Wandering Son

Reat May 22, 2011

9

Wandering Son is a slice of life story about the confusing times teenagers find in relation to themselves and how they compare to others. What makes Wandering Son distinct is that it tackles an issue that rarely sees print - transgender issues. The two main characters both finding themselves confused about why they were not born in the opposite gender - the gender that they feel is what they should be. Where Wandering Son really shines is that it handles these issues with maturity and realism, while not pushing it down the reader's throat. There are many characters in this manga, and most of them have issues anyone can identify with. STORY - 8/10 As your typical slice of life manga, there is no overarching storyline. The reader doesn't honestly know where to story is going as they read it. Wandering Son makes use of time skips liberally. Months can pass over the space of a few chapters, while a whole volume may only take place in a week. This has good and bad points to it though, as while this allows character development to function as effectively as possible, it can lead to somewhat confusing pacing to the story. There is also the problem that sometimes it can feel like not enough chapters are devoted to a particular event in the character's lives, leaving the reader having to guess just what exactly they are thinking. ART - 10/10 Wandering Son has it's own unique art style. It creates a soft, comfortable atmosphere that lends very well to this type of manga. CHARACTERS - 10/10 Wandering Son is a character driven manga, and the characters are very well designed. The emphasis is on character development, and it feels as if the characters are in constant motion, constantly growing and changing over the course of the manga. This is of course, entirely true to how people are in the real world, especially as teenagers. OVERALL - 9/10 - Near Perfect This manga is very good, as well as being fairly unique with its subject matter and the honest means it deals with it. Other than the pacing issues, this is an exceptional read, although it does require a degree of maturity to apprechiate.  

ActualLee Jan 19, 2022

0.5

This story condones predatory behavior. It shows transgender adults trying to get into relationships with children and never (at least as far as I've read) has it stated that it is wrong. It has very bad rep and it horrific. Highly recommend NOT reading it.

luhara Nov 19, 2021

9.5

Ive always been a bit of a strange child, and this manga perfectly encapsulated my feelngs of childhood and how I feel now. ive only recently comfronting my feelings of my gernder and sexuality... and this manga helped suthe and start this jorney! ive never cryed so hard  over a manga. that said I dont think my entire life exprience up till now has been wanting to be the opposite sex, but what they discribe and show in this manga is fits  m e  perfectly. its the perfect manga trully it is. I do have some grievences with the ending but at the end of the day Im not too mad. its a qite bittersweet ending tho... so I hope you enjoy!