History Manga / WanderingSon

* SenpaiKohai: Chiba not greeting once her upperclasmen in the middle school was a SeriousBusiness. Also, when Doi enters the high school, the sempais seem to feel an instant urge to temper him a little. Considering [[{{Jerkass}} how he used to be]] [[TheBully in his earlier years]] this turn-out might seem deserved though.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish:
** The passage being read aloud in English class in episode 9 is part of the story Try to Be the Only One, which really is in the New Horizon textbook used by Japanese middle school students. It's even from the correct (year 2) book!
** The ending theme of the anime also begins with a bit of English that is pronounced properly. It helps that the singer of the ending, Rie Fu is bilingual in both Japanese and English.

* FashionModel: Several major characters are models:
** Nitori's older sister, Maho, is a huge fangirl of the popular tween model (and IdolSinger) Maiko and decides to take up modeling. She only gets in at first though due to her gimmick that she and her "crossdressing brother" look [[StrongFamilyResemblance like twins]], however later Nitori stops modeling while Maho becomes respected.
** After becoming a model that Maho and Nitori meet Suehiro Anna, who later becomes [[OfficialCouple Nitori's girlfriend]] and Maho's best friend, though at first Anna gets along poorly with them.
** Late into the manga Takatsuki gets recruited as a model due to his tall looks and eventually joins the same agency as Anna and the others. [[spoiler:Being praised and seen as a beautiful, androgynous model along with other issues is what causes Takatsuki to reconsider if she's a trans boy or not.]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms:
** One chapter has a high school aged [[spoiler:Nitori]] masturbating when [[spoiler:Anna]] calls her. It's as awkward as it sounds but [[spoiler:Anna]] doesn't notice.
** In the flashbacks where Yuki describes her past it's implied twice she was masturbating to thoughts of Shiina.

* SempaiKohai: Chiba not greeting once her upperclasmen in the middle school was a SeriousBusiness. Also, when Doi enters the high school, the sempais seem to feel an instant urge to temper him a little. Considering [[{{Jerkass}} how he used to be]] [[TheBully in his earlier years]] this turn-out might seem deserved though.

* SpiritualSuccessor:
** It's arguably this to ''Manga/MizuiroJidai''.
** It can also be seen as one to an earlier manga by Shimura called ''Shikii no Juunin''

* TechnologyMarchesOn: The series is hit with this but it's barely noticeable and somewhat realistic. You can put off the reason why no one had cellphones for a while with them just being too young. The manga spans at least eight years so it's not absurd that in early middle school Takatsuki had a flip phone and in high school he had a smart phone. The anime subverts this by changing the scene where Nitori and Mako used a tape recorder to them using their cellphones instead.

* PronounTrouble: While not strictly a YMMV Trope, with this series the issue tends to be within the fandom than in-story.
** There's been discussion on the wiki about whether to refer to the transgender characters by their biological sex (Nitori is "he" & Takatsuki is "she") or by their correct mental genders (Nitori is "she" & Takatsuki is "he"). As noted in the main page, the general consensus, for the sake of simplicity, is to simply match what's used in-story (Shuuichi "he" / Yoshino "she").
** An argument against this consensus is that what is used in the manga technically shouldn't control how the audience refers to them because we have more knowledge about them than other characters within the series, and even though they are still closeted there is no good excuse not to respect their proper genders when we have the information to know better, "getting the surgery" is not a factor when deciding if you should call someone by the correct pronouns. But as readers we ''do'' see what's going on inside the characters' heads, and they don't think of themselves as other than their assigned gender but rather as ''wanting'' to be other than their assigned gender. You can argue that this is a limitation based on their social upbringing (and it definitely is), but if the use of pronouns is to reflect the way the characters consider themselves, then respecting their still-nascent understandings of their gender identity should also be important. If they are still using their assigned gender pronouns ''in their own thoughts'', then switching the pronouns to fit the Western understanding of how gender works can become an ethnocentric imposition. Regardless -- it's a tricky question, and very emotional for people who've been in Nitori and Takatsuki's situation.
** Either way, there's little argument with Yuki. Yuki is more straightforward in that she lives as a woman, is implied to have had surgery, and everyone in-story refers to her as "she".
** [[spoiler:Takatsuki]] at the end of the manga. Fans don't know what pronoun to use anymore, especially to avoid spoilers.

