Kanojo ni Naritai Kimi to Boku
I Wanna Be Your Girl

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Sometimes all you really need is for something (or someone) to have its heart in the right place.

If I was to give this manga a purely critical review, then maybe it's score might be a little lower. It certainly doesn't have the most inspired plot beats, or the most brilliant dialogue. But what makes this manga work is in how thoroughly it explores its ideas across its relatively short length.

The story centers around Akira's struggles as a newly out trans girl in high school, and it portrays her in an honest, realistic way. This alone is pretty rare for manga, but what makes it special ... is how the story explores other characters relationships to gender and sexuality as well. At times this can feel a little didactic, a little "LGBT 101", but it serves a purpose. By comparing and contrasting how other characters relate to these ideas, we get a greater understanding of what these ideas mean to Akira, and it makes the characters feel fleshed out in a way they otherwise wouldn't.

Overall, it's a good coming of age story with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Definitely worth a read if anything mentioned here seems interesting.

There's so much to love about this manga. Unfortunately, it fumbles on the one yard line.

The representation is great, the characters develop beautifully, and the plot of self love and discovering different facets of identity is really heartwarming. However, when 90% of a story revolves around a romance, giving it little to no closure does the whole manga a massive disservice, especially when followed up by a 'romance' that feels shoehorned in by comparison. There is incredible depth to Akira and Hime's relationship. Wrapping it up with 'not friends and not romance' then jumping directly to the ending is a massive letdown.

One of these days, I’ll write a review that isn’t just me warning someone of something ahead of time. But now is not one of those times. I had the expectation of giving this manga a higher rating when it ended, but you can see that didnt pan out. Spoiler warning ahead.

The reason and my warning: If you are expecting a romance with a trans character, a WLW (women loving women) relationship on top of that, I am saving you the trouble of reading through this by saying Do Not Read This.

To say the least, I’m let down.

Which isn’t to say that there aren’t good ... things. This is one of the best interpretations - and treatment - of a transgender character in anime or manga. Akira is explicitly transgender and outwardly transitions in high school. It is clear as day, and is for the most part respected by her peers - she runs into trouble, but the narrative is not super heavy handed against her and it’s certainly not played for laughs like it is in other series.

The characters are interesting and fun, the main character goes through a lot of growth and discovers who she is in the process. There’s a lot of “don’t be so hard on yourself” moments that are very applicable to our own lives even if we don’t relate exactly to what someone is going through. The artwork is wonderful and expressive.

So here’s the thing. The synopsis of the story itself tells you how Hime has been in love with Akira for a long time. The way this shojo is set up, the main relationship will be between these two characters. A shojo ai with a transgender character - one that has been treated so well, which I WISH so badly wasn’t such a rarity - is what we have been set up with. And without going into it... the last two chapters swipe the rug from under your feet. The initial couple may not always be the one that lasts in a shojo, and I know this as someone whose followed the genre for a while. Pardon my French, but there is just something fucking insidious about having to scrounge for scraps for representation of trans characters, let alone ones who get to have a romance of their own in anime or manga, and at the last minute going “nevermind!” after you’ve created this expectation. It’s at best inconsiderate and at worst just plain awful.

There are so many good things about this manga, but as someone who was recommended this as one with a budding WLW relationship featuring a transgender main character, I was let down and felt compelled to write my second review on this website. If that relationship is what you came here for, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. If this isn’t your primary concern, then by all means check out this manga - it’s still got a lot of good qualities. But I can’t, in good conscience, give this a better rating when something like this happens.