History Manga / Otomen

* {{Transgender}}: Asuka's dad in the drama. [[spoiler:In the manga it turns out that she put off transitioning out of guilt for abandoning her family, and finally goes through with it in the last chapter with the full support of Asuka and her ex-wife.]]

* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: Asuka has a vast amount of feminine traits, though most people don't know this.

* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: Asuka loves all things feminine, though most people don't know this.

* Asuka may love all things girly, but he is still the captain of his school's kendo team and capable of handling himself in a fight.

* AgentPeacock: Asuka may love all things girly, but he is still the captain of his school's kendo team and capable of handling himself in a fight.

* BillyElliotPlot: Slight variation in that its Asuka's mom who's pushing him to be manly.

* FeminineWomenCanCook: In this series, one's cooking skills seems to be directly proportional to femininity. When Ryo went through a HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:after Asuka broke up with her]], she started to act feminine, and her cooking skill became substantially better. When she goes back to her tomboyish self, she reverts into the LethalChef she usually is.

When Asuka Masamune was young, his father left his mother... to become a woman. This shock devestated Mrs. Masamune, and it shocked her even more to see her son show interest in dolls and other girly pursuits. Worried that Asuka would also turn into a transsexual, she hammered into the young boy about the importance of being as manly as possible.

A [[LiveActionAdaptation TV soap opera]] about the manga was created last August 2009, spanning 12 episodes. It is only loosely based on the actual plot of the manga though, as pretty much the whole thing was rewritten from scratch.

* {{Transgender}}: Asuka's dad in the drama. [[spoiler:In the manga he turns out to be very much male, though of course a model otomen. He does goes through with it in the very last chapter, though.]]

* ClarkKenting: Juta as Sachihana Jewel.

* KendoTeamCaptain - Asuka, Tonomine.
* LargeHam - Tonomine, especially when applying make-up.
* LethalChef - Ryo, which is improving by the time.
* LiveActionAdaptation

* LongHairedPrettyBoy - Suzaku, though he wears his hair tied up.
* LukeIAmYourFather - Asuka's dad, when he eventually reveals himself.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy
* TheMatchmaker - Juta for Asuka and Ryo.

* MistakenForGay - When Juta hugs Asuka for being so nice, the girls who were trying to find out who he was favoring suddenly walk in... after that, Ryo informs Juta and Asuka that the girls have found out who Juta's favorite is.

* {{Moe}} - Otowa [[InvokedTrope deliberately plays up]] moe traits and stereotypes in order to manipulate people. Even her name is ''Moe''matsu Otowa. [[spoiler:In reality she's anything ''but'' moe.]]
* MoustacheDePlume - Reversed, Juta takes on the feminine pen name Jewel Sachihana when writing Love Chick, and when a public appearance is required he is forced to go one further and appear to his fans in drag. Same with [[spoiler:the manga-ka Juta idolizes, Mira-sensei.]]
* MuseAbuse - Juta. To his credit, with time he grows to feel awfully guilty about it, especially when it comes to Asuka (though not guilty enough to actually stop writing the manga and confess everything to Asuka).
* ObliviousToLove - For a long time Ryo just didn't realize that Asuka was in love with her. Despite the fact that he confessed to her at the end of the first chapter, and at least twice after that. Later, though, she finally agreed to go out with him, even though they still don't do typical things that couples do.
* OccidentalOtaku - Mifune Knight, one of the new teachers at Ginyuri, although rather than anime and manga he's obsessed with [[HollywoodMedievalJapan Japanese history and culture]]. Apparently he inherited it from his equally Japan-crazy father who actually ''built'' a JidaiGeki {{Theme Park|s}}. (Mifune is a white American but he teaches Japanese history at Ginyuri.)
* OncePerEpisode - Several in the drama.

* PaperThinDisguise - Really, Asuka... the artist of your favorite shoujo manga is Jewel (Jueru) Sachihana. The lech hanging out with you is Juta Tachibana. And you caught him with very large art from the series. And the two main characters have the same names as you and the girl you like. Her handwriting is very similar to his. And you even remember being in situations like the ones that happen to the heroine of ''Love Chick''. And you ''still'' can't figure out that Juta is Jewel.
** Even worse; a bonus chapter reveals that the fictional Asuka has the same ''last name'' as him.
** Lampshaded when [[spoiler:Kasuga easily figures it out]]. It seems [[spoiler: Kitora]] knows as well.
* ParentalAbandonment - [[spoiler: Juta's mom and dad left their children to fend for themselves when they went on world-travelling trip. From a flashback we learn that this isn't anything new.]]
** DisappearedDad - Asuka's missing dad.
** MissingMom - Ryo's mother passed away when she was very young.
* PrecisionFStrike - Mifune has an epic one in volume 10.
* PromotionToParent - [[spoiler: That harem of women waiting for Juta at home? ''All ten'' of them are his younger sisters. Their parents went on a round-the-world trip, and the childern are now living off of Juta's royalties. It's suggested that his eldest sister, Kuriko, eventually gets a job to help out as well.]]
* RealLifeWritesThePlot - ...of Juta's manga.
* RealMenHateSugar
* RealMenWearPink - Asuka ultimately tries to accept himself as such - unlike his father, he's happy with being male, so long as he's allowed to indulge in cuteness. Also, given the number of guys besides Asuka who start reading ''Love Chick'' in their school, this might be more common there than it first seems.

