Hi,
My post is one day late (two for most people in the world) and I have a topic I want to write about but I'm too tired to go in depth so I'm just going to go into a topic in relation to it which is a lot easier to structure than what I have in mind.
I don't know how many people have actually noticed nor do people care but in the scanlating world, there seems to be this sort of "de facto" law with manga projects. (de facto: in practice or actuality, but not officially established)
The thing is that if you've been reading as long as I have and/or if you aren't always in the clouds when reading, you'd catch on that only one group/scanlator works on a manga. It seems like this exclusivity (note, exclusivity is an actual word) is some de facto law or some unified consensus among the manga community that only one scanlator/group works on a manga and no one else.
First of all, how does this exclusivity work?
Well, I think it's quite simple. From what I've seen over the years, a group has to simply deem themselves as a scanlating group (setting up some kind of webpage be it a forum or a blog or something else; so that people can find it and witness them as a scanlator) and make sure no one else that is established as a scanlating group is working on a project or has noted a project as a future work. If it's a person, well, same thing generally. But this also brings into question how this even began. I think it's just some kind of twist on the human notion of private property as well as the idea that there is no point on starting on a project if it's already being worked on. That's just me though, what I think.
What happens if someone else works on it?
Well usually this only happens with "amateur" scanlators e.g. (e.g. not i.e. -there is a difference) anyone, usually a one man job, who works on a project without consulting the group that has "obtained" exclusive rights to a manga. (Gosh this "obtained exclusive rights" thing just sound ridiculous since scanlators aren't doing anything legal per se.) And this usually happens because the scanlator that has the "exclusive rights" aren't working as quickly as the freeloading masses want them to. As a result, there are usually 2 different scenarios that can play out.
1) The amateur doesn't do a good job at all (stressing on the "amateur" but there are those rare cases where the amateur does a pretty exceptional job) and the release(s) simply serves as a preview (using paint instead of PS is one clear indication). This is good because that means the scanlator is pretty "professional" in the sense that they'll still release the chapter but in better/high quality.
2) The amateur (good or bad) keeps on releasing chapter after chapter and in the end, the scanlators stop working on it. After awhile, the amateur stops too.
Usually when this happens, it's because the scanlators get annoyed that someone else (amateur) is working on it and doesn't see the point of going any further--as for the amateur, they just stop because unlike the scanlator, he/she/they didn't have much obligation to continue working on it.
It actually rarely comes to this but when I sit witness to this, I advise the amateur to consult the scanlators as soon as possible in order to avoid the issue of a project being completely dropped all together. I'm glad they actually listen too
*3) The amateur does a good job at it. I don't know for sure what happens when this is the case because both 1 and 2 can happen but from what I remember with one person, the amateur realizes that #2 can happen and puts out some sort of warning credit/declaration about it as well as telling people not to release it on a manga aggregate site since it's just an amateur release.
It's kind of strange how this exclusiveness works but there are some exceptions and recently I've noticed a few mangas having more than one scanlator working on it and they're not any of the big name mangas either. It's strange when that happens but this is actually related to a topic I may be talking about some other time.
I never really thought about this "strange phenomenon" (or whatever you want to call it) of exclusivity until now but I remember one somewhat recent event that really made me aware of how crude that the practice of exclusivity can be. I'm not going to name anyone but this group, let's call it B (I know, how creative is that?) I remember only released the first chapter of a manga simply fearing another group, A would take it on as a project eventually. This manga had a prequel and a sequel. The prequel was drawn by another mangaka artist (the story is by a novelist) and A was making pretty good momentum in the scanlation of the prequel. The sequel on the other hand (by another mangaka-and in my opinion too flowery with details and doesn't fit well with the prequel at all) was kind of "up for grabs" so to speak. B wanted to work on it but feared that A would eventually work on it first so in a rush, B released a first chapter. I must stress that it's exclusivity in it's most unrefined "raw" state. The chapter was poorly done (cleaning was ok but the translation/grammar was poor--grammar and the flow of the text is necessary for HQ scans IMO) and it was "rumored" that B simply did a quick release in order to obtain the exclusivity. Worst part is that now, B has dropped it. I don't know what B's reasons were for dropping but if the reason for release is true, that's sad. Anyways, it's strange how this works in some ways I think.
But then there's the problem of some groups taking on too many projects that they can't handle it and end up not actually working on them simply because they're more recent mangas that are released by magazines... To solve that problem, I think some scanlators should look to volumes and not magazines as well as completed mangas instead of ongoing. But another day for another topic to go into I suppose.
That's all I have to say. I hope you enjoyed. If not, not my problem =)
Have a great week!
tohukyo
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
The Beef With Manga Aggregate Sites (A brief "analysis")
Good Morning visitors,
So this post will be very general (VERY GENERAL) info on what I know about the situation and some personal opinion about manga aggregate sites and the continuing feud between scanlators and manga aggregate sites for years now.
I don't know how many people know about this (not that much compared to the whole population of online readers) but for years, scanlators have had a lot of "beef" with manga aggregate sites. Now, first is the idiom of "someone having a beef with someone" i.e. a problem or bad relationship with someone. Second, what is a manga aggregate site? Generally it's a manga hosting site that collects all or as many of the translated work that scanlators do and host it on their site for people to read. (eg mangafox, mangahere, tenmanga, etc) If you just started off in the online manga world then I don't expect you to know much of this but it's some information you don't want to miss out on. If you remained ignorant despite reading for awhile, it's about time to get educated. If you know about this and continue to ignore and not care, then you are just trying to annoy me. (edit: 07/30/2013)-Not proud to know that my brother is one of those indifferent people....
I don't know how many people know about this (not that much compared to the whole population of online readers) but for years, scanlators have had a lot of "beef" with manga aggregate sites. Now, first is the idiom of "someone having a beef with someone" i.e. a problem or bad relationship with someone. Second, what is a manga aggregate site? Generally it's a manga hosting site that collects all or as many of the translated work that scanlators do and host it on their site for people to read. (eg mangafox, mangahere, tenmanga, etc) If you just started off in the online manga world then I don't expect you to know much of this but it's some information you don't want to miss out on. If you remained ignorant despite reading for awhile, it's about time to get educated. If you know about this and continue to ignore and not care, then you are just trying to annoy me. (edit: 07/30/2013)-Not proud to know that my brother is one of those indifferent people....
