Okaeri Alice

Childhood friends Youhei, Kei, and Yui are reunited in high school. But what seemed like a straightforward love triangle between the three of them takes an unexpected turn when Kei shows up looking and dressed like a girl.

In this story of adolescent awakening, perversion, and love, Oshimi sets out to explore the boundaries of gender, sexuality, and identity.

(Source: Kodansha USA)

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Okaeri Alice was published digitally in English as Welcome Back, Alice by Kodansha USA under the Vertical Comics imprint from February 15, 2022 to August 20, 2024, and in print from June 7, 2022 to August 20, 2024.

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Characters

Muroda, Kei

Main

Kamekawa, Youhei

Main

Mitani, Yui

Main

Ano, Ren

Supporting

Reviews

Jun 10, 2024

bergars

Recommended

Gender. What a thing, ain't it?

This was one of the most stressful things I've ever read, not only because of the intensity of the story, but every other element present. One of those you can't speak about without mentioning the art, and the direction of everything.

By itself, it's a love triangle: The shy, introverted kid with the goal to speak to his long-lasting crush. The girl attracted to somebody else, but then, that somebody else, is a non-binary, trans girl that was male presenting when this girl liked them. And the triangle goes back to our shy kid.

Easy on paper, extremely complex in ... execution. This isn't the typical version of it, but more of the author using everything they've learned throughout the years for the manga medium, in a personal art piece. An examination on gender norms, on sex, sexuality, on love, and how complicated it can get beyond the average gender spectrum. It sounds self-indulgent from that, but it's just a great story in general. An intense, sexually charged story that constantly made me recoil at the page turn.

Finished it in just one day, all due to an art style that doesn't entirely focus on the dialogue. It's a visual, expression filled, self-identity nightmare, that constantly bombards you with soul crushing panels. It's the ideas that it portrays, and the pain on each face that reacts to every idea. You don't just buy the story, you feel it, right beneath your skin. I don't have quarrels about gender, as portrayed here, but it isn't just a story for that audience, it lets the reader find empathy in what they read. By far, one of the greatest LGBTQ+ cast in media. The heart, soul, and boldness to represent the concepts blasts through the page, and destroys you on the inside.

It shows the empathy on the situation, and it can also tell you all about how messed up highschoolers can be with love. The self loathing, the infidelity, the hormones, and the problems of identity, all with a touch of enough self awareness to fill the entire atmosphere with guilt over every single action taken. Hard balance, between gender, and true, gritty storytelling. It's got so much sex on it, far more than I was expecting in a story about highschoolers, but it's this author we're talking about.

It's disturbing, heartwarming, and very direct with its message, which at the very ending, felt a little too straight to the point. I get that, with these themes, you really have to be honest and spell it out. I've seen my fair share of failures in media literacy. As a modern manga, the themes must be center stage, even if for me, that detracts from the experience.

8/10. What a solid series. With some beautiful messages about self identity. Yes, it does shove the themes down your throat at the end. Not the best, but it doesn't destroy everything that came before. It's just a little on the nose.

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Jan 6, 2025

dragonflapp

Mixed Feelings

A prison called gender. Welcome back, Alice did a great job tp portrays the horror of sexuality and societal gender norms. This also shows that gender norms and social expectations does not only hurt trans, non binary, and gender non-comforming people, but also cis people too.

"I quit being a boy, but that does not mean I want to be a girl either."

Gender is a prison. I get it that sometimes gender ideology helps people to find their own identity, so that they know what they like or how they act as a part of it. But at the same times, it also restricts people ... to do what they actually want to do and being themselves by judging them and isolate them if they're behaving unsuitable from the gender society perceived them to be.

Boys should do this. Boys should do that. Boys should be the dominant one in a sexual relationship. It's normal for a man to objectify women. Man should be strong. It's a man duty to protect everyone. Your mental stability does not matter if you're a man. Kei and Youhei want to escape from this. They want to go back to the time where none of this matter. Where their body is still pure from what adults perceived them to be.

Girls can't do that. Girls should be feminine, elegant, and delicate. It's normal for women to be objectyfied by men. Women shouls submitted to their husband. It's a women duty to satisfy their husbands sexual desire. Women should get pregnant and take care of their child. At the same time she has to work to support her family. At the same time also she has to fulfill her husband sexual needs and be submissive. If you failed to do so, you're not a real women. Mitani is obsessed with this gender ideology. She wants to be a "real" women like how the societal norms is. That's why she's obsessed with doing sexual things with Youhei and wants to make him got an erection. That's also why she's mad with Kei when they transitioned. Because that means Mitani is falling in love with a girl by Kei doing so, and it make her feel less of being a woman by the societal norms. In order to become a real woman, she needs to fall in love with a man and having sexual relationship with a man.

All the characters are literal jerk tho, yet I found them well written at the same times. The only character I found likeable is Ren, the artist one. Everyone else except her are literal jerk that forcing their sexual needed to everyone. The MC is a victim too sometimes, but I felt like most of the time he's a total dickhead that like to sleeps around. He's my second least favorite MC from all Shuuzou-sensei manga after the pedophilic MC from Inside Mari lol.

In conclusion, gender ideology does not also hurt trans and enby people, but also cis people too. I think Shuuzou-sensei did a great job portraying this thing in a psychological horror way. Also tbh I felt like there's too much sexual scenes and it kinda made me feel uncomfy sometimes, but I also think that might be the point. To show the horrors of gender and sexual norms.

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May 31, 2024

AKittyCat

Not Recommended

Preliminary (39/40 eps)

The story is about as bland as can be with most of the plot points being your average teenage drama love triangle story, if you guessed at what the plot beats are, you'd probably be right the majority of the time. The characters themselves are simple and as average as you'd expect from a teen romance manga but with the added "twist" of one of the characters being trans and that is where the problems start.

The character of Alice feels less like the author wanted to portray a trans character as a means of having something different and unique to their story and instead almost ...

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Poll: Okaeri Alice Chapter 26 Discussion LinoTheOne - Jun 16, 2022	6 replies	by yurkin »» Jan 4, 6:26 PM
Poll: Okaeri Alice Chapter 20 Discussion 024 - Dec 14, 2021	7 replies	by yurkin »» Jan 2, 10:07 PM
Poll: Okaeri Alice Chapter 12 Discussion shizaman - Apr 28, 2021	6 replies	by yurkin »» Dec 31, 2024 8:39 PM
Poll: Okaeri Alice Chapter 2 Discussion rpn101 - Jun 15, 2020	8 replies	by RaihanDxv »» Dec 23, 2024 4:16 AM
There's something special about Oshimi Shuzou's works BipulGamer07 - Dec 3, 2024	9 replies	by BipulGamer07 »» Dec 3, 2024 9:36 PM

Okaeri Alice
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