#nao Chan…..

[sunnnfish]

SKIP TO LOAFER !!! GOD !!!!

[meikiran]

mitsumi and her aunt

[bluegad]

buncha cool kats.

[prokkoli]

a sketch from a while back because miss them </33

[bearinhiberation]

i forgot that i made this when i started reading skip and loafer i hope that someone else relates

[cutecapybarapics]

[sachi]

☆ OMGkawaiiAngel // NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE ☆ Resin kit / 1/6 / sushi-porygon ☆ Wonder Festival 2024 [Summer] ¥22,000 ☆ Sculpt Nao Paint Ayamelo Mix

[apparently-artless]

Skip to Loafer Episode 8 - Nao-chan

[bigclownshoes]

So I just finished skip to loafer and I need to get something off my chest really quick because it's been making me go crazy. I love love love LOVE the trans mtf rep in this show. It is geniunely some of the subtlest, yet most accurate and effective portrayals of what is means to be a trans person, specifically in south east asia. The way the anime first sets up nao being trans by having a couple of teen girls whisper if she's a man or not, and mitsumi IMMEDIATELY holding on to her and being that beacon of light that she is, bringing so much warmth to an otherwise potentially awkward and dysphoric inducing scene. It is so fucking short and subtle, it barely lasted 10 seconds, and yet, is so incredibly powerful. The way nao adopts her "man" look so she could follow mitsumi on her date and make sure she's okay, and revealing to Mika that she's actually a woman, was so delightful and funny, while remaining respectful. Her transness isn't distorted and made into a distateful gag, or pushed to the forefront that it takes up her entire character. The story really emphasizes that she is not just "trans" but rather an incredibly kind, empathetic, perceptive and stylish woman. She is successful in her career, has a good natured sense of humour, and a young soul at heart. She just so happens to also be trans! I find that casual queerness so so refreshing, especially in a medium like a Japanese anime. Not to mention when the girls have a sleepover for the first time and nao tells mitsumi to inform her friends that she's biologically male to avoid any uncomfortable situations. That scene actually made me stop and scream a little because of how beautifully casual and intimate it was. There was no fanfare or drum rolls, no unnecessary bullshit drama, just plain acceptance. And they proceeded to follow up that already fantastic scene with all her friends gushing and complimenting nao, the show further emphasising her rights as a multi faceted and deeply human character, and ending with nao tearing up because she found such good friends. Then, it just moves on to the next scene. Hell, they don't even utter the word trans in this, and yet still carried an infinitely better impression than some of the so called "western" representations out there. I truly await a world where one day, depictions of transness, and queerness in general, can be shown in any medium with the amount of care, love and normalcy that this story does. My heart is so so full.

[haru-rain]

Nao is jealous of Mitsumi because she's living the life Nao has always dreamed of. And it's something that tends to make Nao feel guilty because she's aware that whatever difficulties she may have gone through in the past have nothing to do with Mitsumi.

But what Nao doesn't seem to realize is how much she's doing so that Mitsumi and her friends don't have to go through what she has. You can feel that she wants to give Mitsumi and her friends the youth she wasn't able to have.

When she heard that Mitsumi was going to the zoo with Sousuke, she decided to follow them to make sure he wasn't someone who could break her niece's heart.

She encouraged Mika to return to Mitsumi and the girls, saying that she wouldn't often find friends like them.

She knew just the right words to reassure Mitsumi when she felt left out because so many of the girls in Tokyo are into fashion.

She prepared a cute bento, thinking it could be a good topic of conversation so that Mitsumi could make friends more easily in her new class. ❤️

She also wanted to take Mitsumi and her friends to Ikejima so they could have a great summer vacation together, despite the fact that it was a place full of painful memories for her.

She guaranteed Mika that she would find someone who would love her as a person, even with her less pleasant side.

Nao seems to think she's a bad person because of the jealousy she may have felt towards Mitsumi. Yet her actions only show the opposite and how kind she is !

Nao is an amazing woman / aunt / big sister who just wants to give Mitsumi and her friends a joyful youth. You can really feel how much she loves Mitsumi ❤️

[aswling]

👞 they skip and they loaf! 💤

this is a four-color risograph print in black, sky blue, fluorescent pink, and yellow printed on 80lb text paper 🌷 currently selling copies (no watermark on the actual print) in my shop!

