I Wanna Be Your Girl, Volume 2

Kanojo ni Naritai Kimi to Boku #2

by Umi Takase

Being in love with your best friend is hard enough, but being a good friend is even harder. The second volume of the hit manga series about the complications of first love, friendship, and what it truly means to be an ally.

Hime thinks she’s doing the right thing by sticking up for Akira, but from her friend’s point of view, it’s only making things worse. Akira doesn’t want to stand out because of her transition. Her only wish is to enjoy school, to make memories like everyone else. But Hime’s constant need to speak out on Akira’s behalf is putting these two best friends at odds.

And when Akira becomes the manager for the soccer team because of a crush on a boy, Hime feels the rift with her friend growing wider. Although desperate to save her relationship with Akira, everything she tries only creates new problems. What if Akira decides she’s done with Hime completely?

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Romance, Graphic Novels

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 10, 2019

Reviews

[Raf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating for this volume: ✨🌟 9 out of 10 🌟✨
Rating for the whole series: ✨🌟 8.75 out of 10 🌟✨

Keywords: LGBT, slice of life, coming of age
Reps: trans girl, pansexual, lesbian, asexual
Trigger warning & content warning: misgendering, homophobia

Review for the whole series:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Esme · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Not often I like volume 2 of a series more than the 1st but this one warmed my heart into a puddle. I loved the way the story is progressing. Were seeing a lot of character development with both Akira and Hime. Seeing them navigate their way in finding who they truly are has been such a pleasure to read. Were being introduced to more characters which has been great. I cannot wait to read vol 3 since vol 2 ended on a cliff hanger. The art is beautiful I'm really loving this series so far!

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

They really do like to make us suffer, don’t they? Ending volume 2 on a cliffhanger where they aren’t speaking is kinda mean, because I really just want to know that they make up and are friends still.

In the second volume, we get to know the people who are around and friends with Akira more. Why are they there for her without thought or reason when everyone else acts like she’s a boy wearing girls clothing, instead of the girl they know she is. We also get to see a little more of the personality of the boy she likes from the soccer club… here’s a hint: he’s not so great.

I really appreciate that there is a manga that tackles a young trans girl in school. Making her story and what she deals with easily accessible for anyone who wants to read it.

I am really enjoying this series a lot and hope we get a lot of volumes with these characters. I think there is still so much to explore and learn.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted eARC.

[Arizona Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awgh, so many things hurt me in this volume!
"Can't I just be me? Is it impossible...to be seen as who I am...Without gender getting in the way?"
"If you want people to be in your corner...ask yourself what you can do to be in their corner. That's what it means to be equals."
This volume also had so many good quotes that stood out to me. It went by too fast.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Random House Graphic, and Umi Takase for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Akira and Hime have been friends since childhood, but when they were twelve, Akira shared her identity as "she" with her best friend. Now in high school, Akira wants to openly be herself, not wanting to feel like she needs to hide. When Hime gets compliments for being cute from a guy Akira likes, Akira is not only jealous, but struggles with wanting to be who she is in conflict with what she was born as. Hime, on the other hand, has her own understandings to come to. When she meets someone new who feels similar to her and her reasonings for dressing in the buy's uniform, a doorway of thought opens. The two friends will surely find a way to understand each other.

This is a wholesome manga that explores key themes of identity, such as finding oneself and exploring who one is. This seems to go for not only the main characters, but secondary characters as well. This manga offers a great way for teens to understand what transitioning and identity might be like for someone who doesn't fit the gender they were assigned, and fully explores key aspects of being oneself and understanding not only oneself, but others who are aiming to be themselves too.

A great manga for teens!

[Tara]

Volume 2 of I Wanna Be Your Girl I think is quite a bit better than volume 1. We still have a lot of the same I AM AN ALLY!! Hime learning to be an ally and good friend and take care of her trans friend but also being forced to reflect on what that means to her, and finding herself where so much of herself is dependent upon how she feels about her beloved childhood friend. She's yelling at people a bit less here and connecting with others (especially Yukka, whose backstory we get after some hints in volume #1) and a new character even but I have to keep telling myself oh boy, these are first year high school students (freshman), they sure have a lot of growing and self-figuring out to do!

Although I accidentally read a spoiler (be careful on GoodReads, someone reviewed what they thought of the end... on the volume #1 page...) I'm still looking forward to checking out the subsequent two volumes and add it to my brain-bucket of queer manga.

Thank you to Random House Children's Books/Random House Graphic for the eARC in exchange for review!

