"Boys Run The Riot" Review

 

In light of the current brou-ha-ha over Dave Chapelle and Netflix and trans rights, let me just say right now that I am a trans ally.  True, I may not know many actual trans people myself, so I fear I still may mess up their pronouns every now and again, but I figure all I can do is ask politely, apologize if I’m wrong and try to remember for next time.

 

It probably doesn’t help that there are relatively few media out there with positive trans representation.  But, thankfully, this series Boys Run The Riot is there to at least give us one media outlet.

 

Ryoko Watari is a high school boy (inasmuch as they are a biological female who wishes to gender themselves a male and be treated as such).  He isn’t out yet, however, and feels every day as if he must carry this heavy secret within himself.  We as readers really get to see a lot of the depression, frustration and self-loathing that is sadly all too common among the LGBTQ community. 

 

He feels like he can’t bring up his insecurities and issues with anyone, for fear of their not understanding him and judging him for it.  He feels as if he can’t risk bringing any undue attention to himself at all, for fear of people getting too close and discovering his uncomfortable secret.

 

(And it helps that the creator Keito Gaku is himself a trans man, as well.  Apparently, a lot of Ryoko’s situation is taken right from his own real life.)

 

But one day the dumb but lovable delinquent Jin Sato transfers into Ryoko’s (or “Ryo’s”, as he prefers to be called) school and the two wind up bonding outside of class over their love of street fashion.  Jin, in sharp contrast to Ryoko, can’t help but stand out because of his massive size, delinquent looks and over-the-top directness and friendliness.

 

(If you’re smelling a sitcom here, then you’re half-right; it is, but it’s not so much “ha-ha” as it is a slice of life.)

 

And so begins Ryo and Jin’s quest to start their own clothing brand together.

 

Along the way, they meet up with Itsuka, the sole member of their school’s photography club, whose father was once a photographer, but quit in disgrace when said job failed to pay the bills.

 

This series is very gritty and realistic (not that that’s a bad thing), and I love the inclusion of a trans character to help enlighten the world.  Even more out of the ordinary is that Ryoko is a trans man, where many other trans character stories are involving trans women.  Not only that, but Ryo also appears to be sapphic, going by her reactions to classmate Chika.

 

And along the way, we learn valuable lessons about finding people who get you and standing up for yourself and sharing your truth.  And, as the cherry on top of the cake, we even get to learn a few things here and there about photography with an actual camera and all the steps that go into the creation of a clothing brand.

 

Granted, this series is entirely grounded in reality, but the story itself is so outside of my own straight, cisgender humdrum Midwestern life that I think I will hold onto it for a little while.

 

Definitely recommend.