** [[spoiler:Takatsuki. Most of the manga presents her as a counterpart to trans girl Nitori and depicts her as a transgender boy.]] In high school the line starts to blur and ultimately [[spoiler:they]] come to the conclusion [[spoiler:they would rather live as a girl]], though [[spoiler:they're]] still depicted as confused over [[spoiler:their]] gender. Considering the situations surrounding the revelation and the bittersweet way it's presented, fans are stumped. WordOfGod is that it's [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation up to the reader]] on whether they see them as trans or not.

* BittersweetEnding: The manga. On the plus side Nitori is going to transition soon, she's going to college, and she's [[spoiler:still dating Anna]]. Kanako is dating her grade school crush and Mako's end is rather ambiguous but still not negative. On the opposing side [[spoiler:Takatsuki has gradually drifted away somewhat from Nitori, has an unrequited love for her, and is possibly confused about their gender. Though the two of them do share a final tender moment together, and it’s left clear their friendship has meant a lot to both of them.]]

* DCupDistress: Downplayed with Takatsuki as his chest are not as big as this trope tends to be, but he's not amused when he begins to grow breasts as he won't be able to put on the male uniform anymore, and saves money for a binding to hide his buxom.

** Late into the manga Takatsuki gets recruited as a model due to her [[HugeSchoolGirl tall looks]] and eventually joins the same agency as Anna and the others. [[spoiler:Being praised and seen as a beautiful, androgynous model along with other issues is what causes Takatsuki to reconsider if she's a trans boy or not.]]

* GenderVocabularySlip: Shuuichi & Takatsuki once noticed that Shuuichi refers to herself with the pronoun "boku" which is used by boys, while Takatsuki refers to himself as "watashi" which is gender neutral and more formal. They intentionally decide not to change this though as they agree it suits them.

** Saori's relationship with Nitori and especially Takatsuki is heavily based on her forcing her pessimism and views onto them (especially during middle school). For example, she's constantly trying to get Takatsuki to become more feminine and putting them down for wanting to be seen as male.

** Takatsuki started growing his hair out in high school. It's not a bob haircut, but not nearly as short as before. [[spoiler:He eventually grew it past his shoulders, the longest we've seen on him, possibly due to being a model or questioning their gender]].

** This trope is used to support Takatsuki's masculinity. After infancy, he has always kept his hair short, and around age ten he chose to cut it to the standard length of most other boys his age. At one point he grows it out a bit at Saori's insistence that he can have longer hair and still be masculine, however he cuts it back immediately when he realizes she was manipulating him into being more feminine. In high school when he's left in isolation with Saori he lets his usual mop top cut grow out into a shag hair cut. [[spoiler: Him growing out his hair in high school is different from before, as he lets it get longer than ever before as part of a questioning phase trying question the cause of his own gender dysphoria. He wants to answer the question of is he really a man, or if he "just hates being a girl" like Saori accused him of feeling. However the overwhelming positive reception, praise, and admiration he receives for presenting as female and a growing apathy in his own self create distress and confusion in him, making him unable to claim a masculine identity at this point]].

* ProgressivelyPrettier: While not ugly, Takatsuki does tend to make unusual and exaggerated facial expressions in the {{manga}}. The {{anime}} changed them and toned them down.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple:
** Inverted with Takatsuki. Comparing to all the trans girls this series have (Nitori, Makoto, Yuki), he is the only trans boy out of them. [[spoiler: And in the end, he's not even sure if he's trans.]]
** Also, see that page picture up there? Takatsuki is the only one identifying as male out of them all.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: All the members of the various families, classmates and romantic interests piling up in every chapter.

* AdultFear: Not touched upon often, in-series at least, but there are a few examples. Imagine your 9 - 12 year old being out late, lying to you about where they've been, and being friends with ''adult'' strangers who you know little about. There's also the notion of your children being depressed and uncomfortable with their body but you knowing nothing of what to do.

** Chiba's obsession with Shuuichi is a fringe example. While Shuuichi is a she, and Chiba enjoys seeing her dressed as such, it is likely she (Chiba) has a hard time seeing her (Shuuichi) as such, [[spoiler:leading to much of her personal angst]]. Some fans see Chiba as AmbiguouslyGay due to her fetish for androgynous boys, to the point where she gets happy when dressing up Takatsuki (who she sees as a {{tomboy}}). Also due to the amount of FoeYay, and later friendship, between the two.

