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Genre: Drama, Slice of Life, School.
Synonyms: Wandering Son, The Transient Son.
Episodes: 12.
Length Per Episode: 23 Minutes.
Score: 8/10.
Synopsis: Effeminate fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is considered by most to be one of the prettiest girls in school, but much to her dismay, she is actually biologically male. Fortunately, Shuuichi has a childhood friend who has similar feelings of discomfort related to gender identity: the lanky tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki, who, though biologically female, does not identify as a girl. These two friends share a similar secret and find solace in one another; however, their lives become even more complicated when they must tread the unfamiliar waters of a new school, attempt to make new friends, and struggle to maintain old ones. Faced with nearly insurmountable odds, they must learn to deal with the harsh realities of growing up, transexuality, relationships, and acceptance.
Lauded as a decidedly serious take on gender identity and LGBT struggles, Takako Shimura's Hourou Musuko is about Shuuichi and Yoshino's attempts to discover their true selves as they enter puberty, make friends, fall in love, and face some very real and difficult choices.
Thoughts after reading the synopsis: I thought it was nice to have an anime like this out there since it tackles a very delicate subject that many are anxious to talk about, gender identity. It was also nice to see that it would tackle it from the perspective of someone who if MTF (Male to Female) and FTM (female to male) and the struggles of daily life and tackling puberty and how that affects them.
Thoughts on the art style: I thought the art style was very pretty and the way it's coloured reminds me a lot of watercolour paintings so is rather appealing to me as an artist, and is also just generally appealing visually.
Thoughts on how the story played out: I thought the story played out nicely and realistically, it was nice to see the genuine struggles of someone who sees them self as someone they weren't born as and dealing with typical challenges such as school, growing up, confidence and romance. Acceptance and becoming confident in ones self are something anyone can take away from this anime regardless of gender or any other factors. In my personal experience it has been a good jumping off point for conversations on genders and gender identity.
Positives: The struggles of the characters seem genuine and you can easily relate to them; it shows that not everyone will be accepting but those who do are the ones that care the most; the romance plot is only semi important and truly focuses on Nitori's struggles with her gender; the story is well paced, especially for a slice of life anime; there's a colourful cast of characters, some that are well fleshed out in the development department; Nitori's father respecting her for who she is.
Negatives: Some characters could have used development; we don't see Takatsuki's story as much as I would have liked; at least one other character seems to show similar feelings to Nitori but we don't get as much information on them; we have no idea what happenes to them later in life, I honestly would have loved to see them meet up for something like a class reunion.
Points I'm not sure where to put: Still referring to Nitori as he and Takatsuki as she even after they revel their gender identities (I have mixed feelings about this as using the correct pronouns would have made them comfortable, it would have probably but them at a high risk too).
Overall: There are more positives than negatives which is why it rates so highly, it's a wonderful anime that tackles a serious subject and the art style seems to reflect the delicacy of the issue it is tackling. The negative points I brought up might have been tackled in the manga, once I have read it I will most likely make a post about it and compare the two.
Sources: Synopsis and basic information: http://myanimelist.net/anime/8426/Hourou_Musuko?q=hourou%20m
