The beginning of change can be seen in the newer ways of storytelling within mangas, novels, and other mainstream western media. Nowadays a lot of emphasis is laid on the correct portrayal of trans characters to tackle the issue of LGBT misrepresentation or even offensive ones. The manga world has been representing transgenders or gender identity issues through great stories for a long time. So we have recommendations for you in the form of these 17 Manga Series About Being Transgender.
Get your hands on these incredible pieces that represent transgender in a way that is never imagined before.
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare
In the picturesque town of Onomichi at the steep side of a hill, stood up building with a lounge that was open to all. At that launch, there was a group of unusually friendly people who gathered there and told each other stories. Tasuku Kaname was a troubled high school student who what’s on the verge of committing suicide because the well-hidden secret of his being gay was almost out. While he was questioning his existence, he saw a woman mysteriously jumping off for building leaving him startled. Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare further gives a realistic take on the struggles of Tasuku among other LGBTQ+ and transgender people trying to come to terms with themselves.
Love Me For Who I Am
Mogumo’s life has been full of struggles because she is the easiest target for people in school. The transmale and transfemale people have formed a community that makes them separate from the whole school. When Mogumo meets a boy who takes him to a girly boy café, the protagonists’ journey of understanding the concept of gender and self-discovery begins. This popular manga series about being transgender is loved by readers due to the way it shows the details of discovering things and coming out the way one is.
Our Abnormalities/ Bokura no Hentai
This manga about being transgender begins on a very unusual note. When three girls who are born as males and cross-dress meet together it looks like a normal meet-up between friends. Each character has a reason to cross-dress or act as a transgender female. Despite sharing similarities one of the girls hates the fact that others are very satisfied with their life and uniqueness. Slowly the manga grapples with the idea of gender and romance angle between the girls.
Boys Run the Riot
This recent seinen manga about being transgender is one of the realistic stories that every Queer from the modern world might relate to. Ryou Watari is a boy born in the body of a girl. Throughout his life, Ryou is rejected for being a tomboy girl or in simpler terms, a transgender boy. This boy suffers under his skin. Collaborating with another talented boy, the protagonist begins a venture in which he combines all the talented outcasts as he set out to rampage the world of fashion.
Claudine…!
Claudine, the transgender protagonist was completely sure that he was born with the wrong gender. He had struggled throughout his life. All Claudine ever wanted was to have or find true love. But all his attempts at finding love ended up in a tragedy. He was unable to be accepted by the men around him. This manga about being transgender captures the struggles of surviving the pressure of not being accepted by peers.
Half and Half
Hina-chan is a girl in her 20s. She has a handsome boyfriend that is stuck on her first love with a boy named Itsuki. The girl was usually teased for looking ugly. Hina was heartbroken when Itsuki and his family moved away. One day she dreams about Itsuki and feels nostalgic about it. Itsuki is not a man but a woman on the inside and now that Hina, finds herself falling in love with Itsuki all over again regardless of gender. This story depicts an unconditional love and cross-dressing trope that all fans are going to love. If you are looking for a manga about being transgender then this read is going to help you explore another beautiful angle.
Waltz
Waltz is the story set in a small town a few hours away from Tokyo. The protagonist of the manga about being transgender has a very depressed life. The MC has only one true friend in the name of support and that is Kawashibara the next-door girl. This one-shot uniquely discovers the meaning of love, life, and self. Will the MC dance to the tunes she loves or will all of it end in a tragedy? Although the one-shot manga merely touches on transgender ideas it is a worthy read.
Mermaid Line
Mermaid Line is a manga about being transgender and has an unusual twist to it. Megumi tells her friend that despite her average swimming capabilities she feels like a mermaid. Aoi, a hurt friend’s secret fantasy of being the Prince of Megumi’s mermaid begins when she hears this. The girl Aoi, try your best to achieve the fantastical look that would make Megumi think about her the same day. The GL-themed story is widely loved by the readers.
The Bride Was a Boy
This manga is particularly in the style of diary comics with an upbeat and refreshing style. The Bride Was a Boy is a charming tale about Chii, a woman on the inside who is assigned male at birth. This coming of the age story in comic style explores issues like sexuality, gender, and transition. Chii has a ride on the adventure toward becoming a bride.
Family Compo
Yanagiba Masahiko faces a tragic accident in which he loses his father just before entering the university. When his uncle and his wife decide to take him in as a family, his life takes a never-imagined turn. Will Yanagiba ever find out what is the secret that led to the breaking of bonds between people? The terrible secret might destroy the life of the MC as well.
The Prince in His Dark Days
Atsuko has a hard life because of her drunken father. And is shunned by all her classmates as a poor kid. Therefore the protagonist only believes in making money out of perverts to survive through the harsh journey of life. One day she meets someone from a wealthy family who looks exactly like her and tries to take that person’s place even if that means having a tedious public life hand cross-dressing. The story discusses LGBTQ themes in a different light than usual.
Brave New World of Love
Nikotama Souhei the main character of this manga about being transgender begins with a fresh chapter in the protagonist’s life when she transfers to a new school. In the new setting, the female lead thinks of building a new life. Open a transgender girl named Sara goes to that same school ready to face the twists of a new life. The slice-of-life manga gives a very fresh take on gender identity and the hardships regarding it. The brave new world is a true inspiration for the mangakas who are at writing similar works.
Wandering Son
This coming-of-age manga about being transgender followed the story of Suichi an elementary school boy who wishes that he were a girl. The boy loves to cross-dress and with the right outfit, he is convincible enough to pass for a trans female. Unfortunately, his best friend does accept him the way he is but cannot reciprocate the feelings he has. Moreover, the protagonist has to maintain the fine line between his true self and the image he carried within the school premises. This slice-of-life manga with a transgender main character explains a lot about the transworld in its approximately 123 chapters compiled in 15 volumes.
The Pain of Living in a Male Body
Well, the title of this manga explains a lot about it. The protagonist in the story is a transgender who is unwelcome in his own home due to his secret of being transgender. The story of this character with struggles due to gender and identity resonates with the discrimination and prejudice faced by the majority of people from the trans community. The Pain of Living in a Male Body has a touch of realism to it that makes it a must-read for people who like this genre.
Double House
One day on the way home from work the protagonist a trans female Maho meets Fujiko. Double House is the story that captures the interactions and life of these two girls who meet by chance. Both of them find out that they live in the same apartment and have many similar things in life. They are different personalities making them nothing but inseparable however they are framed by society and the ideas of constricted gender boundaries but these women love discussing gender while drinking tea and gardening.
After School Mate
Rika, the protagonist of this particular manga about being transgender is unable to understand the ideas of gender and identity open transgender. He is unable to understand the differences between the bodily gender and what the mind feels but only until the day he fights with his mother and runs away from home. This needs to him meet a boy who has the same ideas as him of not being understood by people. The coming-of-age story talks about these individuals confronting the issues of their life and finding a solution to them.
Dear Society.
Dear Society.; is the recent ongoing manga about being transgender that is highly underrated. This manga breaks through the story of a high school student who hails from a small town and went to an all-girls school. This boy had been with all female friends around and he enjoyed being counted among one them. But the only problem with Rino’s life was he wasn’t comfortable in his male body. The LGBT-themed manga has a very strong take on the idea of conformity. The search for self shown in this story surpasses the many other works that fall under the same genre.
