DON'T CALL ME DIRTY, manga I didn't hate!

DON'T CALL ME DIRTY (Don't Call Me Dirty #1)
GOROU KANBE
Tokyopop (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$12.99 paperback, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: After some time in a long distance sort-of-relationship with his crush, Shouji is crestfallen when weeks of getting ghosted finally result in a confession: his boyfriend just isn't gay.

Having struggled with his sexuality for years, Shouji throws himself into his work to distract himself from the rejection—but when a young homeless man called Hama shows up at the shop, Shouji finds himself curious to learn more about him and, hopefully, befriend him. Attempting to make their way in a society that labels each of them as 'outcasts' and 'dirty,' the two men grow closer.

Together, they begin to find they have more in common than either of them could have anticipated.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: When you're Other in your very bones, you know it early. Othering either becomes your ugly secret, your curse to bear, or your identity. The way some people are Othered for external things over which they have no, or little, control might be crueler...hard to say. In this tale of Othered men coming together in large part because of their shared Otherness, they each learn a wonderful lesson about authenticity.

Becoming your real self is the project of post-adolescent adulthood. Many stay in the imposed selves, accept identities that aren't a great fit because they lack the resources of identity-example to alter what isn't working.

Stories like this one might hit hardest in Japan, although homelessness in the US is pretty marginalized. When Hama receives Shouji's overtures of friendly connection, he's stunned...he's homeless! He's like a stray pet, afraid every caress will turn into a kick. Shouji's need not to be rejected is pretty easy for Hama to meet, albeit with trepidation. Can this turn into more?

Not rushing into powerful emotions, not having sex right away, not following The Tropes℠ of romantic fiction, are all very appealing ways to build a story between Othered people who each crave similar connections. The artwork is standard manga:

...so you like it already, or you don't. Me, I'm lukewarm. I got past my impatience with sequential-rt storytelling because I very much like the story, and the narrative mode, used here. I know this begins a series. I hope you'll think about it for your young manga-reading queer kid. The message is genuinely positive, without the hypersexualization of many, if not most queer stories.