[Zephorah Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need the next book immediately. How dare the volume end without them making up?!

Volume 2 kicks off with a similar tone as volume 1. This time, we get to see more of Hime and Akira’s school life. They’ve both made friends and are slowly branching out. One day, Hime decides to go back to wearing her girls uniform (after a very cute and supportive convo with her parents) and Akira has a different reaction. It hurt to see her act like this towards her day 1 supporter, but the volume sensibly explored how both were viewing things from their own perspectives and needed some distance to reflect on how they view one another and their genders.

It was heartwarming to hear Yukka’s backstory and see her comfort Hime while also giving her a bit of a confidence boost to go after what she wants,

There are two volumes left and I’m anxious to see how everything plays out.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the DRC.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akira's dad is all too familiar a character... the fake concern, the control of his trans child's body by demanding Akira keep getting his hair cut short...

Something odd I've noticed is that nobody seems to experience dysphoria in this? Hime ambiguously might have her own feelings about gender, but the guy she meets also doesn't express any discomfort with dressing as a woman despite his professed gender identity, and even Akira seems to have more dysphoria from other people misgendering her based on how she looks than her appearance itself. Cis and trans people can both experience that in real life -- you don't need dysphoria to be trans, so it stands to reason you don't need dysphoria in the other way to be cis -- but it's a bit odd that everyone in this book is like that.

Oh and I also thought the exploration of trans romantic relationships and objectification of women in this one was really good.

[♡ zuly ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great pride month read, and a great continuation from the first volume. I thought a lot of the topics were met with sensitivity and I was impressed by the level of reflection both main characters were willing to do throughout the volume. What I really like about the both of them is that they are able to acknowledge when they make a mistake, or even when they might be viewing things from a skewed perspective, and really take that in and learn from it. It makes all of the characters in the manga deeply likable, and I'm rooting for them all. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes, especially with the introduction of the character at the end of this volume!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Kait W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was going to be a 5 star for me, but the ending turned into very much tell not show in a way that felt unrealistic and long-winded. Which is not at all to say I don't like the story as a whole, and I really appreciated the messaging, I just would have liked to see it conveyed differently. Overall, I'm really liking the explorations of gender identity and sexuality, and I'm invested in our major characters. I'm particularly excited about a new character that is introduced in this album, and getting to know them more and see how they factor into our overarching story. I'm definitely planning to read the next volume, and hoping that one will be back up to five stars for me.

[Zaidee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still really enjoying this series! I realized that I generally prefer stories about trans characters told from their own point of view, but in this instance I think we get a lot from seeing both Akira and Hime's perspectives. This series navigates a lot of complicated feelings within a short span of time and still manages to do so sensitively and honestly. I'm intrigued by the introduction of a new character, though his motivations/backstory were not what I was expecting. Looking forward to seeing what develops in the next volume.

[freya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just a list of thoughts for now I am not in the reviewing mood. I'll come back here later :D

Spoliers :)
I think Akira's constant affirmation that Hime is a girl is interesting. I'm curious to see how that goes considering the very vauge relization Hime just had. She constantly calls her a girl and the way she sees their relationship is very very gendered. This makes her obliviousness to Hime's feelings make a lot more sense. I really wonder where Hime ends up.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so excited for this series.

I love the characters and the real conflict in the story. They are all just teenage girls trying to make it through school while learning their identities. It was so good to see character development and the familial ties of the characters.

I'll be waiting at Volume Three's door.

[Ida Østby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far more of a page-turner than the previous volume. It raises stakes, develops the concept and does it all without muddying. It's still doing a lot of set-up, but the payoff you get is so good it's difficult to not have rising expectations.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

https://aspeccharactersoftheday.tumbl...

[rue · Rating 5 out of 5]

this volume was amazing!!

[Hitzuji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es que no hay ni un personaje que no quiera muchísimo (de los principales, claro). Mientras iba avanzando más aprecié esta historia.

[Kelby Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is starting to do some exploration in gender and expression. Still cute.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

we get Akira-chan's perspective, and a lot of backstories of other characters and actually I'm not crying YOU'RE crying

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.

Akira beings to make new friends, which sets of alarms for the protective Hime. For her part, Hime is discovering that she has feelings for Akira that go beyond just friendship. As Takase explores heavy topics such as romantic entanglement, identity, friendship, and belonging, soft illustrations are leavened by Hime's boisterous and cartoony reactions. This sweet tale is perfect for romance fans and readers looking for a series with sincere characters.

Full review in School Library Journal.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12