Wow, wow, wow. This is my first in-depth learning experience of how gender affirming surgery works for some individuals (assuming that certain countries handle things differently) and it was interesting to see all of the steps that needed to be taken in Japan to achieve such a transition.

Although this was an informative narration, there were still moments of humor I enjoyed. When Yuna depicted describing how the surgery worked while using food items, I couldn’t stop giggling at the reaction of one of her friends. Seeing the guys instantly grab their crotches was top tier comedy.

It was also intriguing to hear about the healing process. Having to hear about dilators made me cringe (absolutely no one likes them) but some of her experiences were relatable to my own. Even during a checkup with her surgeon, hearing him ask her to scoot down made me giggle because….why do all doctors need us to be near falling off the table for them to perform their checkups. It’s insane.

Japan seems to have made way more progress legally in accepting LGBTQIA+ folks, and I appreciated that many of the facts were given with the caveat that these things were true at the time but may have changed. I imagine depicting one’s gender affirming surgery to be a very intimate and personal experience, and I’m happy to have a glimpse of what mangaka Yuna wanted to share. While I would love to read more stories with topics such as gender affirming care and such, it’s insensitive to expect humans to bare their souls to an already judgmental crowd. But, I’d like to see if pop up in fictional stories, given that the writer did adequate research.

Thanks so much to Kodansha for the DRC. Starting off pride month strong in the publishing land.

My Journey to Her is a biographical manga about the author's journey to becoming a woman, with most of the book covering her gender-affirming surgery in Thailand. It's highly informative but also entertaining, going into details about the experience without getting graphic. There is an explanation using processed food as a visual guide, but it is accompanied by disclaimers about its accuracy. The main takeaway that I got is that Hirasawa wanted the reader to know how it felt to go through their experience. She was required to do certain things before and after the surgery, but she kept at it through the pain and bureaucracy, all to live as her true self.

3.75/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a very sweet story about a trans woman’s journey undergoing bottom surgery (aka vaginoplasty). As someone who is transmasculine and lives in the states, it was very interesting to see a different perspective on the process of medically transitioning. The art is very cute and the process is described in a way that I think would be easily approachable for people who don’t have any pre-existing knowledge about gender affirming surgeries!

This manga is a memoir of Yuna Hirasawa and all the steps she took to get her gender affirming surgery and recovery. I appreciated that she also touched on how she legally transitioned as well. While I found it to be repetitive at times, it was insightful and detailed how trans people (specifically trans women) transition in Japan. It took a lot of courage for her to live her true authentic self, even in the face of prejudice. Happy to have read this during Pride month!

On one hand, I’m not super keen on trans stories that mainly focus on medical transitions. On the other, this memoir featured so much trans joy and hope depicted through this transition that I actually really enjoyed it!

It was super informative about trans experiences in Japan and I am so thankful to have received this ARC from Kodansha and Netgalley!

Intriguing to see more of the transfem experience in Japan and Thailand. This autobiography covers a similar surgical journey as shown in The Bride Was a Boy, with extra supplemental information (assisting companies that help you book every thing for your surgery and recovery, hospital attendants zipping around on roller skates, post surgery recovery when part of the intestine is removed and used in vaginoplasty!) And the technique of checking how well you pass which made me realize just how gendered some things in Japan are (and has me wondering how distressing it must be to an enby X-gender and being misgendered in both directions).

Plus there's a neat little concrete example here for the argument "when trans rights are prioritized, cis rights also improve." The narrator encounters a trans woman with facial hair in Thailand, then notices there are cis women that haven't bothered with removing their facial hair and concludes "must be more socially acceptable here not to do that."

My Journey to Her is a memoir following Hirasawa Yuna's gender affirming surgery and all the complexities it entailed for her. There's always a lot of trans stories that center tragedies or struggles with dysphoria so it was really refreshing to read a story like this of trans joy in her transition. This was a really interesting view into how Japan handles trans care, gender changes and the bureaucracy involved at every step. It left me hoping that Japan will change the rules regarding how invasive its requirements are for legally transitioning.

Hirasawa's journey in manga format was really approachable and even if you aren't familiar with trans terminology, this manga does good job of defining things for the reader. It does a fairly good job of explaining why terminology that feels outdated to many Western readers is still used throughout the story as it's standard (as of the time of writing) in Japan. I would have loved to know more about Hirasawa's personal life a bit more before and after her surgery to flesh out her life more with a bit less focus on the forced medical aspects but the story still reads as authentic to her experience in a moment in time.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha comics for copy for review*

This touching comic explores a woman in Japan going through gender dysphoria and reassignment surgery. Seeing the whole process of overcoming the prejudices and pain in order to become your true self was really inspiring. Also seeing her being rejected by hospitals to get her hormone injections was really sad. She has to go through a lot to be herself. I'm glad I was able to read this at the beginning of Pride Month. Trans voices are always important and hearing about them from societies that try to silence them is so important.

I missed this in its years, and I'm glad I was able to read it now.
Yuna Hiraswa's story is a vivid, funny and hopeful read, but also, sad and, at times, painful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing the e-ARC of this manga.