Fukakai na Boku no Subete o - Vol. 4 Ch. 21

[TheOculusRift]

God this one hurt. I don’t think Sakura actually blames Mogumo despite what she said at the end. However, her life is utter shit right now because her family life is in complete disarray (that father makes me so pissed). Mogumo leaving certainly didn’t help, and I kinda get this feeling that she felt like they abandoned her, leaving her to deal with this broken home on her own. Her last lines just seemed... lonely. She wants her sibling back, but her father is a definite obstacle and it’s making lots of things difficult.
And, I like how they showed that little detail that Sakura actually defaults in calling Mogumo "Ryuu-chan" rather than "Bro." In relation to the first page, it’s clear she doesn’t understand Mogumo’s gender issues, but she’s still respectful, and rather than calling Mogumo brother or sister, she said "beloved sibling." She never even dares use a pronoun referring to Mogumo and just uses their name. Maybe I’m just overanalyzing this but it seems like she’s trying to be as respectful as she can, despite not understanding it all.

 

[descending_angel87]

@anteplava

I don’t think Mogumo ran away. It seemed like that was the case before but after this chapter, I get the impression from this that Mogumo was kicked out and since they are young and their parents are still legally responsible for them, their dad sends them allowance.

 

[Redrot]

In the first page, in one of the bubbles, it says "buy" where it is probably supposed to say "but". Just a small thing I noticed.

That aside, @TheOculusRift I also think Sakura is trying to be respectful toward Mogumo by not referring to them as "bro" or "he". However, she does call them "bro" on page 6 (monologue/narration), though it might just be an issue with translation.

Another possibility is that she's somewhat accustomed to referring to them as "bro", which would likely be because of her dad actively making her do so, but it could also be because she ultimately doesn't actually understand Mogumo and does think of them as "bro" on some fundamental level (and that misunderstanding would be due to her own ignorance and also because of her dad), though it seems less likely and now I'm also overanalyzing it.

 

[ringo_juusu]

@Redrot In Japanese using formulaic names such as father/uncle/brother is a way to show respect and being formal.

Sakura thinks of Mogumo as her brother, as of right now, but tends to address them with their first name since she feels closer to Mogumo and "brother"(oniichan) feels distant to her.

The father marks that telling her basically to keep her distance from Mogumo since the father thinks they might influence her in becoming "not-normal" like Mogumo.

After 21 chapters of this manga I still read very weird shit in the comments.

Oh nice.

 

[smolbaka]

@mirewitch

Really? Must've forgotten that tad bit


Really though I think with his father being like that, there had to of been some conflict in the house.

"Men dress like this, women dress like this" type of nonsense.

So mogumo decided to become this fake gender because he didn't want to fit in neither. It's understandable really.

But how far does he take it? Just socially? Or does he take it all the way to medically? Even getting an ID card that says "Sex : x gender"
I hope it's not the latter. At the end of the day, he still a boy and has a penis attached (presumably)

 

[nightshine]

There are some people taking away that it's still Mogumo's fault? like wow, y'all be brainwashed. If you're a kid and your parent doesn't support you it can be really difficult, and a lot of the times when parents don't accept their LGBT kids they kinda have a mental breakdown and either leave or commit suicide rather than suppress who they are. It's even in the title of manga, Love Me For Who I Am. Both parents are actually pretty horrible because they simply can't love their child for who they are and have driven them away. It actually explains a lot with Mogumo and their living situation, although I thought they were just at a different high school area and had to move on their own and they just kinda live like that This dynamic of a broken family though is far more interesting and real to be honest. It makes sense that the parents are becoming way too restrictive on the younger one because they don't want to make the same mistake. The problem being, humans need a supportive network, and why Mogumo was able to live the way they did thanks to Koto chan, and why their sister is breaking. Everything the sister finds found or enjoyable is slowly being taken away and it sucks because this happens in real life by real messed up parents. I really really hope the mother can see how Mogumo is, and be able to change her depressive episode because the sister really needs to have some support in her life.

 

[mirewitch]

@lostleader I agree that it's not Mogumo's fault their father is a bigot, and that Sakura really needs some support. I want to defend the mom a bit though. She did support Mogumo somewhat when they were young, or at least allow them to be themselves. We saw that in chapter 10 when she allowed them to wear a bow and play dolls with the girls. She did say she hoped it was a phase, but I think that was because she knew how her husband would respond, not because she thought it was bad. I think that's why she says that she "made so many mistakes;" she thinks her earlier kindness led to Mogumo being non-binary, and by extension Mogumo/dad fighting and Mogumo leaving their family. She's wrong, but I don't think she's a bigot. Rather I think she's making a similar mistake as Sakura: she thinks the problem is that Mogumo is non-binary (and blames herself for it), rather than realizing the root problem is the father's bigotry.

Granted, unlike Sakura or Mogumo, the mother is an adult. As such I do think she has to be the one to take action to fix things, be that by seeking psychological help, or divorcing the dad, or something. But I also have a lot of empathy for her situation, since she's probably spent the last 20 years of marriage with this asshole internalizing the same "women's only worth is as a wife or mother" nonsense that led to Sakura leaving the soccer team. That kind of long term emotional abuse can make it hard to change your situation, since you're conditioned to think you're helpless.