* AdaptationExpansion: The anime. For example, the climax of episode 1 was an adaptation of a scene in volume eight (around four volumes ahead of the point the anime began). [[spoiler:In the manga Shuuichi just stares at the clothes, until her sister comes in and yells at her]]. They've also pieced together scenes, for example [[spoiler:the scene where Shuuichi hits Maho is from another part in the manga (when Maho tries to read a letter)]].

** [[spoiler:Takatsuki]]. [[spoiler: Most of the manga presents her as a counterpart to trans girl Nitori and depicts her as a transgender boy.]] In high school the line starts to blur and ultimately [[spoiler:they]] comes to the conclusion [[spoiler:they would rather live as a girl]], though [[spoiler:they're]] still depicted as confused over [[spoiler:their]] gender. Considering the situations surrounding the revelation and the bittersweet way it's presented, fans are stumped. WordOfGod is that it's [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation up to the reader]] on whether they see them as trans or not.

** {{Averted}} in most other cases though, where the names are correct. Maho even mentions Starbucks once.

** Chiba's personality and design were different for the first 3 volumes, before she changed to her more well-known self. Before she was more peppy, on par with the other children (albeit more socially awkward at times), and didn't look nearly as mature. This is probably one of the few instances of this trope being [[JustifiedTrope justified]], given that this series revolves entirely around the often-dramatic changes children go through at the age the main cast are at.

* LongRunner: Ran from December 2002 to August 2013.

* LoveRevelationEpiphany: [[spoiler:Saori grows to love Fumiya after he confessed to wanting to ask her out.]]

* TechMarchesOn: The series is hit with this but it's barely noticeable and somewhat realistic. You can put off the reason why no one had cellphones for a while with them just being too young. The manga spans at least eight years so it's not absurd that in early middle school Takatsuki had a flip phone and in high school he had a smart phone. The anime subverts this by changing the scene where Nitori and Mako used a tape recorder to them using their cellphones instead.

** Nitori and Anna begin dating in middle school. Anna knew about Nitori wearing girl's clothes and was fine with it, but the full situation didn't dawn on her until [[spoiler:Nitori tried to go to school dressed in the female uniform]]. The confusion led Anna to break up with Nitori, though they end up together again later. Everything ends up resolved when, before Nitori goes off to college, Anna tells Nitori [[spoiler:that she likes her as a girl and [[IfItsYouItsOkay she's fine being labeled lesbian]] if they're together.]]
** Makoto is a closeted trans girl who has a habit of falling in love with guys. However, she can't be open about her feelings because everyone sees her as a boy and she'd [[IncompatibleOrientation likely get rejected]] as a result. Her main crush throughout middle and high school is a [[TheBully bully]] named Oka. Oka [[ObliviousToLove doesn't notice]] Mako's feelings and gets weirded out when Mako tries to give him "friendship chocolates" on Valentine's Day. Later on, [[spoiler:Oka s

* UnwantedHarem: Almost criminal to list this one here due to the intense realism used when portraying it. A subversion of the common associated tropes, but falls cleanly into a [[HaremGenre Harem]]; it's arguably a deconstruction of harems.
* VillainousCrossdresser: Fumiya Ninomiya crossdresses just to impress Chiba. While not an outright "villain", he ''is'' portrayed as a bit of a slimeball when compared to the actual trans characters in the cast.

''Wandering Son'' (''Hourou Musuko'' in Japanese) is a 2002 SliceOfLife manga created by Creator/TakakoShimura. It follows two ten-year-old children [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} whose genders are different from the biological sex they were born into]]. The first is Shuuichi Nitori, a shy and sensitive girl with a love of baking who wishes she could become the kind of girl that truly reflects her heart. The second is Yoshino Takatsuki, who is admired by his classmates but bullied by other boys for things about himself that he cannot control, and who wishes to become a proper man.

** Possibly the school uniforms. The manga colors the gakuran as pastel, though it could be artistic stylization and they're not ''really'' bright blue or green. The anime uses the standard black.
* AdaptationExpansion: The anime. For example, the climax of episode 1 was an adaptation of a scene in volume eight (around four volumes ahead of the point the anime began). [[spoiler:In the manga Shuuichi just stares at the clothes, until her sister comes in and yells at her]]. They've also pieced together scenes, for example [[spoiler:the scene where Shuuichi hits Maho is from another part in the manga (when Maho tries to read a letter)]].

