese tweens who find themselves coping with the knotty issue of gender identification, as they slowly realize that maybe they aren't who they were meant to be.

In this latest volume, love is in the air. It's in the trees and on the streets. It's hanging on the walls and piled in great heaps on the floor. Or is it really love? These sixth and seventh graders don't really know. But something is definitely amiss. They can't sleep, and when they do sleep they have strange dreams. They get angry and cry, they blush and grin like idiots, for no reason. And it isn't even spring. But the standard rules apply: If A is in love with B, B is certain to be in love with C, and C is likely to be in love with D, or possibly A. And now it seems a good third of the alphabet is in love with our shy hero(ine), Nitori-kun.

But the flip-side of love is jealousy, and hate. The simple friendships of childhood develop into the complex, tense relationships of adolescence. Friends become strangers, or worse. But while everyone seems to have caught the bug, Volume 4 revolves solidly around the triangle of Nitori-kun, Takatsukisan, and Chiba-san. Yet centrifugal force seems to push the three away from each other, and there is a certain grimness as they say goodbye to elementary school, and put on the (highly gendered) uniforms of junior high school.

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Queer

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2005

About the author

Takako Shimura (native name: 志村貴子) is a manga artist primarily known for her manga works published in Japan which feature LGBT (especially about lesbian and transgender) topics. Originally from Kanagawa, she now resides in Tokyo.

Reviews

[Nick Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't understand this series. It's very much about the subjective emotional states of the characters, and as a result it doesn't feel the need to follow any sort of logical story progression. The kids are constantly blurting out or thinking things that don't make any sense and scenes have no clear beginning or ending. I suppose if you're looking for a group of characters that you can empathize in the general direction of then Wandering Son will work for you, but I've just been becoming more and more confused by it.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is really starting to lose the thread. The volume basically took a ton of time to get to a moment of admission for Shu and Maho regarding their feelings for other characters in the book. The art style also takes a step backward here, as I once again started having trouble telling people apart. The school cruelty sections don't really add anything new, either.

I'll give this one more volume, but at the moment, it's looking like something I can pass on.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This manga is consistently good but I guess reading two volumes in one evening wasn't my smartest decision, I grew up tired of reading it.
If you're interested my detailed thoughts on the manga, check my reviews on volume 1 or 2.

I am definitely going back to the manga, but after a small break.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this series! So far, these characters totally feel like kindred spirits. This volume touches on sibling/family bullying/disappointment. I’ve lived this and technically still have immediate relatives who think less of me because I’m “different”. Anyway, absolutely love this series!

Very excited to read the next volume!

[Remxo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The focus sort of shifts from gender identity to the onset of puberty and everyone's crushes as they transition to junior high. There's a lot of teenage school drama, the sharing of feelings, he said, she said, who kissed who, who likes what about who, and so on. Excellent cartooning. Loved this volume.
4.5 stars.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world really does feel like it's crashing down on your over the smallest things when you're a kid. This story takes so many turns I don't really expect and I'm always surprised by how natural and realistic it feels.

[David Basora · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this volume, we're thankfully given a reprieve from the creepy older couple of volume three, while our middle schoolers start to deal with feelings about each other. I still believe that this series has the characters dealings with things well above their age level, this volume felt more appropriate with the juvenile gossip, crushes, and grudges among friends that occur in middle school. I was, however, disappointed by the blatant manipulation of perspectives given in this volume. The early spotlight on Maho was nice, since she was becoming rather one-dimensional, and Saori's conflict was a good thing to explore, but I feel like we hardly spent any time with Yoshino in this book, who is supposed to be one of the two main characters. Since Shuichi is so heavily focused in this book, then I would expect volume five to follow Yoshino more, but the cliffhangers at the end of this still seem to focus on Shu. So I don't know what to expect, but I still enjoy reading these for the curiously calming effect following these mundane relationships gives me, while also challenging me to understand circumstances I will never face.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transgender kid story with a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy as friends. In middle school now. In the last issue we saw some complications emerging, as others become aware they are different, some bullying, an older person showing inappropriate affection, and in this volume we begin the complicated middle school love/attraction stuff, with love triangles.. but with the additional complications of feeling messed up about what kind of gender you want to be. The art and production is always strong, lovely, with elegant drawing and coloring and lots of space to reflect with. They really invested in the quality of this work, it's a gorgeous product. And in the story, theres not much melodrama or kooky cartoony manga-type buffoonery. This is a serious, pretty much realistic journey in a transgendered youth life in contemporary society…But as we see others respond to them, you get to recall what middle school often is for kids who are different…Like Flowers of Evil, you get to see how mean kids can be to others...