Ok so, I'm not sure when this feud really started but it was about a few years ago when I realized how unpleasant and uncomfortable I was with the whole thing and I sympathized with the scanlators. First of all, just hosting on its own is quite harmless I think except that there are scanlators who depends on visitors to kind of make a profit to support their own sites. I'm not too sure about that but as far as I know, manga hosting itself is innocent except when they start putting ads up on the pages for profits. The things is that with a manga aggregate site and hosting manga, every time you click, you get a new page of ads as well. Think about it, let's say the average number of pages in a chapter is about 20-30, then you include the fact that you may read more than one chapter in a day and the fact that thousands are doing the same thing from the comfort of a accessible internet device worldwide. No doubt that people got the light bulb and thought that it would be an excellent way to make a profit. Some people claim that the ads don't do anything as long as you don't click on it. I don't know how much that is true but bottom line is that these sites are pocketing the money off of the hard work of scanlators who buy raws, scan, translate, proofread, clean/crop/level/redraw them, typeset, and edit/QC them. (Some do occasional color pages too!) These people aren't making profits off of any of the scans they work on yet someone else is doing that and pocketing the money for themselves....Anyone see how messed up that is?
Now the moral grounds...yes scanlators and what they do with raws is illegal. They do stop if contacted by the publisher or if something is license (I hope). But they simply do this (at least I assume most of them do so) because they want to share their love for mangas AND the fact that not everyone has the privilege to access them in a language internationally understood. Most of the mangas that are professionally (ie through a publisher) translated into english have kind of been not so great in my opinion (especially tokyo pop mangas) There have been a few that have upped the game recently like Yen Press but there aren't many. One of the best sadly died a few years back too....CMX (may you rest in peace). Anyways, there is an argument that scanlating reduces international sales but 1) scanlators aren't making profits off of what they do and 2)it is true that it reduces profits but again, things aren't being translated/published in english and not everyone has that access to buying translated text.
The bottom line generally (and I stress this is an over simplification!!!) for manga aggregate sites is that it's unfair that they're making profits off of the illegal work that scanlators do voluntarily on their own time for free. One way how not to contribute? Get a damn Adblocker. I know firefox and chrome has it as extensions. I'm not sure about other browsers but I'm sure you can just google it and find one you can download for your browser. This application blocks ads from all sites including the video ads for youtube. You can also disable the application for sites that need the profits from ads like Batoto which I believe uses the profits from site to pay for the site which is supposed to be a scanlator friendly site for all languages. (good site to use if you want a good will aggregate site).
Personally for me, I use an Adblocker because I do not want to take part in the profits of sites like those. Secondly, I use batoto and scanlator sites/readers to read as much as possible but I don't know what sites are affiliated with profiting hence the adblocker. It's kind of hypocritical for me to denounce people who visit sites that are profiting as I've described in a very generic way because I'm a pretty avid poster on one of the most notorious manga aggregate sites ever, Mangafox. Maybe the difference is that people just remain ignorant and that really gets to me because they either think the sites themselves do the work or they don't care at all about HQ scans, expecting scanlators to come up with a new chapter within days of the previous release! Now back to my own hypocrisy of visiting MF...I go mainly for the discussion community which I think is the best there is, honest to god. It's a great place to visit for discussion and I've been with it for years now. When I first started out on mangafox though, it wasn't as terrible as it is now in terms of respecting the wishes of scanlators. I was here when anime-eden existed and I know for a fact that the staff used to take down mangas upon request but that stopped happening of course when voluntary forum staff were finally denied access to regulating the mangas that were uploaded to the hosting sites (this has NOEZ written all over it, the owner of MF and very notorious-HQ located in China). I feel kind of bad since it was once a quite respectable site to a certain degree when the voluntary staff still had that access....But anyways, if you aren't ready to make the shift just yet, just get the Adblocker. It'll save you a lot of loading time from the ads as well so you might as well get one. But I encourage going to scanlators who have readers of their own or go to batoto. Might as well thank them after you read them no?
I want to say more but this is getting to be too long and I'm getting tired (typing this at midnight before I go to bed). I want to say more and wish I structured this post a lot better and more eloquently but I've got a lot going on.
For more info (and you should want to look into this more) go to:
For more info (and you should want to look into this more) go to:
- 06-11-2010 (Anime News Network) Manga Aggregator to Close as OpenManga Plans Launch
- 08-04-2011 (Manga Updates) A Tale of Two Manga Readers
**09-25-2011 (Evil Flowers Scans) Dear fans…- 01-22-2012 The age of scanlators and money--This one is a little touchy on just the whole business of scanlating but I think it's informative.
01-25-2012 (Japanzai) Watermarks/NOEZ- 1*04-15-2012 (Batoto) Mangafox & Co. - How NOEZ does Business
- 2*04-10-2012 (Batoto) Mangafox & Co. - How NOEZ does Business
- 01-29-2012 (Batoto) Are some scan groups really better then Noez
03-08-2013 (Omari's Sister Scans) Please Boycott MangaFox and Other Manga Aggregators- 05-13-2013 (Anime Loot) Why sites like MangaFox are Run by Douche bags for Douche bags
Sura's Place
(read a part of the journey of one scanlator, no longer wanting to deal with this feud anymore)
Gosh, as I copy and pasted the links and skimmed through some of them (many are familiar), I'm getting the same nauseous feeling I did the first time I found out about this....
Bye,
tohukyo
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Kare Kano
Hi everyone,
This is going to be a short post compared to my other ones because this is just going to be about a manga that I feel like writing about.
Kare Kano by Tsuda Masami
This manga is probably one of my most favorite mangas. It is a definite all time classic for shoujos as well so if you read shoujo, this is one story definitely shouldn't miss out. (But because it's kind of a mature read so I think it qualifies as a josei in some ways). Well I should actually say "stories" since this is one of those mangas where all the characters become close to your heart as you read and journey through all 21 volumes.
So, the reason why I felt like writing about this manga today is because recently I decided to reread/skim through the manga. I've always thought of it as like the bible of shoujo, the golden story that is shoujo at its best and brightest but I lost touch of it and felt like recently in about a year or so, I forgot what was the reason for why I thought that. Well, because I recently "reread" it, I've rediscovered this feeling and truly, it is (in my personal opinion) practically the bible of shoujo. It really is falling in love all over again. But it wasn't until I finished it that I felt this. I guess it's one of those mangas that has a process and by the time one comes to the end, one realizes just how wonderful the experience and journey was and reflect well on it. This definitely is one of the things I love about completed mangas (just in reference to one of my earlier posts).
Now this story touches on so many aspects. True love, Friendship, Loyalty, Youth (high school), Unconditional Love, Trauma, Family, and so much more. It really hits the core of adolescence in a sense because it really shines through the struggles to maintain or create an identity but also to retain/find one's self as "being yourself." It's because it hits on so much of reality (slice of life genre), it really does carry the reader through a lot and with that, you really feel compelled to love it and really do love it.
With so many aspects that it touches on, there are so many stories to tell as well.
