Umi Takase’s ‘I Wanna Be Your Girl’ Vol. 1 is the manga I wish I had as a trans kid
When From the Intercom received an advance copy of Umi Takase’s I Wanna Be Your Girl, I thought I’d get to read a fun, light-hearted shoujo manga. I did, and then some. I found a romance story that takes the social and emotional worlds of queer and trans teens seriously, and provides a healthy model for navigating the ups and downs of being the odd one out amongst your peers.
I Wanna Be Your Girl follows Hime and her childhood best friend, Akira. For three years, Hime has closely held Akira’s deepest secret: Akira is a girl. Now, the secret is out. Akira is in the process of coming out at school. Of course, Hime is Akira’s loudest cheerleader. She is fiercely protective of her, defending Akira against bullies, and loudly affirming her girlhood. But Hime has her own secret: she’s in love with Akira. How will she handle Akira making new friends and having crushes of her own?
It’s a solid premise for a shoujo story. I Wanna Be Your Girl volume 1 hits all the classic beats: it’s got the gung-ho protagonist; it’s got the jealousy and unrequited feelings; it’s got the mysterious newcomer threatening to break up the friendship. Now, if it only had that, I Wanna Be Your Girl might feel a little thin, like a gimmicky twist on the form. And the first few chapters do feel a little formulaic, as we get to know our characters and what they’re up against. But halfway through, I Wanna Be Your Girl tackles its first big social challenge. How will Akira handle being misgendered by a new friend? And how will Hime react, as Akira’s self-appointed protector?
I won’t spoil the resolution, but it’s a stellar example for younger readers on how to advocate for others and, crucially, how to advocate for themselves. In two chapters Umi Takase models the importance of communicating openly with friends, rather than talking behind their backs; giving others a chance to get to know you, even if they don’t initially understand you; and looking for those who will love and support you because of your differences, not despite them.
The highlight of the volume was the advice a teacher gives Hime. Hime decides to wear a boy’s uniform to support Akira, but she hasn’t told her family. Her teacher, Sasaki, asks her to examine why she’s chosen to wear it. Who does she want to be? “Society wants to distill it as ‘male’ and ‘female’… but it’s not that simple. There are more than two ways to be human.” But we can’t entirely get away from society’s view of us. Ultimately, we all have to find our own balance. “You weigh your tastes, personal beliefs, your place in society, and all sorts of factors against each other…and choose what you want to wear accordingly.”
After reading this scene I thought, wow. I could have used this manga as a kid. I had to navigate these same issues as a trans kid, and I figured them out largely on my own. It was lonely! I wanted an adult like Sasaki in my life. I wanted a friend like Hime!
I didn’t know this initially, but I Wanna Be Your Girl is actually intended for a younger audience. It’s the first manga out of Ink Pop, Random House Graphic’s new line aiming to localize “manga, manhua, manhwa, and webtoons for kids and teens.” That’s a quote from the Executive Editor at RH Graphic, Whitney Leopard, who greets the reader on the very first page. (Which I entirely missed on my first skim-through.)
I Wanna Be Your Girl is an excellent pick to introduce the line. It’s a romance for young readers that maturely tackles what it’s actually like to be a queer teenager. Akira is learning to navigate being out as a girl; Hime is figuring out that she might like girls – romantically! It’s sweet and it’s messy. The author promises in future volumes, “they’ll butt heads, push through tough times, and fret over what others think of them.” I like the sound of it.
If you know a kid who devours fan-fiction, shoujo manga, or YA romance (like I did in middle school), I highly recommend you pick up I Wanna Be Your Girl for them. There’s a compelling story here for adult readers as well; by the time I got to the end of volume 1, I was hooked. However, this manga is truly for the kids like me. I waded through my share of romance with misogynistic narratives, unhealthy relationships, and zero protagonists I could truly relate to. Of course, I don’t regret that my mom bought me manga like Banana Fish or Skip Beat! to read as a teenager. But… I would have really liked Umi Takase’s I Wanna Be Your Girl on my childhood shelf as well.
Umi Takase’s I Wanna Be Your Girl Vol. 1 is out now on eBook, paperback, and hardcover.
Website pages: Random House Website