[Connie Hernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok so up until now I thought the author was a trans person, but upon learning she's a cis woman who's also written a questionable series about lesbians, this whole thing reads like a sick fantasy about the "burden" of being a trans person. The first 2 books made me feel like there was going to be some resolution after painful experiences, but after the 3rd one (which was exceedingly uncomfortable) and this one, it just seems like Nitorin exists to afflict trauma upon. It's incredibly difficult to read this young trans girl getting repeatedly sexually harassed by a cis author. Shu's transness is defined on cis terms again and again and again, and it reeks of fetishization. Don't think I can stomach the rest.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, the tone of this series fascinates me. Hearing the capsule description, "A junior high school cross dresser struggles with his sexual identity," one pictures either angst-ridden drama or madcap farce. But Wandering Son takes neither approach, framing everything in a matter-of-fact approach that's almost mundane. Yes, there are tears, and, yes, there is laughter. But Shimura Takako somehow makes it all seem perfectly ordinary and straightforward.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. At times I had to roll my eyes at the little stories he made up or the love triangle-y stuff, but then I stopped myself and reflected back onto my time in elementary school...similar things happened. I very much look forward to the next volume, and hopefully the return of Yuki-san :)

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick side note: is it just me or does the back cover copy have almost nothing to do with the contents of the book? Oops.

[Charlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

it explains a lot to the anime bc for some reason that just skipped everything. rn the end of this is the start of the anime and somehow everything happens then. idk
adds depth to maho. thats cool.
chiba is straight up crazy i dunno what to tell you shes a weird attention seeking loner that wants to be mysterious
but idk nothing too interesting just added a lot of past details to what i remember from the animation so + for that

[Alinith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is mostly a bridge to the real meat of the story starting in the next volume from what I know from that anime and that's fine. It's pretty light on plot other than love triangles abound and some self loathing. Some extra character development from the supporting cast was nice, but the art in particular seems worse in this one and kept pulling me out of the events of the story. The fact that it was non linear in several places didn't help matters.

[Annemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a complicated series to review. It is very much a slice of life, so very little actually happens. This volume focused on baby of the relationships between characters, the complications of love and friendship and how those interact, in the almost shallow way you'd expect of elementary school students.

[Elliot]

Genre: manga
2 LGBTQ main characters: transgender

Importance of identities to plot: 1/5
Romance: 3/5
Coming out: no

Notes: Lots of kid drama about who likes who. Also, they’re starting middle school!

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew that this was going to turn to all those crushes. I knew that I would get lost and not like it. I am also curious on how this will unfold in terms of LGBT...

Maybe I feel this is the weakest of the bunch so far because I didn't see how all this stuff affected the crushes.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of tears and apologising in this one. These poor kids are having a rough time of it. And Shu shouldn't be mocked for crying. Maho is becoming more and more bitchy and not in a good way. Let's see what happens....

[Dorthe Svendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I siste boka her så ble ting litt rart. Særlig rundt læreren. De kommunierer også dårlig med hverandre, så ting går litt i loop. Så tror jeg avslutter med bok fem, selv om en del sikkert kommer frem i lyset senere i serien, men det tar litt for lang tid for min del nå.

