It stopped scanlating two years ago. I have the volumes, am scanning and cleaning and hopefully picking this story back up...! That's simply because I love Aiesu.

I love Aiesu because of the beautiful portrayal of the pain of gender issues... and how confusing it can be. I can't believe the mangaka could articulate so well the confusion, and with such delicacy. She brings to us readers and understanding of an issue that most people don't even know about! I wish all manga could touch the real world in this way. Maybe Intersexual people read this manga and feel liberated...

I love the main character Haru! S/he is so strong, bright and direct, and truly is an intersexual person, blending male and female perfectly. I really want to know where her/his life goes...! Especially his/her relationship with Kenji >___<~! Yes, I like the love story. And the relationship s/he has with his/her mother.

I hope we can all continue to love Haru's story together! Check out my post on the forum to see how it's going (today I'm looking for a better Japanese translator than myself >___<)

I see this as one of the greatest manga I've ever read in terms of story and plot. It excels in charater and also provides an ongoing theme that revolves around the hardships of being intersexual. Sadly, JanimeS dropped the manga when it was at a high point.

In terms of the characters, each person has a distinct personality and is not a copy and paste like other manga out there. Even the side characters are fleshed out with their own background story, yet still contribute to the main plot. In the first volume, they're unrelated stories, but I think they contributed by setting up the overall theme of I.S.
Though I would have to agree it gets a little preachy, volume 2 and onwards makes up for that.

By volume 2, a story is set up about a life of an intersexual. The plot is very well paced and as said earlier, still maintains an ongoing theme. It's absolutely a wonderful manga that provides an unique experience to many. I highly recommend this manga if you're looking for a manga that's different and touching(and also much more)

Edit: I forgot to mention that it is very realistic

I totally second what oriana3k had mentioned in his/her review.

It's a tear jerker reading some parts of the manga. I do agree, that Haru's story is longer than I expected but the thing that I love about Haru's story is how we get a glimpse on how IS has not only effected Haru's life but also the people around him.(parents, siblings, friends, teachers)

I've read loads of mangas before, and so far..this manga is one of the most realistic manga that I've ever encountered. (with the exception of the very long volumes extending Haru's life)...BUT this manga is WAY BETTER than those melodramatic 'so-called Emotional' mangas like Koizora and Life.

IS is also one of the few mangas that made me so emo T__T just like the works by MOMOCHI Reiko and MIHARA Mitsukazu....

Highly recommended, and I really hope that this manga will be licensed in english for another excellent addition for my manga collection.. =)

... Last updated on March 13th, 2009, 1:02am

I don't understand why I keep reading about the need to be "open minded" in order to enjoy this. This is a strong, well-written story with a very important message. Anyone who could read this and not sympathize is not merely closed-minded, but ignorant, insensitive, elitist, and downright hateful. These are strong, human characters and the conflicts dealt with in this manga are very real. I applaud the author and the publisher, and highly recommend that anyone read this, especially if you have little/no understanding of inter-sexuals.

The subject at hand, intersexuals, is an interesting topic. I believe that this will be a very satisfying read for most everybody. The first volume is two stories about two I.S. while from volume 2 through 8, it is about the life of an I.S. named Haru and the individuals around him.

The mangaka does a great job fleshing out the story, and I grew attached to the characters. The plot is engaging and solid (though some people will probably find the character-with-conflict, solve conflict, jump to another character-with-conflict, solve, etc. a little dull). There's a lot of deeper meaning behind the actions of the characters, and for me, this has made me want to cry more than a few times. The characters really grow, and the struggle to rise above society's either-or notion for gender is well-thought out.

The art is a little simplistic compared to some other manga but I find it refreshing and fitting for the manga. This all depends on your personal preference, of course; just browse through a few pages to see.

I.S. is a very realistic read; it's easy to imagine this happening in real life. If you're looking for a good deep read regarding a group of individuals that are the most overlooked in our society, this is for you. The manga carries a very strong message and tells it beautifully. If you're looking for a light shoujo, I say it's probably a waste of your time.

I'm a little disappointed with JanimeS decision to stop scanlating after volume 8, and all I can hope for is a group to pick this back up. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this.

... Last updated on December 10th, 2008, 9:31pm

This is really an interesting subject for a manga and it's quite a good read. The author does a fine job in portraying them as "people" or "individuals" who're struggling to survive in a society which prizes group mentality and conformity over individualism and traits which cause you to stand out. Their issues and other problems are fleshed out rather thoroughly and you really get to feel for them.

The downside, though, is that the entire approach to the story is a bit too simplistic, so it gets fairly forumulaic and preachy at times. And the characters are often fairly identical. Finally, my main gripe is that the endings to the various situations are all too happy, thus detracting a little from the realism.

Still, this is worth reading if you're open-minded enough to accept the subject at hand.

... Last updated on July 10th, 2008, 9:09am

This manga, while different, really isn't going to be all that good after you've already got it's message. The first volume may be interesting, but after that, it's just the same things over and over again. You really can't relate to this unless you're an IS yourself. It's all about IS issues, nothing else. Personally, I liked that it was different, but after a while, I felt as if I was doing the author a favor by reading this manga - all it really did was preach about accepting IS's and it didn't get any more enjoyable to read.

... Last updated on July 7th, 2008, 8:33am

Personally I think Janimes note at the end of v8 was unfair to the mangaka who is obviously simply showing us how I.S. affects Haru throughout his/her lifetime even little things like where to change clothes. To expect to be able to get a true idea of I.S and its affects on someone throughout thier lives in a series of one chapter stories is unrealistic. This story isn't yaoi or shoujo it has a purpose. Yes it did get a bit preachy and sappy for a bit but most mangas do this. If you want short story entertainment find something else, this is a meaningful story about real issues people face. Personally I know alot of people that would have liked to have seen how Haru's treatments and relationship with Kenji turn out. I did check the wiki info listed above and found that for what was known about I.S at the time this story was made the mangaka did a good job. Janimes not wanting to continue a manga that actually sticks to an issue and educates because its not just a bunch of mindless one chapter shorts is immature on thier part.

I actually found this manga by accident while looking for some cheesy shoujo manga. It's definetly a story that you don't often find, but I like it very much. The drawing is not the best, but it's more than acceptable. At the beggining I thought there would be a lot of short stories, but the third case got longer and longer and I haven't acctually read it's ending.

The characters are pretty good and the main character, Hoshino Haru, is to be admired, the other characters are also good. They are complex and develope through out the story while telling their own perspective on things and also while they tell their own stories and problems.

I knew about hermaphrodits from before, i'm not sure if it's the same, but I just thought of them in a biological way, I never thought of them in a human way like this manga does. The author treats pretty well the issue, she talks about the biological part as well as the human part of the characters and how they are recieved in society. I do have my doubts, because even though the story tells the harsh stories of the characters, I doubt that IS almost always have a happy endings in their lifes like in this manga.

This manga is really good, I love it and find it awesome, at list to me. The story and characters are complex so if you are looking for light headed manga, this one is not for you.

... Last updated on November 3rd, 2008, 3:30pm

Wow, this is a very unusual manga indeed! I am sure people with the same problems can relate to the characters. To be honest, I knew little to nothing about IS, and I think it means a lot that the mangaka brought this issue among people to the surface. This manga mainly proves that there are a lot of people with problems, how big or small the problems may be, accept the way you are and those around you. You're fine the way you are.