Series
Collection
Description
"The fifth grade. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy"--Publisher's web site.
Publication
Fantagraphics Books (2011), 192 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
I was absolutely delighted when Fantagraphics announced the license of Takako Shimura's manga series Wandering Son. The first volume, originally released in Japan in 2003, was published in English in 2011. The series is currently up to eleven volumes in Japan and is ongoing but only the first two
When Shuichi Nitori transfers into his new fifth grade class, one of the first people he befriends is the handsome tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki. They don't know it at the time but they both have similar secrets--Nitori dreams of being a girl while Takatsuki wants to be a boy. Nitori is cute enough and is even mistaken for a girl on occasion but his opportunities to cross-dress are seen by most others to be entertaining rather than honest expressions of his desire. Takatsuki's tomboyishness is more socially acceptable but also hides to some extent what she really wants; she is still considered to be a girl. Fortunately, as the two of them grow closer as friends and eventually become aware of the other's secret, they also become an important source of encouragement and support for each other.
Shimura's artwork is simple but remains expressive. Very little detail is given to the backgrounds, forcing the readers' attention to the people of the story. Sometimes this means the characters' seem slightly out of context with their world, bringing the focus to their thoughts and feelings and leaving them alone with them. The artwork makes it easy to slip between dreams, daydreams, and reality. A nice balance between the text and the artwork exists in Wandering Son. Internal monologues drift from words to images; there are simply some things that are too difficult or too personal for the characters to be able to express in words yet. There is a lot that is left unsaid that the artwork still conveys. Many of Shimura's character designs are very similar. However it still is fairly easy to tell everyone apart as they all have distinctive personalities, movements, and postures.
Instead of following a strictly linear narrative, Wandering Son provides a somewhat fragmented view. To me, it seems more like a collection of memories, glimpses of important and influential moments in the characters' lives. Though told chronologically, the story has an impressionistic quality to it. Wandering Son is lovely and quiet with tremendous emotional depth. Middle school is already a tumultuous time growing up and Nitori and Takatsuki are both faced with additional challenges as they begin to explore their own identities. Included in the first volume of Wandering Son is a brief essay by the series' translator Matt Thorn called "Snips and Snails, Sugar and Spice" which examines the use of honorifics and pronouns, some of the gender quirks of both the Japanese and English languages as well as the social implications of those word choices. I was very pleased with the first volume of Wandering Son and greatly look forward to the release of the second volume.
Experiments in Manga
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volumes have been announced for the English edition so far. Gender play is far from uncommon in manga but is probably most often used as a gag or for comedic intent. A more serious, sincere, and realistic portrayal of gender issues, and specifically transgender issues, is much rarer. It's not a common theme to be found in comics in general which is why I was particularly excited for the release of Wandering Son in English. Plus, Fantagraphics' edition is beautifully presented as a full-sized hardcover with excellent print and paper quality. The volume is just as lovely to behold as it is to read.When Shuichi Nitori transfers into his new fifth grade class, one of the first people he befriends is the handsome tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki. They don't know it at the time but they both have similar secrets--Nitori dreams of being a girl while Takatsuki wants to be a boy. Nitori is cute enough and is even mistaken for a girl on occasion but his opportunities to cross-dress are seen by most others to be entertaining rather than honest expressions of his desire. Takatsuki's tomboyishness is more socially acceptable but also hides to some extent what she really wants; she is still considered to be a girl. Fortunately, as the two of them grow closer as friends and eventually become aware of the other's secret, they also become an important source of encouragement and support for each other.
Shimura's artwork is simple but remains expressive. Very little detail is given to the backgrounds, forcing the readers' attention to the people of the story. Sometimes this means the characters' seem slightly out of context with their world, bringing the focus to their thoughts and feelings and leaving them alone with them. The artwork makes it easy to slip between dreams, daydreams, and reality. A nice balance between the text and the artwork exists in Wandering Son. Internal monologues drift from words to images; there are simply some things that are too difficult or too personal for the characters to be able to express in words yet. There is a lot that is left unsaid that the artwork still conveys. Many of Shimura's character designs are very similar. However it still is fairly easy to tell everyone apart as they all have distinctive personalities, movements, and postures.