[Sarah Schanze · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume started getting into the "who likes who" drama which is my bread and butter because I have no shame. Looking forward to the rest!

[tasneem · Rating 5 out of 5]

People are complaining about the characters being "overdramatic." Have you all forgotten what you were like in elementary and middle school?

[John Wiswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite things about Wandering Son is that it allows its supporting characters to be good influences. Any manga of this length is going to have a supporting cast, and usually they'll accentuate the antagonism over time. In this series the kids are balls of confusion, often acting on impulses they don't understand yet, but they also have opportunities to slap the main characters upside the head and insist they go talk it out. There are models of good friendship, and of now simply allowing fellow children to continue to struggle, that are consistently heartening to read.

Obviously some of this series revolves around the angst of little kids defying their gender roles. They feel like they're doing something wrong, or are afraid to be caught in the "wrong" clothing, or in one particularly cute page, envision themselves as the princess under a wicked stepmother. There's a keen balance of their friends who have crushes on their new identities, or are just excited to see them being so happy for the first time. Shimura does a wonderful job capturing their exuberance in still images, evoking little kids wiggling around or sputtering laughing.

There is nothing prurient about this series. This volume centers on a love triangle, with a boy who is exploring what it means to be a girl, and who has both another boy and another girl who want him to be or the other. The storytelling is still gentle, with plenty of space for the kids to talk out where they're coming from, but there's a raw heart to their conflict, because they want each other to be things that they aren't anymore.

A refreshing book. This is the series I visit when I want to restore my faith in literary humanity.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it still, but I'm sad that the characters are having problems with each other.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

teen/adult manga (translated from Japanese - 6th grade trans girl's friendships jeopardized by unrequited crushes, jealosy, etc.)

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each volume covers a new year of school with new issues and new discoveries. This volume takes a bit of a side jaunt into the world outside of school.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good sweet LGBT theme manga! Good story and loved the art😻👍😁❤️

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh thank god less creepy couple more emotions and character growth!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four books where i don’t really understand whats going on… but it’s pretty

[comet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the manga so much more to the anime, probably because the manga gives the context for the anime and the anime just doesn't!
So much better omg

[Morgan Vank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come check out my book blog! Teenage Bookaholic

SYNOPSIS: *Note: This is a review for the first six volumes of the series*

The period of adolescence is full of confusion, growth, and discovery. Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki are entering this time in their lives, along with their classmates of course. But both students share a secret that adds to the confusion of adolescence, and could damage their social life: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy.

Discovering each others' secret, they befriend one another and try to navigate through elementary and junior high school while coping with their shamefully perceived identities. Along the way, they meet challenges- teasing by classmates, uniforms, romances, and overnight field trips- but find new allies in a wide range of people- quiet classmates, strangers, even famous models! As they bloom into adulthood, can Shu-kun and Yoshino-chan find the confidence to be true to themselves?

REVIEW: It was a strange fate that this series happened upon me. I was in the library, and ducked into a random aisle up on the adult fiction floor. I pretended to be browsing at the books, when this series caught my eye. I looked at the summary on the back and was curious when it mentioned the protagonists are transgendered. It is not common to find many fiction books with a transgendered protagonist, let alone not have the issue consume the entire plot.

This series had a lovely storyline that, while focusing on children, was meant as a more mature read. It kept the focus on the protagonists internal struggles, while not fixating on that point and without making it worth pity. The storyline had some dragging points, but not enough to be put down. It had realistic scenarios, maybe a little too coincidental to be strung as such, but they could very much occur, and showed how common situations had an effect on their identity.

I found some characters to be difficult to distinguish because of the art style, but the dialogue was never confusing. It also served to teach about honorifics in names. Slightly confusing as a Westerner, but through the guide, it made sense. I also appreciated the dynamics in clothing, more than just holiday wear and school uniforms.

All in all, an eye-opening read on transgender, while not being consumed by transgender. Quick and addictive read with clean paneling. I almost hate that its a still continuing series because of having to wait for the translations!