[snoozeeroo]

Skip to Loafer! I love the animation style, such a neat show! ⭐

[catmitsumi]

small thing i kind of hope happens in the future with egashira and nao is if they connect over fashion design. it's a passion that for the both of them is closely linked to their identities, their pasts, their growth and self expression, and it would be really wonderful to see the two bonding over it.

like one of the things takamatsu mentioned (i believe) is that she had no clue how much thought kids put into their outfits. One of the root, core reasons egashira gets so into researching how to style her clothes is because she was rejected for how she looked so much growing up and wanted to be seen as an equal. as she evolves over the course of the story she starts to find value in people accepting her for who she is---but even as that core reason for getting into fashion fades, she still clearly retains a strong interest in it.

and it would be really beautiful that if, as she grows, finding more intrinsic self-acceptance, her remaining passion for fashion is also given space to bloom alongside her into something even more powerful. like nao introduces it to her and its like this whole new world has opened to her you know. do you see the vision

[birbliophile]

So I read all the chapters of Skip And Loafer I could find and oh my god I love it for so many reasons but I just wanna gush a little about how awesome I think Nao’s character is. Like I totally thought she was gonna be the token adult family member just hanging out and being the Adult Presence in a slice of life focused on the teenagers but she’s…actually a whole character? She has FLASHBACKS, she has DEPTH, and it’s all so very poignant and relevant to the coming-of-age themes in the story! And then of course:

Me at the start of Skip And Loafer: whoa trans character, neat! Guess she’ll be in the background supporting role that’s cool

Skip And Loafer: whole ass flashback of pre-transition Nao to show how the simple love and acceptance of her toddler niece made such a lasting impact on her when she was isolated and depressed 

Me: whoa what the—

Skip And Loafer: here’s a whole chapter about how when you’re a trans woman it’s normal and fine to mourn the young girl in your heart who was never able to be happy because you thought the things normal girls did would be forever out of reach for you and so it feels like you can’t ever redo your childhood and get that joy you deserved, but that pain doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful to see another young girl you love like your own child thriving the way you never could because she means the world to you and you never want her to ever feel a drop of heartbreak

Me: WHOA OKAY 

Like…oh my god. You’d think that the birthday chapter would focus on Mitsumi and her friends, maybe some shenanigans as the group tries to give Mitsumi the bestest birthday, but there’s relatively little focus on the kids for this chapter—they have a good time and Mitsumi’s happy, but the chapter is ultimately about Nao and her guilt over feeling jealous of Mitsumi’s Normal Teen Girl Life despite being happy as an adult, as well as how much she and Mitsumi cherish each other.

Nao feels so human and real and I love that for her, and I especially enjoy how every part of her character is affected by her being a trans woman. She’s fashionable which makes sense for her job as a professional stylist, but her being trans also adds a dimension of how self expression through clothes and makeup would be deeply important to her. She’s outwardly bubbly and cheerful, but the flashbacks to her pre-transition self and her quieter moments of contemplation make it very clear just how powerful it is that she’s able to be happy now, after so many years of suffering. She offers advice to the girls of the cast like any older woman would (older being relative, she’s only in her mid thirties!) but because she’s trans it carries the weight of “no one was there in my life to tell this to me, I want to make sure you have it better.”

Nao’s portrayal in the manga feels both realistic and…gentle, at the same time. She still experiences transphobia and her transition wasn’t easy for her (it seems like her father wasn’t as supportive as her brother and mother are shown to be, but so far we don’t know the details), but she’s overall happy in the present and her story ultimately to me speaks of trans joy, and I think that’s neat. It’s not like things are perfect for her, but she’s made it through the toughest times.

Also the scene with the pancakes made me want to cry haha

[gemoglobinchik]

For Secret Santa

[mapoeggplant]

nao and her new teenage years

the greatness that nao's presence has in the girls' lives is undeniable, but we also need to remember how she is finally receiving a second chance through them, how being by their side allows her to find peace with her own adolescence.

she did voice her feelings before, about how conflicted she feels when she sees mitsumi living the teenage years she never had. on one hand, she’s extremely happy for her niece, but on the other, it’s hard for her not to feel any kind of pain for her teenage self, who was denied of so many things. it’s a very understandable feeling, even more understandable when she shares how guilty she feels for having them. it’s not that she resents mitsumi for having what she once wished, it’s just hard to brush the loneliness that followed her.

however, what i find it beautiful of it all is how mitsumi and her friends are allowing her to experience this adolescence she once wanted, and she even chased that forgiveness by taking them with her to her hometown, a place she never came back to. she’s taking care of them and making sure they are safe and healthy by taking care of them at a certain distance, having respect for their feelings and need for personal space. all she offers them is a hand to hold and a place to go to, something she never had for herself.

nao is not only teaching them, but she’s also learning. she’s not only bringing mitsumi’s friends to her hometown to find a reason to go back, she’s showing her past self how happy she is now and how she can guide the ones around her to be as happy as they deserve.

i think this is one of the beauties of skip to loafer: how gentle it is to its own characters and their own experiences with youth. it respects each characters own trajectories without making them collide; instead, their own trajectories serves as a way to impulse other’s.

BONUS (just a little thing I noticed after someone replied to my thread on twitter):

also about this, i just thought about how nao finally had her talk with her mother while she was working on her garden, something that she always admired, as she once told mitsumi about how beautiful her grandma’s (nao’s mom) hards are