* ScaryShinyGlasses - Kasuga.
* SecretTestOfCharacter - Asuka's mom does this to him in Episode 2 of the drama.
* ShoutOut - To ''Anime/{{Macross 7}}'' of all things, on the band fight night, by George of Fuckin' Bone. "Listen to my song! Totsugeki Rolling Bone!"

* ShowerOfAwkward - Ryo walks in on a very naked Asuka in the bathroom. ''He'' freaks out, ''she'' doesn't even seem to notice.
* ShowWithinAShow - Jewel Sachihana's ''Love Chick''.
* SittingOnTheRoof - Ryo, Asuka and Juta usually eat lunch on the roof so that other students won't know about Asuka's amazing bento making skills.
* StoicSpectacles - Tonomine, so much.

* StupidSexyFlanders - Ooji Suzaku's sheer sex appeal makes even ''Kasuga'' flustered. His nickname is "Prince Pheromone."
* {{Transgender}} - Asuka's dad in the drama. [[spoiler:In the manga he turns out to be very much male, though of course a model otomen.]]
** [[spoiler:He goes through with it in the very last chapter.]]

* {{Tsundere}} - Tonomine, sort of: the author coined the phrase "tsunsama" (the "tsun" part of tsundere + [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns oresama]]) to describe him. Usually he's red hot on the "tsun" (irritable) front but he has revealed his "dere" (soft) side a number of times.
* UncannyValleyMakeup - It would would be impolite to comment on Yamato's first attempt to wear makeup, so we will leave that with Tonomine.

* UnsettlingGenderReveal - The reason [[spoiler:Kasuga]] hates Asuka so much. Yamato also tends to have this effect on guys.

* VisualKei - House Dust.
* WholesomeCrossdresser - Juta is forced to do this to [[spoiler: protect his identity as the author of ''Love Chick'']].

* ActionGirl - Ryo, lead to BattleCouple.
* AdaptationExpansion - Some new plots and a slew of new characters were added into the live-action drama.
* AffectionateParody - Mainly of romantic shoujo manga: in a free talk the author even writes that she tries to go through all shoujo manga clichés inherent in certain settings (beach trip, amusement park, etc). It also takes affectionate shots at shounen manga, being a manga artist, etc. But of course it ''is'' a shoujo manga so it's NotSoAboveItAll.
* AnimeAccentAbsence - Averted, Mifune speaks Japanese with a "visible" accent.
* ArtShift - Used ''profusely.'' Characters from ''Love Chick'' sometimes appear in place of the real characters; Mira-sensei is always drawn in classic seventies shoujo manga style; Yamato, who tends to fantasize about himself as a hot macho guy is sometimes drawn as a shoujo-style "sexy bishounen;" and Ryo's very manly and macho grandfather is always drawn as if he came from a stereotypical seinen manga.

* AttractiveBentGender - Juta is a pretty convincing woman as Jewel Sachihana, [[spoiler:Mira-sensei not so much without his fan hiding his face.]]

* AuthorAvatar - The character Michiru in ''Love Chick'' who is the gender-flipped version of the mangaka, Juta.

* BeachEpisode - Part of volume 4, and the live drama's episodes 4 & 5.
* BecomingTheMask - Asuka actively tries to invoke this; at first, he hopes (due to pressure from his mother) to focus so much on masculinity that he becomes masculine. He fails.

* BelligerentSexualTension - [[spoiler:Miyabi and Tonomine were barely one step away from [[SlapSlapKiss resolving this]] in the live-action drama.]]
* BerserkButton - Makeup (for Tonomine) and flowers (for Kitora) are SeriousBusiness.
* {{Blackmail}} - More than once, Asuka gets threatened when someone learns his secret and threatens to expose it to his mother.
* BillyElliotPlot - Slight variation in that its Asuka's mom who's pushing him to be manly.
* {{Bishonen}} - The main male characters, especially Asuka, Juta and Tonomine whose looks are often commented on.

* BlandNameProduct - In an attempt to become more manly, Asuka is seen reading a copy of "Shounen Janwa", obviously derived from Shounen Jump (Janpu) ("Shounen Junk" in the American edition).
* BlindingBangs - Kurokawa has these.

