Mizutama Honey Boy

This manga might start out with a pretty steady stream of shoujo manga cliches and contrivances, but hang in there! It takes a handful of chapters, but as it finds its feet, Mizutama Honey Boy turns into a genuinely delightful, hilarious read, with a really lovable cast. The relationship between Fuji(the girly guy) and Sengoku(the tough girl) gradually grows into a really sweet, believable friendship that really had me rooting for them to finally reach that next step, and the narrative places value on both of their distinct skillsets, having them lean on each other in ways that feel very natural. The comedy, too, reallypicks up as the mangaka gets a better handle on the characters (particularly Nanao, who starts out as part of an awkward love triangle situation but winds up as a hilarious agent of chaos, along with his many siblings). I tend to have trouble sticking with shoujo manga, because generally they either they wind up wallowing constantly in stupid melodrama, or just nothing. Ever. Happens. Thankfully this one largely manages to thread that needle (again, after those weaker early chapters); the characters have actual hobbies and interests that they pursue, responsibilities they deal with, and while it's fairly plot-light, it does a decent job using comedy to fill the gap. Obviously this manga plays around a lot with Gender Stuff, which can be fraught, but in this case I was almost universally pleased by how it was handled. Fuji's(the male lead) feminine traits and hobbies are wholeheartedly embraced by the narrative, and considered an admirable and integral part of his character rather than a flaw, or embarrassing secret, or obstacle to be overcome. The same goes for Sengoku(the female lead) and her typically un-feminine traits and hobbies, although it takes the story a little longer to find believable ways for her strengths to really shine. Probably the best summary of the manga's overall attitude toward Gender Stuff and, well, people in general, is a minor recurring character introduced a ways in named Nadeshiko. She's a huge, burly girl with chiseled, masculine facial features, who likes cooking and sewing and typically wears feminine clothes. In any other manga I'd basically be resigned toward her being the butt of constant jokes, but instead she's treated with compassion and acceptance, like an actual character who deserves to be happy as she is, rather than a cruel caricature to pummel. I think my one complaint (other than the rocky start as mentioned above) is that, for a manga that puts so little stock into Gender Role Nonsense, it's surprisingly heteronormative. Fuji's go-to strategy when dealing with shitty dudes is to hit on them outrageously, creeping them out and sending them packing every single time. He also has a strange relationship with Nanao where, due to a very silly series of events, Nanao (despite being presented as a straight man) spends most of the manga insisting that Fuji is his boyfriend, much to Fuji(also straight)'s dismay. This is only ever presented as a joke, and while I generally found the execution pretty funny, it still felt pretty weird for the entire concept of "men being attracted to other men" to be dismissed as exclusively joke material. I don't consider this a real sticking point, because the contrast is the only thing that makes it surprising or notable in the grand scheme of manga, but I figure it's worth mentioning. Overall I'm really glad I stuck through the growing pains, because this manga feels very special to me (I can't help but feel like it deserved an anime, but alas). Also Fuji-kun is extremely good and I love him.