tbh I think we do not have enough story like that but yeah it is also not the point of this little storySo her umamusume gene got the best of her aye? Its pretty scary to be honest, to suddenly found yourself not being who you are anymore, his wish was to be useful to his horse girl, the messed up goddess turned him into a horse girl instead. And if i follow this type of story correctly, this girl will not ever turn back into a man instead accept her new identity. But all is good and fine, its a doujin, no one is going to put that kind of psychological sickness in their work, especially from the japanese authors.
RUN RUN RUNRUN RUN RUN.
Most of these sorts of stories are wish fulfillment fantasies. That is to say a male author wants to explore their feminine side but create a contrivance where their self-insert OC is "forced" to do so. The forced part is important because it lacks the shame and baggage that comes with consciously choosing the indulgence (i.e. abdicating your "duty" to be a man). Them turning back -- or even suffering realistic psychological distress -- would defeat the whole point of the escapism. Both the author and Trainer-san want to fully experience being a horse girl on some level and are exactly where they want to be.So her umamusume gene got the best of her aye? Its pretty scary to be honest, to suddenly found yourself not being who you are anymore, his wish was to be useful to his horse girl, the messed up goddess turned him into a horse girl instead. And if i follow this type of story correctly, this girl will not ever turn back into a man instead accept her new identity. But all is good and fine, its a doujin, no one is going to put that kind of psychological sickness in their work, especially from the japanese authors.
Without conflict the story is less interesting. Throughout my years of reading Gender Bender manga and doujinshi I've always found the ones in which the protagonist wants to become a girl and then become a girl pretty generic and/or lame and they're always short because without any conflict there is no story.Most of these sorts of stories are wish fulfillment fantasies. That is to say a male author wants to explore their feminine side but create a contrivance where their self-insert OC is "forced" to do so. The forced part is important because it lacks the shame and baggage that comes with consciously choosing the indulgence (i.e. abdicating your "duty" to be a man). Them turning back -- or even suffering realistic psychological distress -- would defeat the whole point of the escapism. Both the author and Trainer-san want to fully experience being a horse girl on some level and are exactly where they want to be.
I know you might be thinking "then just write a story about wanting to be a girl and becoming a girl, why does it have to be so complicated?". If so, I agree. I think that sort of self-honesty make for a better writer and story. But that sort of story is considerably more rare in the gender bend genre.
What about Onimai? While it might be a stretch to say Mahiro consciously wants to be a girl, but they definitely go out of their way to express feminine and/or enjoy their situation. And that one has been running for eight years with no signs of slowing down. And even before that, Nekotofu said in an interview Onimai was partly inspired by a 2004 manga/anime called Kashimashi. In Kashimashi, the protagonist very much embraces becoming a girl. The conflict Hazumu suffers isn't gender based but the love triangle she finds herself in with Tomari and Yasuna.Without conflict the story is less interesting. Throughout my years of reading Gender Bender manga and doujinshi I've always found the ones in which the protagonist wants to become a girl and then become a girl pretty generic and/or lame and they're always short because without any conflict there is no story.
I like those cliches. I just disagree with your sentiment that self-conscious writers (or mcs) lead to better stories since what makes a story better is subjective as some people might have a preferred trope that they like to see in genderbending and others have their own idea of how a story should play out. I personally think stories in which the MC wanted to become a girl from the start and then just becomes one are boring but that's just my preference.What about Onimai? While it might be a stretch to say Mahiro consciously wants to be a girl, but they definitely go out of their way to express feminine and/or enjoy their situation. And that one has been running for eight years with no signs of slowing down. And even before that, Nekotofu said in an interview Onimai was partly inspired by a 2004 manga/anime called Kashimashi. In Kashimashi, the protagonist very much embraces becoming a girl. The conflict Hazumu suffers isn't gender based but the love triangle she finds herself in with Tomari and Yasuna.
Rather, my experiences with the genre leave me with the opposite conclusion as you -- stories where the protagonist and/or author aren't honest with themselves lead to cliche-laden romps follow the same boilerplate routes. i.e. "why aren't you wearing a bra?! we need to go bra shopping now!" . It doesn't take long for the the author to run out of ideas if they're not used to coming up with their own.
EDIT: Also sometimes relatively conflict-free stories can be a nice change of pace. Watching Miranda be a huge nerd in Mental Otome is something I enjoy like a cup of herbal tea. And that one has been ongoing for about three years now.
I just find this preference a bit confusing. Shouldn't the quality of the storytelling be what makes or breaks a work rather than how it uses a narrative device? I would personally much rather read a high-quality story that takes a direction I dislike than a very bland story that nonetheless checks all of my preferences. Whether I personally find a story boring or not comes down to the author's ability to write stories. (i.e. great pacing, natural sounding dialogue, memorable characters, etc.)I like those cliches. I just disagree with your sentiment that self-conscious writers (or mcs) lead to better stories since what makes a story better is subjective as some people might have a preferred trope that they like to see in genderbending and others have their own idea of how a story should play out. I personally think stories in which the MC wanted to become a girl from the start and then just becomes one are boring but that's just my preference.