Main story--I don't want to give too much away but the main character story is between a girl, Yukino and a guy, Arima. Both are top students, perfect models that teachers want their students to be, and great leadership skills. However their reality isn't what is reflected, their act is simply a theatrical performance of perfection and only when they meet each other do they crack through this performance with personal happiness within sight. However Yukino's reality is much more simply and exudes the happy and loving family environment she has always been raised in (plus her own little cunning and charming capitalistic attitude). Arima on the other hand has a much deeper and darker reality that he has buried since childhood due to the unstable environment he was raised in a "typical" crazy "noble" and successful family (all that pressure and expectation to uphold family legacy goes back generations before Arima. It's like he's a victim). This main story is spread out through most of the 21 volumes.
Within the 21 volumes, we take occasional breaks with insertion of a fun high school youth life with friends and well as get peaks into the stories of other characters. There are a lot of substories involving the secondary characters themselves (ranging in length from one to a few chapters long). I don't want to list them all since it's kind of a spoiler with introduction of new characters but I'll just say this. It's quite uncommon for any manga to reveal the background stories but this isn't just any manga. Not only do the friends get some background and their own little stories, but we even get to know about Yukino's parents as well as Arima's family history (this one is especially important in order for Arima to break the curse of the Arima family).
This style of manga, this is of an older generation per se (not that old though). It's not as fast pace and it's more "innocent" because it focuses on the more profound moments and relationships of life. It's as though with the complexity of the storyline and the multiple sub storylines, to go too quick of a pace would have ruined the manga but everything just moved smoothly for Kare Kano.
But I must stress that this is different for everyone. Personally, I picked up this manga when I was young (like 11 or 12) and what I consider quite ignorant and didn't really understand the meanings behind the profoundness of most of the mangas I read (the way I read novels was completely different from how I read mangas too back then). It was until I was in high school when I finally picked it up again online and read through everything with my full attention that I realized the greatness of the storyline. This isn't for everyone though and you might not have the patience to last 21 volumes that has not only the main storyline but also sub stories. However, it is definitely worth reading since it is a very different style from what we're exposed to (given what we have from the scanlators). Read it with an open mind and if you can't handle reading some parts, just let it sit for a day, take a break from it.
Sorry if I sounded like I butchered it and was repetitive. I started on this earlier in the week when I finished rereading Kare Kano and I was still really hyped up on the energy and love I felt for it. Personally, I call it the perfect shoujo youth high school life manga =) Friendship, Love, Loyalty, High school youth. It shows love comes in all different sizes and different ways. Also, despite it being an older style, it certainly has a lot of modern and beyond contemporary thinking (this may not be as clear until you reach the end of the story).
That's all, until next time,
tohukyo
(Lol said it'll be short...oops.)
This is going to be a short post compared to my other ones because this is just going to be about a manga that I feel like writing about.
Kare Kano by Tsuda Masami
This manga is probably one of my most favorite mangas. It is a definite all time classic for shoujos as well so if you read shoujo, this is one story definitely shouldn't miss out. (But because it's kind of a mature read so I think it qualifies as a josei in some ways). Well I should actually say "stories" since this is one of those mangas where all the characters become close to your heart as you read and journey through all 21 volumes.
So, the reason why I felt like writing about this manga today is because recently I decided to reread/skim through the manga. I've always thought of it as like the bible of shoujo, the golden story that is shoujo at its best and brightest but I lost touch of it and felt like recently in about a year or so, I forgot what was the reason for why I thought that. Well, because I recently "reread" it, I've rediscovered this feeling and truly, it is (in my personal opinion) practically the bible of shoujo. It really is falling in love all over again. But it wasn't until I finished it that I felt this. I guess it's one of those mangas that has a process and by the time one comes to the end, one realizes just how wonderful the experience and journey was and reflect well on it. This definitely is one of the things I love about completed mangas (just in reference to one of my earlier posts).
Now this story touches on so many aspects. True love, Friendship, Loyalty, Youth (high school), Unconditional Love, Trauma, Family, and so much more. It really hits the core of adolescence in a sense because it really shines through the struggles to maintain or create an identity but also to retain/find one's self as "being yourself." It's because it hits on so much of reality (slice of life genre), it really does carry the reader through a lot and with that, you really feel compelled to love it and really do love it.
With so many aspects that it touches on, there are so many stories to tell as well.
Main story--I don't want to give too much away but the main character story is between a girl, Yukino and a guy, Arima. Both are top students, perfect models that teachers want their students to be, and great leadership skills. However their reality isn't what is reflected, their act is simply a theatrical performance of perfection and only when they meet each other do they crack through this performance with personal happiness within sight. However Yukino's reality is much more simply and exudes the happy and loving family environment she has always been raised in (plus her own little cunning and charming capitalistic attitude). Arima on the other hand has a much deeper and darker reality that he has buried since childhood due to the unstable environment he was raised in a "typical" crazy "noble" and successful family (all that pressure and expectation to uphold family legacy goes back generations before Arima. It's like he's a victim). This main story is spread out through most of the 21 volumes.
Within the 21 volumes, we take occasional breaks with insertion of a fun high school youth life with friends and well as get peaks into the stories of other characters. There are a lot of substories involving the secondary characters themselves (ranging in length from one to a few chapters long). I don't want to list them all since it's kind of a spoiler with introduction of new characters but I'll just say this. It's quite uncommon for any manga to reveal the background stories but this isn't just any manga. Not only do the friends get some background and their own little stories, but we even get to know about Yukino's parents as well as Arima's family history (this one is especially important in order for Arima to break the curse of the Arima family).
This style of manga, this is of an older generation per se (not that old though). It's not as fast pace and it's more "innocent" because it focuses on the more profound moments and relationships of life. It's as though with the complexity of the storyline and the multiple sub storylines, to go too quick of a pace would have ruined the manga but everything just moved smoothly for Kare Kano.
But I must stress that this is different for everyone. Personally, I picked up this manga when I was young (like 11 or 12) and what I consider quite ignorant and didn't really understand the meanings behind the profoundness of most of the mangas I read (the way I read novels was completely different from how I read mangas too back then). It was until I was in high school when I finally picked it up again online and read through everything with my full attention that I realized the greatness of the storyline. This isn't for everyone though and you might not have the patience to last 21 volumes that has not only the main storyline but also sub stories. However, it is definitely worth reading since it is a very different style from what we're exposed to (given what we have from the scanlators). Read it with an open mind and if you can't handle reading some parts, just let it sit for a day, take a break from it.
Sorry if I sounded like I butchered it and was repetitive. I started on this earlier in the week when I finished rereading Kare Kano and I was still really hyped up on the energy and love I felt for it. Personally, I call it the perfect shoujo youth high school life manga =) Friendship, Love, Loyalty, High school youth. It shows love comes in all different sizes and different ways. Also, despite it being an older style, it certainly has a lot of modern and beyond contemporary thinking (this may not be as clear until you reach the end of the story).
That's all, until next time,
tohukyo
(Lol said it'll be short...oops.)
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Gender Bender-Physical/Mental Transformation
Hello,
Earlier this week I posted a topic about gender benders for cross dressing. This is the second part and clearly it was best to split the topic in two since the first one was quite long already.
