I wasn't overly impressed with it, really. Bit of a petty thing to get arsey about but it irritates the living shit out of me that so many of these comics have the protagonist pass so effortlessly, to the point where the transgender thing seems to have hooked in solely as a way of stirring drama later on down the line. Bleh.
edited 21st Feb '11 12:50:56 PM by Acritdy
^That actually kind of bugs me too, considering how often that's not the case.
That is, in about 99.9% of the cases.
But yeah, I have been reading it. I'm a bit worried that Rain is going to fall a bit too much into suedom, but it's at least it actually gets the general concept of transsexuality right, which is kind of a rare blessing. Also glad to see an MTF transsexual character that isn't straight.
edited 21st Feb '11 5:45:46 PM by Miijhal
Really? I can't remember ANY trans characters being straight in these things. :P
...but the characters in Venus Envy are bisexual. D:
In Rain's case, her sextility is unclear at this point, although she did had one in her previous work (look back in the swimsuit contest), but I bet Little Lynn will change it.
A character passing is pretty much a normal and required part of the genre. It's what makes the plot go around. It's like Clark Kenting in the superhero genre.
It's not the passing that bugs me, it's just how effortless it all is pre-hormones, pre-surgery and pre-apparently anything whatsoever. If someone's going to try and tackle 'big issues' I really wish they'd do so in a manner that smacked less of wish fulfillment. :/
But Rain's cover isn't flawless. During attendence roll, her voice cracked, and she was found out by three people on the first day. I bet that at least a few others will find out (like Ms. Parker, the gym teacher).
Also, it seems Rain had put a lot of effort into it. It takes her two whole hours to get ready.
Also, what do you think about the rest of Little Lynn's works?
Her voice cracking was down to a quirk, and the three people who 'blew' her cover were down to contrived coincidence and there was almost zero problems afterwards. This is my point - that the transgender element seems to exist in comics like this purely for the sake of creating drama and conflict, rather than being used as an organic part of the character.
And really, I think taking two hours to get ready is a pretty bullshit handwave for perfection, especially when it's not something that's referenced. Bleh. It just irritates me.
Haven't seen any of her other work so I can't comment on that.
I'm MTF and transitioned through college myself, so I'm a little biased in this regard. Weh.
edited 22nd Feb '11 6:42:21 AM by Acritdy
on a horse
Why does everyone instantly thing she's the best thing ever? That just seems odd somehow. And yes, traveling into sue category. Is it some kind of joke because she secretly has male parts?
I'm also confused that most of the people don't really care that she's trans. I'm not saying that she should be publicly flogged, but I'd think a lot of high school students would find it weird.
I'm not trans, so it's likely that I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about.
On a side note, are there any comic that involve female to male transpeople? I looked out of curiosity, and I've maybe found two or three.
edited 22nd Feb '11 1:31:04 PM by boobustuber
It's because the females already have the Samus Is a Girl trope, which appears more often outside of the Internet.
Personally, Rain isn't a Sue, yet. And I bet she will be found out by more people. It's unlikely she would even go through the whole comic with her secret intact.
But it's only the second chapter, so it's too early to make any deep judgements.
Khaos and Venus are the only comics I know of that predominately feature FTM characters. Beyond that...eh.
on a horse
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Oh yeah, of course. Most comics improve as they get more pages. 
It's not a terrible comic, by any means.
A lot of series are that way. Still, it's early, and the comic is in the phrase where stories are confined to one chapter, but as it goes on, arcs expand to several chapters, and then to entire volumes.
on a horse
No, I mean when stories start out short, in only one chapter/episode, but as the series go on, they get longer...I'll bring it to Lost And Found.
Oh, and what is your favorite character? Besides Rain, I like Rudy too.
Really? I can't remember ANY trans characters being straight in these things. :P I mean in general.
A character passing is pretty much a normal and required part of the genre. It's what makes the plot go around. It's like Clark Kenting in the superhero genre. You mean... transsexual slice of life stories? If you're going to try to depict the struggles that go with transsexuality, doesn't it make sense to, y'know, actually depict them? It's not like it's hard to get drama going from them.
