拝啓, 世間様 (Dear Society)

Read (English).

Read (Japanese).

Available Summary:

A hidden youth depicted by an LGBT creator. Some 10 years or so ago, a high school student from a regional town named Rino Tachi went to an all-girls school, studied here and there, and enjoyed talking with his female friends. He was an "ordinary" girl, except for his pervasive feeling of unease within his body. A story of "love" set in a time that demanded even more conformity than now, about living one's fullest life while hiding the discontent. A story about searching for oneself.

-MangaDex.

Jack's Summary:

This story begins with a trans man named Tachibana Kanesho at his wedding, about to get married to the woman he loves. He thinks about how, in previous years, he never imagined this being possible. We then flash back to his life as a teenager, living as a girl and going by the name Rino Tachi. He is incredibly dysphoric and unhappy, unable to explain his feelings or describe what he is going through.

He faces abuse and harassment from classmates and family, and has to endure lesbophobic abuse when a rumour spreads that he likes girls. A cis gay classmate, seeing his struggle, invites him into the school's unofficial LGBT+ club, which mainly consists of a sympathetic nurse who lets LGBT+ students hang out in the sick bay. The nurse introduces him to the term Gender Identity Disorder, and he finally realises who he is, and that he truly is a boy. He realises that a medical transition is possible, and is overwhelmed with happiness.

He comes out to his mother, prompting her to become violent and angry. His teen years are very difficult, but he continues on, and after graduation he begins his transition.

He moves to Tokyo and works in an Onabe bar at night, in the daytime working as a photographer. After winning a photography prize, he is able to afford top surgery, and he begins testosterone replacement therapy. The story then moves forward sixteen years; Tachibana has facial hair and a lower voice, and is living as a man completely.

This story was published in 2022, prior to the Japanese Supreme Court's 2023 ruling that trans people should not be required to sterilise themselves before legally changing their gender marker. So, Tachibana has to have a hysterectomy performed before he can be legally male, and he faces some difficulties while he is legally female. He eventually has the mandatory surgery, reunites with his childhood crush, and (as we saw at the beginning of the story) gets married.

I'm really glad to have read this story! Thank you to glamquor for recommending this manga via Reddit!

WARNINGS: Domestic abuse, bullying, minor physical violence, references to suicidal ideation, sexual harassment, sexual assault, parental rejection, anti-LGBT attitudes.