Instead of following a strictly linear narrative, Wandering Son provides a somewhat fragmented view. To me, it seems more like a collection of memories, glimpses of important and influential moments in the characters' lives. Though told chronologically, the story has an impressionistic quality to it. Wandering Son is lovely and quiet with tremendous emotional depth. Middle school is already a tumultuous time growing up and Nitori and Takatsuki are both faced with additional challenges as they begin to explore their own identities. Included in the first volume of Wandering Son is a brief essay by the series' translator Matt Thorn called "Snips and Snails, Sugar and Spice" which examines the use of honorifics and pronouns, some of the gender quirks of both the Japanese and English languages as well as the social implications of those word choices. I was very pleased with the first volume of Wandering Son and greatly look forward to the release of the second volume.
Experiments in Manga
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LibraryThing member jjpionke
The story focuses on Nitori and his confusion with his desire to be a girl and how Takatsuki struggles in the same way with her desire to be a boy. We see them both trying to figure out who they are in this coming of age story that deals with social perception, siblings, friends, and gender
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identity. This is a manga book which is a comic book done in a specific Japanese style with large eyes as a main feature and characters in middle school or junior high (the story is set in middle school). The illustrations are black and white and the book is read from back to front, the way traditional Japanese books are read. The characters are drawn very similarly to each other which makes keeping track of them a little difficult at times. That said, the confusion, insecurity, and fear of having a socially taboo secret are well handled. This is the first book in a series meant for young adults. Highly recommended for young adults who are having gender disphoria. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member akmargie
A sparse story that has an emotional punch anyway. Sometimes the characters were confusing, namely the classmates and their own stories a bit obscure but a very important subject that doesn't get explored enough.
LibraryThing member pussreboots
Wandering Son: Volume 1 by Shimura Takako is the start of a middle school manga about family, friendship, and gender identity. There is also an anime series by the same name.
Shuichi Mitori and Yoshino Takatshiki are starting at a new school. Shuichi, a boy by birth, prefers to wear dresses but
It's a beautiful start to the series and I hope to keep reading it. The anime, while in the spirit of the manga, rushes the early parts of Suichi's gender exploration.
Shuichi Mitori and Yoshino Takatshiki are starting at a new school. Shuichi, a boy by birth, prefers to wear dresses but
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would never dare wear the girl's uniform to school. Yoshino, a girl by birth, is more comfortable with her fluid sense of gender. When she wants to dress like a boy, she does. It is her bravery that is the spark of a new friendship and encourages Shuichi to re-explore his own gender identity.It's a beautiful start to the series and I hope to keep reading it. The anime, while in the spirit of the manga, rushes the early parts of Suichi's gender exploration.
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LibraryThing member lydia1879
... how do I even begin to review this volume?
I picked it up at the library today. I wasn't expecting to see it there, so I grabbed it at the first opportunity. The reason I was interested in this book is because it is a wonderful manga about two young trans people who become friends. I was
So, any respresentations of LBTQIA people in Japanese media tend to be in that niche of 'sexual deviancy'. I was hopeful for this manga, though.
... I was not disappointed. Thank you, so much, Takako Shimura. This is a beautiful volume. Beautifully-drawn, simple, effortless lines, clean, neat, so well-polished, so easy to read. The text is also super simple, almost sparse but gives you just enough information to know where you are the in the character's arcs and conversations.
I love the two characters. They are beautiful and so well-written and so well-formed. They are quite young, so their language can be a little bit young, even a little bit problematic when referring to themselves, but Shimura handles this expertly. This is such a gentle, compassionate novel. It's so self-aware and carefully written. I teared up a lot (like a lot, like every 20 pages probably) and kept closing the book and holding it to my chest because it meant so much.
As someone who struggles with being cisgender, this was so validating to read and I can only imagine how validating it would be to read as a trans person. This is more than just a coming out story or a coming of age story.
The writing is simple enough but impactful enough that it would be a brilliant manga for a young person to read. (It is YA).