So for this type of gender bender, there are a lot of different types of plots for this type of genre itself as well but typically it's just a variation of boy to girl transformation or vice versa physically and/or mentally.
TOTAL TRANSFORMATION
One of type of gender bender plot is the total transformation from one gender to the other. Sometimes it is through a strange phenomenon, sometimes, maybe, it is through gene therapy. Most of the ones I've read are because of a strange phenomenon that is somewhat related to genetics/biology. It is one of my favorite type of gender bender story because it's just very out of the norm since not only does the character also have to adjust mentally but there are a lot of elements in their lives they have to adapt to according to their new identity.
Here are some of my favorites.
*The Day of Revolution by Tsuda Mikiyo (completed)
This is actually probably the manga that really got me into gender benders. And once again it's Tsuda Mikiyo. What really captured me about this manga is probably the whole idea of a born man who is pretty normal but is suddenly hit with the fact that he is supposed to be a girl and then actually goes through with a transformation surgically. It's a great comedy as well and although it's short, it's a fun read.
*Kanojo ni Naru Hi by Ogura Akane (ongoing)
(Edit: 07.30.2013)Promising new manga. Nice characters. The subject of the gender bender is really cool about the whole circumstances of his gender bender-ness. It's pretty interesting.
CLICK by Lee Young ran (completed)
(Edit: 07.30.2013)This is an ok manhwa. The art may not be appealing to many since it's not really the typical shoujo kind of art. You may not like it so much in terms because all of the characters aren't attractive personalities.
~Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki (completed)
(Edit: 07.30.2013)I read this a long time ago and I wouldn't call it a favorite either but it is worth reading. Reading it is a little confusing though because there is a lot going on. It draws on the whole angels versus demons thing as well as the arch angels. But WARNING, it's a forbidden fruit story at it's core-Highlight to see the "spoiler"-->INCEST<--
IMPERMANENT GENDER SWITCH
If the heading isn't clear (which should be), this plot is basically like a hovering between genders. It's nothing like androgyny. It's physical complete changes from boy to girl or girl to boy but not permanent (therefore impermanent). There are actually very little stories that I've read or checked out that qualify for this and it's probably just really difficult to write because of all the drama. There is only one I've fully invested my interest in and there are a few others that I quit since I couldn't get into it very well.
Here are the more "notable" ones:
*Ame Nochi Hare by Bikke (ongoing)
This, if it finishes to the end in scanlating, will probably among my favorite gender benders. It's a new twist and take on gender bender for sure. We get a sort of sneak peak in the lives of boys in a boys' school (yes it's fiction, just roll with it) but they experience a strange phenomenon of gender transformation whenever there is rain. I especially enjoy how even though they are men mentally, through the transformation to women, they can sort of see what it's like to be a girl....Trust me it's a lot more interesting than the way I've put it and the characters that have been chosen for this strange phenomenon aren't particularly ordinary people either. I guess it brings new appreciation for the other sex for these young men. Anyways, quite an interesting part of the story right now especially when young love is especially susceptible whether boy or girl.
*Baroque by Ogawa Yayoi
(Edit: 07.30.2013) New manga. Can't say much about it since I kind of forgot what it's about.
~Divine Melody by Yi Huan
(Edit: 07.30.2013) Not my favorite written Yi Huan but I thought I'd throw it up here. It's a historical fiction manga too. For me though, the beginning was frustrating for me to read through...just saying.
BODY SWITCH
As lame as this might sound, if anyone has watched Freaky Friday (the hit movie starring Lindsey Lohan) or the K-Drama Secret Garden, that's the general idea. Usually the plot is switching bodies so the guy mentality is in a girls' body and the girl mentality is in guy's body (rarely same sex like in the movie Freaky Friday). I guess you can say it's funny and interesting but I haven't found many of much interest to myself-or it's just that I haven't found time to actually read it. This might actually be my least enjoyed plot of this genre but it makes for good lighthearted comedy so I'll give it that.
The following are the only ones I've gotten into for the comedy:
Yamada and the Seven Witches by Yoshikawa Miki (going)
This is one of the most hilarious mangas I've read. It's not exclusively a gender bender but it certainly adds to the fun of this story. I think what I like about it most is that it isn't a shoujo manga so there is less melodrama which is sometimes just the key downfall to a gender bender with this kind of manga plot. Because it isn't a shoujo manga and instead a seinen/shounen (i don't remember which one right now), the characters are more fun and diverse in personality which really makes for an awesome manga and comedy.
My Barbaric Girlfriend by Morinaga Ai (completed)
(Edit: 01.29.2014) It's been really long time this manga was updated. It's really funny and certainly kind of tries to mix up the femininity and masculinity gender norms. Seeing the polarized personalities, I want them to remain switched and date other people but others want them to change back and also date each other...I feel for the guy.
*Orange Chocolate by Yamada Nanpei
This one I stopped reading because I got tired of waiting for updates so I decided to wait 'til later to get into it but I haven't had time to do that. I simply list it here because I think it's good based on the general story line which I know of. It also features fine art in terms of traditional dance so it gives the manga a boost in originality.
MENTAL GENDER BENDER
For me, I had to separate this as its own plot because the stories aren't actual gender benders but more like gender benders in the sense that it's mental. This is probably the most relevant for past lives mangas where the whole born with your past life memories exist but the memories are of you as the opposite gender ergo "mental" gender bender. Now there hasn't exactly been any gender confusion from the past and present gender but I felt like it had to have a category of its own since mentally, one still has had that experience and it still impacts them in the present.
*Bokura no Kiseki by Kumeta Natsuo
Ok, if you were reading what I was describing for this gender bender type of plot, you'd probably would have predicted me mentioning this manga. If not, oh well. Ok so this manga is categorized as josei but the thing is that this manga kind of is at a stand still in terms of audience which usually defines the genres a manga is tagged with. Bokura no Kiseki involves an ancient/past world in which the practices still continue to exist in present time for some unknown reason. The real thriller of this manga is the mystery that surrounds the whole "why" select people of the present remember the past and have been reincarnated with the magic of the past. Again with Bokura no Kiseki, it's a lot more interesting than how I've described it here. (I'm not very good at writing clearly). Anyways, several characters are reincarnated but of the opposite sex. It seems like key players have this phenomenon including the protagonist. I don't know if it's a coincidence but if not and it was on purpose, well that just adds to the fun of this mystery and thriller especially since everyone who was reincarnated died from a war that began (for which nobody knows why) and everyone is split into factions of good/evil/neutral/and whatever. Once again, I've done this manga no justice in my description but it's certainly caught my interest since the first chapter was released and promises that it won't disappoint anyone.
~NG Life by Kusanagi Mizuho
This one is also a past life manga but since I stopped reading it and haven't picked it up since, I'm not too certain about the gender bender factor here. I do know that the protagonist isn't experiencing any "mental gender bender-ness" but a few of the other characters do (difference is that they don't remember their past lives and I'm not sure if they will ever since I didn't finish it).
