By the mangaka Tsukasa Hojo, Family Compo is a Slice of Life manga that, perhaps, is a more realistic than average depiction of transgender identity.
Ordinary college student Masahiko goes to live with his aunt and uncle, Yukari and Sora Wakanae. While initially excited about meeting his relatives for the first time, he soon discovers that his lovely aunt Yukari is a trans woman and that his handsome uncle Sora is a trans man.
He doesn't take it well. However, given Masahiko's current fate — living alone in a fetid apartment that he can't afford and with no family to return to — he decides to stay anyway. Eventually, Masahiko's desire for a real home coincide with with the Wakanaes' surprising generosity to anyone who is willing to accept their family at face value, and he quickly becomes Happily Adopted into the household.
Do not confuse with the similarly named Family Complex.
Family Compo contains examples of:
- Ambiguously Gay: A bunch of young hooligans question the sexuality of one of their members when he says he wants to have sex with Kaoru.
- Artistic License – Biology: It's implied that neither Yukari or Sora are on hormones, yet it's also implied Sora has a masculine voice. For most trans men, this is highly unlikely without testosterone.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Masahiko looks damn good as a girl, enough for someone to get a crush on "her".
- Author Avatar: Not the author, but the character Sora Wakanae has Sora Harukaze, who's idolized by people like Yoko. And Harukaze isn't secretly a woman.
- Berserk Button:
- Don't screw up Sora's work. And imply that he's a woman. And, in turn, talk about the beach.
- Kaoru harbors deep grudge against her mother for conning Tatsumi for child support though he's not her real father, to the point of becoming a Female Misogynist and wanting to be a boy just to be less like her mother. However, when her mother tells, or really lies to her, that Tatsumi really is her father, Kaoru is infuriated and nearly attacks her.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Saki. She seems demure and ladylike, but she's really quite manipulative.
- The Cameo: In the first volume, Shion tells Masahiko that she is going to live with the first stranger she meets. Said first stranger happens to be Ryo Saeba, who, being Ryo is happy with that idea. However, Masahiko takes her away before they can get through with it.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Sora passes out after a single shot. Would make sense in the context of his sex, but it's probably just because he's Sora.
- Cast Full of Gay: Specifically Cast Full of Crossdressers. Everyone wears outfits of both male and female at one point or another.
- Crying Wolf: Both Tatsumi and Saki feigned illness to get Kaoru spend New Year with them. Shortly after their hoax was exposed, they fall ill for real, and Kaoru refused to come over to take care of them because s/he assumed it was just another trick.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: In volume 5, when Sora has appendicits, he insists that his period isn't an excuse to finish his work late. Even when he collapses and is dragged to the hospital, he resists seeing a gynaecologist because he's a man.
- Easy Amnesia: After passing out and hitting his head, Masahiko forgets finding out that Sora and Yukari are transgender. He remembers it all after simply seeing Sora and his coworkers strip naked while drunk.
- First-Episode Twist: The reveal that Sora and Yukari are both transgender is built up to within the first chapter, with Masahiko actively speculating on what they're hiding after Shion tells him they have a secret. After the first chapter however, It becomes completely open and a prominent theme of the manga.
- Guy on Guy Is Hot: Inverted with Asoaka, who is disgusted when she thinks she sees Masahiko and Tatsuya kissing.
- Good Parents: Despite how freaked out Masahiko is initially by his new parents, they turn out to be positive role models who do their best to treat himself and Shion with the love and respect they deserve.
- Have I Mentioned That I Am Heterosexual Today: Masahiko primarily, but most of the characters invoke this trope at one point or another, which is odd considering the manga's focus on transgender themes and alternative gender expression. It's justified at least with Sora and Yukari, who are clearly monogamous and straight, but are far more comfortable with switched gender roles.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Played with. Tatsumi falls in love with a forcibly crossdressing Masahiko and doesn't mind when he finds out that "Masami" is biologically male, but gives up on his love after Masahiko explains that he isn't gay or Transgender. However, it's implied he might still have feelings for Masahiko.
- Insistent Terminology:
- Sora is a man. Sora is Shion's father.
- However, Yukari recognizes that no matter what she does, she is still biologically male. Which is why she gets so emotional over having a child.
