Written by the nonbinary (or Gender X, as it's known in Japan) mangaka, Yuuki Kamatani, it features a wider range of gender expression in its characters than I have seen anywhere else, all the way from the tame, pussyfooting nonconformity found in many of the shoujo greats to the straightforwardly trans narrative of Hourou Musuko. There are gays of every kind, for every age, trans and cis, masculine and feminine and neither and both, and an asexual, too. They all belong to a do-gooding club for gays, and they support each other as both friends and family.
Over the years, I have had a great deal of difficulty finding works that handle LGBT issues sensibly, and even greater difficulty finding works that I felt like I could relate to as a man. I could name quite a few fantastic yuri with groundbreaking LGBT themes, but I mean, they're yuri. They're obviously not focused on exploring, uh. Masculine themes. Yaoi is shamelessly marketed toward straight women, and bara remains ensconced in the underground world of R18 doujin, so where does one turn for recognition?
Shimanami is definitely a good place to start. Though it might immediately strike you as yaoi from the art style alone, it retains only the airy, poignant beauty of the genre, and dumps all the insensitive fetishism in favor of an audacious exploration of the average everyday gay lifestyle. It is a meticulously illustrated, anxious, elated, rambling train of thought celebrating the gay lifestyle. It is a frustrated shout into the open air, a desperate plea to be understood, a promise of compassion to everyone that is brave enough to try to understand. It expresses thoughts and feelings I have always felt somewhere below the surface but could never quite put into words. It confronts the vagueness of internalized homophobia without regurgitating unpalatable stereotypes. It even touched upon the unique and bewildering experience of being closeted in public with no way to speak out against hatred and ignorance in your company, only to find that a total stranger is willing to do it for you. That's something I've never seen done before.
Since Shimanami is a manga so devoted to the experience, it is more about the drama than the characters. I would say that each character has their own voice, and their stories carry them in a way that never makes them feel boring, but I can't picture anyone drawing 50 pieces of fan art for one of them-- If that makes sense. Their lives outside the club and the drama surrounding it aren't particularly relevant, and frankly, they don't have to be. It is maybe a yard of shallow water in an Olympic swimming pool deeper than your toes can touch. If you have even the slightest interest in LGBT lifestyles; If you are drowning in a sea of straightness, gasping for that fresh gay air; If you want to develop a more nuanced understanding of us and the way we live-- Give it a read. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