* BrokenAesop - In the end of Otowa's arc she learns that no matter how much she's been trying to change and hide her true self it was meaningless, and that those who really like her like her real self. She acknowledges the lesson... [[spoiler: and decides to [[IgnoredEpiphany ignore it]] because she enjoys being fawned on by her adorers.]]
* TheCasanova - Juta. The girls around him even accept this, as long as he doesn't start favoring one girl over the others.
* ClarkKenting - Juta as Sachihana Jewel.
* DistaffCounterpart - Asuka even reads the manga containing his DistaffCounterpart, although he still hasn't realized that it's based on him, with a gender flip.
** Said manga also contain gender-flipped counterparts of the girl he likes and his best friend.
* DudeLooksLikeALady - One of the characters, Yamato, gets mistaken as a girl VERY often by guys, Juta even tried to hit on him.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim / EvenTheGirlsWantHer - Asuka and Ryo seem to get this reaction now and then.

%%* FantasyForbiddingMother

* GenderBlenderName - Asuka is the guy; Ryo is the girl. Understandable if you get that mixed up.

* TheGlassesComeOff - Kasuga takes off his specs whenever he wants to be particularly intimidating.
* GirlyGirl: Asuka's problem is he he's a guy with girly hobbies.

* GratuitousEnglish - Subverted with Mifune who is, in fact, American. Played straight (or rather, parodied) with the lyrics of Ariake's song, [="SayonaLovers"=][[note]]Whose title is a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of "lovers"[[/note]].
* HandsomeLech - Juta.
** Also, ChivalrousPervert.
* HalloweenEpisode - the live drama's Episode 3.
* HomoeroticSubtext - Juta and Asuka, in spades. It's carefully balanced with HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday, though.

This series has examples of:

* BattleCouple - [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Can't be more awesome]], with confession following.

* {{Transsexual}} - Asuka's dad in the drama. [[spoiler:In the manga he turns out to be very much male, though of course a model otomen.]]

* JapanesePronouns - The manga actually demonstrates the usage of "boku" pretty well. Kitora uses "boku" to go with his well-mannered, polite speech patterns (he also uses {{Keigo}}); Kasuga uses "boku" to fit his aloof personality; Hanamasa's "boku" reflects his gentle nature; and Asuka who normally uses "ore" switches to "boku" in his letters to Sachihana Jewel, to sound more polite.
** When Kasuga's [[TheGlassesComeOff glasses come off]] he switches from "boku" to "ore." Hanamasa also uses "ore" in his lyrics, to fit his stage persona.

* {{Tsundere}} - Tonomine, sort of: the author coined the phrase "tsunsama" (the "tsun" part of tsundere + [[JapanesePronouns oresama]]) to describe him. Usually he's red hot on the "tsun" (irritable) front but he has revealed his "dere" (soft) side a number of times.

* ChristmasInJapan - Asuka even gets to give a rundown on Japanese Christmas practices to Ryo, since her father refuses to celebrate it in their house, being Buddhists.

* OccidentalOtaku - Mifune Knight, one of the new teachers at Ginyuri, although rather than anime and manga he's obsessed with [[HollywoodMedievalJapan Japanese history and culture]]. Apparently he inherited it from his equally Japan-crazy father who actually ''built'' a JidaiGeki ThemePark. (Mifune is a white American but he teaches Japanese history at Ginyuri.)

Secretly, though, he's still incredibly thrilled with sewing, baking, cute things, {{Shoujo}} manga, and girlish pursuits in general. Mind you, he's absurdly talented at all of those, too.

* ActionGirl - Ryo, lead to BattleCouple

* {{Bishounen}} - The main male characters, especially Asuka, Juta and Tonomine whose looks are often commented on.

* {{Bowdlerization}}: George's band Fuckin' Bones became Freak Bones in the American edition.

* {{Dude Looks like a Lady}}- One of the characters, Yamato, gets mistaken as a girl VERY often by guys, Juta even tried to hit on him.

* WriterCopOut: Subverted in-universe: when Ryo has to move away everyone feels sad, but Juta tries to lift his friends' spirits saying that he feels like a miracle is going to happen and Ryo won't have to move away - since only a HappyEnding suits a relationship like that of Asuka and Ryo. Needless to say, by the end of the chapter no miracle occurrs and Ryo ''really'' moves away, much to Juta's shock.

* TheGlassesComeOff - Kasuga.

* {{Kuudere}} - Asuka.

* ShoutOut - To ''MacrossSeven'' of all things, on the band fight night, by George of Fuckin' Bone. "Listen to my song! Totsugeki Rolling Bone!"
** There are also shout outs to ''LovelyComplex'' and ''HoneyAndClover.''
** And ''SevenSamurai.''
** Volume 10 has a one-panel shout out to ''{{Kaiji}}'' complete with "zawa" sfx.
** And recently there is "Mayumi Kitagawa" from GlassMask

** The whole Valentine's Day chapter is full of HoYay - Asuka receives chocolate from his teammates, Juta, Kitora, and even Tonomine (who gives him a huge, beautiful, handmade chocolate).

* [[{{Fantasy-Forbidding Father}} Fantasy-Forbidding Mother]]