Review
Wandering Son is a delightful, quiet manga about a girly boy and a boyish girl.... This is not your typical gender-bender manga playing a gender switch for laughs (and fanservice); it's a quiet, subtle story of a boy coming to terms with himself. --Brigid Alverson "The Best Manga Series of 2011 ""
Shimura balances a full plate in this story, all the while offering it with the kind of easy grace that makes the balance appear to be almost magical.... In Shimura s sympathetic hands, this manga is neither gag nor message heavy: both main characters, their peers, and their family members are credible and developed with enough depth that readers can think about them beyond the bounds of the book. ...[Wandering Son Vol. 1] belongs in every high school library, as well as in public collections that are accessible to both youth and adults. --Francisca Goldsmith"
...Shimura Takako is a master at portraying subtle events in a slice of life story about adolescence that never feels didactic.... Like the storyline, Shimura s art is simple but nuanced.... As you d expect from Fantagraphics, the production quality for Wandering Son is excellent. --Anna Neatrour"
What makes Wandering Son work is its slow-burn pace and calm atmosphere. It takes a delicate subject transgender children- and explores it slowly and carefully. Much like its characters, it moves at its own pace, easing the reader into the characters lives. --Shannon Fay"
...[B]eing a trans woman means I'm used to seeing awful depictions of my lived experiences. I do not see me, and that is when I see trans women or trans people in general depicted at all. Until [Wandering Son]... I had never seen my own narrative depicted. At least not closely or accurately. --Kat Callahan"
In the series debut-in-English, Shimura treats both protagonists journeys of self-discovery with gentle honesty; her characters are wide-eyed and adorable, uncertain and searching.--Terry Hong"
Wandering Sonis an important manga series, much celebrated for the sensitive treatment of its two young transgender protagonists. It offers nuanced portrayals of these two middle schoolers, their friends, and their families. The tone is sweet, gentle, and hopeful, making it a pleasant reading experience. At the same time, it doesn t turn away from realistic issues like bullying and the pain of experiencingpuberty when your body already doesn t match the way you feel inside. --Nic Willcox"
Wandering Sonis an important manga series, much celebrated for the sensitive treatment of its two young transgender protagonists. It offers nuanced portrayals of these two middle schoolers, their friends, and their families. The tone is sweet, gentle, and hopeful, making it a pleasant reading experience. At the same time, it doesn t turn away from realistic issues like bullying and the pain of experiencingpuberty when your body already doesn t match the way you feel inside. --Nic Willcox"
In the series' debut-in-English, Shimura treats both protagonists' journeys of self-discovery with gentle honesty; her characters are wide-eyed and adorable, uncertain and searching.--Terry Hong
Wandering Son is an important manga series, much celebrated for the sensitive treatment of its two young transgender protagonists. It offers nuanced portrayals of these two middle schoolers, their friends, and their families. The tone is sweet, gentle, and hopeful, making it a pleasant reading experience. At the same time, it doesn't turn away from realistic issues like bullying and the pain of experiencing puberty when your body already doesn't match the way you feel inside. --Nic Willcox
About the Author
Shimura Takako lives in Tokyo, Japan.
Matt Thorn is from in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. She is a cultural anthropologist, writer, and an associate professor in the manga department at Kyoto Seika University. Her translations include the New York Times Best-Seller Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano and Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
