Hourou Musuko

Description

Fifth grade. The threshold of puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Nitori Shuichi and his new friend Takatsuki Yoshino enjoy happy homes and loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy...

Type

Manga

Related Series

Boku wa, Onnanoko (Side Story)

Associated Names

Hōrō Musuko

The Transient Son

Wandering Child

Wandering Son

放浪息子

放浪男孩

Groups Scanlating

Broken Time Scanlations

Hourou Musume

Kotonoha

Latest Release(s)

c.122-123 (end) by Hourou Musume 12 years ago

c.120-121 by Hourou Musume 12 years ago

c.119 by Hourou Musume 12 years ago

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Status in Country of Origin

15 Volumes (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

Starts at Vol 5, Chap 34

Ends at Vol 10, Chap 82 -Skip 1-33

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

8 topics, 32 posts

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User Rating

Average: 8.4 / 10.0 (753 votes)

Bayesian Average: 8.32 / 10.0

31%

23%

22%

12%

Last Updated

May 13th, 2025 2:38am PDT - 2 months ago

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Genre

Drama Gender Bender Psychological Romance School Life Seinen Slice of Life
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

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Recommendations

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Enterbrain

Serialized In (magazine)

Comic Beam (Enterbrain)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Fantagraphics (8 Volumes - Dropped)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #829

(+10)

Monthly Pos #1660

(-190)

3 Month Pos #2359

(-588)

6 Month Pos #3074

(+36)

Year Pos #3329

(-466)

List Stats

On 1802 reading lists

On 1451 wish lists

On 1048 completed lists

On 122 unfinished lists

On 586 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

Hourou Musuko to End in July

12 years ago

Does Hourou Musuko spoil the Rose of Verailles

14 years ago

Anime start and end

14 years ago

hourou musuko how much romance??

15 years ago

Hourou Musuko Anime in development

15 years ago

User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

Things happen: the manga

by Lokin
1 year ago

Rating: 4.0 / 10.0

Wandering Son was groundbreaking during its publication for being one of the first to "seriously portray gender identity issues" in the manga medium. For many, it set the gold standard in telling these stories. However, for today's standards?... Underwhelming.

Reading it a decade and half ago, when everyone acclaimed it, I could feel the same. It was novel at the time, and introduced concepts I wasn't aware about. It was interesting.

But revisiting it under modern lens and standards reveals nothing but a husk. A directionless husk. It's as if... the author is unsure of themselves, what they want to convey, where their story leads?

It's like, yeah... here's some characters with gender identity issues, and things happen. Time passes. New characters get introduced. Events occur. But ultimately, nothing mattered.

...

Truly, just as the title suggests, the author wanders on and on. Each moment flows beautifully, building tension for a catharsis that never arrives. But what of its themes? What message did it try to convey?... None. It was simply r/pointlessstories in manga form.

And like its characters, the story just... wanders off into nothing.

Things happened.

The end.

... Last updated 8 months ago

Was this comment useful? Yes

Terrible for ftm

by zawa113
2 years ago

Rating: N/A

I, myself, am ftm. As an mtf story, I don't have problems with it, but as an ftm story, it drops the ball sharply and painfully. It breathes life into the old stereotypes of "you're not really a man, you're just a confused woman who hasn't found the right dress yet!" I would avoid this as trans masc at all costs, there are far FAR better ftm manga out there now and this needs to stop being held up as a gold standard for trans manga.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Everyone's experience is different

by WinterCedar
2 years ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

I have to say, as a transfemme person, a lot of the MC's struggles and desires would have felt very familiar to a young me. There's a lot to like here, even if it wouldn't line up to everyone's experiences. The art is fantastic, the characters are all endearing and realistic. And when you consider the story was written more than 20 years ago, the subject matter is handled very well. I would very much recommend this.

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a bit dissapointing

by fishfood16
4 years ago

Rating: N/A

note: i ended up making an account to leave this comment) as a trans person myself, i felt excited to read a manga specifically talking about growing up trans from both the perspective of both a trans girl and trans boy. but in the end, i felt like i had wasted some of my time reading a love triangle manga that sometimes remembers it’s about being trans. most of the story didn’t even feel like it was talking about trans issues, just “look at main character they’re crossdressing!” without really paying attention to the psychological effects being forced in the closet can have. i was also disappointed with the way they treated takatsuki, this huge lead up then to completely back down on it. i think the art is beautiful, but as a trans person it didn’t live up to the standards i had heard about.

