MILD SPOILERS, but not beyond what the final episode conflict and resolution are.
Based on previews, art style, and other factors I assumed Onimai was going to be kinda trashy but fun, and I hoped it would succeed in having the edge without getting uncomfortable. Genderswap anime are common enough to be a subgenre and I wasn't expecting anything subversive. Episode one began and I was met with the lewd humor I expected, but along with it, I instantly recognized something.
This is a trans story. An ACTUAL transgender one, not just a cheap gimmick.
This narrative seems to know more about going through actual social and medical gender transition than most.
Is this actually going to be a real trans narrative and not just a gag?
For reference, I am a trans person. So I feel like my opinion, while still only one person's and not meant to speak for a whole community, is worth at least something. From episode one onward I was surprised what the story focused on, how it chose to portray transition and its cast, and this show I expected to be edgy trash became a touching narrative of how transition allows a person to enjoy life and have healthy relationships in ways they struggled with before. While the fanservice is there for those who want it, it's surprisingly sparse and only becomes rarer as Onimai focuses more on its characters and is surprisingly wholesome.
I was so relieved that unlike most shows about gender and libido, Mahiro never uses their new gender and age to be creepy towards anyone. Mahiro is objectively not interested in kids their own age, since Mahiro still has memories of being older. Mahiro has a sex drive only towards older women, and even then it's a very harmless and bashful one. Meanwhile Mahiro forms close friendships with girls, fixes a formerly broken relationship with Mihari, and even dabbles in tantalizing boys and becoming curious if this new body comes with new feelings towards men. Mahiro's exploration with gender and sexuality feels very natural and open, and the show actively agrees with this mindset and avoids being homophobic, transphobic, or otherwise creepy. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the budding potential childhood lesbian romance cute, because again it is portrayed as genuine and wholesome, and never predatory.
While the story is completely about Mahiro's journey with gender, the entire cast and Mahiro are fully complex characters and allowed to have an equal amount of daily situational fun along with the gender-related plots, much like how actual transition always is centered on gender, but the freedom of transition allows a more colorful and fulfilling life. Whether it's realizing how a female body is perceived differently in public, deciding that dedication to personal image is fun, or just having a healthy friend group and experiences foreign to Mahiro, Onimai balances to two sides wonderfully. And the comedy is very amusing. As trans people have been saying for years, it's not that we don't want trans jokes: just find GOOD ones to tell. And Onimai manages to highlight the humor in transition magnificently, because it really seems aware of the details of it.
To anyone who claims Onimai isn't about real transition and Mahiro isn't trans, the finale very forcefully puts those arguments to rest. The trans subtext, which I would argue was just text, becomes explicit as Mahiro is finally confronted with the ability to change back, and has to actively choose which life is most important and genuine. And as any trans person can tell you, while transition is hard, scary, and dangerous, any struggle as your real gender is better than a life without it. Death before forced detransition, and all that. Onimai never uses the words transgender and Mahiro never says "I am transitioning into a woman", but like good LGBT anime the story is explicit enough in stating it that I feel any argument to the contrary is in bad faith. Onimai manages to be funny, emotional, dramatic, informative, and a little pervy but never in an uncomfortable way because it feels like an explicitly knowledgeable trans narrative. While I'd never claim to know a person's inner truth....it really does feel like the creator is intimately aware with what transition feels like on a personal level.
Other than the story and trans portrayal, the animation is absolutely fantastic. (With one episode as an arguable exception) The characters move with a fluidity and beauty that feels completely special to this project. The voice acting is stellar and sticks with you enough that now I hear the Onimai characters when the actresses are in other shows. Overall Onimai is a feast for the viewer, and as a transgender viewer I feel particularly seen and this show will probably be very special to me for a long time. I would recommend this to anyone who likes anime and can handle a little nudity and sexual humor, but it really doesn't have any more of that than many other beloved and classic anime.
