At the beginning of “Wandering Son”, we met two characters: one who wanted to be a boy, and one who wanted to be a girl. In this final volume, we see them and all of the people around them for the last time. In a volume swirling with doubts, feelings, and uncertainty about the future, we bid farewell to everyone. From minor characters like Makoto and Taiichirou, to Yoshino, to main character Shuichi, Takako Shimura hints at where everyone is going with the rest of their lives. The final volume of “Wandering Son” is every bit as delicate and touching as this series deserves, and left me smiling at the possibilities ahead of all of these characters I’ve loved since the first chapter.
While they may not have had as much of the spotlight in the story as Yoshino and Shuichi had, many of the minor characters had impactful ends to their tales, particularly Taiichirou and Makoto. After his past nervousness about his cross-dressing, Taiichirou has resolved to continue doing what he loves. He envisions telling his daughter about it when she’s older. More notably, he informs the woman that he has been seeing of his habits. While she does ends up leaving him, Taiichirou feels better about himself. We will never see how his new-found confidence pans out, but his self-empowerment is encouraging to see.
While Makoto does not end “Wandering Son” with as optimistic of an arc as Taiichirou, he seems less lost than when we left him at the end of the last arc. He is set in his quest to become a girl and his attraction to men, yet he still does not love himself enough to be confident in his self-expression. Even Yuki expresses her misgivings about Makoto. The poor kid just can’t seem to catch a break, even at the end of the story. I’d like to hope that he will learn to find his own way of showing the world who he is beyond the pages of “Wandering Son”.
Yoshino suffers similar self-doubt to Makoto, but with some moral suppor from Shuichi, she overcomes this and is more content with who she is and who she wants to be. For the past few volumes, she has harbored guilt about embracing her feminine side and no longer wanting to be a boy. She believed that she was letting Shuichi down after they resolved together to change genders. When she finally talks to Shuichi directly about this in this volume, Shuichi is his normal compassionate self and reassures her that it is as simple as both of them being happy in showing who they are. There were also some brief moments where Yoshino expressed romantic feelings for Shuichi which felt a little out of place. However, it is suggested that these were nothing more than moments of loneliness. Yoshino fittingly ends the series comfortable in her female body, a rising model, and surrounded by friends who love and support her.
With the majority of “Wandering Son” focusing on her, Shuichi’s ending is as tumultuous, nerve-wracking, yet ultimately immensely satisfying as such a complex and compelling character deserves. Shuichi’s confidence in her decision to become a woman is shaken when pictures posted of her online are derided by the public. They say that her bone structure is masculine, and that she is clearly male. This uncertainty is amplified when she thinks about her feelings for Anna. Does loving a woman make you a man? At one point, Anna fears that Shuichi may even be suicidal.
Shuichi’s doubts all pour into a written assignment that sparks self-reflection and a desire to tell her own story. In speaking to everyone in her life, Shuichi’s confidence grows. She realizes that although her desire to be a woman may have sprung from suggestions from outside parties, she now believes them to be earnestly her true feelings. She wants to be a woman. And, in one of the most heartwarming scenes in the entire manga, Shuichi tells Anna that she is certain of her future womanhood. Anna simply replies: ‘Does that mean I’ll be a lesbian?’. That declaration that Anna will love Shuichi no matter who she is on the outside almost brought me to tears in its elegant beauty. Our time with these characters may be at an end, but their lives together are only beginning. The volume, and the series as a whole, ends with Shuichi sharing a dream where Saori brings her a sheaf of writing paper to write her story down on. The final page is a plain shot of the front page, simply titled ‘I Am a Girl’. As has been the case throughout these fifteen volumes, Takako Shimura distills moments down to their essences masterfully, leaving them to land gently and gracefully.
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When I started this series, I knew that “Wandering Son” would break my heart multiple times, this final volume was particularly moving for me. Seeing everyone from Makoto to Taiichirou to Yoshino to Shuichi set on unique life paths to follow in our imaginations shows the strength of Shimura’s worldbuilding. Her delicate touch to the finer points of these endings made them bore even deeper down into my heart than a blunter delivery would have. “Wandering Son” was not a series loaded with action, but rather intimate, small moments between human characters that I could not help but love. We may have reached the end of the manga, but I highly doubt that this is my last experience with these characters. They will stay with me for a long time, and I hope that they will do the same for you.
Thank you for sharing this journey through “Wandering Son” with me. If you’ve been following along, please reach out either in the comment section down below or on Twitter. I’d love to hear about your favorite moments or characters, or simply revel in this touching series online together. Remember to make the most of each day,
