Boys Run the Riot is a manga written and drawn by Keito Gaku, a transgender man. It was first serialized in Kodansha’s manga magazine seinen Weekly Young Magazine from January 27 to August 31, 2020. It was then transferred to the manga app Comic Days also of Kodansha, where it was published from 9 September to 14 October 2020. Subsequently, its 37 chapters were collected in four tankōbon. The story, published in our country by Star Comics in the series Queer, tells of the difficulties but also the struggle of a girl who does not feel at ease in her body, a girl who would like to be born a boy but above all, to live proud of being herself, screaming her own identity to the world. A profound story that speaks of freedom, acceptance and a real revolution!
Boys Run the Riot – Star Comics, review
“I hate the uniform. She is boring and uncomfortable. In summer it keeps you warm and in winter it freezes even if you wear it. But above all … it reminds me every morning that I am a woman. “
Boys Run the Riot: with our brand we will unleash a revolution!
Ryo was born a woman, but has always felt uncomfortable in her body. She hates wearing women’s clothes, she hates the school uniform which sets a clear boundary between males and females, flaunting her gender to the world. He hates the fact that he has a female body when he’s a male in his head. He hides his breasts under elastic bands and mostly tries to wear the suit to school, while when he is outside the strict school boundaries he can be free to be himself, choosing his own style and behaving like a boy. Because he is a man not a woman, but he feels chained in his own body and for this reason he has always isolated himself from his schoolmates.
When he is at school he addresses him using the feminine while outside he uses the masculine. The only way she has to express true him about him is when he wears men’s clothes. But things change when a new student arrives in his class who at first glance is a hooligan: pierced ears, sunglasses, clothing that does not conform to the school and repeating regulations. If at first Ryo does not want to have anything to do with them, after all they are at the antipodes, completely different, it will be to him the first who will open his heart, putting on a silver platter for the first time in his life, what try, who he really is.
Boys Run the Riot – Star Comics, review
What unites the two boys is the constant struggle for the search for freedom and their dream of showing the world who they are and what they can do. Fashion is their common passion and it will be through it that they will lay the first bricks of a real revolution. Ryo and Jin decide to create a clothing brand together to help everyone feel comfortable. It will not be easy but helped by Itsuka, their classmate, shy and submissive to his childhood friend, who manages to approach the world only through photography, their brand comes to life.
Boys Run the Riot: not to recognize oneself in one’s own body
I believe that there is still too little talk of the term today transgender. What does it mean? It is not so simple to give a univocal explanation because within this term there are many meanings and many facets, but simplifying we can say that indicates those people who do not recognize themselves in the gender and / or the sex that was determined to them at birth.
It should also be noted that the term transgender is not related to sexual orientation. Therefore transgender people can identify themselves as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual or otherwise, or they can refuse to label their sexual orientation. In the case of Ryo it is a transgender person, who therefore does not identify with his gender identity and has feelings towards girls.
“When they treat me like a woman, I get angry and depressed. My curvy body sucks me. I wish I had the physique of a man women make my heart beat. No matter how hard I work and dress me up as a brand, no one sees me as such! “
What is it like not to recognize oneself in one’s gender? To be trapped in a body that doesn’t belong to us? The author brings out the deepest feelings of Ryo, his inner struggle, not feeling understood, his desperate screams as he tries in every way to be accepted by others as opposed to his submissiveness, because inside him he is already surrendered to continue to pretend forever in front of others and to be himself when he is alone. The fear is there, it is real and tangible. Trusting others is difficult, especially when a person feels so insecure and unsure with their own body.
Boys Run the Riot – Star Comics, review
Jin’s reaction, when Ryo yells in his face that he doesn’t want others to treat him like a woman, disarms him more than a physical attack. Yeah, maybe he just had to be honest and tell her first. The words that others speak to us can hurt, but if these are said without malice, simply because they don’t know what we want and feel, then things can change. It is impossible for the other to fully understand what resides in the heart of another person, however much he may try for himself. And this Ryo only realizes when he finally reveals the truth to Jin. And when he is ready to betray him, to take back his word for fear of the consequences, a sentence said by Chika, the person Ryo loves, is enough to make him take courage to follow his dreams, completely abandoning all his fears. . What we see in this manga is the growth of a transgender person. Fashion plays a fundamental role as it has always been closely linked to one’s sexual identity. Through it and also through graffiti, Ryo will be able to express his individuality
Some more information on the manga
The drawings are incredible, impactful: they reveal the deepest feelings of the characters and their inner anguish. Even the narrative manages to take your breath away, keeping the reader glued to the last page. It is clear that the author has put much of his personal experience into this story, which even many readers will not struggle to identify with. An excellent work and history.
The edition presented by Star Comics is treated in detail, with a splendid dust jacket cut in half, in which the two faces of Ryo are contrasted, her being a woman and her dream of becoming a male. Particularly the back, on which some of the most significant cartoons have been inserted in a perfect interlocking game. Inside we find two color pages and an interview with the author at the end of the manga.
