Last Gender: When We Are Nameless by Taki Rei

Last Gender by Taki Rei is a mature Japanese comic series set around a club catering to gender and sexual minorities that ran in Kodansha’s Evening magazine. Coming in at three volumes the first was collected in Japan in 2021. Announced earlier in 2022 for English from Kodansha USA this title was one of my most anticipated of the year. Yet, if I’m brutally honest here… I almost didn’t’ get past the first chapter “Welcome to BAR California”. As it turns out a chapter reworked from a previous one-shot “A Self for All Seasons” the latter of which gave the creator the opportunity to turn it into a series. Fortunately, the one-shot is included in the back of volume one too. There are several changes— from where sex is taking place, switching out one character (initially cis pansexual man Mao to bi trans woman Ran) expanding on the sexuality of Manami a cis woman who turns up after finding her husband’s membership card, and the types of discrimination or abuse characters have endured. But the biggest shift between the two versions though is in tone, dynamics, plus crucially clear consent —and it greatly affects the atmosphere as a result. The first chapter after Ran and Manami share drinks starts out not just without consent but also triggers something more like trauma dumping. It’s apparently a difficult line between many characters feeling moved to (reciprocal) confidences vs. sudden flood of intimate personal details. A reader further needs to follow into chapter two to get deeper into the characterization of the trans character Ran, and I’ll add again a different instance of her behaving inappropriately. Mao pursuing her there additionally brings up questions of the line for harassment. In case one is wondering the policies of BAR California seem somewhat fluid. (There’s a partial panel of a membership paper, a staff member Yo, explaining ‘no video or photography’ and later one warning of ‘no sex’ in the bar section of the club, because it does take place there too.) It’s also hard to stop one’s mind from going outside this comic to where trans people are especially under attack as dangerous rhetoric and violence persists. Or to within communities the existing difficulties on the whole issue of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault. Like I said I almost DNF the volume only a little over 20 pages in. The first chapter felt lacking in sensitivity with its choices. Nor does the added warning the English edition has on the table of contents page for ‘depictions of bigotry and violence against LGBTQIA+ people’’ quite cover the contents. It should be clearer there is sexual assault. But I kept reading because I was especially curious about the pansexual character, Mao who first appeared in “A Self for All Season”. (Btw the panels I choose to share above are from the one-shot.) Which if you happen to be tired of the pan cooking ware puns in English, Japanese has got a bread (パン [pan]) joke, an early loanword from the West, lol. Chapters with Mao reveal he’s got some baggage too. Estranged from his family since they believed there was something wrong with him and the hypocrisy of his parents talking about love when he also knew his father was unfaithful. There are other examples from Japan where pansexuality comes up. However, this is first time I’ve come across a character who uses pansexual on the page in Japanese comics available in print in English. So, it’s rarer to see a depiction with the journey of personal identity and both the assumptions and phobic behaviour of others like this. (For those who read digitally, from 2018 Yuichiro Wants to be Special to Takaki by Yukazaki Sakaomi is a refreshing example licensed by Renta.) In fact, as the blurb states there’s a whole plethora of characters of different stripes and ages from college on up. Aromantic and bigender rep (along with Lolita fashion) in this volume as well, and a cliffhanger with yet another character. Though the pace of the comic is fast, quite too fast juggling all the who, hardships and hope. In the afterward Taki wishes to write the “tiny parts” with as much care and attention in the limited pages. Though scattered throughout there’s some lovely artistic compositions, especially bringing character’s emotions outward. This is an artist that has an eye for bodies too. (Taki’s catalogue of works include ecchi stuff for again a male demographic previously.) Additionally, worth mention the English edition was printed in the USA but, my physical copy was a bit lackluster due to several instances of little misprints with it. In fact, that afterword posed particular difficultly to read, even checking digitally (which I have trouble reading anyway). The contrast is poor, and I don’t like the thin slanting font. It might be like the Japanese but writing such as this is what I call chicken scratch and a bane. There’s no letterer credited for the English volume either which is interesting because there’s clearly a lot of work with it. (Perhaps they wanted to be anonymous?) There’s a page of translator notes in the back as well trying to give readers some footing and cultural background especially around certain terms. Probably the best line from it is ‘definitions are not as clean-cut as how the characters make them sound to be.’ Insert real-life people to that sentence and it would ring true too. All in all, despite my critiques, the next volumes are still going on my TBR. Which will have a change in translators. Very sadly translator Rose Padgett who worked on this first volume and helped to localize many other titles passed away due to suicide earlier this year. I’ve read many books Padgett worked on. So, I suppose here’s where I’ll also extend my condolences to Padgett’s friends and family. Kodansha USA has fortunately found Japanese nonbinary queer translator Mishima Kitan to carry on the work. It’s so sad that the lives of LGBTQIA+ people can be so filled with trauma, anxiety, rejection, discrimination, violence etc., and Last Gender doesn’t shy away from it. But it also brings to the page connection and community. In the process probably likewise something many people can relate to. (Bring tissues?) Lastly, the English edition also provides info for 18+ US helpline THRIVE. https://thrivelifeline.org/index.html I’ll add a list of possible resources in Canada: https://itgetsbettercanada.org/get-help/ Australia: https://qlife.org.au/get-help Ireland: https://lgbt.ie/our-services/ New Zealand: https://outline.org.nz/ UK: https://lgbt.foundation/helpline So, hey out there, please stay alive and you can thrive.   Last Gender: When We Are Nameless by Taki Rei is available in English, in print and digital from Kodansha USA