Basic Infos
Start Date: January 13th, 2011
Episodes: TBD (assumed to be 11~12)
Official Site: http://www.houroumusuko.jp
Opening Theme: "Itsu datte" by Daisuke
Ending Theme: "For You" by Rie fu
Creator (manga): Takako Shimura
Association: Noitamina (Fuji TV)
Studio: AIC Classic
Director: Ei Aoki
What is Hourou Musuko about?
Oh, you know, it's your simple tale of a young boy and a young girl as they try to make their way through grade school. They experience those issues we've all dealt with as a child: making friends, being bullied, learning how the world works, wanting to be the opposite sex of what you were born. You know, the basics.
Wait... what?
Okay, okay. Hourou Musuko is the story of two main characters: Shuuichi Nitori (aka "Nitorin") and Yoshino Takatsuki (aka "Takatsuki-kun"). Nitorin was born a boy, but feels in his heart that he was meant to be a girl. Meanwhile, Takatsuki-kun was born a girl, but runs away from the world of sugar and spice due to identifying more with being a boy. Figuring out who you really are as a child is hard enough; immensely more so, as I'm sure you can imagine, when you aren't even sure of your very own gender.
Sooo... this is another one of those boys-in-dresses anime then?
Lord no! In fact, that's one of the qualities that makes Hourou Musuko as engrossing and endearing of a story as it ends up being. In a medium (anime and manga) going through a fetish for "otokonoko" that recently got kicked into overdrive, this is a total breath of fresh air.
Hourou Musuko's characters don't exist to provide set-up for gags, cheap (and over-used) dilemmas to get out of, or fodder for your next wanking session (after which, no doubt, you always convince yourself that you were really doing it to "that other character" and not the girl whose dress hides a special bonus).
The power of Hourou Musuko is that, as unrealistic as its world can sometimes be - let's face it, children dealing with these kinds of issues wouldn't have it as easy as Nitorin and Takatsuki-kun do - the emotion behind the characters, their feelings, their hopes and dreams, and their desire to simply find a place in the world in which they feel they can belong, has a reality to it that is at times shocking. Even beyond every other element that Hourou Musuko puts forward during its run, Nitorin and Takatsuki-kun quickly become amazingly powerful yet sympathetic character, characters that - no matter if you can directly relate to them or not - you want to see end up happy. Except, this isn't your typical anime series where solutions are assured, and a moment of light-hearted fun can suddenly turn into crushing heartbreak. Not from death, or divorce, or other familiar sources of struggle and strife, but from a simple facial expression, or a few words, or the reaction of another character.
One of the panels from the manga that I can never forget is a scene where, looking into a mirror, Nitorin holds a girl's outfit up to himself, as if to imagine that he were wearing it. In most other titles, it would be a brief scene that comes and goes with little notice, but here - as you see the look on Nitorin's face, and understand how much he hurts inside as he imagines a world he so desperately wants to belong to but feels like he never can - it's a scene that, if you've come to care at all for Nitorin as a character (and you will), it'll hit you like a sledgehammer to your heart.
Do I have to care about transgender issues to enjoy Hourou Musuko?
No, absolutely not. While questions of gender and the roles certain characters fit into in that regard are central to the story, the core of Hourou Musuko is the characters themselves and the struggles they are going through. If you yourself deal with any such gender issues, then it is a story that can both be uplifting and cruel as it reminds you of your own struggles. If you're just looking for a deeply emotional drama that actually gives a damn about creating characters worth caring about and storylines you hope to see resolved, then you'll get more than your fill here.
How far will the anime version go in relation to the manga version?
Unsure. The manga series is currently up to eleven full volumes with the beginning chapters of a twelfth already released.
Should I still read the manga even after watching the anime series?
Yes! Please! The manga is utterly fantastic, and no doubt there will be some changes between it and the anime version. As well, as beautiful as the anime is looking, Takako Shimura's art for the manga series is something worthy of appreciation. As of now, there are fan resources for reading the Japanese-released chapters, but an official English release has been announced by Fantagraphics Books which will be starting in March of this year. The English release should absolutely be supported as a show of thanks to Fantagraphics for taking a chance on the series.
Why does the name Takako Shimura sound familiar?
She is a manga artist known for tackling LGBT-related topics, most notably (and probably where you'd know her from) the manga and anime series Aoi Hana.
Is it Hourou Musuko or Wandering Son?
Wandering Son is the English translation of the Japanese name, and the official name used for English releases of the anime/manga. I know a lot of people around here have set on calling it Wandering Son all of the time, but when I got into the series, I knew it as "Hourou Musuko", that's what I always called it, so god-dammit, that's what you're going to see me use.
Crunchyroll will be showing episodes of Hourou Musuko via their official page for the series. From what I can understand (being a person who has heard of the site but never uses it), looks like if you have an account at the level where you get to view videos in "Prerelease", you'll get to see new episodes about an hour and a half or so after they air on Japanese TV. For everybody else, you'll get the episode a week later when the next prerelease episode hits.
Crunchyroll: Wandering Son
Prerelease: Thursday, January 13th at 10:00am PST (and then every week following)
Standard: Thursday, January 20th at 10:00aam PST (and then every week following)
Preview Videos
PV 01: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIENMGq6H5U
PV 02: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pejectC1SVU
PV 03: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HMqrs6SvV8
