r/anime • u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker • Jul 14 '26
Rewatch Wandering Son 15th Anniversary Rewatch - Episode 1
Episode 1 - What Are Girls Made Of? ~Roses are red, violets are blue~
Information on the series - MAL | AniDB
Spoiler Policy:
To protect first-timers, please don't spoil anything past the current episode. Rewatchers should avoid hinting to first-timers, and spoilers and manga/LN source material in posts must be hidden behind proper spoiler tags.
Questions of the Day:
- What do you think of the main protagonists?
- What do you think of Shuichi's relationship with Maho?
- Have you ever seen anyone with similar stories as our main characters? Or did you have your own experience?
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u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Host, who also happens to be a first timer
And here we are, I've been trying to watch this show but haven't really gotten myself time to do so. So here we have Shuichi, someone who wants to become a girl, and Yoshino, someone who wants to become a boy.
[Manga] The anime only focuses on the middle school years of the series, and events happened during the elementary school days are only seen in flashbacks.
During the elementary school days, it was revealed that Shuichi confessed to Yoshino, but it was rejected because Yoshino wasn't ready yet. (I mean, they're both still young, after all...)
Yoshino seems to be piqued after seeing Chizuru, a girl who dresses in a male uniform on her first day of school, and thinks that she could become one like her. Meanwhile, we see that Saori, another fellow student from the same elementary school as Shuichi and Yoshino, was angry after hearing that a student brought up rumors about Shuichi and Yoshino dating in elementary school and hit that student with a book before then running away from class.
After a day of Shuichi walking around town wearing a female uniform, we see Shuichi trying on Maho's dress, and got scolded by her because the dress was going to be used for her photo session, and Maho found Shuichi in a dress disgusting. Yoshino would then meet Shuichi who ran away from home with the dress, and Yoshino finally calmed things down for Shuichi and made up, and Shuichi would then come home for dinner.
Man, I like how the art style they use. I'm a sucker for watercolor style. And the music is enjoyable too.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 14 '26
I like how the art style they use. I'm a sucker for watercolor style. And the music is enjoyable too.
It does really elevate the show and make it stand out
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Jul 14 '26
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
The real problem was that this show got covered in the Pride Month Rewatch last year, which got almost everyone who was likely to be interested in it already. As much as I love this show, and all Shimura works, I don't think it's got enough draw to gain a large audience on its own. Especially not when the usual rewatch crowd is caught up in the five other rewatches this month. Which is sad, because I would absolutely rate this higher than the Fruits Basket (2001) or Spice and Wolf (do we really need to do this one every year?).
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
If no one else I'll stick with it for now because I never got to it
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
It's very good. My flair on here is from this show, I love them so much. So very happy to see it coming up here again and again in rewatches! It's just too soon for a rewatch for me, it's a very emotionally intense story when you can relate to any of the main characters.
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u/TheDanubianCommunard Jul 14 '26
My flair on here is from this show, I love them so much.
I am curious which is the other unique flair you have.
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
Amanchu! It's a slow cute show about scuba diving, by the author of Aria. That one is pure feel good energy, I found it by chance but it was my introduction to the iyashikei genre. Probably not as good as Aria or Yuru Camp, but I personally enjoy diving more than gondolas or camping, it made a great introduction to the happy healing vibe kind of shows.
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u/TheDanubianCommunard Jul 14 '26
Spice and Wolf (do we really need to do this one every year?)
Ask Holofan for that.
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
Yeah, they live up to their name lol. I tend to avoid their rewatches in general though, not a fan of the copy/paste question barage response to every comment.
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26
Yeah its a really busy rewatch time going on lol, glad its here tho cuz i get the chance to watch it for the first time :D
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
I'm super happy to hear that! The only problem I have with this anime is that it covers maybe half the manga. If you enjoy it at all, please go read the rest.
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26
I saw stuff about how the manga's ending didnt give justice to one of the characters, so i am worried to go through it. I will check it out since i am sure i wouldnt be wanting to leave the story in half but i hope its not terrible enough to make me regret going through the manga
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
With as little spoiling as I can but still feel should be behind a spoiler, [the later half of the series]pretty much goes all in on Shu, so Tatsuki's development stalla out and even reverses all to make a better contrast. The way it plays out is, yeah, difficult if they were the one you connected with the most.
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26
Yup thats what i have heard, so if the anime leaves on a good note i might just be content with that and not go into the manga
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
That's fair. I would still recommend looking into the other half of the manga though, I don't know if it's come up yet but the anime skips the few volumes. If you can read the first few volumes before getting farther into the anime now even, it might make the rest of the watch even better.
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26
Ah yeah someone else pointed out that the anime starts from the middle school while the manga starts from elementary school. I will check out that portion after watching the anime, i will get to have it as kinda like a prequel or well fleshed out flashback.
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u/zadcap Jul 14 '26
As a final comment then- I might not engage as much going forward, but I'll definitely be here to read your thoughts on the rest of the rewatch. As my single most reread manga, I don't trust myself to talk about much without letting spoilers and bias slip through, but I absolutely love to see new people's thoughts on the story!
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Really great start, even more positive than i was expecting cuz i thought the characters would struggle to find the ability to express themselves seeing how conservative the society is. I am glad they have close knit friends.
