Hourou Musuko Chapter 123 Discussion

What a ride. So many chapters getting attached to the characters, year by year they get older, then suddenly they're graduating and it's over. I'll miss them and I'm sure I'll come back to this series one day.

I liked how the manga ended for the most part. I will say I am a bit disappointed with where Takatsuki-san's character ended up but perhaps that was because I was projecting onto her for much of the story. I've always been a tomboy type person and have only recently been taking a closer look at my gender and how I feel about it and I think I may have been looking towards Takatsuki's character for help clearing up my own feelings, which didn't really happen at all haha. Honestly I just wish there was more of a focus on Takatsuki throughout and I definitely would have liked another dfab character that was questioning in some way, because we only got Takatsuki and she ended up not being trans, while we got around 4 or 5 trans women (which is great ofc, but yknow).

I really like how Anna handled Nitori being female and Mako is making her steps towards coming out as well. I liked Nitoris story and I liked how she was showing it to all of her friends and asking them to read it to see if it was good enough. I was pretty sad that Taka-kun changed their mind about being trans, only because there aren't enough transmales in manga, but hey, I believe there aren't enough trans in manga in general and I feel like it's important to have trans characters so people could start understanding how trans people feel.

I was upset that their friends didn't call them the right pronouns, but I suppose children aren't as good or respectful about that stuff.

I really liked this story regardless, but I really wanted to see Nitori and Anna together after she came out to Anna. Maybe if I'm lucky, the anime specials will have it haha. Either way, great manga, hoping the anime will be just as good.

Zera said:
I wasn't going to contribute to this discussion, but since I spent my time reading all 123 chapters I might as well write out my thoughts. I was majorly disappointed with the ending, to me it felt like the author was told she had to end the manga and she just said "f it" and gave us THIS for an ending. I feel like all of the character development amassed to nothing.



Some things that particularly irritated me was the fact that Nitori was the one who decided to transition in the end rather than Yoshino. In the way I interpreted things, I would've thought it would be the opposite outcome. One of the reasons I thought this was because Yoshino had always openly presented themselves as masculine (although it is easier for a girl to wear masculine attire rather than a male in female attire), and Nitori was less confident going out in female clothes. Most importantly though was how Nitori was evidently comfortable with his body and genitals, talking about how much he loves masturbation at the end, which is nonsensical if he really has gender dysphoria.



Also, although I understand in a way since they were together for so long, it feels almost lazy to me that Anna ended up with Nitori. She had broken up with him once because he wasn't 'manly' while he was in middle school* (I believe), so it's saddening that instead of coming up with a new pairing Nitori might've had a brighter future with it just stayed the same with Anna and Nitori. I can view them as friends, but nothing more. I just don't see it.



I made an account specifically to reply to you.

(This is from the perspective of a trans man)



It’s clear that Nitori was always meant to be a girl. It’s typical for trans people to not feel comfortable presenting themselves as the gender in which they’d like to be seen as, in Nitori’s case, the ridicule she’d received in earlier chapters made it even harder for her. Dysphoria doesn’t have a single form. Dysphoria at its core is discomfort with your assigned sex and the desire to present as the opposite. Not every trans person is opposed to their genitalia and not every trans person is opposed to masturbation or sex using their natural genitalia and the idea that trans people should never accept their genitalia and always have to desire a reassignment surgery is transphobic in itself. She likes masturbation. That doesn’t make her any less female or make her experiences with gender identity any less valid. For this reason I can accept and feel happy that Nitori stayed true to her desire to be seen as and to become female till the very end and I’m also happy that Anna was able to accept her in the end although I don’t like the idea of them as a couple.



I have mixed feelings towards Takatsuki’s ending and I feel like it was rushed causing her character development to amass to very little in the end. Although I can’t help but feel like it’s a reflection on the reality of trans men. Many detransitioners are, unfortunately, trans men. I hate the way it ended for Takatsuki but at the same time I feel like she was developed as she was for the sole purpose of getting the readers expectations for her that high only for her to stop desiring to be a man be cause that is, sadly, the reality of some trans men.

I think Wandering Son is a really special manga because of it's characters. They develop so much, have so many flaws and the story is really realistic. Things just happen, year after year. It never reaches a point where "fine, now everything is good and now it's gonna stay like this for ever".

The last chapter is the same. I'm glad that Takatsuki and Nitori continue to be true to themselves. Takatsuki has changed and I don't see any problem in that. The old Takatsuki and the old Nitori could have been a good couple but that is past now. Nitori is strong enough to live fully as he is and doesn't need Takatsuki as role model. Takatsuki cries and I feel that it's liberating. She accepts the fact that they as a couple is no longer possible. That is brave too!!!!!



It feels like these characters are real people I've come to know but now won't meet again because they moved or something, and I wish them well in the rest of their lives.

I just wanted a simple scene of Nit and Annie in bed together after sex, at least, but however, I am okay with the ending, thought it was short, it was still a decent move by the author, we skipped all the misc and Annie didn't get dump for the childhood friend, EXCELLENT! XD



Annie + Nito = Yuri

1) Poor Ebina-san... I really thought everything would work out for him.



2) Poor Takatsuki... -san.



3) Chiba went from an entitled, selfish girl with horrible temper to someone who could reasonably dethrone Anna as the nicest person in the universe. Her development was extremely satisfying to witness.



