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I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl

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I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl
An illustration of two young men: Kenshiro Mido is applying make-up on Hiura Mihate, who is wearing women's clothes
Japanese cover for volume 1, depicting Kenshiro Mido (left) and Hiura Mihate
恋する(おとめ)の作り方
(Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata)
GenreRomantic comedy[1][2]
Manga
Written byAzusa Banjo
Published byIchijinsha
English publisher
MagazineComic Pool
Original runDecember 26, 2019 – present
Volumes8

I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl, known in Japan as Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata,[a], also known as OtoTsuku (おとつく) for short, is an otokonoko romantic comedy manga series by Azusa Banjo, published by Ichijinsha in Comic Pool and in collected tankōbon volumes. It was originally released through Banjo's Twitter account starting on December 26, 2019, as Osananajimi (♂) o Onnanoko ni Shiteshimatta Hanashi,[b] and was picked up for serialization due to positive reader response. An English translation has been released by Seven Seas Entertainment since June 2022, but has been controversial for its treatment of the character Hiura.

The series follows Kenshiro Mido, who practices applying make-up on his friend Hiura Mihate; following this, Hiura becomes interested in presenting femininely, and the two realize they are attracted to each other. The series, and the character of Hiura in particular, has been well received by critics and readers. It was nominated for the Next Manga Award in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and was voted one of the most popular web manga of 2020.

Premise

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I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl is an otokonoko romantic comedy manga[1][2] that follows Kenshiro Mido, a young man with an interest in cosmetics,[1] who wants someone to practice applying make-up on other than his sisters.[3] After Kenshiro's childhood friend Hiura Mihate agrees to let Kenshiro practice on him, Kenshiro finds himself attracted to Hiura's new, feminine appearance.[1] Hiura starts to enjoy presenting himself femininely, taking an interest in make-up and women's fashion and cross-dressing regularly; he also begins to find Kenshiro attractive.[2]

Production

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Prior to writing I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl, Azusa Banjo liked characters who defy gender roles, such as otokonoko, cross-dressing women, and women using the boyish pronoun boku,[2][4] and had debuted as a manga creator with an otokonoko story.[4] Because of this interest, she decided to create a romantic story about a feminine male character who is shy and a little clumsy.[2][4] She also introduced make-up elements to the story to make someone other than the otokonoko character the catalyst for the transformation.[2] When designing Hiura, she started with how he looks while wearing women's clothes, and then created a pre-makeover design based on that. She wanted the two designs to contrast, but still wanted Hiura to look cute before the makeover to ensure people would continue reading past the first few pages.[4] She based his name on "Pyrrha" (ピュラー, Pyurā), the name used by Achilles in his early years when cross-dressing.[5] While considering Hiura's cuteness an important aspect of the series, she also wanted to give a positive portrayal of male friendships, and put effort into making Hiura and Kenshiro come across as childhood friends. When researching the series, Banjo makes use of Instagram and fashion magazines for young people; the latter in particular for the sake of realism, as it is what Kenshiro would read.[6]

Publication

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Written and illustrated by Azusa Banjo, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl was originally published as a web comic through Banjo's Twitter account under the title Osananajimi (♂) o Onnanoko ni Shiteshimatta Hanashi,[b] starting on December 26, 2019.[1][7] Banjo had originally considered self-publishing a print collection of the series but managed to get it picked up for serialization in Comic Pool, starting on February 21, 2020, due to strong positive response from her readers,[6][8] with the Twitter upload receiving over 120,000 likes by January 2020.[4] The series is also collected in tankōbon print volumes, published by Ichijinsha since September 11, 2020.[9] The first volume was promoted with a trailer in which Kenshiro and Mihate are voiced by Yūki Ono and Yūki Kuwahara, respectively.[10] The manga has been released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment since June 2022,[11][12] and in Chinese by the Chingwin Publishing Group since September 2022.[13]

Volumes

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No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 September 11, 2020[9]978-4-7580-2153-1May 31, 2022 (digital)[14][15]
June 7, 2022 (print)[12]		978-1-64827-884-6
  • Episode 0, part 1–5
  • Episode 1, part 1–3
  • Episode 2, part 1–3; extra
  • Episode 3, part 1–2
  • Episode 4, part 1–2
  • Episode 5, part 1–7
  • Special 1–4
2 April 16, 2021[16]978-4-7580-2231-6February 21, 2023[17]978-1-63858-659-3
  • Episode 6, part 1–2
  • Episode 7–15
  • Special 1
  • Special 2, part 1–2
  • Special 3
3 October 25, 2021[18]978-4-7580-2303-0June 27, 2023[19]978-1-63858-967-9
4 April 22, 2022[20]978-4-7580-2384-9October 17, 2023[21]978-1-68579-569-6
5 October 25, 2022[22]978-4-7580-2458-7February 20, 2024[23]979-8-88843-358-4
6 April 25, 2023[24]978-4-7580-2514-0June 11, 2024[25]979-8-88843-779-7
7 October 25, 2023[26][27]978-4-7580-2601-7
978-4-7580-2603-1 (SE)		October 15, 2024[28]979-8-89160-501-5
8 April 25, 2024[29]978-4-7580-2692-5March 4, 2025[30]979-8-89373-145-3
9 December 25, 2024[31][32]978-4-7580-2805-9
978-4-7580-2806-6 (SE)		——

