Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son)

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: The Transient Son

Japanese: 放浪息子

More titles

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 11

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jan 14, 2011 to Apr 1, 2011

Premiered: Winter 2011

Broadcast: Fridays at 01:15 (JST)

Producers: Aniplex, AIC, Dentsu, Fuji TV, Magic Capsule, Enterbrain, Fujipacific Music

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: AIC Classic

Source: Manga

Genres: Drama, Romance

Themes: Crossdressing, School

Demographic: Seinen

Duration: 23 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.69¹ (scored by 41,953 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1272²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1722

Members: 130,159

Favorites: 1,076

Available At

Official Site

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

Effeminate fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is considered by most to be one of the prettiest girls in school, but much to her dismay, she is actually biologically male. Fortunately, Shuuichi has a childhood friend who has similar feelings of discomfort related to gender identity: the lanky tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki, who, though biologically female, does not identify as a girl. These two friends share a similar secret and find solace in one another; however, their lives become even more complicated when they must tread the unfamiliar waters of a new school, attempt to make new friends, and struggle to maintain old ones. Faced with nearly insurmountable odds, they must learn to deal with the harsh realities of growing up, being transgender, relationships, and acceptance.

Lauded as a decidedly serious take on gender identity and LGBT struggles, Takako Shimura's Hourou Musuko is about Shuuichi and Yoshino's attempts to discover their true selves as they enter puberty, make friends, fall in love, and face some very real and difficult choices.

Edit

Background

Please note that this series was 11 episodes when aired on TV but 12 episodes when it was released on BD & DVD. See more info for further details.

Hourou Musuko won the Best Animated Broadcast Release at the 65th Motion Picture and Television Engineering Society of Japan Awards in 2012.

Edit

Related Anime

Adaptation:	Hourou Musuko
Other:	Hourou Musuko Specials

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Nitori, Shuuichi

Main

Hatakeyama, Kousuke
Japanese

Takatsuki, Yoshino

Main

Seto, Asami
Japanese

Chiba, Saori

Main

Nanri, Yuuka
Japanese

Suehiro, Anna

Supporting

Horie, Yui
Japanese

Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Supporting

Honda, Takako
Japanese

Sarashina, Chizuru

Supporting

Chiba, Saeko
Japanese

Ariga, Makoto

Supporting

Iguchi, Yuuichi
Japanese

Nitori, Maho

Supporting

Mizuki, Nana
Japanese

Doi, Shinpei

Supporting

Yoshino, Hiroyuki
Japanese

Kaneda, Kentaro

Supporting

Kondou, Takayuki
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Saitou, Shunsuke

Producer

Kimura, Makoto

Producer

Katsumata, Hideo

Producer

Ougi, Jiyuu

Producer

Edit

Opening Theme

"Itsudatte" by Daisuke (eps 1-10)

Edit

Ending Theme

	1: "For You" by Rie Fu
	2: "Itsudatte" by Daisuke (eps 11)

Reviews

Feb 19, 2012

Yukariki

Recommended

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that a poorly researched work on a touchy subject can frustrate people off. The anime medium is infamous for blatantly using offensive stereotypes; One Piece is one of the weirdest examples out there for attacking racism and then, using racial stereotypes.

Then, there’s the animes that deal with the LGBT community.

Stereotyped as flamboyant creatures, the LGBT community suffers through insulting stereotypes and invectives. One of the least prominent group of the LGBT body is transgender community; there is so little focus on them. As far as most ignorant people are concerned, they are crossdressers. Nothing more.

Hourou Musuko, or Wandering ... Son, is a work, based on the bestselling manga, that focuses on crossdressers, puberty, and transgender issues. It serves to educate -- and entertain -- viewers about gender identity. What does it mean to be a boy or a girl? Why do people have so many problems with guys dressing up as girls? Are crossdressers “weird”?

The work tackles these questions through the eyes of Nitori Shuichi. He never like being a boy; he always feels he should have been a girl. Takatsuki Yoshino, a girl, wishes she is born as a boy. She hates wearing girly clothing. Both these main characters feel strangled over societal norms on gender issues and this anime adaptation does great justice in focusing their struggles.

