I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl explained

I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl
Ja Kanji:恋する(おとめ)の作り方
Ja Romaji:Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata
Genre:Romantic comedy
Type:manga
Author:Azusa Banjo
Publisher:Ichijinsha
Magazine:Comic Pool
First:December 26, 2019
Volumes:8

I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl, known in Japan as Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata, is an romantic comedy manga series by Azusa Banjo, published by Ichijinsha in Comic Pool and in collected volumes. It was originally released through Banjo's Twitter account starting on December 26, 2019, as Osananajimi (♂) o Onnanoko ni Shiteshimatta Hanashi, and was picked up for serialization due to positive reader response. An English translation has been released by Seven Seas Entertainment since June 2022, but has been controversial for its treatment of the character Hiura.

The series follows Kenshiro Mido, who practices applying make-up on his friend Hiura Mihate; following this, Hiura becomes interested in presenting femininely, and the two realize they are attracted to each other. The series, and the character of Hiura in particular, has been well received by critics and readers. It was nominated for the Next Manga Award in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and was voted one of the most popular web manga of 2020.

Premise

I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl is an romantic comedy manga that follows Kenshiro Mido, a young man with an interest in cosmetics, who wants someone to practice applying make-up on other than his sisters.[1] After Kenshiro's childhood friend Hiura Mihate agrees to let Kenshiro practice on him, Kenshiro finds himself attracted to Hiura's new, feminine appearance.[2] Hiura starts to enjoy presenting himself femininely, taking an interest in make-up and women's fashion and cross-dressing regularly; he also begins to find Kenshiro attractive.[3]

Production

Prior to writing I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl, Azusa Banjo liked characters who defy gender roles, such as, cross-dressing women, and women using the boyish pronoun,[3] [4] and had debuted as a manga creator with an story.[4] Because of this interest, she decided to create a romantic story about a feminine male character who is shy and a little clumsy.[3] [4] She also introduced make-up elements to the story to make someone other than the otokonoko character the catalyst for the transformation.[3] When designing Hiura, she started with how he looks while wearing women's clothes, and then created a pre-makeover design based on that. She wanted the two designs to contrast, but still wanted Hiura to look cute before the makeover to ensure people would continue reading past the first few pages.[4] She based his name on, the name used by Achilles in his early years when cross-dressing.[5] While considering Hiura's cuteness an important aspect of the series, she also wanted to give a positive portrayal of male friendships, and put effort into making Hiura and Kenshiro come across as childhood friends. When researching the series, Banjo makes use of Instagram and fashion magazines for young people; the latter in particular for the sake of realism, as it is what Kenshiro would read.[6]

Publication

Written and illustrated by Azusa Banjo, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl was originally published as a web comic through Banjo's Twitter account under the title Osananajimi (♂) o Onnanoko ni Shiteshimatta Hanashi, starting on December 26, 2019.[2] [7] Banjo had originally considered self-publishing a print collection of the series but managed to get it picked up for serialization in Comic Pool, starting on February 21, 2020, due to strong positive response from her readers,[6] [8] with the Twitter upload receiving over 120,000 likes by January 2020.[4] The series is also collected in print volumes, published by Ichijinsha since September 11, 2020.[9] The first volume was promoted with a trailer in which Kenshiro and Mihate are voiced by Yūki Ono and Yūki Kuwahara, respectively.[10] The manga has been released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment since June 2022,[11] and in Chinese by the Chingwin Publishing Group since September 2022.[12]

Volumes

Reception

I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl was well received by readers and critics,[3] [1] who liked Hiura and found him cute;[3] [1] Biglobe News commented that he was so cute that one could forget that he is not a girl.[1] Excite News liked the way Hiura shyly expresses interest in cosmetics and his attraction to Kenshiro.[3] It was nominated for the annual Next Manga Award for best new web manga in 2020, 2021, and 2022.[13] [14] [15] It was among the most popular new romance manga of the first half of 2020 serialized on Pixiv, in a survey where the vast majority of readers were women and aged 18–34.[16] In the 2020 edition of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai's annual "Web Manga General Election" poll, where 813,000 people voted for their favorite web manga, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl was voted the 7th most popular,[17] and it was among the top five series in the 2022 Denshi Comic award, in the category for web manga targeted at male readers.[18] Manga editor Kaito Suzuki named the series as his recommended manga of 2021, appreciating it for its portrayal of love regardless of gender.[19] It ranked fourth on AnimeJapan's "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll in 2024.[20] [21]

