is a Japanese manga magazine which was published by Ichijinsha from April 24, 2010 to February 25, 2014, for 16 issues. The manga in Waai! focus on male characters who engage in cross-dressing, willingly or due to circumstance; the magazine also includes articles, interviews, and reviews. Its sister magazine was published for 6 issues from April 25, 2012 to December 25, 2013, and only contains manga.
The main magazine started as a special issue of the publisher's Monthly Comic Rex, before getting spun out as a separate publication. The creation of the magazine was pushed for by its editor-in-chief, Toshinaga Hijikata, a cross-dresser and writer of books about cross-dressing, who aimed to create a magazine with wider appeal than the more sexual cross-dressing magazines that came before it.
Manga featured in the magazines include one-shots and series, which often combine the cross-dressing conceit with themes of gay male romance and societal rules of femininity; among the serializations are Dicca Suemitsu's Reversible! (2010–2013), Rika Kamiyoshi's Sazanami Cherry (2010–2011), and Norio Tsukudani's Himegoto (2011–2014), the latter of which saw an anime adaptation in 2014. At first the magazine was primarily popular with male audiences, but it gradually also built a female following, which by late 2011 represented about a third of its readership.
History Waai! began on April 24, 2010 as a special issue of publisher Ichijinsha's manga magazine Monthly Comic Rex with a focus on otokonoko, after being teased at Comiket in December 2009. The special drew a lot of attention, leading to it being continued as a Monthly Comic Rex special for two more volumes, before being spun out into a stand-alone magazine with the launch of volume 4 on February 25, 2011. The magazine's editor-in-chief Toshinaga Hijikata was a driving force behind its creation, being a cross-dresser, a reader of otokonoko fiction, and a writer of books about cross-dressing. According to Hijikata, the proposal to create the magazine went smoothly as Ichijinsha had noticed the popularity of cross-dressing fiction. The rest of the magazine's editorial staff were also otokonoko enthusiasts. The artist Akira Kasukabe provided many illustrations for the magazine's covers and for its short stories; other interior artists included Maki Makita, , , , and Yuu Ueda.
The magazine was printed in a JB5 paper format and was published on a quarterly basis. Starting with Reversible! and Sazanami Cherry in 2011, some of the manga featured in the magazine have also been published in collected tankōbon volumes; the two were chosen for being the Waai! manga standing out the most and representing the magazine. Because of the cross-dressing themes in the manga published in Waai!, the magazine staff took special care when designing the covers for the collected volumes, to avoid readers feeling too embarrassed to bring a copy to the checkout in the bookstore, but also used cross-dressing photo models in the marketing for the volumes. A sister magazine focusing solely on manga, Waai! Mahalo, launched on April 25, 2012, and ran for six volumes until December 25, 2013. Like with the main magazine, Kasukabe provided the cover art.
The main Waai! magazine continued until the release of volume 16 on February 25, 2014, after which it was put on an indefinite hiatus, with the editorial staff advising readers to follow the magazine's social media for any potential future updates. Hijikata apologized for the lack of prior warning, saying that it was a sudden development, but that the collected editions of the manga run in the magazine would continue as planned, as would the production of the anime adaptation of the Waai! manga Himegoto. On June 23, 2014, Ichijinsha published the artbook , collecting Kasukabe's art pieces from the magazine.
Content Waai! and Waai! Mahalo published manga series and one-shots about otokonoko and about male characters engaging in cross-dressing. Although the magazines focused on the manga, the main magazine also contains other features about cross-dressing, including coverage and reviews of anime, manga, and video games with otokonoko or cross-dressing themes, how-to articles about cross-dressing, short stories, interviews, pictures of male models wearing women's clothes, and a section called "Otokonoko Land" with letters from readers. In contrast to other more sexual cross-dressing magazines, Hijikata intended for the magazine to be accessible for a broader audience, while still at times featuring elements of eroticism.
To appeal to a broad range of cross-dressing fiction enthusiasts, the magazine tried to vary the type of stories it ran, with some featuring characters who actively enjoy cross-dressing, and some with characters who are forced to cross-dress through the situation they find themselves in. The stories are frequently also themed around gay male romance and initiations into societal rules around femininity.