... Last updated 4 years ago

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Meh, the hype is just cuz there isnt any other trans stuff it feels

by RegalRascal
6 years ago

Rating: 4.0 / 10.0

Not good at being a realistic transgender story. It seems more like a ''feminine/masculine'' thing, so you know, CROSSDRESSING, rather than a ''gender dysphoria'' thing. It's all about gender roles and gender stereotypes, not being trans much.

If it wasn't paraded as a good trans story it might be enjoyable, but the author clearly has NO idea what being trans entails.
Pandering lots, realism not.

As a crossdressing story, I'd say it's 5-ish, but as a trans story, it's def closer to a 1-2.

Source: Being trans myself.

... Last updated 5 years ago

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Why most people wont like it.

by Akrii
9 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This is an issue only some can relate too. This wraps the transgender topic beautifully, for unsure people. Some like Nitorin WANT to be a girl so bad that they are willing to do many things. Tsubaki-chan she was unsure about being a boy. This wraps the issue of, "Do I really want this" Some think "NO THIS ISNT HOW TRANSGENDERS ACT" As I saw on other things. This, actually wraps it perfectly, for people who are too scared, or unsure. It may be boring for others but, it's too real to be true. This is what people feel. Its a great manga, but its not for everyone.

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Wow!

by wallyakazukin
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This manga is sooooo amazing. The author wrapped the gender manga issue so beautifully. And yep, somehow it's unpredictable, just like life itself. As it's a seinen, some sexual issues are included here, but, well... that's kinda added more spices to this manga? I don't dislike it. It's just fit there.
A boy who wanted to be a girl, and the girl who wanted to be a boy. How they dealt with their emotional complexes, how the plot was flowing uncontrollable (as I said before, unpredictable like a life itself), and how the author chose the -somehow, bittersweet ending. Of course there were some flaw here and there, because of the slow paced, and runabout thinking. But I think that's what make the story seems more realistic. Highly recommended.

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Amazing!!

by sarin68
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

I'm only on the 3rd volume but it's a MUST-READ!!! Totally emotional and realistic. No bs complete knowledge about one's gender or 100% acceptance from others. I love it and think everyone should.

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read this manga people!

by Jalapeno-san
10 years ago

Rating: N/A

I love how these two characters (japanese names are hard to remember) taka something and nitori started as opposites and I love even more how one still wanted to become a girl and the other just "grew out of it". It's realistic and I've seen it happen in real life.

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I highly recommend this

by OrangeBlossom
11 years ago

Rating: N/A

It's not for everyone. It relies heavily on trans* themes and is very slow paced. It spends the first four volumes in elementary, spends a large chunk on middle school, then high school passes in less than 40 chapters. It's a very realistic, soft paced manga. No mecha, magic, or goofy school antics here.

The protagonist of the manga is Nitori Shuichi, an elementary aged trans girl who transfers to a new school mid-semester. She has a temperamental sister one year older than her and two nice parents. On her first day of school she meets the secondary protagonist, Takatsuki Yoshino, who is a trans boy. The two quickly become friends and eventually learn their mutual interest to live as the opposite sex. Thus the story begins.

The manga conveys many emotions. It delicately discusses everything from bullying to dissolving friendships.
It's themed around puberty and those awkward teenage years. Changing bodies, friendship changes, romance, sexuality.. All while the two protagonists are transgender kids in 2000s Japan, which adds fuel to the fire.

The art style is decent at first but will eventually evolve into Shimura's signature style. I just love her art, especially when it's colored in watercolor.

The last dozen chapters are controversial and I see why. Everything goes by incredibly swift and a dozen plot points are never filled.

The manga also ends on a very ambiguous note for Takatsuki. He's a model and apparently cis identified but Shimura has said it's up for the readers to figure out the genders of the protagonists. Nitori ends with a very Shimura meta "I am a girl" making it obvious where she stands but Takasuki can go a dozen ways depending on the interpretation. Mako, another trans girl Nitori's age, has plot threads created but glossed over. Maybe Shimura didn't want to spend 6+ years on the already decade old series

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