Reception

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I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl was well received by readers and critics,[2][3][33] who liked Hiura and found him cute;[2][3] Biglobe News commented that he was so cute that one could forget that he is not a girl.[3] Excite News liked the way Hiura shyly expresses interest in cosmetics and his attraction to Kenshiro.[2] It was nominated for the annual Next Manga Award for best new web manga in 2020, 2021, and 2022.[34][35][36] It was among the most popular new romance manga of the first half of 2020 serialized on Pixiv, in a survey where the vast majority of readers were women and aged 18–34.[33] In the 2020 edition of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai's annual "Web Manga General Election" poll, where 813,000 people voted for their favorite web manga, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl was voted the 7th most popular,[37] and it was among the top five series in the 2022 Denshi Comic award, in the category for web manga targeted at male readers.[38] Manga editor Kaito Suzuki named the series as his recommended manga of 2021, appreciating it for its portrayal of love regardless of gender.[39] It ranked fourth on AnimeJapan's "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll in 2024.[40][41]

The English release of volume 1 was criticized for portraying Hiura – a feminine male character in the original – as a trans woman;[42][43] Seven Seas Entertainment responded by revising this for future volumes and for reprints of volume 1.[44]

Notes

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  1. ^ Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata (Japanese: 恋する(おとめ)の作り方, Hepburn: Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata, "How to Make a 'Girl' Fall in Love")
  2. ^ a b Osananajimi (♂) o Onnanoko ni Shiteshimatta Hanashi (幼馴染（♂）を女の子にしてしまった話, "I Turned My Childhood Friend (♂) Into a Girl")

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "万丈梓「恋する（おとめ）の作り方」1巻発売、記念PVに小野友樹＆桑原由気". Mynavi News (in Japanese). September 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "「コスメ男子ももっとメジャーになれば」 マンガ『美少女(♂)がコスメ好き男子のスイッチ押しちゃう話』がニヤニヤ展開". Excite News (in Japanese). Excite. April 23, 2020. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "男友達に化粧したら美少女が現れたんだけど…ダレコレ？". BIGLOBE News (in Japanese). BIGLOBE. January 17, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "【漫画】モテる男子高校生には誰にも言えない秘密が 男の幼なじみを「女の子」に？". マグミクス (in Japanese). Media Vague Co. January 5, 2020. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  5. ^ Banjo, Azusa (2020). 恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (1). Ichijinsha. p. 30. ISBN 978-4-7580-2153-1.
  6. ^ a b Fujii, Ryou (August 12, 2020). "「可愛すぎる」「ヒロインが男の子だと忘れる」 マンガ『恋する（おとめ）の作り方』コーデ回がセンス良すぎ". Gadget News (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Banjo, Azusa (December 26, 2019). "万丈梓@おとつく①巻発売中！ on Twitter" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "コスメ大好き男子が幼なじみ男子にメイクをしたら…？「恋する（おとめ）の作り方」". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. February 21, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "【9月11日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 11, 2020. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "万丈梓「恋する（おとめ）の作り方」1巻発売、記念PVに小野友樹＆桑原由気". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 11, 2020. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Antonio Pineda, Rafael (September 23, 2021). "Seven Seas Licenses World End Solte Manga, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 Novels". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 1". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  13. ^ "戀愛（少女）的培育法(01)" (in Chinese). Chingwin Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  14. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 1". BookWalker. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  15. ^ @TheOASG (May 31, 2022). "Azusa Banjo's I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Volume 1 is now available for purchase on multiple digital platforms" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "【4月16日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  17. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 2". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "【10月25日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 25, 2021. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  19. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 3". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  20. ^ "【4月22日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 22, 2022. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  21. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 4". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  22. ^ "【10月25日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 25, 2022. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  23. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 5". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  24. ^ "恋する(おとめ)の作り方 6" (in Japanese). Melon Books. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  25. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 6". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  26. ^ "恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (7)" (in Japanese). Rakuten Books. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  27. ^ "恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (7) 特装版" (in Japanese). Rakuten Books. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  28. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 7". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  29. ^ "恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (8)" (in Japanese). Rakuten Books. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  30. ^ "I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl Vol. 8". Seven Seas Entertainment. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  31. ^ "恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (9)" (in Japanese). Rakuten Books. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  32. ^ "恋する（おとめ）の作り方 (9) 特装版" (in Japanese). Rakuten Books. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  33. ^ a b "「pixivコミック」8周年！2020年上半期のカテゴリー別人気作品をご紹介♪". Excite News (in Japanese). Excite. June 5, 2020. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  34. ^ "「次にくるマンガ大賞2020」ノミネート計100作発表！ユーザー投票は7月3日まで". Hon no Hikidashi (in Japanese). Nippan. June 19, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  35. ^ "「次にくるマンガ大賞2021」投票受付スタート！ エントリー総数3,577作品の中からノミネート100作品が決定". Da Vinci (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. June 18, 2021. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  36. ^ Morrissy, Kim (June 23, 2022). "Voting Opens for Next Manga Awards 2022". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  37. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (October 30, 2020). "Voters Crown Days on Fes as #1 in Web Manga General Election". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  38. ^ "すでに100万票越え、電子コミック大賞の中間発表で6部門上位5作品が明らかに". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 2, 2021. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  39. ^ "マンガ誌編集長が選ぶ、2021年のイチオシ作品 Vol.1". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 31, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  40. ^ 「アニメ化してほしいマンガランキング」発表 1位は仲曽良ハミ「しなのんちのいくる」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 22, 2024. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  41. ^ Iikura-Gross, Ken (March 25, 2024). "Shinanonchi no Ikuru Tops AnimeJapan's 'Manga You Want to Be Made Into Anime' Ranking". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  42. ^ DiGiovancarlo, Gina (June 15, 2022). "Manga Publisher Seven Seas Massively Misunderstands New LGBTQIA+ Release". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  43. ^ McClain, Carrie (June 23, 2022). "Seven Seas Pubwatch: June 2022". WomenWriteAboutComics. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  44. ^ "Seven Seas Entertainment on Twitter". Seven Seas Entertainment. July 19, 2022. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
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