ANDROGYNY
Well for a gender bender genre, it seems like androgyny is new or it's just that no one has scanlated one like it or no one has published any manga in english on it. If you don't know what androgyny is, it's generally the idea that you can't tell the sex of a person by their physique/appearance. It's a rare plot for a transformation gender bender. It's more typical for a "non-transformational" (yes not an actual word) gender bender I suppose but I think it's more special for a "transformational" (yes not an actual word) so I'm giving it its own category.
*Magnolia by Naked Ape
I only know of one such gender bender thus far with this kind of plot and Magnolia is it. I feel like this manga just goes to show that maybe sex isn't so binary. It's a huge struggle and in this manga, it just shows how the social construction of gender is complex and how it is so central to the identity of a person. These "iconic" images of what a man or woman is, how s/he should behave as well as the expectations of each gender that stem from the biology of sex, this manga really just shows how a person can struggle with this binary of man and woman. But enough with that.
What's really interesting about this manga is the struggle that the main character, Crown Prince Ayato goes through. It's an internal fight of love(woman) versus pride(man)? (Is pride the right word?) But Ayato has been raised as a male and having been raised as one and not achieving maturation of puberty at his age has really kind of screwed him up mentally. The parents kind of messed up on that but I guess it makes the story. It's a really interesting manga but my problem with it is how there is this kind of direction in which readers seem to be forced to lean towards Ayato as becoming female instead of male since Ayato loves a man and not a woman (loving a man will transform him to be a woman). Nevertheless, it's a interesting on going manga.
Sigh...this was a really longer than expected post and I don't expect anyone to actually read through it. Well got things out from pen to paper so to speak.
Bye,
tohukyo
Earlier this week I posted a topic about gender benders for cross dressing. This is the second part and clearly it was best to split the topic in two since the first one was quite long already.
So for this type of gender bender, there are a lot of different types of plots for this type of genre itself as well but typically it's just a variation of boy to girl transformation or vice versa physically and/or mentally.
TOTAL TRANSFORMATION
One of type of gender bender plot is the total transformation from one gender to the other. Sometimes it is through a strange phenomenon, sometimes, maybe, it is through gene therapy. Most of the ones I've read are because of a strange phenomenon that is somewhat related to genetics/biology. It is one of my favorite type of gender bender story because it's just very out of the norm since not only does the character also have to adjust mentally but there are a lot of elements in their lives they have to adapt to according to their new identity.
Here are some of my favorites.
*The Day of Revolution by Tsuda Mikiyo (completed)
This is actually probably the manga that really got me into gender benders. And once again it's Tsuda Mikiyo. What really captured me about this manga is probably the whole idea of a born man who is pretty normal but is suddenly hit with the fact that he is supposed to be a girl and then actually goes through with a transformation surgically. It's a great comedy as well and although it's short, it's a fun read.
*Kanojo ni Naru Hi by Ogura Akane (ongoing)
(Edit: 07.30.2013)Promising new manga. Nice characters. The subject of the gender bender is really cool about the whole circumstances of his gender bender-ness. It's pretty interesting.
CLICK by Lee Young ran (completed)
(Edit: 07.30.2013)This is an ok manhwa. The art may not be appealing to many since it's not really the typical shoujo kind of art. You may not like it so much in terms because all of the characters aren't attractive personalities.
~Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki (completed)
(Edit: 07.30.2013)I read this a long time ago and I wouldn't call it a favorite either but it is worth reading. Reading it is a little confusing though because there is a lot going on. It draws on the whole angels versus demons thing as well as the arch angels. But WARNING, it's a forbidden fruit story at it's core-Highlight to see the "spoiler"-->INCEST<--
IMPERMANENT GENDER SWITCH
If the heading isn't clear (which should be), this plot is basically like a hovering between genders. It's nothing like androgyny. It's physical complete changes from boy to girl or girl to boy but not permanent (therefore impermanent). There are actually very little stories that I've read or checked out that qualify for this and it's probably just really difficult to write because of all the drama. There is only one I've fully invested my interest in and there are a few others that I quit since I couldn't get into it very well.
Here are the more "notable" ones:
*Ame Nochi Hare by Bikke (ongoing)
This, if it finishes to the end in scanlating, will probably among my favorite gender benders. It's a new twist and take on gender bender for sure. We get a sort of sneak peak in the lives of boys in a boys' school (yes it's fiction, just roll with it) but they experience a strange phenomenon of gender transformation whenever there is rain. I especially enjoy how even though they are men mentally, through the transformation to women, they can sort of see what it's like to be a girl....Trust me it's a lot more interesting than the way I've put it and the characters that have been chosen for this strange phenomenon aren't particularly ordinary people either. I guess it brings new appreciation for the other sex for these young men. Anyways, quite an interesting part of the story right now especially when young love is especially susceptible whether boy or girl.
*Baroque by Ogawa Yayoi
(Edit: 07.30.2013) New manga. Can't say much about it since I kind of forgot what it's about.
~Divine Melody by Yi Huan
(Edit: 07.30.2013) Not my favorite written Yi Huan but I thought I'd throw it up here. It's a historical fiction manga too. For me though, the beginning was frustrating for me to read through...just saying.
BODY SWITCH
As lame as this might sound, if anyone has watched Freaky Friday (the hit movie starring Lindsey Lohan) or the K-Drama Secret Garden, that's the general idea. Usually the plot is switching bodies so the guy mentality is in a girls' body and the girl mentality is in guy's body (rarely same sex like in the movie Freaky Friday). I guess you can say it's funny and interesting but I haven't found many of much interest to myself-or it's just that I haven't found time to actually read it. This might actually be my least enjoyed plot of this genre but it makes for good lighthearted comedy so I'll give it that.
The following are the only ones I've gotten into for the comedy:
Yamada and the Seven Witches by Yoshikawa Miki (going)
This is one of the most hilarious mangas I've read. It's not exclusively a gender bender but it certainly adds to the fun of this story. I think what I like about it most is that it isn't a shoujo manga so there is less melodrama which is sometimes just the key downfall to a gender bender with this kind of manga plot. Because it isn't a shoujo manga and instead a seinen/shounen (i don't remember which one right now), the characters are more fun and diverse in personality which really makes for an awesome manga and comedy.
My Barbaric Girlfriend by Morinaga Ai (completed)
(Edit: 01.29.2014) It's been really long time this manga was updated. It's really funny and certainly kind of tries to mix up the femininity and masculinity gender norms. Seeing the polarized personalities, I want them to remain switched and date other people but others want them to change back and also date each other...I feel for the guy.
