Interest Stacks

Minor trigger warning for objectification of women

A very good 6 chapter anthology manga with the To Strip the Flesh chapters following a Trans man dealing with societal expectations while trying to be himself.

In such few pages, To Strip the Flesh shows so much emotion through its wonderfully crafted story. This story has great trans representation and is one I'd recommend to anyone interested in the topic of Gender-Nonconformity.

Trigger warning for self-harm and a reference to the Columbine Shooting in chapter 14

A manga comprised of incredibly short anthology stories that have little to no connection to each other. However, Chapter 14 follows a trans girl and briefly talks about her identity, which I found to be rather enjoyable so I figured it could be on this list.

I really enjoyed this weird little manga overall, so I'd still recommend it even if it's not really about trans issues.

Trigger Warning for sexual abuse/assault, transphobia, and homophobia

A quick disclaimer: Chapter 40 of this manga is best skipped. This chapter adds nothing to the story while taking away from the message and importance of one of its characters long journey of self understanding and acceptance. Read this chapter with the understanding that it goes against what the rest of the story is trying to say.

Bokura No Hentai, contrary to the name, is not actual hentai. It is a well-informed and solid take on being trans and questioning one's gender identity.

The major issue I have with this manga is how it handles its depictions of sexual assault. With the exception of one character whose trauma stems from sexual abuse and assault is handled mostly with relative care, all other instances, while very rare, feel like they are sort of put aside and ignored, particularly in the case of one major supporting character who has their scene never mentioned again, either in reference to their character or any trauma that that scene could have caused.

There is also the issue of how the supporting cast outside of the main trio is developed. Several times in the manga there are female characters who start to question themselves whether it be through gender or sexuality, but all development is dropped by the end of the chapter they are introduced in, which makes me ask why they were even brought up and causes a bit of disconnect with much of the cast.

Outside of these issues, I felt the manga was a good and worthwhile read for the trans representation alone.

Trigger Warning for Transphobic Slurs

A sweet manga that's mostly just about two neighbors talking about life and how they fit in with the rest of the world.

I really appreciate this manga considering the time period it came out. It's a bit light on the topics of gender identity and sexuality, but it's all handled well and it treats its characters with respect.

Nothing much to say. Just a short and sweet autobiographical manga about a trans-girl coming out and meeting her husband.

Fun little read with some information about being trans in Japan.

Boys Run the Riot follows a young trans man and a few of his new friends with the idea of starting starting a fashion brand to express themselves, but its dialogue feels tedious and made it hard to read. Could be interesting but 4 volumes is a lot to ask when I'm already tired by the 5th chapter.

Trigger Warning for Self-Harm and Abuse

Decent manga surrounding gender identity with a diverse cast of trans and gender non-conforming characters. The main issue with this manga is the fact that its themes of exploring gender identity, while taken seriously, are just very shallow.

With the exception of the last few chapters, it's mostly just a cute manga that doesn't say much other than trans people are real and it's ok to love whoever regardless of gender.

Minor Trigger Warning for Transphobia

Overall a decent read. I just found the plot and characters to be lacking at times to the point where I was finding myself a bit bored and wanting the story to be over with.

A very short, but really sweet story that follows a brief exchange between a young trans girl and a lesbian woman.

Anthology manga split into 11 stories.

Chapter 9 follows a trans woman meeting an old friend. While the story was cute, the art made it incredibly hard to follow at times.

Minor Trigger Warning for Transphobia

Anthology manga split into 3 stories. Chapter Three Follows a trans-fem character with a short romance plot attached. This one was ok, but nothing made it stand out.

A collection of short stories, of which, chapter 7 deals with gender identity issues.

Chapter 7 was a short read that was alright, though it felt kind of hard to keep track of who was saying what at times, and it felt a little all over the place.

Trigger Warning for Assault

A short read that lacks really any character development, and its look into gender identity is quite brief and shallow, but the weird and depressive atmosphere this manga had made me a little sad that this was not longer and more fleshed out.

Serious Trigger Warning for childhood Sexual abuse and R@pe.

After some reflection, I feel immensely conflicted about this manga.

While I do think it portrays a genuine struggle with someone confused with their gender identity, I feel the core reason can be interpreted as a harmful stereotype, especially to those who have either very little understanding of gender identity or no understanding at all.

There are times at the end of the manga where I still get the impression that the author was trying to have an informed conversation on the idea of being trans/gender non-conforming, but it all comes with this gross backdrop that not adhering to traditional gender norms is all because of your social/environmental upbringing and nothing to do with a genuine state of mind where someone feels that they were born in the wrong body.

While I think there is some potential for this to be a good read for trans readers who can handle its incredibly dark scenes, after reflecting on the story, I just feel that this manga leaves me uncertain as to what the author was really trying to say and whether its message is more harmful than not, so I'd advise people looking for a good story around gender identity to go into this manga with caution.

Trigger Warning for Bigotry, Misgendering, and Verbal Abuse

Short and to the point, but it does not offer that deep of a look into gender identity and sexuality other than some people identify differently.

The two main characters are both under the non-binary umbrella in different ways which was interesting, but its short run time leaves the character development to be lacking, and ultimately the two main leads' introspection into themselves comes across as overly blunt to feel truly meaningful.