Love Me for Who I Am

raebez Jul 22, 2020

8

wow shocked to see a transphobic reviewer hate this series purely for having trans representation so shocking that poor gay family I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit wary of this series for the loli aesthetic of the cover but I was pleasantly surprised at how inclusive it was with topics of intersectional identities and experiences It was refreshing to have the characters already have an understanding of their identities and the main struggles being how they navigate their space; including the lgbtplus spaces because I think a lot of people assume that it's easy to transition into such diverse groups without much discussion of boundaries or differing ideas. Also bless Tetsu, honestly I loved that while his relationship with his big sister gave him a better understanding of the struggles in the trans community, there was still things he had to realize about his approach to everyone's identities through his relationship with Mogumo! Especially without having the "does tetsu is gay" conversation, chef kiss my dudes It's worth a read and i'm excited to see where it is going

smallnstarlight Jul 19, 2020

9

Sad to see the only other review is from a transphobic person so here's mine: As someone who's nonbinary just like the protagonist of this story, I found it very wholesome and cute!  Mogumo struggles trying to live as who they are, hoping people will accept they are neither a boy or a girl, which is something I can deeply relate to. It's really nice to see them finding people who welcome them with open arms, how they become friends and support each other.  The romance started rather quick but it was too adorable so I had no issues with that, and to be honest the fact that there wasn't the "am i gay?!" chapters long freak out you get on other manga was refreshing. It's nice to read LGBT centric stories that aren't focused too much on the angst.  So basically, read this if you're looking for: -A wholesome story about aceptance -Lots of LGBT+ rep -A cute fluffy romance and uplifting friendships Might end up adding more as this manga is still ongoing, but obviously I'm really enjoying it so far and can't wait to keep on reading!

kittensparadise Feb 3, 2021

9.3

Wow, that was unexpected. It's really on par with Shimanami Tasogare in how it explored LGBT themes.Keywords: manga, contemporary, gender and sexualities, LGBT, maid cafe, crossdress, gender dysphoriaRepresentations: nonbinary main lead, trans woman, pansexual, lesbian, gay side charactersTrigger warning: homophobia, internalized homophobia, transphobia, misgendering (?)REVIEWLove Me for Who I Am tells about a nonbinary high school kid who want to find a place where they belong. Their friend told them to work at a maid cafe where they can be who they really want.I was doubtful to start this manga because from the story blurb it was just like your usual gender bender or cross-dress manga with no sensibilities to real LGBT issues. Turned out I was wrong.The manga explored topics about gender and sexualities. It handled the topics beautifully in such a way that it respectful but the tone of the story is still very light. It's also very rare to find a manga with nonbinary main lead, not to mention feminine presenting one. The story also emphasized that gender presentation and gender identity are a very different thing. It also portrayed how painful it is to deal with homophobia and transphobia, especially if you live in a very conservative and non-accepting environment.There are misgendering on pages but it slowly resolved as the characters tried to be more accepting and tried to understand each other better.Apparently it is still on-going. But so far I really like it. I'll be waiting on how the story will unfold