I wanna Be Your Girl by Umi Takase is a heartfelt story of two childhood friends facing high school as one of them begins her transition into a girl. It tackles the subject with grace and tact but still manages to have conflict an humor without belaboring the point. A small amount of finesse is lost in the translation from its original form, but not enough to detract form the story. There are also very helpful cultural and translation notes included in this publication that help to keep the integrity of the message across the language barrier. Overall, this translation into English was done quite well and the story is worth a read.

A manga featuring a trans main character? My expectations were on the floor for this one, but I was still hopeful enough to give it a go. The world needs more diverse manga out there that actually respects the characters and doesn't make them the butt of the joke. Akira is no joke, but Hime sure seems like it. This first volume felt a little bit all over the place with Hime jumping down anyone and everyone's throats about Akira being trans. She is taking allyship to an extreme to the point it almost feels like a complete swing from one caricature to another, so I don't really know how to feel about this series. I'm interested in seeing how the story plays out in further volumes to see if the pacing will settle in and let the story and characters breathe and grow. It's definitely worth a read and will get put on my list of queer manga recommendations.

This is a queer coming-of-age manga. I have never seen anything like this before and I adore the concept. I think some parts are heavy-handed (and maybe they need to be). The only thing I didn't enjoy was how much anger Hime had, but I guess she's a teen so I get it. I want to see more plot. The girls didn't do much in this volume. There was no goal and no motive. I am definitely giving this another chance in the second volume because of the uniqueness of the topic!

I fully support a coming-of-age manga about a trans girl! I hope to see more books like this in the future.

The set up for this manga is wonderful and I love having a trans main character, but I found Hime a little annoying especially in the beginning. I know she's young and also dealing with her first crush but I hope we see a lot of character growth from her in the future. Also I wish this was from Akira's POV since this should be her story but instead this is more Hime's story.

I Wanna Be Your Girl follows two highschool students, Akira who considers herself a girl and Hime who is her closest friend. Akira takes the step of wearing a girl's uniforms and after getting questions and comments not understanding gender, Hime wears a male uniform as a way to protect Akira. The two explore gender, friendship, and learn about each other in these important years and I cannot wait to continue reading this series.

Ahh, young love. Thanks so much for the DRC!

Hime-chan is a true ride or die for her trans best friend, Akira-Chan. Except, she's kind of in love with her which confuses her so much.

The first volume was so juicy. We got to know so many characters and to delve into our MCs back stories. It's funny that Hime-chan never thought to ask Akira-Chan what type of people she was attracted to. Seeing her blush over a guy sends Hime into shock. She ended up cheering her friend on but I wonder how it'll all unravel in upcoming volumes.

I'm so happy to see Akira -chans mom is at least accepting and supportive.

Also the title is hilarious. Two chapters in and I could tell Hime was head over heels and didn't even realize it.

I loved this Manga! I want more volumes right now! This may actually be one of my new favorites. This was cute and still deals with some serious subjects. I loved the characters even the side characters were great. Seriously this was an amazing manga and I can not wait for volume 2!

this is such an important, insightful, and heartfelt manga for teens (or really tweens and up) to read with all the great lessons and diversity it includes. The internal conflicts are very realistic with a touch of lighthearted silliness to them and the relationships are already complicated in a reasonable way. It kind of annoyed me how much jealousy there is being included, but it ended up being one of the many great lessons of this manga and I'm super excited to see where it goes

"There are more than two ways to be human" (182).

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Random House Graphic, and Umi Takase for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Akira and Hime have been friends since childhood, but when they were twelve, Akira shared her identity as "she" with her best friend. Now in high school, Akira wants to openly be herself, not wanting to feel like she needs to hide. Best friend Hime is a gung-ho supporter and yells at anyone who so much as looks at Akira the wrong way! When another girl comes onto the scene, Hime starts to feel something she didn't quite expect: jealousy.

This is a wholesome manga that explores key themes of identity, such as finding oneself and exploring who one is. This seems to go for not only the main characters, but secondary characters as well. This manga offers a great way for teens to understand what transitioning and identity might be like for someone who doesn't fit the gender they were assigned.

A great manga with educational value for teens!

Hime and Akira have known each other from childhood. Hime knows Akira's biggest secret: Akira is a girl. When Akira decides to start wearing a girl's uniform to school, things shift within the friendship. Hime is desperately trying to hide her crush and Akira must now deal with the general confusion and sometimes outright hostility living as her true self creates amongst her classmates. Hime decides she's going to start coming to school in the boy's uniform in support.

I think there are several things this first volume has going for it, but I'd like to see more of the story. Instead of following Akira, the main point of view is Hime, so the manga, while focusing on trans ideas is really an exploration of allyship. Hime's decision to start coming to the school in a boy's uniform seems a bit misinformed and her first reaction to just about everything is to yell at things hoping the problem will go away. She also has trouble separating her personal feelings from her judgement when it comes to truly supporting Akira. Many of the 'lessons' Hime is learning in the first volume is that true support for Akira means thinking of Akira first rather than herself and it's honestly pretty refreshing.

I think Hime has the potential to be an annoying protagonist, but I want to keep reading to see where the story goes.

The most note worthy aspect of this series is Akira, who is doing her best to be the girl she's always known that she is. While I wish we had more of her perspective, I understand the focus on overprotective Hime, and her determination to keep her friend happy and safe in their new school life. She's forced to tackle her own feelings, and perceptions when Akria gains more friends by being herself. I'm glad more series like this are coming out in English. Variety is good!

This was a sweet title that I think would be excellent for teenagers to get more perspective on the lives of trans teenagers and the people who love them. It carefully deals with the topics laid out, while still keeping a sweet and hopeful theme throughout. The main character not only learned how to be a better ally/friend to her trans best friend, but a lot about herself in the process.

I greatly appreciate how complex the emotions are in a book that is often over the top with exaggerated expressions. Hime and Akira's relationship is incredibly deep and challenging (especially for Hime). I loved the art and appreciated how the story often pulls back to take a moment and process emotions. I can't wait to read more!

This was a good start to the series. I enjoyed the characters and the topics that were discussed. The book reminds me a bit of Confessions of a Shy Baker, where it addresses topics within the LGBTQIA+ community but also discusses what it means to be a supportive ally and understanding what is helpful and what isn't. I'm interested to see where the story goes and what additional conversations and topics that it covers.

Teenager Hime has been in love with her best friend Amira for as long as she can remember. So when her best friend transitions to openly identifying and living as a girl, Hime feels protective. But as she defends her friend against possible bullies, Hime starts to wonder if she is being a good ally or if her fears about how others may react are holding Amira back.