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is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was originally serialized in ''Comic Beam'' from the December 2002 to August 2013 issue, and published in 15 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Enterbrain from July 2003 to August 2013. The series is licensed in English by Fantagraphics Books, which released the first volume in North America in July 2011. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by AIC Classic and directed by Ei Aoki aired in Japan between January and March 2011. Eleven episodes aired on television, with episodes 10 and 11 edited into a single episode, and were released individually on their respective BD/DVD volumes. The story depicts a young student named Shuichi Nitori, described by the author as a boy who wants to be a girl, and Shuichi's friend Yoshino Takatsuki, described as a girl who wants to be a boy. The series deals with issues such as transsexualism, gender identity, and the beginning of puberty. Shimura was originally going to write the story about a girl in high school who wants to be a boy, but she realized that a boy who wants to become a girl before entering into puberty would have a lot of worries related to growing up, and changed the story to fit this model. ''Wandering Son'' was selected as a recommended work by the awards jury of the tenth Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006. The series has been lauded for its use of gender reversal as the core of the story, though the emotional realism of the young characters has been called into question. ==Plot== At the start of ''Wandering Son'', Shuichi Nitori is a young, feminine child assigned male at birth (AMAB) in the fifth grade who transfers into a new school. Shuichi quickly becomes friends with another student, tall, boyish Yoshino Takatsuki. Yoshino soon learns of Shuichi's desire to be a girl. In a show of friendship, Yoshino confesses a similar desire to be a boy. Shuichi also becomes friends with Saori Chiba and Kanako Sasa, two other girls in the class. Saori instantly takes a liking to Shuichi and continuously encourages Shuichi to wear feminine clothes. After Shuichi, Yoshino, and their friends enter sixth grade, Shuichi meets Makoto Ariga, another AMAB student their age from another class who also secretly wants to be a girl. Shuichi and Yoshino become friends with an adult transsexual woman named Yuki who is living with a man named Shiina. Shuichi's older sister Maho becomes a model and eventually becomes friends with Maiko, a teen model whom she idolizes, and two other teen models: Tamaki Satō and Anna Suehiro. Maho gets a boyfriend, Riku Seya, and Shuichi confesses a crush on Yoshino, but Yoshino cannot reciprocate Shuichi's feelings. After Saori learns of this, she confesses she likes Shuichi, but Shuichi too cannot return her feelings. This results in a falling-out between Shuichi's friends as they prepare to enter junior high school. In junior high school, they meet a tall, eccentric girl who befriends everyone named Chizuru Sarashina and her prickly friend Momoko Shirai, who does not get along well with the others—especially Saori. Eventually, Saori and Yoshino rejoin Shuichi's group of friends, though Saori says she still hates Yoshino and Momoko. Shuichi and Anna start dating, much to the surprise of their friends and Shuichi's sister. Yoshino and Saori manage to halfway repair their friendship, though Saori is still standoffish to others. Shuichi's friends are split up into several classes upon entering their second year in junior high school. Shuichi becomes friends with Shinpei Doi, who previously teased Shuichi about wanting to be a girl. Yoshino attends school in a boy's uniform for a short time, and Shuichi tries to go to school dressed as a girl one day, but is laughed at, and becomes discouraged. Shuichi's friends worry as Shuichi begins skipping school. Although Shuichi eventually starts attending school regularly again, Anna breaks off their relationship. By the time Shuichi, Yoshino, and their friends enter their third year in junior high school, Shuichi's voice is changing. The group of friends start thinking about their future high school plans, and Shuichi and Anna start dating again. Shuichi begins attending the same all-boy high school as Makoto and Doi, while Yoshino and Saori begin attending a high school where uniforms are not required. Saori starts dating Fumiya Ninomiya. Yoshino starts working at Anna's modeling agency and Shuichi begins working at a cafe, but later quits. Shuichi starts writing a semi-autobiographical novel. Yoshino later tells Shuichi that she does not think about wanting to be a boy anymore, and also confesses a romantic attraction to Shuichi. Shuichi still identifies as a girl, and even after informing Anna of this, she stays with Shuichi. After graduating from high school, Shuichi moves out and goes to the same college as Doi. Shuichi continues to write the novel, which is given the title . 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wandering Son」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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