Editorials

Love Me For What I Am (FukaBoku): A Sweet Drama That Explores Japan’s Gender Landscape


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Content Warning: use of terms commonly related to transphobia in a demonstrative context.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Content Warning 002″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#ff0000″ custom_padding=”4px|4px|4px|4px” custom_padding_last_edited=”off|” z_index_tablet=”500″ saved_tabs=”all”]Content Warning: Characters in Love Me For What I Am do not fit into a traditional gender binary. They use preferred pronouns that may not always match their gender identity or their preferred gender expression.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Notice 001″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#007700″ custom_padding=”4px|4px|4px|4px” z_index_tablet=”500″]Notice: All images are used to provide demonstrative context, and were translated from the Japanese source material by a member of our team. Anime Herald does not condone piracy; please support the official release.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Notice 002″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#007700″ custom_padding=”4px|4px|4px|4px” z_index_tablet=”500″ saved_tabs=”all”]Notice: This piece was written by a transwoman, and edited by a second transwoman, who also did the image translations and verified language within the text.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_divider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Introduction” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]When it comes to my tastes in Yaoi and Boys’ Love, the top of my list is pretty much an open book. Anybody who knows me knows that I adore my soft boys.

I’ll be the first to admit that a soft, feminine, maybe even crossdressing boy, paired with a more charming, unremarkably masculine boy is the most heteronormative in queer media. Still,it tops my list all the same. (And maybe it’s better if they’re brothers… Wait, forget I said that last part.) I self-deprecatingly refer to this as “BL Trash,” as it’s rarely particularly deep, but these stories still inspire positive romantic feelings as I read along. (Did I mention that it’s porn? Half the time, that manga is porn. … Forget that part, too.) If a manga offers promises of sappy love stories and some variation of soft boys, then I’m opening my wallet or waking up my tablet. The likes of Princess Princess, Love Stage!, and Prunus Girl are examples of my favorites.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FukaBoku-Cover-001-20190422.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” admin_label=”Image – Book Cover” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Introduction 002″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]

I needed nothing more than to see the cover of Love Me For What I am (Fukakai na Boku no Subete o or “FukaBoku,” for short) to convince me to check it out.

From the first cover through its first several pages, FukaBoku gives off the vibe of a typical boys’ love story.

Mogumo is seemingly gender non-conforming, looks like a girl and wishes for friends who understand them. Tetsu, meanwhile, is the masculine protagonist of the series (whose family conveniently owns a cross-dressing “Girly-Boy Cafe” named “Question!”). In any other manga, this would be a simple setup for wacky romantic hijinks to ensue.

In FukaBoku, though, things are very different. This idea genuinely horrifies Mogumo.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-001-20190330.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image – Panel 001″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Body 002″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]Tetsu incorrectly assumes Mogumo to be a crossdresser. The original Japanese uses the term ‘Otoko no ko’, which translates to “male daughter,” and is commonly used to describe crossdressers in Japan It’s the “Male” or “Otoko” part the term that Mogumo takes issue with. While Mogumo does not see themself as a boy, they also do not see themself a girl, either.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-002-20190330.png” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image – %22I really AM not a boy%22″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Body 003″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]

This is where Fukaboku shows its true colors.

From here, the reader is introduced to the various employees of Question!. All of the cafe’s employees demonstrate a form of gender variance for their own personal reasons, and often have difficulty understanding each other at times due to their own unique striggles.

Tetsu’s older sister Satori, the proprietress of Question!, is a transitioned, transgender woman who struggles with acceptance in society.

Suzu is a gay man, with a boyfriend, who often has to hide his relationship in public, which troubles him. He finds that crossdressing can allow him to be more public with his boyfriend at times.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-003-20190413.png” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image – Panel 003 – %22Sometimes I Get Depressed%22″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Body 004″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]Ten is a cosplayer, who will cosplay in anything cute.

