Author: Christina Kane Published: July 14th, 2018
Chapters: 9 | Type: Manga | Language Available: Japanese & English
A guide to how the author went on a journey of self discovery, from average school boy to becoming a full transgender woman and finding love and marriage at the end of her journey.
Story
This is the true story of how one mangaka discovered her true self. Divided into sections/chapters, we go from how the author met her future husband to her childhood/past as a boy (including dating as a boy) to the author’s surgery and her recovery and her life with Husband-kun and his family. Throughout the book, there’s also terms to explain what certain things mean and what other terms DON’T mean. Excellent for learning about LGBT.
The story begins when Chi meets her future husband to be right after her gender transition, who’s besotted with her right away. Chi grows to like him but of course, the time has to arrive sooner or later for her to confess her past as a boy. His reaction is simply, “Thanks for telling me. I like you anyway so I still want to be your boyfriend.”
Husband-kun is a sweetheart obviously! This gets proven even more when poor Chi has to pee at one point, Husband-kun just yells at her to use the ladies room anyway, despite Chi being scared that she’ll cause a fuss. At the end of the first chapter, we get an explanation about the famous Rainbow Flag that is usually associated with the LGBT community. Every chapter has an explanation about a term at the end, so for those reading this who might not know anything about the LGBT community would have an idea of what certain terms mean as Chi goes thru her journey. We even get some explanations on what happens during a sex reassignment surgery (SRS) and some looks into how the system works in Japan. We also get reactions from both Chi’s family and her future in-laws on Chi’s transition (her father’s reaction actually cracked me up in a good way. He’s basically all ‘Okay, cool.’ when she tells him). The last few chapters deal with Chi and Husband-kun’s marriage and how Chi officially became recognized as a woman on paper. There’s even an afterwards from Chi and her husband. For those who are interested in learning more, Chi also includes a bibliography of the books she used throughout the book.
Themes
This is a good mangaka for someone looking for just a good story and none of the drama or stereotypes that one can find in yaoi or yuri manga sometimes. Obviously not all yuri or yaoi manga are like this…
Art/Writing
The writing is pretty easy enough to understand, especially with all of the explanations about LGBT terms sprinkled throughout the book. The art is simple and chibified, which is perfect for trying to get this book into the mainstream audience. Hopefully, Chi continues her career in the future and gives us more manga!
Quality/Conclusion
Rating: 8.5
Good series to look into for someone trying to understand a loved one’s self-journey. Also a good series for someone looking to learn what certain terms mean in terms that anyone from a child to your grandma could understand. And for romance/shojo fans, Chi’s relationship with her future and eventual husband is cute without being too cloying. Poor guy is absolutely smitten with her from the beginning, even after her confession about her past life as a boy. I was also pleasantly surprised that her family and his accepted her right away… This being a manga, I figured the drama would lie within the reactions to Chi’s transition in both families. I was wrong though.
Would highly recommend.
Source: Article Image: The Bride was a Boy cover
- Original Title: ???????(Hanayome wa Motodanshi)
- Author (Story & Art): Chii
- Release Date: 2016
- License: Seven Seas Entertainment