Some of My Favorite Queer Manga (Part 1)

 

When reading manga, there has been tons of options for queer things to read. From the copious amounts of BL to GL, to the many LGBT+ characters we see throughout the medium. When one thinks of queer manga your brain may instantly go to "Revolutionary Girl Utena" or "Yuri on Ice" or perhaps characters such as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Mercury, and rightfully so! It is without a doubt that many of the mainstream queer works out of Japan we've seen have been incredibly influential. But everyone will have the ones that stick with them, and here are mine!

Inside Mari

Shūzō Oshimi is a well known mangaka, especially for his series, "The Flower of Evil" and "Blood on the Tracks." Oshimi's works often focus on a sense of one's identity, in various ways. "Inside Mari" focuses more on the idea of gender as well as sexuality. The premise itself is that a college dropout hikikomori named Isao Komori, has been stalking a girl he saw at the convenience store named Mari. One day wakes up in her body and has to adapt to her life while not raising suspicion. It's a deep exploration of queer identities as well as trauma. While the ending feels rushed regarding "Komori's" familial trauma the main premise and Mari's relationship with others in high school and her use of escapism and the discussion of sexuality and gender identity. We see Komori/Mari's struggles with identity as well as the very sapphic relationship between them and Yori. Oshimi also often gives his own reflection on gender in the various author's notes seen throughout this novel. I'd definitely give it a read if you're into the more psychological.

I Want to Be a Wall

While not as psychological and deep as the precious work mentioned "I Want to Be a Wall" by Shirono Honami is a great short read. This manga is about a closeted Gay man and a fujoshi who's an Aromantic Asexual, who are married. Think of a consensual beard, that's beneficial between the two. Throughout this manga, our Fujoshi, Yuriko gets to experience contentedness in watching her husband Gakurouta, interact with his crush and childhood best friend. The two try to learn more about each other and create a strong bond and understanding. Despite all this both of their sexualities are respected and we also get to see their struggles with how society treats them. This is a slice-of-life manga, so for a casual read, it's always nice.

Dear Brother

While most well known for it's anime, and popular screenshots from it, "Dear Brother" is an amazing GL manga. Written by Riyoko Ikeda who was well known for "The Rose of Versailles" and her other Shoujo works. Androgyny and sapphism are very common themes in Ikeda's works, and we see it very commonly in this manga. Our main character, Misonoo Nanako, is a lesbian girl, and her relationship with her love interest, Rei, has incredible depth. Throughout this story, we meet many characters who are gender-non-confirming as well as various sexualities and we see their personal struggles. A character from it you may have seen is Mariko, who has become popular on the internet for screenshots of her hatred of men. This manga is filled with drama as well as a girl's private school setting where we see a criticism of the "class system" as well as commentary on various issues. "Dear Brother" is one of the beginnings of the GL genre and will always be important to its history.

For now, this is all I have. I'll probably eventually do a part two soon because there's just so much to read and love! If you have any recommendations let me know!