*Orange Chocolate by Yamada Nanpei
This one I stopped reading because I got tired of waiting for updates so I decided to wait 'til later to get into it but I haven't had time to do that. I simply list it here because I think it's good based on the general story line which I know of. It also features fine art in terms of traditional dance so it gives the manga a boost in originality.
MENTAL GENDER BENDER
For me, I had to separate this as its own plot because the stories aren't actual gender benders but more like gender benders in the sense that it's mental. This is probably the most relevant for past lives mangas where the whole born with your past life memories exist but the memories are of you as the opposite gender ergo "mental" gender bender. Now there hasn't exactly been any gender confusion from the past and present gender but I felt like it had to have a category of its own since mentally, one still has had that experience and it still impacts them in the present.
*Bokura no Kiseki by Kumeta Natsuo
Ok, if you were reading what I was describing for this gender bender type of plot, you'd probably would have predicted me mentioning this manga. If not, oh well. Ok so this manga is categorized as josei but the thing is that this manga kind of is at a stand still in terms of audience which usually defines the genres a manga is tagged with. Bokura no Kiseki involves an ancient/past world in which the practices still continue to exist in present time for some unknown reason. The real thriller of this manga is the mystery that surrounds the whole "why" select people of the present remember the past and have been reincarnated with the magic of the past. Again with Bokura no Kiseki, it's a lot more interesting than how I've described it here. (I'm not very good at writing clearly). Anyways, several characters are reincarnated but of the opposite sex. It seems like key players have this phenomenon including the protagonist. I don't know if it's a coincidence but if not and it was on purpose, well that just adds to the fun of this mystery and thriller especially since everyone who was reincarnated died from a war that began (for which nobody knows why) and everyone is split into factions of good/evil/neutral/and whatever. Once again, I've done this manga no justice in my description but it's certainly caught my interest since the first chapter was released and promises that it won't disappoint anyone.
~NG Life by Kusanagi Mizuho
This one is also a past life manga but since I stopped reading it and haven't picked it up since, I'm not too certain about the gender bender factor here. I do know that the protagonist isn't experiencing any "mental gender bender-ness" but a few of the other characters do (difference is that they don't remember their past lives and I'm not sure if they will ever since I didn't finish it).
ANDROGYNY
Well for a gender bender genre, it seems like androgyny is new or it's just that no one has scanlated one like it or no one has published any manga in english on it. If you don't know what androgyny is, it's generally the idea that you can't tell the sex of a person by their physique/appearance. It's a rare plot for a transformation gender bender. It's more typical for a "non-transformational" (yes not an actual word) gender bender I suppose but I think it's more special for a "transformational" (yes not an actual word) so I'm giving it its own category.
*Magnolia by Naked Ape
I only know of one such gender bender thus far with this kind of plot and Magnolia is it. I feel like this manga just goes to show that maybe sex isn't so binary. It's a huge struggle and in this manga, it just shows how the social construction of gender is complex and how it is so central to the identity of a person. These "iconic" images of what a man or woman is, how s/he should behave as well as the expectations of each gender that stem from the biology of sex, this manga really just shows how a person can struggle with this binary of man and woman. But enough with that.
What's really interesting about this manga is the struggle that the main character, Crown Prince Ayato goes through. It's an internal fight of love(woman) versus pride(man)? (Is pride the right word?) But Ayato has been raised as a male and having been raised as one and not achieving maturation of puberty at his age has really kind of screwed him up mentally. The parents kind of messed up on that but I guess it makes the story. It's a really interesting manga but my problem with it is how there is this kind of direction in which readers seem to be forced to lean towards Ayato as becoming female instead of male since Ayato loves a man and not a woman (loving a man will transform him to be a woman). Nevertheless, it's a interesting on going manga.
Sigh...this was a really longer than expected post and I don't expect anyone to actually read through it. Well got things out from pen to paper so to speak.
Bye,
tohukyo
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Gender Bender-Cross Dressing
Greetings "anyone reading",
It's not Sunday but I forgot about the blog this week since I had a bunch of tests and papers to do. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if I forget again since summer session for college is pretty hectic....
Didn't have a topic prepared and so I'm just going to go with it since there have been a lot of new mangas coming out with this genre. If you haven't figured out the topic (you fail) but anyways, the topic is the genres Gender Bender.
This genre, Gender Bender, is one of my favorite genres now. It just creates new twists in a story but of course there are good ones and bad ones. Luckily a lot of the good ones are being scanlated so I don't have to scratch my eyes out when I happen to land on bad ones every so often.
It's not Sunday but I forgot about the blog this week since I had a bunch of tests and papers to do. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if I forget again since summer session for college is pretty hectic....
Didn't have a topic prepared and so I'm just going to go with it since there have been a lot of new mangas coming out with this genre. If you haven't figured out the topic (you fail) but anyways, the topic is the genres Gender Bender.
This genre, Gender Bender, is one of my favorite genres now. It just creates new twists in a story but of course there are good ones and bad ones. Luckily a lot of the good ones are being scanlated so I don't have to scratch my eyes out when I happen to land on bad ones every so often.
I think there are two types of gender benders, cross dressing (boy to girl and/or girl to boy) and actual gender transformation (boy to girl and/or girl to boy). These two create completely different kinds of stories but both are great reads if they're written well.
Cross Dressing Gender Benders
This kind of gender bender is interesting. Typically, the plot has to do with a person attempting to hide his/her gender and is completely surrounded by the opposite gender that is being disguised. That's the usual twist of this sort of genre which gives enough for the story to spin out of the norm and dip into more originality. Of course I wouldn't be surprised if people know about Hana Kimi since it is probably the most popular cross dressing gender bender out there. (Also note, I'm referring to shoujo mangas since I'm mainly a shoujo/josei reader.)
I'll also give props to the cross dressing mangas where people around know the true gender of the characters because those stories also have a lot of fun in them. It's something different since it's not common for a cross dressing gender bender.
But I think the ones that I'm most annoyed about are the ones in the entertainment industry because most end up being pathetic (most of those that I read in this category). If anyone has watched the K-drama Your Beautiful, it's kind of like that but more annoying and frustrating as well as pathetic on the side of the female who is usually the person who is disguising herself as a male. Other than that, as long as the female lead isn't terribly pathetic, I'm usually ok with the storyline. (Of course this isn't only for gender benders)
Nevertheless, here are some of my favorite gender bender cross dressing stories out there.
W Juliet (completed)
This manga by EMURA definitely uses the gender bender genre to its fullest with its originality. This is also one of EMURA's earlier works so the art progresses throughout the series. It's one of my favorite all time mangas though. Great story.
FUN FACT: There is a twist to the name W Juliet-originally the main character Makoto was supposed to be named Ito like the female lead Ito but since the editor didn't approve, it was changed to Makoto. If it was left with both main characters being named Ito, the title W Juliet would make more sense of course.
