Back to LumenWitch's Profile LumenWitch's Profile

Sometimes all you really need is for something (or someone) to have its heart in the right place.

If I was to give this manga a purely critical review, then maybe it's score might be a little lower. It certainly doesn't have the most inspired plot beats, or the most brilliant dialogue. But what makes this manga work is in how thoroughly it explores its ideas across its relatively short length.

The story centers around Akira's struggles as a newly out trans girl in high school, and it portrays her in an honest, realistic way. This alone is pretty rare for manga, but what makes it special ... is how the story explores other characters relationships to gender and sexuality as well. At times this can feel a little didactic, a little "LGBT 101", but it serves a purpose. By comparing and contrasting how other characters relate to these ideas, we get a greater understanding of what these ideas mean to Akira, and it makes the characters feel fleshed out in a way they otherwise wouldn't.

Overall, it's a good coming of age story with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Definitely worth a read if anything mentioned here seems interesting.