In spite of its flaws, this series took me on a MASSIVE feels trip! :') I think I used, like... 7 regular-sized paper towels to blow my nose, haha.
Was a little annoying that the author kept bringing up the emergence every chapter or 2. It's like, "We get it! Enough." Of course, this seems to be a common occurrence in manga and anime- the creators constantly bringing up some 'crucial plot elements' every few episodes or chapters. I guess this is a way to, maybe, "bring new fans/viewers up to speed" who, for whatever reason, might *just* be starting and/or ending the series at a particular point, rather than starting from the very-beginning and/or finishing the series at the actual end? Then again, several non-anime and non-manga fiction don't usually bring up certain elements of the plot so explicitly so often, and yet, somehow, plenty of fans of *those* still seem to remember a lot of crucial aspects, right?
But... whatever. I guess it's really 'neither here nor there', in the end.
In many respects, it is very "stereotypical shoujo romance", I suppose, but I think the mere fact that *Nao used to be male* does add a certain 'gender-nonconforming or LGBT-esque element' that makes it all the more intriguing. Miyoshi's not JUST falling in love with a girl he knows but, rather, a girl who used to be his longtime guy friend. This presents all sorts of new challenges, granted, but, also, I think, helps readers and the characters *reflect more on* just "how relevant" gender really is when it comes to love and relationships!
It may be true that there are many instances of Nao, eventually, turning into a very "Traditional Japanese girl/female", but I think anyone saying that is *missing* the other aspects of the plot where, based on his and Miyoshi's internal monologues, the two of them CLEARLY, at times, do still see a 'masculine side/element' of Nao's personality that may forever 'be there', so it's not fair, imo, to say that Nao just "became totally feminine", esp. in any 'stereotypical' manner. While some may argue that Nao's 'feminine transition' was, perhaps, "a bit too sudden" and, to some extent, "unrealistic", I think there are, nonetheless, many obvious instances where Nao's mindset has its fair share of "masculinity", deep down. So Nao is kind-of a 'mix' between male and female, at least when it comes to thought patterns and behavior (at least somewhat). This 'mixture' may be more muted as the story goes on, but it's not as though they "erase it completely."
The unfortunate thing, though, is the fact that the story seemed to use the whole, "Boy turns into girl" thing almost as an *excuse* to give Miyoshi "all the more reason" to fall in love with and be attracted to Nao, as opposed to their *best-friendship* blossoming on its own into "love". I mean, if Nao had remained a boy, who KNOWS how their relationship would evolve, though, given the way the story played out and how they seemed to just be "really good friends w/ not a trace of romance between them", I doubt there would've been nearly as big a chance of falling in love. And this... kind-of weakens things. Sure, the 'boy changes into girl' aspect of the story does, I suppose, give it sort of a "pro-trans vibe", esp. to Westerners and more pro-LGBT folks, but... then again, the fact that Miyoshi may otherwise *never have fallen in love with* Nao seems to almost force the dynamic into "just another heterosexual norm" (Nao becoming female so it's "not as gross/weird" to the outside world than if Nao and Miyoshi had been in a same-sex relationship).
The fact, also, that Nao's body *naturally transforms into "female" on its own*, as opposed to Nao originally being transgender and consciously wanting, let alone going through with, things like SRS and HRT, perhaps, could be its own way of "minimizing"- for better or worse- any "trans aspects", though, to be fair, Miyoshi and Nao still got their fair share of "shit" from the outside society for their relationship, nonetheless. To be honest, given the emergence aspect, part of me almost would prefer this be more of a same-sex couple type of story where the characters *naturally fall in love*, rather than two otherwise-straight friends "suddenly" being attracted to the other *mainly because* one of them changed gender and all of a sudden is "a romance option now."
Though, I suppose this also goes to show just how "weird" sexual orientation is, especially when it comes to things outside the realm of lust and physical attraction, such as pure romance and being into someone's personality, "being" and behavior. Like... the fact that we can stay "best friends" or "really good friends" with someone of a gender or sex we wouldn't *normally* fall for but, had we encountered someone with the exact same traits of a sex/gender we "are attracted to", we likely *would* consider them a romantic option, just goes to show how "weird" orientation and romance really are! Especially if it's someone you just met online and whose gender you had no idea of one way or the other. Aside from certain, possible "complications" intercourse-wise or w/ regard to pregnancy and bearing children, WOULD it "really matter" if we randomly met someone whose gender we knew nothing about but who, nonetheless, really 'clicked' with us. It is intriguing how species like us humans, almost instinctively, "wall ourselves off" romantically from certain people we are really compatible with because, "They're the wrong gender/sex."
I get that this- romantic attraction- is something we typically can't control, but... from a purely logical standpoint, it still does sound a bit "odd" when you *really* think hard about this dynamic. But... I guess stuff like that is, perhaps, something we're "not meant" to fully understand, especially if there is "a god" or 'higher power' running the universe. heh
In the end, though... perhaps there is a 'trace of non-gender-based love' between Nao and Mishiyo that's supposed to be "read between the lines", perhaps? I wonder... |