I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup
| Josou-shite Off-Kai ni Sanka Shite Mita | |
 Volume 1 cover art, featuring Cocoa | |
| 女装してオフ会に参加してみた。 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kurano |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Twi Siri |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | January 12, 2020 – present |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Josou-shite Tomodachi to Machiawase Shitara Bishoujo (?) to Deatta | |
| Written by | Kurano |
| Published | December 17, 2020 |
Josou-shite Off-Kai ni Sanka Shite Mita (Japanese: 女装してオフ会に参加してみた。, "I Dressed Up Like a Woman and Joined an Offline Meetup")[a] is a romantic comedy manga series created by Kurano, and published since January 12, 2020. The story follows Cocoa, a young man who dresses up like a woman to join a monthly meetup for women; he finds himself attracted to Opera, another member of the group, who turns out to also be a cross-dressing man.
Kurano was inspired to create the series after meeting a man cosplaying as a female character at a doujinshi event, and being impressed by the quality of his cosplay. It was originally self-published by Kurano through Twitter and Pixiv as Josou Off-Kai (女装オフ会, "Cross-Dressing Offline Meetup"); it has since been picked up for digital serialization by Kodansha, who also publishes collected print editions of the series. The series has been well received by critics and readers.
Synopsis
Josou-shite Off-Kai ni Sanka Shite Mita is a romantic comedy manga, and follows Satoshi Morinaga (森長聡志, Morinaga Satoshi), a young man who joins a monthly offline meetup for a group of women, dressing up like a woman for it and going by his online username Cocoa (ココア, Kokoa);[1][3] the other members of the group include Opera (オペラ), Lemon (レモン, Remon), and Kantentarou (寒天太郎).[3]
Although Cocoa at first goes on the meetings because he enjoys going to cafés with the others – the stated purpose for the meetups – he continues doing so because he finds himself attracted to Opera, but the fact that he is hiding his gender prevents the two from getting closer. During one meeting, Opera realizes that Cocoa is a cross-dressing man, and reveals to him that he, too, is one; Cocoa begins to wonder if the remaining two members of the group could be cross-dressers, too, but realizes that he is rude for speculating about their gender, and comes to terms with how Opera's gender should not affect his attraction to him.[4] They continue meeting up, and eventually learn that Lemon also is a cross-dressing man, and that Kantentarou is a trans woman.[3]
Production and release
Josou-shite Off-Kai ni Sanka Shite Mita is written and illustrated by Kurano,[1] who was inspired by meeting a man at a doujinshi event who cosplayed as a female character. Kurano was impressed with the quality of the cosplay and how feminine the man looked, and thought that if such things happen in reality, it should make sense to make it happen in a manga, and that if one cross-dressing character like that could exist, then a second could, too.[3]
The series was originally self-published by Kurano through Twitter and Pixiv starting on January 12, 2020,[4] under the title Josou Off-Kai;[5] it was later picked up for digital serialization by Kodansha through their manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius' Twitter account Twi Siri,[1] for which Kurano re-drew all chapters released until that point.[6] Kodansha also publishes it in collected tankōbon volumes in Japan since December 17, 2020.[7] The first volume was released simultaneously with another series of Kurano's, Koneko ♂ ga Matterunode Kaerimasu; to celebrate, Kurano published a cross-over between the two through Twitter on the same day, titled Josou-shite Tomodachi to Machiawase Shitara Bishoujo (?) to Deatta.[b][1][3]
Volumes
| No. | Release date | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 17, 2020[7] | 978-4065217511 | |
| |||
| 2 | June 17, 2021 (scheduled)[8] | 978-4065236345 | |
Reception
Josou-shite Off-Kai ni Sanka Shite Mita has been critically well received,[4][6] with IT Media calling it an interesting manga,[4] and Shōnen Magazine Edge's editor-in-chief Moriyoshi Yoshida describing it as his recommended manga of the year, finding it exciting to learn about the four main characters' identities and see how their relationships develop.[6]
The series is also popular with readers,[3][6] who appreciated its depiction of love regardless of gender.[4] Readers were also positive to the Koneko ♂ ga Matterunode Kaerimasu cross-over for bringing the two series' characters together.[3]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e "ストレスOLと子猫♂の同居もの＆女装してオフ会に参加する主人公、2冊同時発売". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2020-12-17. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "「女装してオフ会に参加してみた。」1巻". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2020-12-17. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g "「子猫かわいい」「類は友を呼ぶ」 超絶美少女（？）に女装がバレて落ち込むマンガにファン大歓喜". Merumo (in Japanese). GMO Internet. 2020-12-29. Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ a b c d e "完璧な女装男子が女子会に潜入→バレてしまうも予期せぬ展開が待っていた漫画にドキドキ". NLab (in Japanese). IT Media. 2020-02-03. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ Kurano. "女装オフ会" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2021-05-20 – via Pixiv.
- ^ a b c d "マンガ誌編集長が選ぶ、2020年のイチオシ作品". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2021-03-05. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ a b "【12月17日付】本日発売の単行本リスト". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2020-12-17. Archived from the original on 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "【コミック】女装してオフ会に参加してみた。(2)" (in Japanese). Gamers.co.jp. Retrieved 2021-06-02.