manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series by Chiyo Rokuhana, first published in Japan in 2003. The IS of the title stands for
intersex
Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
and the story follows the pain and troubles such people go through in their lives, such as gaining acceptance for who they are and their inability to reproduce.
Story
The first volume of ''IS'' is a collection of stories about two different intersex characters and their separate troubles. Volumes 2 and onward deal with the life of intersex Haru Hoshino, starting just before his birth and continuing past
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
.
Characters
; Hiromi
: Hiromi was raised as a girl, and works as an
office lady
An office lady (), often abbreviated OL (, ), is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink-collar tasks such as secretarial or clerical work. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, although the jobs they perform ...
. She is the focus of the first part of the first volume.
; Ryoma
: Ryoma was raised as a boy, but later in the story changes her gender to female. She is the focus of the second part of the first volume. At the beginning of the story, Ryoma is a teenager.
;
: Haru Hoshino was born with both testicles and ovaries, but did not have
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associat ...
during infancy to make him look more like one gender than the other. At 10 months old he had to have his testicles removed due to a medical condition. From preschool through middle school, he always played with the boys his age in school, and is raised as a boy because of that. However in high school, because he was registered as female on his birth certificate, he is forced to live as a female for three years. His situation is complicated more by the fact his body is maturing in a more feminine way, such as developing breasts and menstruating, despite his wish to live as a boy. During his story faces struggles such as bullying and trying to accept his body for what it is, as well as making friends and falling in love.
Television drama
The manga was adapted into a ten-episode
Japanese television drama
, also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily.
Format
All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...
, which was broadcast on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Saki Fukuda as Haru Hoshino and
Ayame Gōriki
is a Japanese actress, singer and model. She was represented by the talent agency Oscar Promotion until 2020. Currently she was represented by the talent agency Short Cut.
Early life and career Biography
Goriki was born on 27 August 1992 in H ...
as Miwako Aihara, a girl that became a close friend of Hoshino. On November 25, 2011, all episodes were released on a DVD box set.
Reception
''IS'' won the 2007
Kodansha Manga Award
is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977.
Categories
The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...
for
shōjo manga
is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...