On sale date: July 7, 2026
A sensitive masterpiece from Japan’s most prominent creator of LGBTQ+ manga — the acclaimed series in a newly designed paperback edition.
Middle School. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy. Written and drawn by one of today’s most critically acclaimed creators of manga, Shimura Takako (Even Though We’re Adults), Wandering Son portrays Shuishi and Yoshino’s journey with affection, sensitivity, and gentle humor as they are figuring out their respective genders and take tentative, age-appropriate steps toward transitioning.
This new paperback edition collects the first two volumes of Wandering Son (which has been adapted into an anime of the same name available on Crunchyroll). Volume One introduces our two protagonists and the friends and family whose lives intersect with their own. Yoshino is rudely reminded of her sex by immature boys whose budding interest in girls takes clumsily cruel forms. Shuichi’s secret is discovered by Saori, a perceptive and eccentric classmate. In Volume Two, Shuichi and Yoshino have entered the sixth grade and the kids go on a class trip that is a rite of passage Shuichi would rather pass up.
A superb coming-of-age story, Wandering Son is a sophisticated work of literary manga translated with rare skill and sensitivity by veteran translator and comics scholar Rachel Thorn.
Wandering Son Volumes One & Two is part of the Wandering Son series.
Praise
"Shimura's approach allows us to feel [the protagonists'] confusion, their heartache, and […] their quiet, nervous joy." — NPR
"Gender bending has a long been a staple in manga, but it's rarely treated with the nuance and sensitivity of Shimura Takako's Wandering Son." — Publishers Weekly
"Wandering Son is an important manga series, much celebrated for the sensitive treatment of its two young transgender protagonists. It offers nuanced portrayals of these two middle schoolers, their friends, and their families. The tone is sweet, gentle, and hopeful, making it a pleasant reading experience. At the same time, it doesn't turn away from realistic issues like bullying and the pain of experiencing puberty when your body already doesn't match the way you feel inside." — No Flying No Tights
"...[L]ike the best coming-of-age stories — comics or otherwise — Wandering Son is meticulously accurate in its details, but universal in its emotions. Gay or not, readers shouldn't find it too difficult to identify with kids who feel like their bodies and their friends are equally culpable in the worst kind of betrayal, preventing them from realizing the potential they see in themselves." — The A.V. Club
"There's a slowly unfolding pleasure to Shimura's story. Sensitive to the plight of young teenagers and potentially transgender youth alike, she's managed to create a compelling story without including much that, considered in isolation, is particularly dramatic, which speaks to the realism of her efforts." — Paste
Specs
- Pages
- 432
- Format
- Paperback / Softback
- Color
- Black and white.
- Dimensions
- 5.2" × 7.2"
- ISBN-13
- 9798875000737