Charisma Doll (completed)
I wouldn't say this is one of the best gender bender cross dressing mangas but it certainly has its own charm or "charisma" you can say. This one is by Kurahashi Erika who has a pretty good talent for writing mangas. It takes place in the entertainment world but she also uses the genre with originality. It's kind of timeless for me, something I can reread when bored (I've probably reread it at least once a year since I first read it)
Here are some noteworthy cross dressing
HUSH by Yoon Ji Un (ongoing)
Disappointingly this is an MIA project. I'd love to see it active again but highly unlikely (but I'm still hoping). I like the relationships in this one and the art is wonderful as well (manhwaga of Cynical Orange!). *fingers crossed!!
Princess Princess by Tsuda Mikiyo (completed)
This mangaka is no stranger to gender benders and she's made a lot of spin offs from the original story Day of Revolution, this one being one of them. It's a fun comedy and definitely a great laugh. It's a shounen ai touch teaser in a way but very comedic
Savage Garden by Lee Hyeon-Sook (completed)
The manhwaga of Flowers of Evil, everyone who has read her work knows how twisted her work can get. I love a good historical fiction as well especially set in the west (in this case England). And not only is it a gender bender, there's more fun with scandalous sodomy.
Love Sick by Morie Satoshi (completed)
It's snail slow initially but if you pull through, you're in for a good story. The thing I liked the best was that despite people knowing she was a girl, she was totally immersed in her identity as a male and was determined to fulfill her goal to its end. Her ambition for revenge was never forgotten which is awesome yet sad since most stories that are like this one (plus or minus gender bender) end up forgetting about their initial ambition (revenge or not).
Legend of Nereid by Hwang Mi Ri (completed)
Trust me, for an HMR manhwa, this is pretty good. Historical fiction and Gender Bender, set in ancient Greece--with these elements mixed together, you can't get any better and farther from the usual jjang korean teenagers that we often see and associate with HMR. It's worth checking out.
Storm by Kang Eun Young (ongoing)
This manhwa is no stranger to mystery and supernatural. There's a lot of strange and out of the norm going on here. Gender Bender genre isn't an element of secrecy but it simply adds to the mystery of the general story. Not sure if it's dropped (pretty sure it is now...) but I'm hoping for it to continue since it's quite intriguing.
Choukakou
(edit: November 4,2013) I thought I'd already put this on the list but I guess not. It's a historical fiction set in ancient Asia--during the Tang Dynasty of China. It's really interesting because the female lead is of royalty but was raised under the guidance of intellect and knowledge, not bound by the norms of gender. By cross dressing, she proves herself worthy as an intelligent tactician for any army/faction in order to survive and one day regain her home. This is also a sort of coming of age story but it isn't as evident in the first two arcs (it makes sense to say two arcs and right now we're on the third). Xia Da writes some really amazing manhuas and this is definitely one manhua to invest your interest in. However because this is being speed scanned, we're all caught up to the latest chapter so updates will be slow.
Some to look out for (new updates)
Shounen Ouji--story by Musashino Zenko and Yukihiro Utako, art by Yukihiro Utako
Others worth looking at
Mint na Bokura by Yoshizumi Wataru (completed)
Old style sort of shoujo manga. It's an ordinary old shoujo style with a gender bender twist.
Ruby Doll by Choi Kyung-ah (ongoing-probably dropped)
If you don't like the art, don't bother reading b/c I'm sick of people complaining about this artist's art. The story is pretty good. Four boys battle it out to gain the rights to the family inheritance, one of whom isn't a boy.
Shouri no Akuma by Maki Youko ("completed")
Another one of her mangas that has a rushed end...seems to be a trend of her's. But this is a pretty interesting storyline. The crossdresser is quite liberal in everything he does.
Teppen! by Tsukimiya An
It's a cute story. A kid comes back from a foreign country in search for her brother but dresses like a guy. She ends up modeling as a guy too.
That's all. 'Til next Sunday,
tohukyo
Also, originally this was going to be one whole post but since it's pretty long in itself, I'll split it and post the other one up this upcoming Sunday.
Cross Dressing Gender Benders
This kind of gender bender is interesting. Typically, the plot has to do with a person attempting to hide his/her gender and is completely surrounded by the opposite gender that is being disguised. That's the usual twist of this sort of genre which gives enough for the story to spin out of the norm and dip into more originality. Of course I wouldn't be surprised if people know about Hana Kimi since it is probably the most popular cross dressing gender bender out there. (Also note, I'm referring to shoujo mangas since I'm mainly a shoujo/josei reader.)
I'll also give props to the cross dressing mangas where people around know the true gender of the characters because those stories also have a lot of fun in them. It's something different since it's not common for a cross dressing gender bender.
But I think the ones that I'm most annoyed about are the ones in the entertainment industry because most end up being pathetic (most of those that I read in this category). If anyone has watched the K-drama Your Beautiful, it's kind of like that but more annoying and frustrating as well as pathetic on the side of the female who is usually the person who is disguising herself as a male. Other than that, as long as the female lead isn't terribly pathetic, I'm usually ok with the storyline. (Of course this isn't only for gender benders)
Nevertheless, here are some of my favorite gender bender cross dressing stories out there.
W Juliet (completed)
This manga by EMURA definitely uses the gender bender genre to its fullest with its originality. This is also one of EMURA's earlier works so the art progresses throughout the series. It's one of my favorite all time mangas though. Great story.
FUN FACT: There is a twist to the name W Juliet-originally the main character Makoto was supposed to be named Ito like the female lead Ito but since the editor didn't approve, it was changed to Makoto. If it was left with both main characters being named Ito, the title W Juliet would make more sense of course.
Charisma Doll (completed)
I wouldn't say this is one of the best gender bender cross dressing mangas but it certainly has its own charm or "charisma" you can say. This one is by Kurahashi Erika who has a pretty good talent for writing mangas. It takes place in the entertainment world but she also uses the genre with originality. It's kind of timeless for me, something I can reread when bored (I've probably reread it at least once a year since I first read it)
Here are some noteworthy cross dressing
HUSH by Yoon Ji Un (ongoing)
Disappointingly this is an MIA project. I'd love to see it active again but highly unlikely (but I'm still hoping). I like the relationships in this one and the art is wonderful as well (manhwaga of Cynical Orange!). *fingers crossed!!
Princess Princess by Tsuda Mikiyo (completed)
This mangaka is no stranger to gender benders and she's made a lot of spin offs from the original story Day of Revolution, this one being one of them. It's a fun comedy and definitely a great laugh. It's a shounen ai touch teaser in a way but very comedic
Savage Garden by Lee Hyeon-Sook (completed)
The manhwaga of Flowers of Evil, everyone who has read her work knows how twisted her work can get. I love a good historical fiction as well especially set in the west (in this case England). And not only is it a gender bender, there's more fun with scandalous sodomy.
