Until now I have watched dozens of anime, and I only found 2 good trans characters from 2 different shows. Hurou Musuko isn't one of those.
To be fair, trans kids are very rare in media, even more than trans adults. Seeing young people struggling with their identity is pretty common in media, but is very uncommon to see that applied to LGBT kids. I like seeing the same issues I have to deal with being portrayed in a show that sees me and my community as normal people that has been built different.
My problem comes when... that's it. That's the whole point of the anime. Watching a trans boy and a trans girl struggling with trans problems. This felt totally alien to me, and I have experienced pretty much the same as the main characters. I felt completely disconnected to them because they aren't complete humans. All the life of each trans character in this anime is dedicated to suffer from being trans or thinking about being trans. They aren't allowed to do anything else.
If they were background characters with 1-2 episodes this wouldn't be a problem, but they are the main protagonists and all they do is experience trauma or fear for their identity in loop the whole series. They need aspirations, hobbys, cheerful moments, problems that have nothing to do with their transness, etc. Instead, all the plot comes from what they are, and not who they are.
