Fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is considered by most to be one of the prettiest girls in school, but to her dismay, she is biologically male. Fortunately, she has a childhood friend who understands those same feelings of gender dysphoria: the lanky, tomboyish Yoshino Takatsuki, who was born female but does not identify as a girl. The two friends share this secret and find comfort in one another; however, their lives grow even more complicated as they must navigate the unfamiliar waters of a new school, try to make new friends, and struggle to keep the old ones. Faced with nearly insurmountable odds, they have to come to terms with the harsh realities of growing up, gender identity, relationships, and acceptance.
Praised as a decidedly serious treatment of gender identity and LGBT struggles, Takako Shimura's Hourou Musuko follows Shuuichi and Yoshino on their journey to discover their true selves as they enter puberty, make friends, fall in love, and confront real and difficult choices.
Note: The full version of Hourou Musuko was originally planned to be 12 episodes, but the programming block on which it aired only had room for 11. As a result, episodes 10 and 11 were edited together for TV as episode 10, and episode 12 aired as episode 11. The complete versions of episodes 10 and 11 were included on the BD & DVD releases and can be found in the Hourou Musuko Specials entry.