Why Should You Binge “Wandering Son”?

Going on a binge can be an incredibly rewarding but time-consuming endeavor. Here at Multiversity, we’re binging everything from acclaimed comics like “Manhattan Projects” and “Star Wars: Doctor Aphra” to landmarks of television like the first season of Legend of Korra, or Westworld. So why should you stick with me as I experience the manga “Wandering Son” for the first time? Let me explain why I chose this series, give you a taste of the first volume, and explain how my binge will be structured. Hopefully you’ll then be as excited to follow Shuichi Nitori’s journey as I am.

I am a novice when it comes to manga. The only series I’ve dug into past the first volume is “The Drops of God”, a seinen (manga aimed at men from their late teens to early thirties) all about wine and the art of the sommelier. I needed to rectify this. I turned to a friend of mine who I consider to be knowledgeable about manga, and asked him this: “If I can only read one manga series right now, what should I read?”. A simple question, to which he gave a simple answer: “Wandering Son”. He praised its art style. He gushed about the writing, and the tale of transgender youths finding themselves. He also warned me that it will absolutely take my emotions, slam them into a metaphorical washing machine, and toss them around like mismatched socks.

Cover by Takako Shimura

“Wandering Son” (in Japanese, 放浪息子, Hōrō Musuko when romanized) is a seinen manga centered on Shuichi Nitori. At the start of the story, he is in fifth grade. He is a delicate boy, who is mistaken for his older sister in the first few pages of the first issue. Gender and its representations form core themes of “Wandering Son”. Right from the beginning of the story, Shuichi expresses his desire to be a girl. This is mirrored through Shuichi’s friend Yoshino Takatsuki, a girl who longs to be a boy. Throughout the first volume, both Shuichi and Yoshino’s confidence grow. Yoshino takes her older brother’s old uniform and travels to a distant subway stop to live a few hours as a boy, even being hit on by a woman. Shuichi’s journey is more gradual, but still heartening to read. He goes from dreaming about his sister’s dress, to donning a hairband alone in his house, to travelling with Yoshino in a dress given to him by their friend Saori Chiba.

Takako Shimura’s work on the first volume (covering issues 1 to 8) of “Wandering Son” is incredible. Her linework is simple and clear, making the characters expressive and dynamic without unnecessary lines to clutter the emotional core of the comic. Every character is distinct and has their own personality from the first time you meet them, from the central characters of Shuichi and Yoshino to the minor ones, like Shuichi’s brash older sister. The character designs fit the everday, slice-of-life story that Shimura is setting up, with the ambiguity of both Shuichi and Yoshino highlighted without needing to be telegraphed.

This subtlety is evident throughout the story of the first volume as well. Shimura doesn’t hold her readers’ hands by explaining and repeating every minor detail. This more obvious and direct writing style works elsewhere, but would crush a story as delicate as that of “Wandering Son”. Shimura relies on the reader’s abilities to pick up subtle cues and make connections in order to preserve the beauty of Shuichi and Yoshino’s journey. Even in these first few issues, there are a number of points where time passes after a page turn because, as with actual human lives, sometimes nothing of note happened in the lives of the characters. This was slightly disorienting for me on the first couple of occasions, but I quickly became accustomed to Shimura’s style and grew to appreciate her confidence in her readership.

The first volume is largely an introduction to the world and players of “Wandering Son”. The volume’s pacing is relaxed, and while it does introduce a number of characters quickly in the first issue, the cast does not expand after this. It is clear that “Wandering Son” will be more concerned with the feelings and desires of the characters and how they react to each other than any grand scheme to save the world. I expect that the “Wandering Son” will break my heart at some point. I also hope that it will fill me with joy and hope for humanity.

Continued below

Each week, I will be discussing at least one volume of “Wandering Son”. Every third week, I will tackle two volumes, for even more bingey goodness. I will give you a taste of what happens and how I felt about it, with light spoilers for the current issues and a heavier one for previous volumes as I discuss how the new volumes expands the story of the previous ones. Next week, I will discuss the second volume, covering issues 9 – 17. If you want to see how Shuichi, Yoshino, and their friends and family are handling the changes in their lives together, feel free to read along. Fantagraphics has collected eight volumes of “Wandering Son”, but sadly the story has not yet been completed in these collections. An English version of “Wandering Son” may be tricky to track down, but it is well worth the effort.

Shuichi and Yoshino’s journeys lay before them, and fourteen more volumes lay in wait for us. I look forward to seeing how the characters grow and change as they explore their budding identities, and I hope to share the experience with many of you. See you next week!