I Think The Reason Why I Enjoyed Shimanami Tasogare As Much As I Did Is Because It Deals With Homophobia

I think the reason why I enjoyed Shimanami Tasogare as much as I did is because it deals with homophobia and transphobia in a way that’s very real. It takes the time with pointing out microaggressions, showing that sometimes prejudice comes from ignorance rather than malice, that even people that consider themselves allies can harm us, that some people might not be against “the gay lifestyle” if it’s people they don’t know but be against their own children being gay, etc. 

I feel like other media makes homophobia something that’s too cut and dry, or just uses it as a plot device- and that’s okay. I don’t want every piece of gay media to center around the hate we recieve, that’d be exhausting. But I think these type of stories are important too, sometimes. There’s just something really powerfu about reading a manga that dives so much into our oppression and yet still ends in a happy ending, I think.