 

[808bee]

@JohnJRenns Patriarchy is pretty strong right now, though views are changing with each successive generation. Japan is fairly conservative. You could probably point to something like Confucianism, but I think it might have to do with postwar nuclear family stuff. I might be off base so I welcome any insights

@mirewitch good assessment of things. It makes me appreciate Mogumo's growth. I hope Sakura will be able to have some growth and the two of them can see each other as equals.

 

[Joditc]

Aww! Poor little sis! She has to deal with so much!

Thanks for the update!

 

[moikkai]

Title: Love me for what I am.

Like 50% of the comments: *hating Mogumo for what they are and having the reading comprehension of a grade-schooler*

Gotta love that despite how upfront this manga is about its themes, people will still read it and cry that gender equals sex whilst plugging their ears and going LALALAA I CANT HEAR YOU. Gottem, boys.

 

[klooqy]

it costs absolutely nothing to respect people's identities and pronouns....... what are these people even doing reading this manga after 20+ chapters

 

[LunaShard]

Holy shittttttt, this manga.

This chapter in particular is such a good example of how transphobia/gender roles harms cisgender people as well.

 

[elefantine97]

thought the mom was pathetic, until we met the dad and ohhh it all makes sense now
conformists to a suffocating ideology always end up looking and acting insane, and they talk to people like they're part of a cult
calling them close minded or conservative would be an understatement, these types

this was quite a toxic experience just reading it, imagine living in it

 

[bosmo]

People are quick to turn the father as the bad guy when there's no villain in this problem. We can see he's the type that focuses on his job so his family can life a good life. These types of people usually are very detached from their family. People calls him a bigot but you have to know, most of his life are spent working and I doubt he browse reddit in his free time, or any internet forums at all. Therefore seeing his son suddenly becomes an LGBT, a concept very alien to him, definitely causes a shock. And since they're very detached to their family, they can't just ask the family to gather round and begins a cool headed discussion. Rather, the only thing he excels at is working, and that's how he's coping with the issue.

TL;DR: Don't call someone a bigot until you can see their point of view.

 

[RoseYuri]

Googles: Am I allowed to murder a fictional character?

edit: regardless of the dad's pov he's a piece of shit i dont think its a radical leap to take

 

[Phantop]

I might be an idiot but have Mogumo’s pronouns ever been touched upon in the manga? I expected they/them pronouns but characters have been using he/him without any issue from Mogumo, while people here are using they/them. Is it clear anywhere what Mogumo’s pronouns are?

Also @bosmo that’s a pretty nuanced take on things like this... I think I need to reconsider how I handle my own father....

 

[bosmo]

@Phantop
Glad someone can see my point. We sometimes forgot that they have lived a very different live than us and a lot longer too. Trying to change their view would need a lot of effort but it's not impossible. Good luck with your father.

 

[JaGirlLucy]

@bosmo I understand your point a lot, however I disagree on some level. I am in a similar situation as the main character in the manga. My parents are divorced but I too have a distant father that focuses purely on work and has a hard time showing love. Also I have a (step) sister who blames me for things going wrong in her life because I’m trans. I also live away from home with my mother. So, with all that in mind, I disagree with your statement on some level. Yes, certain people are more predisposed to the idea of LGBTQ people, definitely when it comes to their children, however, that does not excuse the fathers actions. And of course there’s social differences between America (where I live) and japan, but ultimately the fundamental reaction should be the same. It should be, “I love my child and would like to see them flourish, however I do not agree with their current path, so I will educate myself on the topic and try to learn about their feelings and understand where they are coming from because I love them.” That is not what happened. So in my opinion the father is completely at fault, and so is the mother and so is the sister. In all honesty I hate all three of them, the mother much less then sis and father, but I still don’t like her. The sister is just refusing to try and change her situation and also treats Mogumo like shit, the father is abusive and controlling, and the mother is just like what? It doesn’t make sense how someone can see their child come out and be like, “alright brain go poof.” I just don’t understand.

 

[Phantop]

@JaGirlLucy I actually can sorta see the mother’s situation since my own somewhat responded similarly (though not nearly as severely). For many parents who don’t fully understand this stuff and assume their child will grow up to live easily as their AGAB, the child wishing to go against that provides new considerations and worries as they no longer know what lies ahead. It can be incredibly worrying and absolutely is a reason some otherwise loving parents might resort to invalidating their child. They don’t want to believe their child is any different and want to convince them to conform for their own (perceived) good and safety.

 

[JaGirlLucy]

@Phantop yeah, I mean, I can kind of understand where she’s coming from. Stress is a peculiar thing, and tends to act in unexpected ways. But like, she’s hinted at to be recovering and even better than she was. Any worse than she is now would be just straight up catatonic. That’s the part I don’t understand. Like I get shutting down and acting like she is now, but before that, when it’s hinted at that she was just like straight up a zombie, that’s what I don’t understand.