ANIME EPISODE 1---WHAT ARE GIRLS MADE OF ?
( Japanese title---"Onna no Kotte, Nande Dekiteru?"/
おんなのこって、なんでできてる? )
( Wikia Note---Gender Neutral Pronouns will occasionally be used for transgender characters. See this article. )
Episode Overview
Shuichi Nitori was assigned male at birth, but wishes to be a girl, while Yoshino Takatsuki is the opposite, assigned female at birth, but wishes to be a boy. However, they both like to dress as their correct gender whenever possible. As the two begin their life as junior high school students, they reflect on the events of their elementary school days, during which Shuichi confessed love to Yoshino, but was rejected, because Yoshino was not ready for such love yet. During the first day of class, Yoshino is impressed by another student, named Chizuru Sarashina, who although being a girl, expresses gender-fluid characteristics, and comes to school wearing a boy's school uniform. Meanwhile, another classmate, Saori Chiba, lashes out at a male classmate for bringing up rumors of Shuichi and Yoshino dating earlier.
After school, and with an afternoon of walking around the city in a girl's sailor fuku (a sailor suit), Shuichi comes home and can't resist trying on a dress combination belonging to his older sister, Maho. Maho catches Shuichi wearing it and says it is a disgusting thing to do, as well as declaring that she wanted to wear it tomorrow. Maho pulls the dress part off of Shuichi, and Shuichi flees the house crying, and wearing only the blouse and mini-skirt part of the outfit. By chance, they run into Yoshino, and soon feels better after Yoshino's attempts to brighten the mood by loaning Shuichi a coat. The chance meeting of the two, and Shuichi's dejected attitude, causes the two friends to make up from their earlier differences.
This Episode's Story
What are girls made of ? Shuichi muses this and a few other comments while alone in an empty classroom.
It is the first day of Middle School (Jr. High), and the new students are walking towards the middle school campus. Many recognize one another from previous classes and grades. Shuichi and his older sister, Maho, are asked to stand in front of the apartment building that the family lives in, so that their parents can take a picture. As the first day begins, all of the students attend an opening ceremony, and are then dismissed to find their respective home room classes. Once everyone has reported to the class that Shuichi is in, each student is expected to stand up and state something about themselves, and what their goals may be for the new school year. Yoshino states a desire to want to join an athletic club. Chizuru, although being perceived as a girl, has worn a boy's school uniform to class, something that is not lost on several other students in class, this being so evident while she speaks. Shuichi begins an introduction to the class, but is interrupted by another boy who alleges that Shuichi and Yoshino have dated each other, and kissed, in the past. That boy is soundly hit over the head with a book, knocking him to the floor, by Saori, as she then quickly exits the room.
At the end of the school day, Shuichi, and best friend Makoto, who is also a boy who wishes to be a girl, are on a bridge, talking about their first impressions of school, and emotionally and socially comparing notes. Back at school, at the lockers, Chizuru is encouraging Yoshino to consider joining the girl's basketball team. Another girl at the lockers confronts Chizuru about wearing the boy's uniform, only to be told that Chizuru wears anything that she wants to, and may wear unauthorized street clothes to school tomorrow if she feels like it. Shuichi and Makoto say their goodbyes, as Shuichi thinks deeply about the fact that they both have a special secret about gender expression to hide. Saori comes to her home, only to find a boy that she knows of, also at her home.
Shuichi does not go home right away, but finds an unused men's restroom, and changes out of his boy's school uniform, and into a girl's sailor fuku (a sailor suit, typically worn only by young females). At her home, Saori shows the boy a picture, saying---
"Look at the girl in the center of this photo. This is what *cute* looks like !".
Saori shows her wannabe boyfriend a picture of Shuichi, a "boy" in her class (center), dressed in girl's clothes. "This is what CUTE looks like !"
The picture is of Shuichi wearing a sailor fuku. The boy thinks to himself, "What are girls made of ?". Meanwhile, Shuichi waits at the entrance of the men's room, waiting to see if 'the coast is clear'. When no one is watching, Shuichi scoots out the door, and into the street, wearing her sailor fuku, and a long, light brown wig.
In a FLASHBACK, Shuichi and her friends are taking pictures of themselves in groups. (#)
In another FLASHBACK, Shuichi recalls the time when a love confession was made to Yoshino, only to be turned down. (#)
While Shuichi is spending the afternoon as a girl, dressed as a girl, Yoshino, dressed as a boy, meets with an adult transgender woman named Yuki at a café. Yuki presents Yoshino with a male school uniform, as Yoshino laments to her that he really wants to wear it, just like Chi did at school earlier that day. They talk about other personal matters, including Yuki asking if Yoshino and Shuichi have made up after their spat. Shuichi calls Makoto to tell them that she is out in public dressed as a girl. At a boutique, a sales lady offers Shuichi a complimentary four-leaf clover hairpin, because she feels that it would look so cute on Shuichi.
After changing back to male attire, Shuichi arrives home, to find Maho and Anna looking at fashion magazines. The two then decide to go somewhere, with Maho giving Shuichi a smug look as she walks by, and Anna whipping out her cell phone and ripping off a picture of Shuichi, without saying a word, as she walks by. Shuichi is now alone in the bedroom, and upon seeing a pretty pink dress outfit belonging to the older sister hanging on the wall, has temptation growing rapidly. Resistance is futile, as Shuichi goes ahead and tries on the dress outfit, and admires herself in the darkened window. Maho returns to get her forgotten cell phone, and thereby tries to remove the dress outfit off of Shuichi, telling her that she will make the outfit stink from having it on, and furthermore, Maho wanted to wear the outfit tomorrow. As Maho removes the dress part of the outfit, Shuichi pushes Maho to the floor, and runs out of the bedroom and into the street, wearing only the t-shirt and mini-skirt part of the outfit.
Heartbroken and running wildly, mournfully crying her heart out, Shuichi, per chance, passes Yoshino, dressed as a boy, on a pedestrian bridge over a busy highway. She stops, and now crying uncontrollably, implores Yoshino for compassion. Yoshino offers her his hoodie, saying that she can wear it for the here and now. Shuichi calms down, and they both begin walking slowly, talking about intimate things as only very best friends can do. Yoshino mentions the girl that wore the boy's uniform to school today, and lets out a loud yelp of joy.
Late that evening, after Shuichi returns home and changes into male attire, Maho gives Shuichi her shrimp at dinnertime. In bed, Shuichi finally falls asleep and dreams of Yoshino, at school, wearing the girl's school uniform, and musing alone in an empty classroom. Awakened suddenly, and not able to get back to sleep, Shuichi washes and dries Maho's pink dress outfit, wondering all along, " What are boys made of ? ".
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(Click on Episode 2: Hate & Despise to be taken to the next episode of the anime.)
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