Love Sick by Morie Satoshi (completed)
It's snail slow initially but if you pull through, you're in for a good story. The thing I liked the best was that despite people knowing she was a girl, she was totally immersed in her identity as a male and was determined to fulfill her goal to its end. Her ambition for revenge was never forgotten which is awesome yet sad since most stories that are like this one (plus or minus gender bender) end up forgetting about their initial ambition (revenge or not).
Legend of Nereid by Hwang Mi Ri (completed)
Trust me, for an HMR manhwa, this is pretty good. Historical fiction and Gender Bender, set in ancient Greece--with these elements mixed together, you can't get any better and farther from the usual jjang korean teenagers that we often see and associate with HMR. It's worth checking out.
Storm by Kang Eun Young (ongoing)
This manhwa is no stranger to mystery and supernatural. There's a lot of strange and out of the norm going on here. Gender Bender genre isn't an element of secrecy but it simply adds to the mystery of the general story. Not sure if it's dropped (pretty sure it is now...) but I'm hoping for it to continue since it's quite intriguing.
Choukakou
(edit: November 4,2013) I thought I'd already put this on the list but I guess not. It's a historical fiction set in ancient Asia--during the Tang Dynasty of China. It's really interesting because the female lead is of royalty but was raised under the guidance of intellect and knowledge, not bound by the norms of gender. By cross dressing, she proves herself worthy as an intelligent tactician for any army/faction in order to survive and one day regain her home. This is also a sort of coming of age story but it isn't as evident in the first two arcs (it makes sense to say two arcs and right now we're on the third). Xia Da writes some really amazing manhuas and this is definitely one manhua to invest your interest in. However because this is being speed scanned, we're all caught up to the latest chapter so updates will be slow.
Some to look out for (new updates)
Shounen Ouji--story by Musashino Zenko and Yukihiro Utako, art by Yukihiro Utako
I'm hoping this one will update soon since the scanlators are scanning by volume and so far, I'm guessing volume 3 hasn't come out yet in Japan. Nevertheless, check this one out because this is one to get your heads into.
*Edit: July 14, 2013
I just found out that this manga is on hiatus on Chapter 20, the one chapter left before there'll be a volume 3 release....damn. I believe the scanlators aren't working on magazine releases either, they're working on volumes so until chapter 20 is released, nothing will be updated =(
Here are spoilers I found. Really funny spoilers if you are english proficient. This person paints an excellent picture and has an amazing way with words. It also helps if you are American I think but who knows, maybe if you're English you'll understand too.
http://sylphalchemist.wordpress.com/spoilers/ongoin/shounen-oujo-boy-princess/
Fukumenkei Noise by Fukuyama Ryoko
Newly released just a few days ago. This is one of them to be looking out for because it's certainly interesting. I'm not sure if you can qualify it as a gender bender since it's kind of a minor-ish detail (depending on how you look at it) but certainly a story that should be checked out.
*Edit: July 14, 2013
I just found out that this manga is on hiatus on Chapter 20, the one chapter left before there'll be a volume 3 release....damn. I believe the scanlators aren't working on magazine releases either, they're working on volumes so until chapter 20 is released, nothing will be updated =(
Here are spoilers I found. Really funny spoilers if you are english proficient. This person paints an excellent picture and has an amazing way with words. It also helps if you are American I think but who knows, maybe if you're English you'll understand too.
http://sylphalchemist.wordpress.com/spoilers/ongoin/shounen-oujo-boy-princess/
Fukumenkei Noise by Fukuyama Ryoko
Newly released just a few days ago. This is one of them to be looking out for because it's certainly interesting. I'm not sure if you can qualify it as a gender bender since it's kind of a minor-ish detail (depending on how you look at it) but certainly a story that should be checked out.
I-ren by Aivan
Something supernatural and historical fiction as well as gender bender of course. Not sure if it's a slow going project or not but it's a pretty good manhwa with the cross dressing in secrecy kind of thing going on. There's definitely more shounen-ai going on here and I wouldn't mind it so much =) It was recently picked up by Friendship Scans so let's see how far they'll go.
Cheonsaeng Yeonbun--story by Yeo Ho-kyoung, art by Kim Su-Jin
It's a new manhwa. It's in full color so that's a plus. It's worth looking at but it's just starting out as a gender bender. Looks like it will be quite tense for a manhwa since there's a lot at stake for the female lead who seems to have a good head on her shoulders despite being somewhat of a control freak (but who can blame her considering her circumstances)
Usotsuki Lily
(edit:November 4,2013) I totally forgot about this manga but mainly it's because I stopped reading it. It is worth looking at though because it's really funny and the mangaka does write good comedy. It wasn't so much my cup of tea because it got a little annoying how it was going in circles. It's kind of a manga that could end at any moment I think because it's the comedy and the fanbase that keeps it going. Don't trust me on that though, it's just my opinion currently. I may change my mind if I start reading it again.
Something supernatural and historical fiction as well as gender bender of course. Not sure if it's a slow going project or not but it's a pretty good manhwa with the cross dressing in secrecy kind of thing going on. There's definitely more shounen-ai going on here and I wouldn't mind it so much =) It was recently picked up by Friendship Scans so let's see how far they'll go.
Cheonsaeng Yeonbun--story by Yeo Ho-kyoung, art by Kim Su-Jin
It's a new manhwa. It's in full color so that's a plus. It's worth looking at but it's just starting out as a gender bender. Looks like it will be quite tense for a manhwa since there's a lot at stake for the female lead who seems to have a good head on her shoulders despite being somewhat of a control freak (but who can blame her considering her circumstances)
Usotsuki Lily
(edit:November 4,2013) I totally forgot about this manga but mainly it's because I stopped reading it. It is worth looking at though because it's really funny and the mangaka does write good comedy. It wasn't so much my cup of tea because it got a little annoying how it was going in circles. It's kind of a manga that could end at any moment I think because it's the comedy and the fanbase that keeps it going. Don't trust me on that though, it's just my opinion currently. I may change my mind if I start reading it again.
Others worth looking at
Mint na Bokura by Yoshizumi Wataru (completed)
Old style sort of shoujo manga. It's an ordinary old shoujo style with a gender bender twist.
Ruby Doll by Choi Kyung-ah (ongoing-probably dropped)
If you don't like the art, don't bother reading b/c I'm sick of people complaining about this artist's art. The story is pretty good. Four boys battle it out to gain the rights to the family inheritance, one of whom isn't a boy.
Shouri no Akuma by Maki Youko ("completed")
Another one of her mangas that has a rushed end...seems to be a trend of her's. But this is a pretty interesting storyline. The crossdresser is quite liberal in everything he does.
Teppen! by Tsukimiya An
It's a cute story. A kid comes back from a foreign country in search for her brother but dresses like a guy. She ends up modeling as a guy too.
That's all. 'Til next Sunday,
tohukyo
Also, originally this was going to be one whole post but since it's pretty long in itself, I'll split it and post the other one up this upcoming Sunday.
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