Because this work starts in medias res, the drama immediately starts and that is one of its greatest strengths. It doesn’t waddle on setting the work; the work has an inviting introduction that explains most of the events explained in the manga in the first episode. Personally, the first episode is one of my favorite first episodes out there; it is so impressive that I said, “Wow.”

While it rests on the familiar tropes and archetypes, there is an engaging twist on everything. If you think love triangles are the most boring trope out there, Hourou Musuko will flabbergast you. Chiba Saori, a straight female character, falls in love with Nitori as a girl while Nitori has a crush on Takatsuki. The love triangle situation grows even more complex and captures the viewers’ imagination. Dramatic and slice-of-life situations are there for a reason: to characterize. There is nothing redundant about them and everything feels well-placed. Interestingly enough, the work climaxes on the silly anime cliche: a play in a cultural festival; however, it is one of the best endings out there in anime.

Everything about the characters feels realistic. Nitori and Takatsuki are definitely two of the best written LGBT characters out there; they act like people in real life facing actual dramatic situations. Except they have problems identifying themselves. Saori, while being a more unconventional -- and almost insane -- character, has a degree of believability. Ariga Makoto, Suehiro Anna, and Doi Shinpei -- despite their labels as supporting characters -- are strong characters that complement the drama in the work; it seems bizarre to call them supporting characters. While Sarashina Chizuru may vex viewers, her placement is a necessary evil.

The minimalist watercolor palette for its art is powerful. Bright colors and thin outlines almost feel like you are viewing a moving watercolor painting. Lush backgrounds have never been this interesting. The character designs look fantastic and dynamic. What can I say? Hourou Musuko’s art style is unbelievably incredible.

“Itsudatte” by Daisuke is a charming acoustic piece for an OP: clear vocals, catchy acoustic pieces, fantastic lyrics. While I find it hilarious that the OP focuses on furniture and symbols, its symbolism is worthy of praise. It introduces the serious yet enchanting elements of this work. The ED, “For You” by Rie Fu, is a soothing pop music, but loses its memorability quickly.

Fans argue that its noitaminA’s position creates problems with this work. Its 11 episode structure has condensed the work quite significantly. Despite that, it is an excellent way to introduce viewers to the manga; its easygoingness gives little problems.

So how does Hourou Musuko compare to the likes of other slice-of-life works? Excellent. Its pleasant nature does not scare off viewers; rather, it educates them about the issues. The animation staff did not back off from the issues, no matter the consequences. That, to me, is admirable.

Open

Gift

Jun 21, 2011

nayama

Mixed Feelings

I was really interested in this series' premise, because it doesn't happen often that an anime decides to deal with gender identity disorders, but I was disappointed with the way the topic was developed.

Sometimes I have the feeling that, both in anime and manga, authors decide to discuss challenging topics but then don't have the courage to do it thoroughly. This is what I felt watching Hourou Musuko as well. Actually, I don't know if it's because they lack the courage, because they fear the fans' reaction or because they just don't know enough, I guess it depends on the case. In this story it ... feels like they just wanted to use the idea because of its originality and not actually to discuss the topic realistically, though up to a certain point I used to think they were trying to be serious about it.

The protagonist, Nitori, is a middle school boy who likes to dress like a girl. Takatsuki is a girl who likes to dress like a boy. Nitori is presented as being in love with Takatsuki, though she doesn't seem to feel the same. The fact that the two might be in love could be seen as excessively coincidental, but I guess it makes sense that two people with the same "issue" are attracted to each other.

With such a topic, you cannot but wonder about one thing: do Nitori and Takatsuki really feel that they were born the wrong gender? In other words, are we talking about an actual gender identity disorder? At the beginning it looks like it is, since Nitori really seems to feel like a girl, and the topic of sex change surgery is also brought up once. However, as the story progresses, his feelings start to become ambiguous, to the point that he actually starts to date a girl, likes her, and is even portrayed as manly. This didn't sit right with me. What is the point of having him crossdress and behave like a girl, with all the social problems this involves (people thinking you are a weirdo, your parents having to come to terms with it, your own feelings about yourself), if then all this is completely reset? Was he just crossdressing randomly, without any deeper reason? I was quite disappointed with this.

