Otomen [Manga]

When Asuka Masamune was young, his father left his mother… to become a woman. This shock devestated Mrs. Masamune, and it shocked her even more to see her son show interest in dolls and other girly pursuits. Worried that Asuka would also turn into a transsexual, she hammered into the young boy about the importance of being as manly as possible.

Now 16, Asuka is widely considered the manliest man in school. He’s top in the country at kendo, is extremely talented at judo as well, and is seen by all his peers as the pinnacle of manly, manly perfection.

Secretly, though, he’s still incredibly thrilled with sewing, baking, cute things, Shoujo manga, and girlish pursuits in general. Mind you, he’s absurdly talented at all of those, too.

He’s able to mask his desires from nearly everyone, except a pesky flirt named Juta, until along comes Ryo Miyakozuka. She’s pretty, confident, loyal, and more than a bit tomboyish. Asuka falls for her instantly, and suddenly finds himself struggling with maintaining his mask of masculine strength while learning to integrate his inner feminine desires into his personality, to accept that he is, in Juta’s words, an otomen (oto- from otome, maiden, and -men from the English word).