is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was originally serialized in Comic Beam from the December 2002 to August 2013 issue, and published in 15 volumes by Enterbrain from July 2003 to August 2013. The series is licensed in English by Fantagraphics Books, which released the first volume in North America in July 2011. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by AIC Classic and directed by Ei Aoki aired in Japan between January and March 2011. Eleven episodes aired on television, with episodes 10 and 11 edited into a single episode, and were released individually on their respective BD/DVD volumes.
The story depicts a young trans girl named Shuichi Nitori, a student who develops a close relationship with another transgender classmate, a young boy named Yoshino Takatsuki. The series deals with issues such as coming to terms with being transgender, finding one's gender identity, the onset of puberty and gender dysphoria, and the social pressures associated with being transgender. Shimura was originally going to write the story about a girl in high school who wants to be a boy, but she realized that a boy who wants to be a girl before entering into puberty would have many worries related to growing up, and changed the story to fit this model. Wandering Son was selected as a recommended work by the awards jury of the tenth Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006. The series has been lauded for its exploration of gender identity and its depiction of transgender characters at the core of the story, though the emotional realism of the young characters has been called into question.
Plot At the start of Wandering Son, Shuichi Nitori is a student in the fifth grade who transfers into a new school. He quickly becomes friends with another student: the tall, boyish Yoshino Takatsuki. Yoshino soon learns of Shuichi's desire to be a girl. In a show of friendship, she confesses a similar desire to be a boy. Shuichi also becomes friends with Saori Chiba and Kanako Sasa, two other girls in the class. Saori instantly takes a liking to Shuichi and continuously encourages her to wear feminine clothes.
After Shuichi, Yoshino, and their friends enter sixth grade, Shuichi meets Makoto Ariga, another student their age from another class who also wants to be a girl. Shuichi and Yoshino become friends with an adult named Yuki, who is a trans woman living with a man named Shiina. Shuichi's older sister Maho becomes a model and eventually becomes friends with Maiko, a teen model whom she idolizes, and two other teen models: Tamaki Satō and Anna Suehiro. Maho gets a boyfriend, Riku Seya, and Shuichi confesses a crush on Yoshino, but Yoshino cannot reciprocate Shuichi's feelings. After Saori learns of this, she confesses she likes Shuichi, but Shuichi too cannot return her feelings. This results in a falling-out between Shuichi's friends as they prepare to enter junior high school.
In junior high school, they meet a tall, eccentric girl who befriends everyone, Chizuru Sarashina, and her prickly friend Momoko Shirai, who does not get along well with the others—especially Saori. Eventually, Saori and Yoshino rejoin Shuichi's group of friends, though Saori says she still hates Yoshino and Momoko. Shuichi and Anna start dating, much to the surprise of their friends and Shuichi's sister. Yoshino and Saori manage to halfway repair their friendship, though Saori is still standoffish to others. Shuichi's friends are split up into several classes upon entering their second year in junior high school. Shuichi becomes friends with Shinpei Doi, who previously teased her about wanting to be a girl. Yoshino attends school in a boy's uniform for a short time, and Shuichi tries to go to school dressed as a girl one day, but is laughed at, and they both become discouraged. Shuichi's friends worry as she begins skipping school. Although Shuichi eventually starts attending school regularly again, Anna breaks off their relationship. By the time Shuichi, Yoshino, and their friends enter their third year in junior high school, Shuichi's voice is changing which causes her dysphoria to worsen. The group of friends start thinking about their future high school plans, and Shuichi and Anna start dating again.
Shuichi begins attending the same all-boy high school as Makoto and Doi, while Yoshino and Saori begin attending a high school where uniforms are not required. Saori starts dating Fumiya Ninomiya. Yoshino starts working at Anna's modeling agency and Shuichi begins working at a cafe, but later quits. Shuichi starts writing a semi-autobiographical novel. Yoshino later tells Shuichi that they no longer wish to be seen as male and have decided to continue living as a girl. They also confess a romantic attraction to Shuichi and the pair briefly hold hands before saying goodbye. Shuichi informs Anna of her true gender identity, and much to her surprise Anna decides to stay in a relationship with her. After graduating from high school, Shuichi moves out and goes to the same college as Doi. Shuichi continues to write the novel, which is given the title .
Characters
Protagonists
Shuichi, one of two protagonists, is in the fifth grade of elementary school. She uses the first-person pronoun "boku" despite the fact that it's traditionally used by young boys. Otherwise known by the nicknames and , Shuichi is trans and identifies as a girl. She is described as cute by many of the other characters and is able to convincingly pass as a cisgender girl when presenting as her identified gender, helped by her feminine face and build. Shuichi enjoys wearing cute clothes; although initially opposed to the idea of crossdressing, her friends Yoshino Takatsuki and Saori Chiba encourage her to dress and act femininely. As Shuichi grows up, puberty becomes a topic of increasing concern, such as the growth of body hair, a deepening voice, and the onset of pimples. She exhibits signs of gender dysphoria and displays an outward attraction to two characters in the series—Yoshino and Anna Suehiro. Shuichi and Anna date for a time in junior high, until she breaks off their relationship. However, the two soon resume their relationship with each other.