** One chapter has a high school aged [[spoiler:Nitori]] masturbating when [[spoiler:Anna]] calls her. It's as awkward as it sounds but [[spoiler:Anna]] doesn't notice

''Wandering Son'' (''Hourou Musuko'' in Japanese) is a 2002 SliceOfLife manga created by Creator/TakakoShimura. It follows two ten-year-old children [[{{Transgender}} whose genders are different from the biological sex they were born into]]. The first is Shuuichi Nitori, a shy and sensitive girl with a love of baking who wishes she could become the kind of girl that truly reflects her heart. The second is Yoshino Takatsuki, who is admired by his classmates but bullied by other boys for things about himself that he cannot control, and who wishes to become a proper man.

** A flashback that shows {{trans|gender}} woman Yuki had her first NocturnalEmission at a school field trip as a child. She was embarrassed and confused but her future boyfriend Shiina didn't mention it when he caught her washing her underwear in the bathroom.

* IHaveNoSon: Yuki's parents come pretty close to this. (Well, also, they have no ''son'' now, but... you get the idea.) There's a side-story in a collection of one-shots by the manga-ka called ''He Said "I'm A Girl"'' that shows a bit about Yuki's past. She was scolded by her father for being on a TV show about being {{transgender}}, but not disowned. Only her brother and her brother's wife are okay with Yuki's identity. Her mother chooses not to talk to (and possibly see) her, which in a sense, is worse than the father who is upfront about his disapproval.

* PlatonicLifePartners: In the end, this is probably the best term to describe Takatsuki and Nitori's relationship. Even if he doesn't return her feelings, Nitori still notes that he's the one who understands her the best because [[{{Transgender}} they are similar]], which she is very grateful for.

* ShownTheirWork: The manga has a realistic view on different LGBT topics. Simple cross-dressing, being {{transgender}}, being trans as a kid, questioning one's gender identity as a kid but growing out of it, being gay, sexuality in relation to being trans, trying to pretend to be one's biological sex to confirm they are actually trans etc. The series is a LighterAndSofter portrayal of much of what a transgender person would go through in Japan, but it does not sugarcoat the matter.

** {{Transgender}} CoolBigSis Yuki's birth name is "Hiroyuki".

* {{Transgender}}: Nitori, Takatsuki, Yuki, and Makoto.

An ElevenEpisodeAnime for the series aired in winter 2011. The {{manga}} has been licensed by Fantagraphics Books and has been released in hardcover since June 2011.

* YouWouldMakeAGreatModel: Avoided. In high school Takatsuki gets picked up by a man who says he's a model agent. Takatsuki ends up discussing this with their mother and with Anna, who agree that it seems suspicious Takatsuki instead begins modeling at Anna's legit agency.

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: That Shuuichi is transgender. It's more apparent in the manga.

The story follows the lives of Shuuichi, Takatsuki, and those closest to them as they struggle with matters of identity, adolescence, and how they relate to the roles of the society in which they live. The plot is made up of the milestones that come with adolescence, including the day-to-day occurrences and everything in-between, while the dreams and secrets of the young cast create its drama. The dialogue primarily refers to Shuuichi with "he/his" pronouns and Takatsuki with "she/her" pronouns because most of the other characters in the story are unaware of the correct genders of the protagonists, and the main characters cannot use the correct pronouns for fear of social ostracization. However, as readers we are aware of which gender the characters are, and refer to them within this article with the correct pronouns.

* AdaptationDistillation: The anime changed a few character elements. It also removed chapters, such as the school vacation.

An ElevenEpisodeAnime for the series aired in winter 2011. The {{manga}} has been licensed by Fantagraphics Books and has to be released in hardcover since June 2011.

Compare and contrast ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' and ''Manga/AiNoShintairiku''.

* BittersweetEnding: The manga. On the plus side Nitori is going to transition soon, she's going to college, and she's [[spoiler:still dating Anna]]. Kanako is dating her grade school crush and Mako's end is rather ambiguous but still not negative. On the opposing side [[spoiler:Takatsuki's friendship with Nitori has diminished through the years, they have an unrequited love for her, and they are confused about their gender.]]

