1
Fondueforkharpoon
On a little rock somewhere, looking at the stars
A genuine treasure
God but this one sucker-punched me right in the gut. Trans representation in film is still difficult to find, much less good trans representation. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this absolute masterpiece of a show.
It's a riot from start to finish and is as wildly entertaining as it is sensitive and touching. It tackles the realities of living as a trans woman with great incisiveness and care and, most importantly, with deep respect.
Rather than having Miki be a flawless, picture-perfect lady that even the most conservative of viewers would have difficulties finding fault with, she is allowed to be imperfect, messy, and deeply human.
She is head-strong, bitchy, confident, insecure, caring, and cynical all at once. She's sometimes wrong about things, sometimes right, and sometimes lands somewhere in-between. The show's approach to her character reminds me of Imogen Binnie's landmark novel "Nevada" in a way. Both main characters have an incomparable fierce, joyous, and messy approach to life that I love.
Another aspect of the show that I love is Goto's storyline. Not only is his character development lovely to see, but he also serves as the perfect counterpart to Miki. She is often cynical and scared of the future, and with good reason. But Goto slowly brings her out of her shell just a little bit and allows her to become a bit softer, a bit more vulnerable, and a bit more trusting.
I won't lie, it did make me tear up a couple of times, especially during the last episode.
I do have some gripes with the show, specifically Mini-sans character whose inclusion I found unnecessary at best and extremely bothersome at worst. And the most obvious flaw, of course - Miki not being portrayed by a trans woman, but by a cis man. It is truly the eternal curse of queer stories being told by straight people.
Nevertheless the writing, acting, and story are brilliant and left me feeling very positive about my own transness, which (as someone quite wise once told me) is honestly always a good metric to judge queer media by - how does it make you feel about your own queerness?
Good - is the answer here. Understood. Appreciated.
In short, I highly recommend this show to anyone looking for great queer rep in general or great trans rep in particular. I would also recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining yet down-to-earth slice of life drama with a big focus on friendship.
Oh, go watch it already, it is absolutely worth it, trust me.
It's a riot from start to finish and is as wildly entertaining as it is sensitive and touching. It tackles the realities of living as a trans woman with great incisiveness and care and, most importantly, with deep respect.
Rather than having Miki be a flawless, picture-perfect lady that even the most conservative of viewers would have difficulties finding fault with, she is allowed to be imperfect, messy, and deeply human.
She is head-strong, bitchy, confident, insecure, caring, and cynical all at once. She's sometimes wrong about things, sometimes right, and sometimes lands somewhere in-between. The show's approach to her character reminds me of Imogen Binnie's landmark novel "Nevada" in a way. Both main characters have an incomparable fierce, joyous, and messy approach to life that I love.
Another aspect of the show that I love is Goto's storyline. Not only is his character development lovely to see, but he also serves as the perfect counterpart to Miki. She is often cynical and scared of the future, and with good reason. But Goto slowly brings her out of her shell just a little bit and allows her to become a bit softer, a bit more vulnerable, and a bit more trusting.
I won't lie, it did make me tear up a couple of times, especially during the last episode.
I do have some gripes with the show, specifically Mini-sans character whose inclusion I found unnecessary at best and extremely bothersome at worst. And the most obvious flaw, of course - Miki not being portrayed by a trans woman, but by a cis man. It is truly the eternal curse of queer stories being told by straight people.
Nevertheless the writing, acting, and story are brilliant and left me feeling very positive about my own transness, which (as someone quite wise once told me) is honestly always a good metric to judge queer media by - how does it make you feel about your own queerness?
Good - is the answer here. Understood. Appreciated.
In short, I highly recommend this show to anyone looking for great queer rep in general or great trans rep in particular. I would also recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining yet down-to-earth slice of life drama with a big focus on friendship.
Oh, go watch it already, it is absolutely worth it, trust me.
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