I like the characters of Takatsuki and Chiba more. Takatsuki is more coherent. She really seems to have an issue with her being a girl, and is also more determined when it comes to dressing like a boy. Like Nitori, she doesn't really seem to develop an interest in other people of her own gender, but we don't see her as much so we don't really delve deep into her head.
The reason I like Chiba is that I find her very human. Her behavior seems excessively cold at first, but the way she feels about other characters and her reasoning are believable.
The other characters were OK, though most of them we didn't see enough and we only knew them superficially.

The art is simple but fitting for the story. The music is also simple and doesn't stand out, but I guess it's fine in this kind of anime. The seiyuu were good. They chose a real boy to voice Nitori, and I think it makes sense. I don't really like it when crossdressing characters have a voice actor of the same gender they're crossdressing as (as in, crossdressing guys being voiced by women etc). It makes it "too easy", in a way.

All in all it's a lighthearted, enjoyable anime, but I wish they didn't just discard what seemed to be the main point of the story.

Open

Gift

Dec 15, 2014

Mikasa_A

Not Recommended

ok ,so let's see. I find the idea behind this anime is actually rly good, and important. but sadly, the themes that are being introduced are barely touched... it all stays very vague and superficial. I think it's a sweet strory about growing up when one is/feels diffrent than others. the show tries to cope with too many such subjects and therefor fails to rly deepen one... maybe more eisodes would have prevented that, and made it end up a rly good show but like this, it left too many questions and backgrounds unexplained, unanswered.

it sure is a diffrent kind of show, and i actually ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Has a Main Character Who's a Girl/Woman

by arinthach

50 Entries · 14 Restacks

Less Than 12 Episodes (2)

by Gino99

50 Entries · 36 Restacks

Asexual and Aromantic Anime

by Keizakomu

50 Entries · 53 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

View All

More news

Recent News

Fractale and Hourou Musuko Mark Record Low Rating

Yamamoto Koji, the producer of Notiamina, tweeted that the TV rating of Fractale and Hourou Musuko episode 10 has marked record low of all the Noitamina titles. (0.9...read more

Mar 25, 2011 10:24 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (109 comments)

Shimura Takako's Manga Hourou Musuko To Be Animated

According to Monthly Comic Beam April issue, Shimura Takako's manga Hourou Musuko was announced to get an anime adaptation. The volume 10 of the manga will be r...read more

Mar 11, 2010 3:13 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (63 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Hourou Musuko Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Aversa - Mar 10, 2011	61 replies	by Jonas-K »» Apr 1, 8:02 PM
Poll: Hourou Musuko Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Yumekichi11 - Feb 17, 2011	56 replies	by Jonas-K »» Apr 1, 9:55 AM
Poll: Hourou Musuko Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Hannah_Ana - Jan 27, 2011	88 replies	by Jonas-K »» Apr 1, 8:55 AM
Poll: Hourou Musuko Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) tsubasalover - Jan 13, 2011	259 replies	by Jonas-K »» Mar 29, 9:17 PM
Poll: Hourou Musuko Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Samu-tan - Mar 31, 2011	134 replies	by Baskarite »» Nov 13, 2023 11:08 PM

Recent Featured Articles

25+ Great LGBT Anime Characters: Beyond Boy's Love

When you think of gay anime characters, you probably think of yaoi and yuri, but great LGBT anime characters can be found in other genres. Learn about the history of sexuality and gender in Japan, how their attitudes differ from the US, and which LGBT characters challenge stereotypes.

by removed_user

371,372 views

Collection Analysis History and Culture Love

Top 12 Best Crossdressing in Anime: What is a Crossdressing?

Crossdressing in anime is mainly played for laughs and giggles, but you might be surprised at the depth some anime crossdresser characters exhibit, each with their own reason for dressing the way they do. Let's explore this complex theme with the help of some of our favorite gender benders!

by Littoface

578,424 views

Collection Japanese Life Character Analysis

Hourou Musuko

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Nitori, Shuuichi

Takatsuki, Yoshino

Chiba, Saori

Suehiro, Anna

Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Sarashina, Chizuru

Ariga, Makoto

Nitori, Maho

Doi, Shinpei

Kaneda, Kentaro

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Hourou Musuko

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-