Inside Mari - The Psychology of Gender Bender Manga

[@retroanimemike]

Read this one years ago, remember really liking it but being so confused as to what is actually happening. Somehow I made sense of the story like this: there was no magical body-swap or anything, Mari was Mari all along, she just imagined being this hikikomori guy as that was so much better than dealing with her own "perfect" life - you are most at peace when you have completely given up. But I could be way off, will have to read this one again, thanks for reminding me.

[@judyy.b]

i thought this too. mori stalked komori and learned everything about his life, (his birthday, age, place of birth and etc) and then became him to escape her reality. this is why komori seemed to have no recollection of mari, because he wasn’t the one stalking her for years, it was the other way around. in one of the final chapters we see mori’s depiction of her mom and friends as grotesque-like monsters, while images of komori had sparkles around them. she hated her own life and was envious of koromi’s simple one. im pretty sure she has multiple personality disorder because fumiko was also another version of herself that she hung onto.

[@cooldude6533]

Just finished reading a few hours ago and I already feel like this Manga is gonna be stuck with me for a while. The whole story gave me a lot to think about but I have some mixed feeling's, part of me thinks it was worth it and the other thinks it was a waste of time, because Mari regains control and the others personalities are apparently dead (or at least are never coming back), so because of this makes me feel like nothing really happened. The part that gave me a lot to think about was the beginning with the main character as I can imagine being him in the future mostly because I am currently on the last year of highschool and I have no friends and that is probably not going to change in the future. But seeing the main character and how he acts made me think if I really want to continue like this, just waiting for people to come to me or if I should change like he changes in the end of the Manga.(even if it was not said if he was able to make friends or find a gf)

[@thisiseissen]

Being one of the best manga with the best twists I've ever read, Inside Mari is a masterful piece that I also love to reread again and again. Definitely the best gender-bender manga for me. Amazing analysis, Otaku!! I'm happy that you have finally made your thoughts into video form. Keep it up, my man!!

[@jordanmchighlander9365]

I was sad this manga didn't use Mari's fascination with Komori as a means to flesh out her character. I first started reading this after seeing a massive spoiler on TV tropes (the trope in question was "gaynst") For example: -showing how Mari was deeply ashamed of her sexuality. Meanwhile, Komori was open anytime pornography came up and was perfectly comfortable purchasing said material. -Showing that Mari experienced a lot of self loathing while Komori idolised her. -Mari feeling suffocated by her friends while Komori was completely alone. Maybe I'm too smooth brained, I thought Mari's LGBT struggles were too subtle

[@biggiemunch]

You're not smooth brained, I just finished it in two sittings and didnt pick up on this

[@ferlx10]

It's just Mari idolizing komori That's where she gets the idea of body swap thing But whats really happening is that she is mentally ill having (DID) cause by her Trauma. With the help of imagining she is Komori it help her to Rebel against her mom and family which is the reason why she has the Mental illness. I also noticed that she feels very sad whenever she remembers the past i get why she feels like that it's her Mari identity who is crying not the komori one, i also remembered when Yori asked her about the promise Mari made with her in the infirmary she remembered it without a break of sweat or recalling the past or rather it feels like she knows it from the very beginning In the end of the series she regained control of herself i remembered that the Mari she saw said disappear i think what that meant was she needs to move on from her Trauma

[@buberbuster3365]

I just finished reading it like yesterday, such a great and fresh manga in execution, best gender bender story I've read so far in manga

[@galarxa]

Man what a manga read it all by recommendation in a few a hours and made me cry seeing someone struggle with existence is going stay with me for ever as such all shocking things in my life have done

[@Zaotram]

Great Video! Your speaking skills in the video are impressive! Clear, engaging, and to the point. Really enjoyed it!

[@Zaotram]

If you don't mind can we talk? I commented one of your post on Twitter recently.

[@麻理ン]

I came across ceicocat's video on inside mari and before watching it I read it, and considering the context of the video I had a set of expections about the manga and everytime there was a new development I thought of it from the angle I had from the beginning, so I didn't really get what I wanted from the manga, don't get me wrong, it's good, i liked, I liked the ending and I think it's worth a read, and I think it's very thought-provoking, but my issue with it is that it doesn't explore the theme of gender by itself, a lot of the discussion about inside mari comes from reading between the lines or analyzing the setting of the story, but the manga itself doesn't really do that, the characters are thrown in a crazy scenario and they try to solve the conflicts that arise but they never talk about the nature of what's happening or what it means, they don't go deepers, it's us the audience the ones who do that afterwards, and I wish it did that more, because by the end of the manga I felt like the manga by itself said nothing about the topics so many people associate this manga for. I've also read 80% of oshimi's ongoing manga welcome back alice, and it presents the same "problem" if i can call it that, and honestly it's a turn-off, i went to both mangas to read something new about gender or to read a manga that explored or dove into gender themes and I didn't find that in either, so it's kind of disappointing

