Boys Run The Riot is a four volume manga series written and created by Keito Gaku. The series broke barriers in Japan for touching on a subject through Manga that was once seen as an unknown topic for many Japanese people. The English language release was translated by an all transgender team and Kodansha USA also asked Gaku to redraw some of the covers for the North American releases of volumes three, two, and four.
Ryo is a transgender who see herself as male. She wants to be herself in high school but is afraid that people will judge her. She mets a boy who is also seen as a social outcast and they decide to start a fashion club to express what they can't say out loud themselves.
My opinions on this manga are pretty straight to the point. The aspect of a transgender character trying to find her footing in a society that tries to hammer down anything that sticks out is a compelling read. I enjoyed reading in witness to Ryo's progression as she tries to express who she is without fear. It's a very rocky road in the beginning, Even for the side characters around her as they also dear witness or connections to those who are seen as outside social norms. I liked all the characters but I didn't feel that the story utilized the idea of fashion too deeply. Ryo and her friends spend four volumes trying to kick start their fashion brand while not really doing much at all. They do all but dream then print a small logo on a white tee shirt like that's really going to be enough for adults to take your brand seriously..... The volume covers would have you believe that Ryo was going to do big things in the fashion world, which honestly never happens. Ryo's strong bearing over who she wants to be is sort of "resolved" before volume four(outside of her telling her parents..) so, I was more interested to see if the characters could create a famous brand using transgender models etc. Instead, the story hits me with a "this is just the way the world is" sort of ending that wasn't fulfilling at all. Boys Run The Riot falls sort in giving a completely flushed out story since the main focus is Ryo's fight being transgender. I don't think this fact is strong enough to push a story forward. Especially when you use fashion as a catalyst before throwing the concept on the waist side in a rushed conclusion. There could have been at least two more volumes before ending the series. With that being said, The short short at the end of volume four was more interesting than what Boys Run The Riot became toward the middle of it's run.
Keito's art is fantastic and one of the qualities that this series has going for it. The covers are very eye catching and I think it's cool that North America got new covers drawn especially for the release. I just wish that more fashion was presented in the manga itself.
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