Also, it seems Rain had put a lot of effort into it. It takes her two whole hours to get ready. Let me put it this way: in two hours of preparation, I'd be outed in about 5 seconds. In two hours she was drooled over by half the student body.
There's a reason most transsexuals go through a lifetime of hormone injections and get some pretty major surgeries, like facial reconstruction surgery. Most have a hard time passing well with out it (and some have a hard time passing with it). In terms of voice, it takes extended training which isn't particularly easy to do on one's own.
On a side note, are there any comic that involve female to male transpeople? I looked out of curiosity, and I've maybe found two or three.edited 22nd Feb '11 5:03:06 PM by Miijhal
Also, what I find very strange is that one the Internet, First Rule Of Gender Bending is prominent, while outside of the Internet, Sweet Polly Oliver is the norm. Maybe it's a culture thing?
edited 22nd Feb '11 5:15:25 PM by chihuahua0
on a horse
Comic's still kind of finding its feet, so I don't have a favourite yet. I also don't always have favourite characters. Weird.
I haven't. Looking at it now.
Also, keep in mind that the author of Rain is also a transsexual. She would've done the research and might at least know if Rain's situation is plasiable.
Bunny
It's probably one of those situation to situation type things.
For example, my school system has had very few problems with bullies. Other places are not that lucky.
Some people are more accepting, and some people are haters. I would probably find the concept of one of my friends being a MTF transsexual a little unnerving, but it really wouldn't change my opinion of her.
One of my few regrets about being born female is the inability to grow a handlebar mustache. -Landstander
Well, I bet there're a buttload of schools, like city schools, that have a bullying problem. And I bet a Catholic high school would be a little homophobic.
Bunny
Oh, right. A catholic school.
Yeah, that little detail officially changes my argument to "Wait, what the hell?"
One of my few regrets about being born female is the inability to grow a handlebar mustache. -Landstander
Ahr river
—reads the first three pages—
—bursts out laughing—
Y halo thar Narm. XD. I am not trans meself, but I don't think it works like that. I mean, kid is what? 5? Most people might KNOW they are "different" but the fact that he knows exactly what he wants to be makes me want to just abuse the kid and make him cry ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
And the art is dreadfully animé. By that I mean, way too many influences and styles clumsily slammed together in an attempt to make something attractive, when it just makes it look bad.
Sure. It's just THAT easy. What's with the school uniforms? Are they japanese? I bet it's just more weeaboo influences. Geez, these people make me annoyed to be a manga fan.
Look at it. Not only is there a dreaded side mouth, but all the faces are either non-emotive, or very generic emoticon-esque faces that have been done to death a million times. Dear lord, is this crappy.
Definitely way too much monkey-see-monkey-do, and way too little refinement.
Also, fun fact. I met a girl very briefly who wanted to be a guy. Even though she was in the girls dorm, I assumed she was a guy. Just a slightly feminine one. Now, while it was one of those camp places that accept everyone for who they are, fooling the system just makes it more elaborate than it needs to be.
She's Bella Swan!
STOP DRAWING OVEN MITTS! PEOPLE HAVE FINGERS GOD DAMMIT!
And yet...only white people...
Bah. Exercise. Who needs it? Fuck the school system. I have laws to break!
Can you tell I like japanese stuff?
Oh, wait, black guy, there we go.
Well, that was a waste of 20 minutes
Good for a laugh though. It makes me happy to know what type of horrid stuff there is out there.
Seriously though, what's the point in having a story about a trans if you're gonna make them super feminine looking from the start? boh-ring.
edited 22nd Feb '11 7:13:52 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!
Okay, Rain is a relatively new webcomic about a senior high schooler who is a preoperative male-to-female transsexual going to a Catholic high school-as a girl. Hilary Ensures.
It can be found [[here http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=90588
]].
So, any thoughts about the current chapter? Any funny moments? Any thoughts about the characters?
edited 20th Feb '11 9:05:33 AM by chihuahua0