Mei is transgender, un-transitioned, and closeted. For her, acting out the role of an otoko no ko is an important coping mechanism, which she genuinely fears losing.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-005-20190413.png” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image – %22Mei needs to stay the way he is…%22″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Body 005″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]Initially, Tetsu sees himself as a cisgender, hetereosexual ally to the members of Question!. Though he does his best to support the team, he, himself remains detached from their struggles. He begins to grapple with this, though, as he finds himself growing closer to Mogumo.

As the FukaBoku progresses, a closeted, lonely lesbian named Kotone is introduced. In a society where she’s denied her love, Kotone sought a relationship with Mogumo as a “Plan B” of sorts, as society wouldn’t deem them lesbians. She’s Mogumo’s only friend at the outset of the series, and a fierce rival for their affections.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-006-20190413.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image – %22If only I was born normal%22″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Body 006″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]The manga leads the viewer in looking like light hearted reading goes deeper into LGBT issues. Characters struggle to understand each other’s own desires or unintentionally hurt each with language.

It’s a series that earnestly lays bare the various challenges that LGBT individuals face on a daily basis, particularly those revolving around gender variance, which I had never had imagined that I would read.

This includes: lecturing someone on how to refer to another’s sexuality:
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-004-20190413.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image – %22Suzu are you a….?%22″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text – Main Body 007″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″]

Gender-neutral washroom usage:

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-007-20190413.png” admin_label=”Image – Gender Neutral Bathrooms”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.4″ admin_label=”Text – Body 008″]A transgender character who’s threatened by the very existence of someone who is x-gender.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-008-20190413.png” admin_label=”Image – %22I… got jealous%22″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.4″ admin_label=”Text – Body 009″]Criticism of harmful and stereotypical LGBT representations in media.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ src=”https://www.animeherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Love-Me-For-What-I-Am-009-20190413.png” admin_label=”Image – %22Was the world always so inhibited…?%22″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.4″ admin_label=”Body 010″]

And a transgender sister’s supporting her brother’s acceptance of his own evolving sexual orientation through unwavering compassion.

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From the start of its second chapter, FukaBoku had me mesmerized. It wasn’t simply that the cover and setup had “tricked” me with the promise of indulgent BL before switching it for gritty LGBT drama, but rather that it gracefully layered one under the other and let them run concurrently. The series is a rare instance of true representation of LGBT readers. Its scenario of an ‘Accepting Queer Family’ forming among the staff at Question! Provides a relatable parallel what many real-life LGBT people find themselves doing out of sheer necessity. At the same time, relatable conflicts and challenges fill nearly every panel. The raw emotion of these are made palatable to even the most casual readers, though, by its sugary coating.

Possibly the greatest challenge to exposing the greater world to FukaBoku is convince readers that there is so much more than what the cover hints at. I cannot deny that I saw this cover several times in my social media feeds for several months, and simply passed it over because it failed to stand out. At a glance, it looked like so much other content that I was already reading.

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Once I started reading, though,, it was only twenty-six hours later that I found myself ordering a physical copy of the first volume from Amazon.co.jp. I’d eagerly share FukaBoku with any LGBT reader, but that is a challenge as it’s currently unlicensed in English.

(On a personal note, were an English release to exist, I would not hesitate to purchase a dozen or so copies at a time for the express purpose of handing them out during the Q&A portions of convention panels.)

The first chapters, as well as the latest installments of FukaBoku can be found for free reading online, in Japanese, via Comic MeDu’s website. Older chapters, excluding the first two, are progressively pruned away over time

The Japanese print edition, which contains the first six chapters, is on sale at Amazon Japan and other online retailers, with a second volume expected in ‘Summer 2019’. Please support the artist if you can and hopefully we can see a licensed English release in the future.

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Its scenario of an ‘Accepting Queer Family’ forming among the staff at Question! Provides a relatable parallel what many real-life LGBT people find themselves doing out of sheer necessity.

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About the author

Ashley Hakker

Ashley Hakker is a visual effects artist who's been an anime fan since 2000. Her involvement in Anime Music Videos lead to her to her career today.

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