- Insufferable Genius: Shion is very smart (and hot, as a girl), but at times will create messes out of fun, especially for Masahiko, and will say she doesn't feel responsible.
- Karaoke Box: There is one at the pub where Masahiko learns the family secret, since he forgot it due to being drunk.
- Kissing Cousins: Masahiko and Shion. However multiple times Masahiko has mentioned he wanted them to be Like Brother and Sister, he's constantly referred to as Shion's brother, and Shion's parents do act as his parents... So it seems like adopted Brother–Sister Incest.
- Manipulative Bitch: Saki often manipulate others from her own interests. However, as revealed on the 65th day, she has Hidden Depths and genuinely cares about Tatsumi and the happiness of her child; she copes with this by "being the villain."
- Masculine, Feminine, Androgyne Trio: The manga plays with many gender tropes with the Wakanae family. Yukari and Sora are a transwoman and transman respectively, and their daughter Shion was allowed to present as either a boy or girl whenever she pleased but seems to mainly live as a woman, though she wishes to go to college as a man and has apparently switched gender presentation every time she has changed schools.
- Mister Seahorse: Sora sees himself as a man, but is technically Shion's biological mother. He initially refused, because men don’t give birth (and also a thing about his job), but agreed when he saw how saddened Yukari was by her inability to carry a child due to being biologically male. While he is ultimately glad that went through with having a child, his pride is greatly damaged when he's reminded of the process he went through for it to happen.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Shion seems to be abnormally strong for herself. Or maybe she's just that technically skilled and athletic.
- No Periods, Period: Averted. Shion confronts Sora during chapter 4 on stealing her tampons because refuses to buy them for himself during his period. In another chapter he suffers through severe 'pre-menstrual' abdominal pain that actually turns out to be appendicitis.
- Not Blood Siblings: Masahiko has feelings for Shion, his adoptive sister. Complicating matters further is that she's also his cousin.
- Opportunistic Bastard: Saki doesn't know who Kaoru's father really is, and, despite telling her this while she was young, in the end she tells Kaoru that Tatsumi really is her father, after Tatsumi pays Saki to do so.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Masahiko is virulently transphobic at the start of the series and lashes out when he discovers that his aunt and uncle are both transgender. His Character Development throughout the manga consequently revolves around overcoming his bigotry and accepting his relatives for who they are.
- Shout-Out: While trying to pass off Sora's breasts as a drunken hallucination, Masahiko mentions hearing that being drunk makes you see pink elephants.
- Shower of Awkward: Completely drunk, Masahiko leans against a door to regain his senses, only to accidentally open it and fall back into the bathroom while Yukari is showering. He's obviously taken aback, but goes into complete shock and passes out once he notices what's between her legs.
- Strong Family Resemblance: When Yukari arrives to ask Masahiko to move in with her family, Misahako initially confuses her for his deceased mother due to their near-identical appearance.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Everyone at Masahiko's entrance ceremony assumes Sora and Yukari are crossdressing transvestites; while this is true normally, the attendees believe they are a man dressing as a woman and a woman dressing as a man, when they are actually dressing as their assigned genders.
- Trans Tribulations: The overarching plot involves Masahiko coming to terms with Sora and Yukari being transgender and Shion being genderfluid. he's initially very uncomfortable and dismissive over their preferred identities, to the point of hoping that requesting they dress as their biological sex during his university's entrance ceremony will make them suddenly stop being trans.
- Trans Relationship Troubles: Masahiko is attracted to his cousin Shion but one issue he has is her genderfluidity. He also is troubled over not knowing her assigned gender.
- Unwanted Harem: Masahiko just keeps collecting suitors. For his female persona, naturally.
- Unsettling Gender-Reveal:
- Masahiko learns Sora and Yukari and transgender by getting an unsightly look at their privates, Sora by trying to change his shirt after Shion douses him and Yukari by stumbling into the bathroom while she's taking a shower.
- Masahiko finds out Sora's assistants are transvestites when they all drunkenly strip dance for him.
- Women Drivers: Yukari has a driver's license but hasn't actually been behind the wheel in fifteen years. On the one occasion when she does take the car out, she winds up driving against traffic and jumping a barrier to get onto the right side of the road.
- Younger Than They Look: Kaoru is strangely tall for a girl, taller than both Shion and Masahiko, but is the youngest one of the group, having just turned 17 at the time of introduction.