4) BOKU WA ONNA NO KO



    - NITORI SHUICHI



   FUCK, YEAAAAAAAH





...I can only recall one manga, besides this one, that aims for realism and manages to completely avoid inconsistencies despite insisting on being stuffed with details until its very end. That is Zanshou, by Mohiro Kitou. Everything else that I've read with this style fell WAY short of its (the style's) potential.



EDIT: Vanisher said:
I liked how it ended for Nitori, but I'm really disappointed with Takatsuki development.

I still don't get what was the point of having Saori date the church idiot, it served no purpose at all.



Does every event in your life take place in order to advance the plot, make a point or entertain viewers?

Demonku said:
I'm still going to miss every single one of these characters T_T



This. I really like how it ended and it was obvious from the beginning that Takatsuki would have this kind of ending and I think it was a very good choice and showed variety. Like the final chapter said: this was a story about a girl who wanted to be a boy and a boy who wanted to be a girl and in the end the girl stopped to want to be a boy and all is well.



This was fantastic,  it showed different kind of people coming in terms of their sexuality and going through puberty without being angsty. What I like about this story the most was that it was a story about sexual exploration without the protagonists portrayed as broken outcasts and fucked up people, which is a breath of fresh air.  



I will miss Nitori and Doi the most.

i loved the ending and the story so much. it had this realistic touch to it and it made me empathize with the feelings of the characters. seeing them grow up makes me feel melancholic but im happy for shuu-kun and all of them as well. it's nice that he has someone like anna who loves him wholeheartedly.





was definitely a good read during quarantine

Takatsuki's story ended pretty abruptly and kind of lame. I just wanted to see girl Nitori and Anna together...

The story is rather tragic for Takatsuki. I was a major shipper from the first chapter onwards. I found this fic by searching for the 'unrequited love becomes requited' tag on Mangaupdates, so I went in hoping and expected from that tag that Takatsuki and Nitori would get together. I was apparently trolled. That ended in a surprising unrequited love for her.

She also still have gender identity issues, and it is implied by her weight loss and angst that she has an eating disorder.

It has been made clear that Anna and Nitori had their first together so the ship seems to be dead.



The odd thing is that on pg27 of this chapter, Takatsuki seems to be wearing a bridal veil and Nitori seems to be wearing a white suit. Does this mean they get together in the end?

Wow, I finally finished reading this. What a ride.



Overall, I liked the ending, but would've loved to see more on every single front. The final chapter crammed the ending for all characters - all characters that we've seen grow up from elementary school kids to the adults that they are now - in one chapter.



Before going to the meat of the ending, I want to talk about the side characters for a bit. It was a bit sad that since they went to different schools, we saw less of Sasa-chan and Chi-chan. They were very fun to see back in elementary and middle school. They were also very kind to our main characters.



I really love the development of Saorin too. She went from a very hostile and socially awkward person to this beautiful (although she has always been beautiful I think) very kind person who cares deeply about her friends. She at times seemed ambivalent about Sasa-chan's feelings of friendship towards her, but now in the end here we can see her threatening Sasaki-kun with death if he made Sasa-chan cry lmao



I still don't really like her boyfriend, and I'm not really sure if that guy is still her boyfriend with Doi asking her out.



Doi is also a character that I used to really hate but grew to be somewhat fond of by the end of the manga. He's matured a lot, that's for sure. And somehow he's become an actual friend to Shuu.



And finally the main part. I really like that Shuu and Anna ended up together. I knew for sure that when Anna x Shuu first appeared that they wouldn't last because Takatsuki was a main character, but I'm glad I was wrong. Anna is probably my favourite character in this entire manga. Her love for Shuu is very beautiful and I'm very happy that throughout everything they stayed together and their relationship grew deeper. They went from Anna seeing him as a little sister to being true lovers. But would've loved to see more of their relationship in the future, as adults. Like some have said in this forum, maybe a scene of them in bed together after doing it to confirm what we've all been confused about (whether they've done it or not), or a scene of adult them just together on a day out, holding hands. Or maybe even them living together. Would've really loved to see that, but alas it shall never be. But I don't want to be ungrateful. I'm thanking my lucky stars that they ended up together, one of if not my most favourite couple in all of anime and manga ^^ Callback to that cute scene when they shared that first scene. One of the cutest I've ever seen oh my goodness.



Kind of wish that Shuu didn't hold Takatsuki's hand there, seeing as he has Anna. Just a small issue.



lolcatinti said:
It feels like these characters are real people I've come to know but now won't meet again because they moved or something, and I wish them well in the rest of their lives.



I couldn't have said it better myself. I will greatly miss all the characters in this manga, especially our leads. I too feel like they're real people, more than just characters on a page. But it's sad that we'll never see them again nor hear more of their stories beyond what we've seen. And that makes me very sad. I hope everyone lives happy lives.



I enjoyed the anime, but I didn't expect to love the manga. I will greatly miss reading this nuanced and complex story that doesn't follow typical stereotypes or story development. It's not a story with a clear ending, but rather what we're seeing is the life story of these characters. There's no end goal. And that's what's beautiful about it. I can't express how sad I am that the story is ended. Loved it. 8/10.



Goodbye, Hourou Musuko! Goodbye, Shuu, Anna, Takatsuki, Saori, Sasa-chan, Chi-chan, Mako, Maho, Seya, and everyone else! Hope everyone can have a good life beyond the story.