Hi,

I'm looking for mange witch deals with identity, preferably non shounen (not looking for an action orientated manga).
Doesn't really have to take place in this age... Historical fantasy or science fiction does the trick quite nicely as well, just note the points mentioned below.

The most important parts are:

• The story, more then one level is good, I like it when there is more than one thing going on, but too much kills a good story.
• Development, or more important, realism. If something happens people react to it (conscious of it or not), the how changes from character to character (some deny/accept, some go crazy) but should of course be realistic (If a guy gets kicked in the groin he doesn't go dancing of joy unless there is a very good reason to do so)
• Time, place and kind of 'beings' is not so important (space-faring bugs crash landed on earth in the distant past?... fine with me, just give me the identity stuff)

Some examples:

• A gender-bender / cross-dress manga that focuses not on the body, but on the mind. (nothing of the "w00t I've got breasts" or "oh n00s I've got a penis" level please). I.S. was nice.

• Multiple Personality Disorder, the protagonist has a known/unknown other personality that does not have to be his 'dark' side. I found the manga Othello. and the movie Tokyo Shounen quite good.

• Identity Crisis, example: The protagonist suffers from a case of memory loss... memories start flooding back and he/she is torn between them (thus resulting in development of personality). Like Nanaka 6/17 and Blood+.
  Note that this is somewhat like MPD... only without the multiple.

Don't really mind recommendations on manga I've already read, most of them I've read years ago and probably don't even recall.
I keep an open mind, so manga containing shounen-ai is fine with me.
Please try to keep a minimum to the panty-shots/ecchi/harem stuff, I try to avoid those as much as possible due to the lack of (sensible) story in most.

I've read MPD Psycho and HATED IT (only mentioned this because it would pretty much fit the descriptions above).

Please ask if I'm being unclear or vague on some points.
Any recommendations?

Hourou Musuko aka transient son. Its about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy.
After School Nightmare
Jinzou Shoujo boy's brain gets put into a girl body
The Day of Revolution boy becomes a girl

the first one I listed is really good. Those are the only ones I can think of where the characters deal with identity issues.

I'd also suggest Holy Land though I don't know if it fits.. I'd describe it as "the story of a boy trying to find his place in life" so it kinda does?

Feed your head.

pluto

If you don't mind ecchi, Change 123 is a good manga, it's about a girl with three different personalities, one more destructive than the other ^^

clickI THINK EDWARD CULLEN IS UGLY.click