Let's get straight to the point. Chiaki Ogawa is a man.
Ogawa Chiaki makes a living as a Youtuber filming himself cleaning the meat from his father's hunts. Sure, there's a lot of creepy comments to deal with, but it's easy money. He has bigger things to deal with— such as his father's announcement of his colon cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent desire for Chiaki to settle down and get married. The thing is... Chiaki's father still thinks Chiaki is a woman.
To Strip the Flesh (Niku wo Hagu) is a short one-shot manga by Oto Tooda that was published in Shonen Jump + in 2019. The manga can be read in Japanese here.
In 2020, the story was collected with several other short one-shot manga by Tooda and released in an anthology volume, also under the title To Strip The Flesh: Oto Tooda Short Story Collection. It was licensed in English by Viz Media and released in June 2022. Besides the eponymous first story, the collection also contains:
- To Strip The Flesh, Continued: Two short stories that take place after To Strip the Flesh
- I Just Love My Fave: A young woman connects with an older woman over the same idol.
- David In Love: A small replica figurine of Michelangelo's David falls in love with his new owner.
- Hot Watermelon: Through a strange internet urban myth, a depressed NEET learns about the true feelings of his mother.
- Two-Page Manga Collection: A collection of very short manga, each only two pages long.
Tropes appearing in To Strip The Flesh include:
- D-Cup Distress: In an unusually serious use of this trope, Chiaki has a noticeably large chest, and though he never says so outright, it seems to be a big contribution to his gender dysphoria. He doesn't like looking at his own body and frequently fantasizes about getting rid of his breasts, to the point of dreaming about it.
- Dream Sequence: Chiaki has a dream about his father removing his breasts and uterus in a way reminiscent of preparing game meat.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Despite the possible hardships associated with it, Chiaki gets sex reassignment surgery and comes out clearly to his father, who takes it well and accepts him as his son. Two years later, a more masculine-presenting Chiaki, Takatou, and Chiaki's father, noticeably gaunt but still alive, go out to hunt, with Chiaki hosting his stream once again and announcing to his viewers, rifle pointed at them, "I'm Chiaki Oogaki, currently looking for a girlfriend."
- First Period Panic: A flashback reveals that Chiaki got his first period when he was out playing with Takatou at the arcade. This is a bad enough scenario for anyone's first period but as a young trans boy in the closet, it's a deeply upsetting experience for Chiaki who actually ends up vomiting from stress.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: In the panel of Chiaki's father being charged by a wild boar, it's possible to see Chiaki hiding behind a tree a page or so before the actual reveal.
- Food Porn: The manga has a big focus on hunting, so there are a few scenes of the characters enjoying meat. The scenes of Chiaki preparing meat are very detailed as well.
- Manly Men Can Hunt: This manga is a very straight take on this trope: there's a very straight line drawn between masculinity and hunting, and Chiaki isn't allowed to go hunting with his father because he still sees him as a girl. There is a token mention of female hunters, though.
- Maybe Ever After: A bonus page included in the print version reveals that one of Chiaki's old elementary school classmates, Kana, has taken an interest in him and enthusiastically gushes about how cool he is. It's left ambiguous whether she's going to date Chiaki or not.
- Never Trust a Title: Judging from the title alone, you'd think that this manga involves at least some horror. It's actually about a trans man.
- Nice Guy: Takatou is never shown to be anything less than completely accepting and supportive of Chiaki since the time they were children. After his surgery, Chiaki thanks him for all the times he's helped him and calls him the best guy he knows.
- Only Friend: Takatou seems to be Chiaki's only friend and is deeply supportive of him.
- Scars Are Forever: Chiaki's father has a scar from when an animal tore up his stomach. Chiaki has a scar on his arm from when, as a child, he interfered during one of his father's hunts when it went wrong, something Chiaki's father is still torn up about years later.
- Trans Tribulations: Chiaki has been experiencing dysphoria since he was a child but is still in the closet to almost everyone except his doctor and Takatou. His father is very adamant that Chiaki can't hunt because "girls don't hunt." While it's not lingered on, it's heavily hinted that the Youtube comments on his videos about his figure are also bad for his dysphoria.
