Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare Vol. 2

I'm reading the German translation of this and it makes me wonder what the original said at certain parts because I feel like some things might have gotten lost in translation a bit. Which isn't to say that I expect the original to be less harsh, but slurs in different languages don't always carry the same weight and connotation. Translation is a tricky thing.

This volume gives more background on Misora, an 11 year old amab kid who likes wearing feminine clothing in secret but isn't sure about their gender identity. I think the premise of this is really interesting, but gender is a topic that the other characters, including Tasuku, do not know much about, and thus it becomes a portrayal of gender through a cis-centric lense. It uses some really outdated language to talk about gender here. The kind of stuff that wouldn't fly in Western LGBT+ spaces and you'd be corrected on immediately (e.g. "He wants to be a girl and he likes boys" to talk about straight trans girls). It's ignorance more than malice, but it's just left there without correction/commentary because no one else is present to give more insight on gender topics.

And this is all complicated by the fact that

Misora is actually pretty shitty to Tasuku concerning the latter's sexuality. So you have Misora asking invasive questions and using homophobic language towards Tasuku on the one hand, and Tasuku talking about gender in a very cis-centric and insensitive way to Misora. This all culminates in Misora calling Tasuku a homophobic slur repeatedly and Tasuku using a transphobic slur back at Misora when they both clash after Tasuku, without realising the weight of his words, makes a victim-blaming comment when Misora gets sexually harassed in public. Both of them come across as really mean in this volume and I'm sure they will make up and move past this, but it's still not easy to read.

After their fight, there is a part at the end where Tasuku gets called out by Haruko for pushing Misora too much to figure out their gender, even though Tasuku doesn't really know what he's talking about anyway, and I was like "Thank you! It had to be said". Basically, Tasuku tries to be a cis saviour, it doesn't work at all, and now we're left with a mess. But, again, framing it like everything is Tasuku's fault is also not true. Misora and Tasuku were both assholes to each other.

Oh well, let's continue reading and see how they both grow from this, hopefully.

Content Warnings

f18's review

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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