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Non-yaoi/yuri manga dealing with LGBTQ+ themes?

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Post #693862
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5:11 pm, Jul 26 2017
Posts: 25


Hey all!

Using a broad generalization, for the most part, yaoi/yuri are aimed at straight people of the opposite gender, rather than LGBTQ+ folks themselves (not that they don't consume it, hell, I do and I'm a big queer). While there's still lots of awesome content in both genres, I find that there is a pretty big distinction between yaoi/yuri and stories with queer protagonists.

I've read a few of these stories, and I'd really like to read more.

Some things I'd like to see are:
-Queer main characters (not that one side character) in stories of other genres.
-Stories that discuss LGBTQ+ issues.
-Stories that go beyond gay and lesbian, have bi and pan characters, or charactars with non-traditional gender identities.
-Romance is a OK! I love me some romance. Sometimes stories are labelled as yaoi/yuri just because of the presence of gay/lesbian romance, and sex. Feel free to rec some of those, I'm absolutely not one to judge a book by its cover.
-Stories of other genres, with queer characters, where it's not the main component of the plot.


Just to get you started, here's a couple examples:

Tamen de Gushi by Tan Jiu. This is a story between two girls, but I really feel like it gives off more of a shoujo/romance feel, as if aimed at women. The characters are not traditionally "manga sexy," in that way women are drawn in a show or comic that caters to men. Also, it's written by a woman!

Shimanami Tasogare by Kamatani Yuuki. I can't even begin to describe how delighted and surprised I was when I found this manga. The story deals with pansexuality, trans and nonbinary issues, and so much more. It has a full ensemble cast of LGBTQ+ characters, all who have completely different and interesting stories.

No. 6 by Kino Hinoki. For a long time this story wasn't even labeled as shounen-ai, because there was no "proof" (aka the gay romance wasn't the main point of the story). However, while the romance between Nezumi and Shion is there, it's second to the politics of the worldbuilding and plot.

Alright, I've rambled long enough. Any suggestions?


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Post #693868 - Reply to (#693862) by tidbit
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crane-child
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10:25 pm, Jul 26 2017
Posts: 86


i can only remember Koimonogatari, may be you'll like it ;D

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Lone Wanderer
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3:25 am, Jul 27 2017
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Bokura no Hentai, perhaps? It deals with different reasons for cross-dressing: one of the boys being straight, the other gay, and the other one simply enjoying it for its own sake, iirc. I didn't read past the first volume so I can't guarantee that it'll be palatable to you, but the comments on MU and reader sites are very favourable.

On a more controversial note there's Yuureitou, where the female lead is supposedly transgender. I do believe the 'male-oriented' nature is pretty obvious, more so than in my previous rec, and the comments are mixed about this. However, it does have a fair enough plot, which is pretty unusual for gender-bender in general, so you may like it.

Yamaji Ebine is a lesbian yuri mangaka, so her stories are gritty and down-to-earth portrayals of being a lesbian in Japan.

I'm a bit dubious about rec'ing J no Subete, but at the very least it seems to take its LGBT theme more seriously than most yaoi manga. Still, when you're comparing to yaoi almost everything starts to look good plot-wise, so...

Moonlight Flowers -- Several people have mentioned that it's a very classic echo of lesbian sentiment (especially about men) in the '80s, so there's that.

After Hours is supposedly pretty savvy about the LGBT nightclub scene.

Honey & Honey and Sabishisugite Lesbian Fuzoku Ni Ikimashita Report are autobiographical and therefore not strictly fiction. The first one has my recommendation, and the second is quite well-renowned (it was licensed, which for a non-male-oriented yuri manga is saying something).

Last edited by calstine at 7:42 am, Jul 27 2017

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🧁 Sweet
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4:49 am, Jul 31 2017
Posts: 280


Hanayome wa Motodanshi.

Otouto no Otto

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Lone Wanderer
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7:58 am, Jul 31 2017
Posts: 2127


Oh, and I can't believe I forgot about Kinou Nani Tabeta? Don't be fooled by the food/cooking theme, this deals with a lot of realistic issues about being a gay couple in Japan.

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6:42 pm, Aug 4 2017
Posts: 182


Kodomo wa Wakatte Agenai - An important side character is transgender detective. It's a cute story about a girl finding her biological father.

If you liked No. 6, I would recommend Golden Days. It's a shounen ai with a very shoujo feel (it was published in Hana to Yume). It has an interesting plot (mystery/time travel/slice of life) other than the love story.

Claudine...! - An older manga about a transgender character.

Since you liked Tamen de Gushi for its shoujo feel, these are some early (1950-1980s) shoujo ai aimed at girls:

Shiroi Heya no Futari
Maya no Souretsu
Sakura Namiki
Paros no Ken

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7:36 pm, Aug 4 2017
Posts: 14


Yuureitou is definitely good. It has problems with over-sexualization at times, but one of the deuteragonists is a transgender dude, no doubt about it. It also has a gay dude as a major recurring character, and deals with prejudice.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is a must read. It deals with the author's struggles with depression, anxiety, etc. and how she tries to overcome it.

Astra Lost in Space has a major character who is
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
bisexual and intersex
. It's dealt with than far more nuance than I was ever expecting from a shounen manga.

I'm not as sure about An no Sekai Chizu - It's a Small World , as there aren't any translations for it. I think the love interest's gender was made vague? There were a lot of japanese reviews about it that talked about how the gender of one of the characters was never made clear, maybe they were transgender, etc. I could be completely wrong on this one but it seemed interesting and is relatively recent.

And finally, there are a lot of female yuri mangaka, like MORINAGA Milk or MORISHIMA Akiko that I've heard good things about.



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