Hourou Musuko

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.

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

Sasa, Kanako Supporting

Nanjou, Yoshino Japanese

Saitou, Shunsuke Producer

Kimura, Makoto Producer

Katsumata, Hideo Producer

Ougi, Jiyuu Producer

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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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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 ... don't regret to have watched it. it's overall decent, the art, the sound, the story... the characters could need some more attention, and sometimes an insight would have been nice, especially at the beginning...i was sometimes rly clueless who, what and why... and stayed in that state for several episodes.

anyways, it's a nice change of things to watch it once, but don't expect too much (of any kind of emotion).

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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