Line #28 Manga/TheHeartOfThomas


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heartofthomascover.png]]
2
3	''The Heart of Thomas'' (''Thomas no Shinzou'') is one of the earliest BoysLove manga, written and illustrated by Creator/MotoHagio (a contemporary and friend of Creator/KeikoTakemiya, together with whom she is known as a pioneer of the genre). The manga was serialized in ''Shuukan Shoujo Comic'' from May 5 to December 22, 1974. Despite its short run, ''The Heart of Thomas'' had a profound impact on {{shoujo\|Demographic}} manga as a medium; its stylistic and narrative trademarks would be adopted by other shoujo manga and become standard tropes of shoujo from that point on.
4
5	The story starts with a letter from the eponymous Thomas Werner to the young man he loves, confessing his feelings and the desire to have a place in his beloved's heart. Juli Bauernfeind, to whom the letter was addressed, appears to be indifferent to it all. However, his world is shaken further by NewTransferStudent Erich Frühling, a boy with looks identical to Thomas. The two clashes with each other almost immediately and [[DarkAndTroubledPast many hidden problems]] are revealed.
6
7	The manga eventually received an English translation, released in 2013 by Fantagraphics. The translation is by Rachel Thorn, a veteran shoujo manga translator who has written several articles on boys-love manga.
8	----
9	!!''The Heart of Thomas'' presents examples of:
10
11	* AllLoveIsUnrequited:
12	** Juli does have feelings for Thomas but chooses to shun the boy.
13	** Oskar and Erich to Juli, who chooses to be [[CelibateHero a Catholic priest]].
14	** Ante to Oskar, who finds [[StalkerWithACrush him]] [[AbhorrentAdmirer repellent]].
15	* BeneathTheMask: Juli appears to be a model student and son. However, he has problems connecting to other people.
16	* AmbiguouslyBi: Juli. Before leaving for seminary, Juli tells Erich that around him, all his good memories return. Among those memories? The first ''girl'' he liked.
17	* BittersweetEnding: Juli is able to [[spoiler: open his heart to others again]] and admits that [[spoiler: he loved Thomas]], and [[spoiler: goes off to seminary, leaving Erich and Oskar behind]]. Erich realizes he loves [[spoiler: Juli]] but is forced to bid him farewell. And Thomas is still dead.
18	%% * BrilliantButLazy: Oskar.
19	%% * BrokenAce: Juli
20	%% * BuryYourGays: Played straight with Thomas, but averted with the other characters.
21	* CorporalPunishment: Erich, a previously homeschooled child, is shocked when a teacher attempts to strike him with a cane.
22	%% * CruelToBeKind: After [[spoiler: Sigfried's abuse]], Juli felt unworthy of Thomas's love, hence his cold rejection.
23	%% * DarkAndTroubledPast: Juli. Oskar and Erich have their share of this too.
24	* DownerBeginning: The story opens with Thomas's suicide.
25	%% * FishOutOfWater: Erich at first since he has never been to a boarding school.
26	%% * HappilyAdopted:
27	%% ** [[spoiler: Erich eventually comes to terms with his mother's death and reconciles with his step-father.]]
28	%% ** [[spoiler: Oskar is eventually adopted by the headmaster, his real father.]]
29	* HeldBackInSchool: Oskar's father took him traveling for a year instead of keeping him in school; as a result, he's one grade level behind.
30	%% * HeroicBSOD: Erich upon learning of [[spoiler: his mother Marie]]'s death.
31	%% * HomeschooledKids: Erich.
32	%% * IdenticalStranger: Erich to Thomas.
33	* IncestSubtext: Erich has an unhealthy attachment to his mother. He's jealous of all of her lovers, to the point that he gets sent to boarding school to mitigate it.
34	* NewTransferStudent: Erich, whose arrival at the school kicks off the story's main conflict due to looking very similar to Thomas, the newly dead boy.
35	* OneGenderSchool: The story takes place at an all-boys school in Germany. Given [[YaoiGenre the kind of story this is]], all the connotations are there.
36	* ParentalAbandonment:
37	** Juli's father died when he was young.
38	** Oskar's father left him at the school a year after his mother's death. [[spoiler: His biological father is the Headmaster, who slept with Oskar's mother at her request because she could not conceive with her husband. Oscar knows the truth, and secretly hopes for the Headmaster to adopt him]]).
39	** Erich's parents are divorced, and his father is never seen. [[spoiler: Later, his mother dies]].
40	* PosthumousCharacter: Thomas, who commits suicide at the beginning of the story.
41	%% * RacistGrandma: Juli's grandmother. Fortunately, Erich [[SugarWiki/MomentofAwesome tells her off]] for it.
42	* RapeAsBackstory: Siegfried and his friends may have done more than just torture poor Juli...
43	--> '''Juli''': (to Erich) [Siegfried] and his friends used me as they pleased [...] I had no say in it at all.
44	%% * RavenHairIvorySkin: Juli, which in the case of [[spoiler: Siegfried Gast]] led to his [[DarkandTroubledPast Dark and Troubled Past]]
45	* ScarsAreForever: Juli has a deep scar below his clavicle, which he sees as a MarkOfShame, as well as whip marks on his back, all as a result of [[spoiler: Siegfried's abuse]]
46	%% * SpellMyNameWIthAnS: The Fantagraphics translation uses "Erich" and "Oskar."
47	* StaircaseTumble: Juli has fallen down the stairs twice.
48	** The first time, Juli saved another boy from falling instead. He stayed indoors while healing to keep the boy from seeing his injured ankle.
49	** The second time, Oskar clapped him on the back too roughly, leading to a dramatic fall [[spoiler: and the discovery of [[DarkAndTroubledPast far more serious injuries.]]]]
50	%% * StartsWithASuicide: Thomas Werner's.
51	* TheUnfavorite: Juli's grandmother treats him coldly because he has his father's dark hair. She favors his blonde little sister.
52	%% * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Ante pushed Thomas to seduce Juli, unaware of Juli's DarkAndTroubledPast.
53

Context Manga / TheHeartOfThomas