YMMV / Love Me For Who I Am

• Base-Breaking Character:
  • If the comments on various websites are any indication, the fandom is rather split on Kotone. Some see her as a compelling character with a relatable backstory and do genuinely want to see her grow as a character. Others feel she is sloppily written, feel her hatred of men is unjustified, and don't necessarily like the fact that she bullies Tetsu over his friendship (later romance) with Mogumo, more so when she freaks out at Mogumo after an argument. The rest of the fandom is somewhere in between. Incidentally, her behaviour is consistent with a heavily closeted lesbian afraid of what she really is and tries overcorrecting to avoid coming to terms with it. While it doesn't justify her behaviour, it does explain it somewhat.
  • Mogumo has proven to be just as divisive depending on the reader. Some see Mogumo as a relatable, interesting, well developed character and one of the more well done depictions of a non-binary person in the manga medium. Others decry Mogumo as a whiny, selfish, and annoying brat who expects everyone to treat them a certain way and throws tantrums when nobody does so despite the group having no knowledge of their issues, citing their behavior in the first chapter as evidence of the latter. Notably, those in the first group see Mogumo's behaviour in the first chapter as reasonable, as they were clearly very hopeful and optimistic despite Tetsu not knowing their situation at all, leading to the incident that happened there. Plus, their later breakdowns over complications about them being non-binary are much more subdued and require others to notice it and force them out of it.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • In Chapter 8, when Tetsu askes Satori if he should call her "sis" and she is really happy that she's his sister now.
  • In the beginning of Chapter 9 when Tetsu and Mogumo confess their mutual love for each other and they start arguing about who loves the other more
  • The first half of Chapter 16 is full of this. As it turns out, Mogumo suspected that Kotone was a closeted lesbian and invited her to the Rainbow Festival to show her that there were others like her. When Kotone tries to deny she's hiding something after her breakdown, Mogumo calls her out for using them as a replacement for a girl as a way to deal with her issues^note Though as of this writing, it's still not clear whether Mogumo knew Kotone was bullying Tetsu or not, even though Tetsu is fully aware of Kotone's motives for keeping Mogumo to herself but still tries to support Kotone, telling her that she'll eventually find someone who will be there for her and love her for who she is. Mogumo also reminds Kotone that she accepted the former, and invites her to the cafe so she can have a safe space to come out without being judged for it. This helps Kotone finally decide to come out to everyone at the end of the chapter.
  • Chapter 24 shows Mogumo telling their friends at the cafe that they intend to see their parents and open up to them about everything they've gone through. They're concerned that things might not work out, but offer unconditional support, even telling them that if Mogumo is rejected by their parents, they'll always have a place with them at the cafe. Mei in particular is visibly concerned because although her family accepts her as a girl, she knows other families aren't like that, and is especially adamant about wanting to be there for Mogumo.
• LGBT Fanbase: A large portion of the fandom is trans because the series features positive representation, including an explicitly non-binary protagonist.
• Moe: You have to admit, Mogumo is pretty adorable. The characters even think so in-universe!
• Tear Jerker:
  • Chapter 9 after Mogumo and Tetsu confess their love for each other and Kotone is seen with a sad and angry look on her face because she loves Mogumo
  • Kotone's backstory in Chapter 10. especially her admitting that she wasn't ready to go out with Mogumo and that although she loved them, she didn't want to hurt Mogumo
  • Chapter 23, which finally reveals Mogumo's backstory. They grew up knowing that they weren't male or female, but everyone around them, including their parents, kept insisting that they were a boy, refusing to let them have cute things. Years of built-up frustration and crippling dysphoria led to Mogumo threatening to cut out their Adam's Apple in a fit of despair, which led to how the family is now. It's then that Sakura realizes that Mogumo didn't do what they did out of spite or just to throw a tantrum. The chapter ends with Mogumo deciding to talk to their parents and finally face them.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Some readers, even trans readers, are confused on the characters' gender identities. Despite clearly hating being called a boy or a girl, some people don't understand whether Mogumo is non-binary, a trans girl, or a Wholesome Crossdresser. This comes down to Values Dissonance over the wording the series uses (otokonoko, translated to "girlyboy" in some translations). The official translation is more clear on Mogumo, but it can still be difficult for Satori and Suzu^note wears it because the girl that the boy he likes has a crush on wears it, but legitimately enjoys wearing it after trying it because, unlike Ten-chan's^note Wholesome Crossdresser who just likes to cosplay (and later, Mei's^note transgender girl) explicit reasoning, they're a lot more murky.

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