But if you've never read manga before, it would be easy for you to read, too. There's a couple of cool introductory pages where it talks about how to pronounce people's names and what certain suffixes mean and they also explain little tiny aspects of Japanese culture that might be an unknown to the reader. It's beautifully bound, in a really nice hardback edition and there are a few colour pages, too.
Please, if you ever read a manga, let it be this one.
Thank you, so much Takako Shimura. You have made such an important contribution to trans, YA, Japanese literature and to my life and I have no idea how to repay you expect to sing this books' praises from the rooftops and hope that someone hears me.
And seriously, where the fuck is the second volume because I NEED IT NOW D:
// oh, and a quick cw: for trans image / body issues and a couple of slurs.
I picked it up at the library today. I wasn't expecting to see it there, so I grabbed it at the first opportunity. The reason I was interested in this book is because it is a wonderful manga about two young trans people who become friends. I was
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desperate to read it because Japan's attitude to homosexuality and trans issues is a little bit of a mixed bag. Homosexuality (and everything else surrounding it) is kind of a niche, it is in and of itself its own little fetish and is cornered off, as it were, instead of being more widely-accepted and being mainstream.So, any respresentations of LBTQIA people in Japanese media tend to be in that niche of 'sexual deviancy'. I was hopeful for this manga, though.
... I was not disappointed. Thank you, so much, Takako Shimura. This is a beautiful volume. Beautifully-drawn, simple, effortless lines, clean, neat, so well-polished, so easy to read. The text is also super simple, almost sparse but gives you just enough information to know where you are the in the character's arcs and conversations.
I love the two characters. They are beautiful and so well-written and so well-formed. They are quite young, so their language can be a little bit young, even a little bit problematic when referring to themselves, but Shimura handles this expertly. This is such a gentle, compassionate novel. It's so self-aware and carefully written. I teared up a lot (like a lot, like every 20 pages probably) and kept closing the book and holding it to my chest because it meant so much.
As someone who struggles with being cisgender, this was so validating to read and I can only imagine how validating it would be to read as a trans person. This is more than just a coming out story or a coming of age story.
The writing is simple enough but impactful enough that it would be a brilliant manga for a young person to read. (It is YA).
But if you've never read manga before, it would be easy for you to read, too. There's a couple of cool introductory pages where it talks about how to pronounce people's names and what certain suffixes mean and they also explain little tiny aspects of Japanese culture that might be an unknown to the reader. It's beautifully bound, in a really nice hardback edition and there are a few colour pages, too.
Please, if you ever read a manga, let it be this one.
Thank you, so much Takako Shimura. You have made such an important contribution to trans, YA, Japanese literature and to my life and I have no idea how to repay you expect to sing this books' praises from the rooftops and hope that someone hears me.
And seriously, where the fuck is the second volume because I NEED IT NOW D:
// oh, and a quick cw: for trans image / body issues and a couple of slurs.
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LibraryThing member Literate.Ninja
I found this book to be a touching and believable story about the difficulty of forging identity and finding your place in the world. Nitori and Takatsuki are both middle school kids who are coming to grips with the fact that each of them would prefer to be a different gender. This is a difficult
I am looking forward to reading more of this series.
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thing to experience in real life, much less portray in fiction, and I think that the author did a wonderful job of building the story so that each character felt real, believable, and unique. Transgender stereotypes these are not. I am looking forward to reading more of this series.
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LibraryThing member Allama
Wandering Son is a beautifully written and illustrated story of two young transgender students in Japan: one assigned male at birth who identifies as a girl and another assigned female who, deep down, is really a boy.
Shimura Takako takes a very sensitive subject and weaves from it a very thoughtful
This thought-provoking work instead reveals small tender moments of realization, of connection, and of longing. Woven all throughout are adolescent experiences anyone can relate to; struggling to understand and adjust to new feelings, maturing bodies, and changing relationships.
