How I feel about Harem Mangas

Greetings,

It's midnight Saturday into Sunday right now. (Is it midnight Saturday or is it midnight Sunday?) I'm posting this before I go to bed instead of after because I won't have time to later.

I'm just going to touch on this topic about harem mangas kind of lightly since this is just personal taste and opinion. Sorry if it sounds immature and inexperienced on my part. 

So...how do I feel about Harem mangas in general? Frankly I don't like/hate them. But my feelings towards those mangas varies between harem and reverse harems. What's the difference? Most people who have read manga for some time know (I suppose). Harem mangas are when you have one male and multiple females. A reverse harem is when you have one female and multiple males. 

Harem mangas. 

I don't particularly have any ill feelings for harem mangas since most of them are involved in comedy and aren't very serious at all. I tend to avoid them though because there isn't much substance to a lot of them. There are a few exceptions of course but I can only think of Kimi no Iru Machi and Yamada and the Seven Witches (if you can all Yamada an harem manga at all). I guess the difference is that those that I avoid usually center on a story about one guy encountering a bunch of girls from the very beginning of the story-usually very comedic and often a lot of comedic ecchi scenes too...The most clear indication of the harem manga that I avoid are those that start with a guy returning to a village or small town, encountering multiple girls with one as a former childhood friend? Sounds like Love Hina right? I'll admit that I read it when I was younger and it was for humor and boredom I suppose but in the last few years or so...not my taste. 

Reverse Harems.

For this genre, I guess I can kind of say I actually hate this genre. Of course with a "few" exceptions...though I can actually think of one right now which is Ouran High School Host Club. Anyways, the reason why I hate this genre is because more often than not, the female lead is just so...SO irritatingly frustratingly annoying. I guess they all try to redeem themselves in some way but since it's usually a shoujo manga...it's not easy to avoid cliches like really annoying love polygons. I guess when love isn't so involved as much, I appreciate reverse harems more, just like the one I mentioned already i.e. Ouran. But it's so rare. There is another kind of reverse harem manga that I thought did well known as Love Sick by Morie Satoshi. This one did involve love and all but the female lead carried herself through pretty well in relation to what the plot of the story was. Random Walk by Yoshizawa Wataru is another reverse harem-ish manga but I thought it reflected well on the whole dating experience that people today have in high school (though the girl fell in love with people too easily but I credit that to her open mind and her father). 

Basically, I'm less critical of harem mangas since they're usually comedic but reverse harems are more difficult for me to enjoy....I think the subjected pathetic-ness of the female leads is to blame when in contrast, harem mangas don't usually have pathetic males as a protagonist...

That's all I have to say for this topic. I don't want to get into it that much. 

Best,

tohukyo

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

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.