[@biggiemunch]

I just finished my first reading of it and I think that it adds more depth to a body swap than any other piece of media that I have experienced. While it doesn't have as many of the wtf moments that draw me into Oshimis work, I felt like everything had a certain flow and understanding of where it was going. I think that the experience of gender in this work was done too subtly for my preference but that might be because Welcome Back Alice is one of my favorite pieces of media that I have ever read, especially with what is happening in the most recent chapters. This is a magnificent piece of literature that anyone should read though. My one critique is that it felt like it was juggling too many questions that weren't completely explained by the end of the work however if it was rewritten with an extra 5 chapters in which we got a tad bit more build up to the twist, a genuine sense of questioning of Mari and her identity, and giving the Komori on the outside world a little bit more development so that we can see how he differs from our Komori then I think this would be perfectly balanced in all that it is trying to achieve.

[@Treeanne88]

It made me feel slightly bad as I'm mtf trans and i heard a description of it as the horror of losing yourself in another person so now feel bad and weurd

[@xivering]

hi I’m also trans, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, care to explain?

[@Kris.krisis]

After reading all of this, what i realised is that it isn't really trans. This actually looks more like a multiple personality disorder thing. Mari stalked komori to the point he became an alter then at the end i guess Mari overcame her trauma and somehow the other alters left? This might be wrong but it's how i saw it

[@sleeplessreader]

I think it was somewhere during the second or first volume where I realised what was happening there, and seeing all the little threads connecting as you go is soooo satisfying. What a great manga

[@osugamerPatrick]

just finished the manga yesterday, masterpiece..... never had a manga that would give me such huge impact on my emotion,after seeing mari struggling in her mind now i feel im struggling too...

[@halfadeaty]

I read this manga because I thought it was a hentai about masturbation, which it's my favorite type of hentais. It ended up being more than that, it's an incredible good story, and it stills has that sexy appel that mangas have. It's a must for everyone who loves mangas.

[@35degC]

21 chapters in and bro just kept on digging his grave deeper

[@purpleleaf4018]

Its a great work, it has been with me for sometime and will be

[@player-hh5ue]

Alternative title: finding Mari

[@zach_4224]

I didn't even finish the whole manga and still realised its a rollercoster

[@asdfghjkl2261]

Spoilers ahead. I finished this the other day and loved it. Definitely one of those stories that sticks with you and leaves you feeling unsettled. The art is amazing... still can't get the spread of them at the amusement park out of my head, what a scene!!! Imo the biggest flaw with the series is that for all of the navel gazing and psychoanalysis centered around Mari, she's still a poorly developed character. Yori and Komori are even worse, the latter is such a blatant plot device... you are 100% meant to hate him, which makes his redemption lack any significance, and a lot of the screen time dedicated to him is uncomfortable and could've been avoided if the author were less committed to being as cryptic as possible

[@maelis9573]

Why exactly are you 100% meant to hate him? Because he's a NEET with 0 friends and suddenly acts weird when a really good looking girl starts being all over him saying he is inside of her?

[@asdfghjkl2261]

@@maelis9573 He's pathetic in nearly every way. He has a relatively privileged lot in life (not stupid, parents paying for his college lodging, healthy, etc), but he refuses to put any effort into his life. Then he meets some high school girl who he can plainly see is unstable, and what does he do? He anonymously calls her to further her confusion in the hopes she'll see him and perform sexual favors. Even his "redemption" at the end of the story isn't his own doing. His parents just bail him out. He's completely useless as a person and his only role in the story is that of a plot device. I'm not saying I don't pity him at all or can't identify with him in the slightest; I'm sure both of these were intended by the author. But I do believe you're meant to dislike him for the above reasons.

[@noragogo-ws4qy]

I really liked this manga and it actually felt like it had a meaning

[@nahidahamed1742]

Shuzo oshimi works are good and should be seen more

[@mari20400]

lol my nickname is mari that’s the thing that caught my eye with this manga

[@Sadako2602]

I'm a kinda closeted and broke trans, so I often enjoy reading this "gender bender fantasy" to escape from my own life, this was not a wholesome experience haha.

[@cathnbabs]

it took me to dark places

[@shub_2005]

Just finished reading it

[@anas44-qs4of]

Is the end disappointing

[@user-og9nl5mt1b]

There is no reason for me to care about Mari. I have no idea of Mari personality. All i know , she was just a fake nice girl . So she can be liked by everyone. And her parents. But whose fault is that , her own fault. What was her true self ? Nobody knows .