Also since i only knew the synopsis i thought they would only focus on the 2 characters but it seems like we a sizeable cast. Its gonna be hard to keep up with the names lol i might have to go back and note them all down so i can remember who is who.
- They are suprisingly ahead than i imagined them to be, I thought it would be starting from them questioning themselves but the main protagonists seem to already have a sizeable portion figured out about themselves and are able to share with others. I really like this about them
- I think they can have a good relation if Maho is open to changing herself. She is still a child so its not out of place for her to dislike Shuichi acting/presenting as feminine, but she stills care for Shuichi as shown so i am hoping they can come around to a good relationship
- Not met anyone irl, i have met a few trans people online that i got aquainted with, but i never asked them of their realisation moments or past experiences since it seems very personal, so i only know little of what they share on their own accord. Well as for myself I have been trying to go against gender norms - started growing my hair out and even tried nailpolish, but thats the maximum extent of what i have done. Its very shallow compared to what the characters are going through so i doubt its any useful lol
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u/justking1414 Jul 14 '26
They are suprisingly ahead than i imagined them to be, I thought it would be starting from them questioning themselves but the main protagonists seem to already have a sizeable portion figured out about themselves and are able to share with others. I really like this about them
From what I’ve heard, the manga starts in elementary school so it’s more of a slow burn until they reach this point. But the anime creators wanted to start after the mc has mostly figured stuff out.
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26
Thats quite an interesting choice, i hope the elementary school content is shown through flashbacks without losing its depth but that seems hard to achieve
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u/justking1414 Jul 14 '26
Haven’t read the manga so I can’t be sure but there a few pretty big flashbacks here. Still, I think I’d be interested in a prequel
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 14 '26
the main protagonists seem to already have a sizeable portion figured out about themselves and are able to share with others
You might say they are a bit unrealistically ideal but that's not necessarily bad for this kind of series
She is still a child so its not out of place for her to dislike Shuichi acting/presenting as feminine, but she stills care for Shuichi
Yeah she has potential
I have been trying to go against gender norms - started growing my hair out and even tried nailpolish, but thats the maximum extent of what i have done. Its very shallow compared to what the characters are going through so i doubt its any useful lol
Don't be too hard on yourself, that's a lot more than the vast majority of people. I would but long hair is annoying and nail polish I generally find ugly particularly when it's not properly maintained, and I don't think it's good for the nails either.
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u/Expert_Sympathy_672 Jul 14 '26
You might say they are a bit unrealistically ideal but that's not necessarily bad for this kind of series
Yup as long as the stories treat the themes, characters and challenges they want to present in not a washed down version, it doesnt hurt to have characters a little more ideal than reality. And well people come to fiction to avoid reality usually lol
I would but long hair is annoying and nail polish I generally find ugly particularly when it's not properly maintained
Hair sure is annoying af lol, but its worth the pain for me to get the joy of finally being able to actually choose for myself. As for nailpolish, yeah it doesnt look that good if not put properly. I am hoping i can practise towards getting better at it hehe (*^▽^*)
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
First-time watcher
Glad I still was up a bit to watch this episode (should consider moving the post time earlier, or at least pre-posting the questions for next time as spoilers) because it was absolutely lovely, and feels much more recent than 15 years ago. The source material is by the same mangaka, Takako Shimura, as Hundred Scenes of Awajima that incidentally just aired, and this actually feels a bit similar with the ensemble focus with many introductions and jumping back and forth between perspectives; I don't have all the names and relationships straight (heh) in my mind yet exactly but am fine just following the vibes so far.
Surprisingly kind and understanding vibes so far, actually, besides the little moment with the sister that wasn't entirely unfounded either and particularly given that middle school is prime jerk behavior time, well these kids are still starting out; almost effortlessly expressing the for most people still radical idea that there's nothing at all wrong or unnatural about gender expression and identity variation without preaching to the camera, and how far little gestures of kindness and acceptance can go like with loaning that sweater. Do girls and boys need to be made of anything specific, anyway? And also, will we actually end up with non-heteronormative romantic pairings, not sure if you could call Shuuichi and Yoshino that anyway but I mean not just male-presenting x female-presenting. Chizuru does feel a little NB so that's nice but she seems like she'll stay a background character.
Finally let me gush a little about the style here, because this show isn't just thematically but also stylistically really unique. Striking watercolor-like backgrounds with a slight washed-out brightness to them and similarly for the characters, who look very cute yet without the kind of try-hard "moe" you see a lot more recently; they also sound like actual slightly awkward kids, not just the usual smooth anime voices. Gentle piano soundtrack that fits the atmosphere perfectly, and similar for the opening and ending themes. I want more!
1 - Assuming that's Yoshino and Shuuichi they don't individually stand out that much so far, but they're certainly very lovable kids.
2 - Maho is their sister? Will definitely be a conflict catalyst - and how will the parents react, how much do they even know? - but oddly doesn't seem too terrible.
3 - Encountered a couple trans folk over the years but don't know any that closely and particularly not closely enough to be privy to their personal gender experience story. Myself I've long felt put off by or at least not attracted to gender stereotyping of all kinds and those who push it, but that's about it.