I recommend the website ONEMANGA.COM which I mentioned previously. The site provides thousands of pages from scanned Japanese-origin graphic novels (mangas). The library is divided into dozens of sub-categories, among them one called GENDER BENDER. The site's system is simple to use even for computer idiots like myself thus I've been able to make my way through its listings with no difficulty. However not all stories are complete because many translations are still in progress. Here are a few that I've particularly enjoyed:
NO BRA: A very funny story, well-illustrated, well-paced with a smattering of steamy scenes though no outright sex episodes. The tale revolves around a high school boy whose childhood chum comes to live with him. In this case the chum has chosen well in advance to live transgendered, moves in dressed as a girl and intends to continue doing so regardless of how anyone feels. While the story is designed as a comedy much of the plot revolves around a more serious issue: how one lives with a transgendered person when you've never had to deal with the issue. There are other characters especially a schoolteacher who becomes more and more demented as she gets involved with the two. Highly recommended.
BOKU NI NATTA WATASHI: This is the opposite of the boy being forced to attend a girls' school. A girl is sent to take her brother's place in an all-boys' school with all of the problems of keeping her presence a secret. It's not really a transgender story except in the broadest sense. Rather the tale turns into a love adventure when she falls for her roommate who is determined to keep her secret so they can remain together. Their relationship is complicated by the attentions of a gay male student who attempts to insert himself into their love life. Recommended.
The others I have liked so far and which I have mentioned are: HOUROU MUSUKO - a boy who wants to be a girl and his girlfriend who wants to be a boy. Deals with genuine issues around relationships with friends and family; FAMILY COMPO - a zany cast of TG characters from straight, to cross-dressed, to indeterminate, to transitioned; to ???????????? Nothing but TG issues in this one and loads of sub-plots.
There are lots more on this website so read on!
Not on the Onemanga site is the ADVENTURES OF SAILOR RANKO (this is its own website) recommended by Aardvark which I found to be a combination of RANMA 1/2, SAILOR MOON and a galaxy of interplanetary BEMs (bug-eyed monsters) and space hardware. Strictly adventure highjinks with a TG twist. Well-drawn and in color, light entertainment.
Your comments, reviews and recommendations always welcome, even negative ones. To paraphrase some unremembered author: negative attention is better than no attention at all.
Manga Rawks!
I agree with you about the onemanga.com web site. I love it.
I just finished reading the latest updates of No Bra while I ate lunch. I also enjoy Family Compo. I loved Gacha Gacha Secret too, though the ending was lame.
So far, my favorite is Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl. It's dreamy. Too bad it hasn't been updated in like forever. *sigh*
Oh. There's a manga that has a bit of gender bending but it can't be found in the gender bender section. I found it in the romance section (someone recommended it to me). It's called To-Love-Ru. It's got a bit of ecchi but if you don't have any problem with that, give it a shot. It's just been updated recently too, but I haven't read them yet. I'm saving them for later, after my chores. :)
Anyway, thanks for the information. I plan on checking out Hourou Musuko sometime. I initially passed on it but I'll check it out since you recommended it. :)
- Terry
Arigato, Terrynaut.
KASHIMASHI is out in five manga volumes which I own. I didn't try the Onemanga site yet so I don't know if it's the same version. There's also an anime rendering which you can probably download on VEOH or CRUNCHYROLL. Overall I found the story to be rather sensitive and sometimes moving counterbalanced by the improbable space and slapstick scenes put in for comic relief.
GACHA GACHA is also out in a five volume series. The version I have tends toward lots of tabloid hijinks e.g. panty and bobbling breast scenes, innocent teenage girls caught in embarrassing situations etc. though it's well-drawn. Fun but not all that memorable.
marie c.
marie c.
Dooitashimashite, Marie
I have the full DVD set of Kashimashi. It's quite different from the manga but I still like it. I like the manga better though.
There are two Gacha Gacha stories. Secret is the one where a boy changes to a girl and back again with a sneeze. The boy also has a very interesting change when he eats natto while he's a girl. The manga does have an excessive amount of fan service but I thought it had potential. It certainly had some interesting moments. Too bad the author didn't know how to end it. *sigh*
To-Love-Ru is somewhat similar to Gacha Gacha Secret. They both have potential but frequently devolve into ecchi. I confess that I can appreciate a little ecchi. I also greatly enjoy the art and crazy characters. There's even a 400-year-old ghost girl with a synthetic body. It's good silly fun. :)
- Terry
Is it just me,
Or does it seem awkward reading the Manga right to left then progressing to the next page by pressing the right button for "next"? I keep trying to hit the left "previous" button to get the next page like reading manga :( I am so confused, need sleep...
Hugs and thanks for the heads up on the manga info.
Diana
No Jinxing Please
I've never had a problem with the Next button and reading right to left, but now that you mention it, I probably will. Thanks a lot! :p (just kidding)
I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps if you read a lot more you'll eventually get used to it. You've got to train the brain. :)
- Terry
Oh Come On!
I once heard from a psychotherapist that we TG'ers were among the brainy and gifted of society's dingbats. You can't fall apart reading this stuff. After all we have a reputation to maintain.
marie c.
marie c.
Maybe it is not a serious
Maybe it is not a serious problem, but it sure is aestetically unpleasant =)
Just hit the image of the page itself.
OneManga has taken Scott McCloud's advice and made the page itself a "next" button. It's so much easier to hit that way. You can also hit the right-arrow key. Just keep your finger on it so you don't get confused by the direction of the arrow :-)
A hint for Mac laptop users: You can download "Display Rotation" which allows you to rotate the laptop so that you can see a larger page in portrait mode by rotating the laptop. There are some details to deal with or habituate to but once you get it working I'm sure you'll like it.
Another hint if you would like to practice reading your Japanese: You can get either the QLT or Rikaichan Firefox extensions to simplify translation between languages.
- Moni
Arigato, Moni
Yes, I found the OneManga click-on-the-page system. It is certainly the easiest of the scanned image websites. In fact it's so easy it's hard not to get addicted like the fellow in WELCOME TO THE NHK (not TG though there are two momentary crossdressing spots by one of the supporting characters).
On the OneManga site PENGUIN REVOLUTION looks like it it has good possibilities although it's not complete. It's an extremely complex plot about young actors rising to stardom in the Japanese film industry and the hardball politics involved. The two protagonists, a girl and a boy are required to crossdress although their TG activity is not immediately central to the plot. After a while you wonder where the TG element has gone and what was its purpose until it pops up later when the boy is given a film role as the leading lady. There the story stops until the final two episodes become available. A good story which needs to be read and re-read (I've only done so once.)
marie c.
marie c.