Shuichi is interested in doing indoor activities, and does not partake in activities favored by boys of the same age, such as playing sports. She enjoys and is skillful in baking sweet foods, though is never shown cooking other, more conventional foods. After starting an exchange diary with Yoshino, she becomes interested in writing stories, and even joins the drama club as a writer with Saori in junior high school after they co-write a rendition of Romeo and Juliet performed by members of their class. Shuichi has an honest personality, and easily gets along with others. As a child, she has an obedient, dutiful attitude.
However, upon entering puberty, she sometimes experiences outbursts of intense emotion. Shuichi can be overly sensitive at times and is often shown crying in front of others. Due to these personality quirks, it is easier for her to associate with girls of the same age. Accordingly, she has few male friends.
Yoshino, the other protagonist, is a tall, transmasculine child who at the beginning of Wandering Son is a fifth grader in Shuichi's class. He uses the first-person pronoun "watashi", which is gender-neutral. Otherwise known as by their classmates, with an honorific used mainly with boys, he wishes to be a boy. He usually refrains from dressing in traditionally feminine clothes, such as skirts or dresses. Despite this, his mother insists on buying such clothes for him. Shortly after becoming friends with Shuichi, Yoshino gets a short haircut, taking on a more masculine appearance like the other boys his age, especially when he is dressed in a male school uniform. Like Shuichi, he becomes increasingly concerned and resentful about undergoing puberty, such as at the beginning of menstruation or the growth of breasts. He goes to buy a chest-flattening garment to escape the necessity of wearing a bra. Like Shuichi, Yoshino shows consistent symptoms of gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, and a desire to be seen as a gender he was not assigned at birth. He temporarily alleviates his dysphoria when he has personal exposure to modeling. By the end of the story Yoshino has adopted a more feminine appearance and admits that they no longer have the same desire to become a boy as they did in elementary school. Yoshino prefers to dress and act like a boy, but usually abstains from anything which would draw too much attention, such as going to school in a male uniform after entering junior high. However, he does on occasion dress in a male school uniform and go to neighboring cities while presenting as a boy; during one such time, he enjoys being hit on by an older woman. Yoshino wants to look "cool" and wears clothes which are not girlish. When teased by others, he is prone to getting emotional and is known to get violent on occasion. He takes up an interest in basketball after entering junior high school and joins the female basketball team with Chizuru Sarashina. In junior high, he decides not to get a haircut after a comment by Saori, but later cuts it back to a short, masculine style. However, by the end of high school Yoshino has voluntarily grown it out long again and continues to present as female. Yoshino's family consists of a father, mother, older brother, and older sister.
Classmates
Saori, nicknamed , is a girl who is a fifth grader in Shuichi's class at the beginning of Wandering Son. She takes an interest in encouraging Shuichi to cross-dress, even going so far as to buy Shuichi an expensive dress as a birthday gift, which Shuichi later returns, much to her displeasure. Saori finds it difficult to associate with others; she has few friends, though becomes close to Shuichi. She tends to convey what is on her mind and disregards how others may take what she says. As Saori grows up, she gradually becomes more standoffish and stoic; she even has bad relations with her teachers. Despite her self-centered attitude, she remains popular among her male classmates due to her physical attractiveness. She is a sensitive girl whose temper sometimes gets the better of her when reprimanding bullies that tease Shuichi, because of the latter's femininity and cross-dressing. Saori is often emotionally affected by circumstances involving Shuichi, because of her feelings for the latter. Saori converts to Christianity partly because of this influence of to seek forgiveness for her previous actions, though she only attends mass when feeling guilty about her behavior.
Kanako Sasa, usually referred to by her surname, is a girl who is a fifth grader in Shuichi's class at the beginning of Wandering Son. She is sometimes called by her younger brother and Chizuru. She makes her first appearance in chapter two of the manga, but is not named until volume two. She is a short, energetic girl who thinks of herself as everyone's friend and becomes distressed when her friends fight among themselves. Sasa acts as a mediator between her friends in such times and tries not to leave anyone alone. She has been friends with Yoshino since pre-school, and later becomes close with Chizuru. Sasa is an innocent, childish girl who does not have many worries aside from her friends' quarrels. She tends to be a handful for her mother, who picks out her clothes for her and even helps her get ready for school in the morning. She mentions that if she thinks too hard about something, her brain becomes itchy.