The English release of volume 1 was criticized for portraying Hiura – a feminine male character in the original – as a trans woman;[22] [23] Seven Seas Entertainment responded by revising this for future volumes and for reprints of volume 1.[24]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 男友達に化粧したら美少女が現れたんだけど…ダレコレ？ . Japanese . January 17, 2020 . BIGLOBE News . . October 11, 2020 . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193848/https://news.biglobe.ne.jp/trend/0117/wmc_200117_8767740565.html . live .
  2. Web site: 万丈梓「恋する（おとめ）の作り方」1巻発売、記念PVに小野友樹＆桑原由気 . Japanese . September 11, 2020 . Mynavi News . October 11, 2020 . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193848/https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20200911-1295379/ . live .
  3. Web site: 「コスメ男子ももっとメジャーになれば」 マンガ『美少女(♂)がコスメ好き男子のスイッチ押しちゃう話』がニヤニヤ展開 . 1–3 . Japanese . April 23, 2020 . Excite News . . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193852/https://www.excite.co.jp/news/article/Getnews_2506359/ . October 11, 2020 . live.
  4. News: 【漫画】モテる男子高校生には誰にも言えない秘密が 男の幼なじみを「女の子」に？ . ja . 2020-01-05 . マグミクス . Media Vague Co. . 2021-12-27 . December 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211226000009/https://magmix.jp/post/21701 . live .
  5. Book: ja:恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (1). Banjo, Azusa. Ichijinsha. 30. 978-4-7580-2153-1. 2020.
  6. Web site: 「可愛すぎる」「ヒロインが男の子だと忘れる」 マンガ『恋する（おとめ）の作り方』コーデ回がセンス良すぎ . Japanese . Fujii, Ryou . August 12, 2020 . Gadget News . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193858/https://getnews.jp/archives/2675481 . October 11, 2020 . live.
  7. Web site: 万丈梓@おとつく①巻発売中！ on Twitter . Japanese . Banjo, Azusa . December 26, 2019 . October 11, 2020 . . https://archive.today/20201011192700/https://twitter.com/azusa_banjo/status/1210029631853584385 . October 11, 2020 . live .
  8. Web site: コスメ大好き男子が幼なじみ男子にメイクをしたら…？「恋する（おとめ）の作り方」 . Japanese . February 21, 2020 . . Natasha, Inc. . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193855/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/368245 . October 11, 2020 . live.
  9. Web site: 【9月11日付】本日発売の単行本リスト . Japanese . September 11, 2020 . . Natasha, Inc. . October 11, 2020 . September 17, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200917194218/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/395765 . live .
  10. Web site: 万丈梓「恋する（おとめ）の作り方」1巻発売、記念PVに小野友樹＆桑原由気 . Japanese . September 11, 2020 . . Natasha, Inc. . October 12, 2020 . September 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200912013110/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/396034 . live .
  11. Web site: Seven Seas Licenses World End Solte Manga, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 Novels . Antonio Pineda, Rafael . . November 6, 2021 . September 23, 2021 . September 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210924110249/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-09-23/seven-seas-licenses-world-end-solte-manga-classroom-of-the-elite-year-2-novels/.177711 . live .
  12. Web site: 戀愛（少女）的培育法(01) . zh . . 2023-01-23 . January 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230121123637/https://www.ching-win.com.tw/product-detail/10269201 . live .
  13. Web site: 「次にくるマンガ大賞2020」ノミネート計100作発表！ユーザー投票は7月3日まで . Japanese . June 19, 2020 . Hon no Hikidashi . Nippan . October 11, 2020 . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193907/https://hon-hikidashi.jp/enjoy/109807/ . live .
  14. Web site: 「次にくるマンガ大賞2021」投票受付スタート！ エントリー総数3,577作品の中からノミネート100作品が決定 . ja . June 18, 2021 . Da Vinci . . July 26, 2021 . July 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210708100623/https://ddnavi.com/news/795437/a/ . live .
  15. Web site: Voting Opens for Next Manga Awards 2022. Anime News Network. Morrissy. Kim. June 23, 2022. June 24, 2022. September 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220922062539/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2022-06-23/voting-opens-for-next-manga-awards-2022/.186663. live.
  16. Web site: 「pixivコミック」8周年！2020年上半期のカテゴリー別人気作品をご紹介♪ . 1 . Japanese . June 5, 2020 . Excite News . . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011193908/https://www.excite.co.jp/news/article/Nijimen_0000000000087685/ . October 11, 2020 . live.
  17. Web site: Voters Crown Days on Fes as #1 in Web Manga General Election . Loveridge, Lynzee . October 30, 2020 . . December 16, 2020 . November 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201121041340/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2020-10-30/voters-crown-days-on-fes-as-no.1-in-web-manga-general-election/.165779 . live .
  18. Web site: すでに100万票越え、電子コミック大賞の中間発表で6部門上位5作品が明らかに . ja . November 2, 2021 . . Natasha, Inc. . November 6, 2021 . November 5, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211105042210/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/451806 . live .
  19. Web site: マンガ誌編集長が選ぶ、2021年のイチオシ作品 Vol.1 . ja . January 31, 2022 . . Natasha, Inc. . January 31, 2022 . January 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220131090657/https://natalie.mu/comic/column/462518 . live .
  20. Web site: ja:「アニメ化してほしいマンガランキング」発表 1位は仲曽良ハミ「しなのんちのいくる」. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/566082. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. March 22, 2024. March 26, 2024. ja. March 22, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240322090214/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/566082. live.
  21. Web site: Iikura-Gross. Ken. Shinanonchi no Ikuru Tops AnimeJapan's 'Manga You Want to Be Made Into Anime' Ranking. Anime News Network. March 25, 2024. March 26, 2024. March 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240326045733/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2024-03-25/shinanonchi-no-ikuru-tops-animejapan-manga-you-want-to-be-made-into-anime-ranking/.209189. live.
  22. Web site: DiGiovancarlo . Gina . Manga Publisher Seven Seas Massively Misunderstands New LGBTQIA+ Release . . June 15, 2022 . June 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616062513/https://www.cbr.com/manga-publisher-seven-seas-misunderstands-new-lgbtqia-release/ . June 16, 2022 . live .
  23. Web site: McClain . Carrie . Seven Seas Pubwatch: June 2022 . . June 23, 2022 . en-US . June 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220623172437/https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2022/06/seven-seas-pubwatch-june-2022/ . June 23, 2022 . live.
  24. Web site: Seven Seas Entertainment on Twitter . 2022-07-19 . . . 2023-01-23 . July 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220719230442/https://twitter.com/gomanga/status/1549496057989632000 . live .

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