is a

slice-of-life Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and drawn by .

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

serialized it through its

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

platform ' from July 15, 2016, to January 31, 2020, and released it across three collected ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes between 2017 and 2020. The story follows a married couple, Yuki and Kou, through short chapters depicting their everyday life. Although they are both men, they consider themselves wife and husband, and Yuki dresses like a woman. The series was well received by critics, who liked the portrayal of Yuki and Kou's romantic relationship, and found Yuki a cute and appealing character.

Premise

''Otokonoko Zuma'' is a

manga following a loving married couple: the soft-spoken and feminine Yuki, and the honest and quirky Kou. Although the two appear to be a heterosexual couple and consider themselves wife and husband, Yuki is a

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

man. Each chapter follows a

scenario such as Yuki and Kou meeting acquaintances or going to the cinema, but also situations arising from how Yuki is cross-dressing and how others react to him, such as when he goes to the men's public bath or uses the men's bathroom. Yuki thinks cross-dressing is embarrassing at times, but still enjoys doing it and loves making Kou happy by being cute.

Production and release

''Otokonoko Zuma'' was written and drawn by , using a short-form, eight-page format for the chapters. It was serialized by

on a monthly basis through their

platform ' from July 15, 2016, to January 31, 2020, and was collected in three ''

'' volumes from 2017 to 2020 under Shogakukan's Shounen Sunday Comics imprint. The release schedule for the volumes was slower than usual for manga due to how only eight new pages were published each month, meaning it took more than a year to accumulate enough new chapters to fill a whole ''tankōbon'' volume.

Volumes

Reception

''Otokonoko Zuma'' was critically well received, but despite this, the collected volumes only saw a very limited print run; Crystal na Yousuke described it as "unlikely" that readers would find copies in book stores and recommended reading the e-book versions. ''NLab'' liked the series, describing it as standing out from other manga about gay romance or cross-dressing. Although the series does not discuss

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

issues much, they did not think it felt missing, and liked seeing Yuki and Kou being happy together and their families accepting them, describing it as a good portrayal of a loving marriage. They praised the scene where Kou proposes to Yuki, with Kou treating Yuki's gender as completely irrelevant to whether he would want to marry him. ''Nico Nico News'' agreed, describing Yuki and Kou's relationship as heartwarming. ''NLab'', ''

Natalie Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie (1884–1983), Armenian writer and principal organizer of Operation Nemesis Music Albums * ''Natal ...

'', and ''Nico Nico News'' all found Yuki cute; ''Nico Nico News'' described him as attractive and full of what makes ''otokonoko'' characters charming, with the contrast between his gender and his appearance. ''NLab'' appreciated how characters respect Yuki's gender and treat him as a man regardless of his femininity and how he is the wife.

References

External links