''Wandering Son'' (''Hourou Musuko'' in Japanese) is a 2002 SliceOfLife manga created by Creator/TakakoShimura. It follows two ten-year-old children [[{{Transgender}} whose genders are different from the biological sex they were born into]]. The first is Shuuichi Nitori, a shy and sensitive girl with a love of baking who wishes she could become the kind of girl within society that truly reflects her heart. The second is Yoshino Takatsuki, who is admired by his classmates but bullied by other boys for things about himself that he cannot control, and wishes to become a proper man.

When Shuuichi transfers to her new school, she is sat next to Takatsuki and the two children become fast friends. Eventually, they are able to figure out their nature and do their best to realise their personhood despite the adversity and shame imposed upon them by the surrounding society: for example, they begin to dress as their correct gender using clothes acquired or gifted from other people.

The story follows the lives of Shuuichi, Takatsuki, and those closest to them as they struggle with matters of identity, adolescence, and how they relate to the roles of the society in which they live. The plot is made up of the milestones that come with adolescence, including the day-to-day occurrences and everything in-between, while the dreams and secrets of the young cast create its drama. The dialogue primarily refers to Shuuichi with "he/his" pronouns and Takatsuki with "she/her" pronouns because most of the other characters in the story are unaware of the correct gender of the protagonists, and the main characters cannot use the correct pronouns for fear of social ostracization. However, as readers we are aware of which gender the characters are, and refer to them within this article with the correct pronouns.

Shy, quiet Shuuichi Nitori is not your average ten-year-old girl. Nor is her classmate, Yoshino Takatsuki, your average ten-year-old boy. Even though Shuuichi enjoys baking snacks as a hobby, she is different from the other girls. Takatsuki-kun is admired by his classmates, but endures bullying from other boys for things about himself he can't control. When Shuuichi transfers to her new school, she is sat next to Takatsuki and they become fast friends.

Though they do not immediately know it, the two learn they have a shared secret: despite their natures, biologically they are the wrong sex. [[{{Transgender}} Shuuichi dreams she could be a girl in society as she is in her heart, while Takatsuki wants to become a proper man]]. Eventually, both realize their true nature as much as they are able despite the adversity and shame they face. Shuuichi wears clothing belonging to her sister and given to her either by girls or Takatsuki. Takatsuki gets hold of his older brother's middle school uniform and goes in to town as a boy.

As the series takes place during their childhood and depicts their life as they struggle to come out of the closet, the story refers to Shuuichi as "he" and Takatsuki as "she" because the characters in the story don't know the truth about the protagonists. The main characters cannot use the correct pronouns for fear of social ostracization. As readers we are aware of which gender the characters are and refer to them with the correct pronouns. Since the pronoun "he" is meant to describe boys and Takatsuki is a boy, he will be called he. Similarly Shuuichi is a girl and the English pronoun for girls is "she".

Published in 2002, the SliceOfLife tale of Creator/TakakoShimura's ''Wandering Son'' (''Hourou Musuko'' in Japanese) follows the lives of Shuuichi, Takatsuki, and those closest to them as they wrestle with their difficult struggle for identity. The milestones that come with adolescence, the day-to-day occurrences, and everything in between make up the plot while the dreams and secrets of the young cast create its drama.

Published in 2002, the SliceOfLife tale of Takako Shimura's ''Wandering Son'' (''Hourou Musuko'' in Japanese) follows the lives of Shuuichi, Takatsuki, and those closest to them as they wrestle with their difficult struggle for identity. The milestones that come with adolescence, the day-to-day occurrences, and everything in between make up the plot while the dreams and secrets of the young cast create its drama.

** Nitori almost always imagines herself with long hair and wants long hair in a HimeCut but doesn't feel she can grow it out due to DoubleStandards involving boys and hair length. Saori, Yuki, and Maiko all have long hair and are feminine. Averted with Chizuru (who isn't terribly feminine), Momoko (who has a medium length cut), Maho (with a bob cut) and Satomi (a pixie style). Maiko eventually averts it when she cuts her hair into a pixie cut. [[spoiler:That change gives Nitori the idea to cut her hair into the same style but it ends up looking less feminine on her since she's begun hitting puberty]].

* FragileFlower: Nitori starts out very sensitive, but becomes less so as she ages.

** The hair colors in the first three volumes were different for several characters. For example Takatsuki was a brunette instead of a raven and Shiina had blond hair instead of black hair.
** Saori and Takatsuki had brown eyes at first but they're later shown with black eyes.