Manga Waai! + Manga published in Waai! Release Title Creator Format Premise 2010 1 Nonono One-shot The cross-dresser Nono's lesbian friend Sei helps him be more feminine. 2010–2011 1–7 Onnanoko Tokidoki Otokonoko Series Yuusuke meets his childhood friend Akira, who now wears women's clothes. 2010–2013 1–15 Reversible! Series Shuu Kaidou transfers to an all-male school where students must dress like women. 2010–2011 1–6 Sazanami Cherry Series Kazuhiro Migiwa confesses his love to the cross-dresser Ren, thinking he is a woman. 2010–2014 1–16 Emu Series Sou Kurosaki summons the feminine, male demon Kogure. Note: published in English by Digital Manga. 2010–2012 1–8 Suzunone: Wakaokami? Funtouki Series Ryoto must cross-dress to work as a hostess at his family's inn when his sister refuses. 2010 2 Onna no Buki ga Tsukaete Koso Otokonoko desu. One-shot A cross-dresser uses his femininity to convince his brother to get a haircut. 2010–2013 2–12 Past Future Series Kako Akari borrows and wears his sister Mirai's clothes, to her displeasure. 2010 3 Fuwa Kyun One-shot Kae wants to be surrounded by women, so she makes her butler Haraguchi cross-dress. 2010 3 Mayo Elle Otokonoko Pop One-shot Follows cross-dressing students. Prologue to the original video animation of the same name. 2011–2014 4, 7–16 Otasuke Miko Miko-chan Hiroichi Series Ayumu Mikoshiba must as an only child continue his family's magical girl tradition. 2011 5 Kindan no Mama ni Muranako One-shot A cross-dressing male student attends an all-female school. 2011 5 Yomi ♂ One-shot Usagi Mitsuki accidentally promises to marry a male deity, believing he is a woman. 2011 6 Tintin Cheer One-shot A student at an all-male school must cross-dress to be a cheerleader. 2011 6 Muranako One-shot Follows cross-dressing ghost hunters. 2011 7 Boku no Otouto no Kawaisa wa Ijou One-shot The cross-dresser Yuuki's brother tries cross-dressing to understand why Yuuki likes it. 2011 7 Hikaru to Hikari Series Hikaru's neighbor Aya gets him to cross-dress and participate in a singing contest for women. Bonus chapter of the series run in Waai! Mahalo. 2011–2014 7–16 Himegoto Series Yonkoma about Hime Arikawa, who due to a debt must cross-dress until graduating. Adapted into anime. 2011 7 Tomodachi Nanka Iranai One-shot Follow-up to Nonono. 2011 7 Tutor Maid One-shot Yuuki Narusawa is hired as a tutor, and must wear lingerie and a maid outfit for work. 2012–2014 8–16 Boku to Boku Series The cross-dresser Junichirou Izumi is saved from a molester by Yuuki Kimino. 2012–2013 8–13 Otokonoko Days Series Shuusei's cross-dressing friend Hinata gets him to begin wearing women's clothes. 2012–2014 8–16 Taboo Quartette Muranako Series Tomoe is a male heir to a family tradition of shrine maidens. 2012 9 Oshiire kara Ai o Komete One-shot Haruka's closet is home to a cross-dressing male zashiki-warashi spirit. 2012 10 Omaera Minna Damasareteiru! One-shot Soutarou Yamazaki's friend Kirika Tachibana must attend school in women's clothes without anyone realizing he is not a woman, or be forced to join a theater group. 2012–2013 10–15 Oneechan ga Mamotte Ageru! Series Kairi Shinonome's brother Anri has been dressing like a girl since childhood, and goes to an idol audition. Follow-up to Change Idol. 2013 11 Dousei Chuu‼ Benny's One-shot Shinya has cousins who cross-dress. Continued from Josou Shounen Anthology Comic. 2013 11 Mise Moi! One-shot Hiro dislikes the shamelessness of his cross-dressing neighbors Akira and Suguru. 2013 12 Ore to Fuuki Iin no. One-shot Riku Kurata must live as a woman due to issues relating to succession after his father remarries. 2013–2014 12–13, 15–16 Super Family Complete Series Mirin Asami dislikes cross-dressing, but his three brothers like it. 2013 13 Damatte Watashi no Iu Koto Kikinasai! One-shot Kanata Tsukishiro's dead sister's spirit frequently possesses him to make him cross-dress and romantically pursue a male classmate. 2013 14 Hanazawa-kun wa, Hanikanda. One-shot Hanazawa acts drastically different when wearing women's clothes. 2013 14 Nise Shōjo Sentai Q One-shot Hiyoko joins an all-male hero club which fights evil while dressed like tokusatsu superheroines. 2013–2014 14–16 Zettai Fukujuu Game Peke Series Kotarou Hayasaka's all-male school's student council makes all students wear women's clothes. 2013 15 Immoral Josochology One-shot Follows a student with a focus on his identity as a cross-dresser. 2014 16 Boku no Geboku ni Nare! Assa Series Rion Tachibana suspects that Yukinari Takase knows that Rion secretly is a cross-dressing man rather than a woman. Continued from Waai! Mahalo. 2014 16 Hanazawa-kun wa, Kakenuketa. One-shot Follow-up to Hanazawa-kun wa, Hanikanda.
Waai! Mahalo