Shimura Takako takes a very sensitive subject and weaves from it a very thoughtful
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and personal tale. Rather than shouting "princess prince! ladyboys! etc." at the top of its lungs, rendering transgender issues not much more than the butt of a crossdresser joke, Wandering Son treats its characters with a sense of compassion and understanding unlike any other manga series I've encountered.This thought-provoking work instead reveals small tender moments of realization, of connection, and of longing. Woven all throughout are adolescent experiences anyone can relate to; struggling to understand and adjust to new feelings, maturing bodies, and changing relationships.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
A cute nice story about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. The first volume was just getting to know the characters and feeling out the situation. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
LibraryThing member tixylix
At the end of the volume, the author says 'as usual, my characters are hard to tell apart, my backgrounds are too empty and I have a million other flaws to overcome'. I wouldn't be so hard on her but I did find the story hard to follow. I am perfectly willing to accept that a second reading might
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make things clearer but for me, although the story was fresh and intriguing, I probably wouldn't seek out other volumes. And now to read other reviews and see if I missed something... Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
A cute nice story about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. The first volume was just getting to know the characters and feeling out the situation. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
A cute nice story about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. The first volume was just getting to know the characters and feeling out the situation. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
LibraryThing member reader1009
child/teen/adult graphic novel (translated from Japanese) - queer/questioning/transgender 5th graders in Japan.
sweet characters you want to root for. (They all do kind of look the same but the author does a fair job of helping the reader differentiate.)
sweet characters you want to root for. (They all do kind of look the same but the author does a fair job of helping the reader differentiate.)
LibraryThing member AliceaP
I watched a really interesting anime a few months back called Wandering Son which focuses on two main characters who are transgendered. It was such an intriguing storyline but I felt there was potential for so much more. Luckily, anime are generally based off of manga so I did a little search and
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Wandering Son, Vol.1 by Takako Shimura (translated by Matt Thorn) fell magically into my hands. As you can guess, there are a number of volumes in this series which consist of multiple issues. The story focuses on two fifth graders who share a secret: They both want to be the opposite gender. This is the second book that I've read which discusses gender identity but it's the first I've read with characters this young. There are the normal trials and tribulations of adolescence (puberty being one of them) as well as the added anxiety of gender identity and secrecy. It's an interesting storyline but unfortunately not a lot is covered in this volume (even less than in the anime) so I think I'm going to have to read several more before I get the more that I was craving. (I'm not sure if I'm interested enough to continue honestly.) The majority of the artwork is average but there are a few pages which really shine. If you're looking for an anime/manga combination that explores a topic which you may or may not be overly familiar with then you might want to give this one a chance...as long as you understand you'll have to be committed for the long haul. 5/10 since this volume fell short of my expectations. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
A cute nice story about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. The first volume was just getting to know the characters and feeling out the situation. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
LibraryThing member JoanAxthelm
I like the idea of this book: traveling with two young people exploring their gender identities. However, I wasn't impressed with how it was done. It seemed too amorphous and lacking of direction. Maybe if I kept reading the series I would like it better.
LibraryThing member SwitchKnitter
I feel really bad. A friend said this series is wonderful, and relevant to my interests, but I have a hard time telling the difference between comics characters unless they look wildly different. And it's not because this comic is Japanese; this happens with American comics too. (My spouse tells me
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the current Transformers comic is brilliant. I wouldn't know because they all look like the same blocky robot to me.) So I can't read this. Makes me sad. Show Less
LibraryThing member kivarson
Young Nitori finds great friendship with Takatsuki upon transferring to a new school, a friendship which deepens when both realize that they share a secret--that each wishes to have been born the other gender. Indeed, on forays to the end of the rail line dressed as a boy, Takatsuki is received as
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one, as Nitori is received as a schoolgirl when wearing the uniform of Takatsuki's sister. Really looking forward to reading the next in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member sarahlh
What a beautiful, heartbreaking, powerful beginning to what I'm sure will be an equally quality series. Very good at handling young transgender characters who are wrestling with their own gender identities. The 'Rose of Versailles' sub-plot was brilliant, although I wonder how many readers -got-
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it. Thank goodness I already have the second volume! I'd hate to have to wait too long for it. Show Less
Awards
Arkansas Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2013)
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — 2012)
Great Graphic Novels for Teens (Top Ten — 2012)
Language
Original language
Japanese
Original publication date
2003
Physical description
9.3 inches
ISBN
1606994166 / 9781606994160