Summary
Peow2 will release Stop!! Hibari-Kun! in English in Fall 2025, marking a historic moment for LGBTQ+ manga representation. Hibari-Kun! challenged gender norms in anime; fans debated whether the character truly qualified as a transgender protagonist. Despite the controversy, Stop!! Hibari-Kun! remains an influential work in manga, paving the way for LGBTQ+ characters in the genre.
In 1981, Shonen Jump Hisashi Eguchi debut Stop!! Hibari-kun!a romantic comedy that has caused a lot of controversy over the years because of its gay protagonist. After four decades, the official English version is finally here. On X and at AnimeNYC, publisher Peow2 announced their intentions publishes an English version of this historical manga in fall 2025.
Stop!! Hibari-Kun! is a romantic comedy featuring a protagonist who was assigned male at birth, but looks and acts feminine. The manga follows her and a boy named Kosaku as they go about their daily lives, including dealing with Hibari's yakuza father. It is considered a landmark work for LGBTQ+ representation in manga. Its reach is also much wider, and even the most avid anime fans tend to underestimate its profound influence on hit series like Dragon Ball.
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Transgender characters have historically been underrepresented in the world of anime and manga, and Hibari-Kun! is a major exception. At the same time, Hibari-Kun! has been controversial with anime and manga fans, and these same controversies are resurfacing after Peow2 introduced Hibari as the “OG transgender protagonist.” While Hibari is certainly gender nonconforming, many fans question whether she can be properly labeled “transgender.” Additionally, the cultural constraints of the era made Hibari-Kun!’s representation limited and, to some, offensive.
Eguchi himself stated that Hibari was designed as a transgender character in an interview with Radio France:
I chose a transgender character because it contributed to the sense of humor. At that time in Japan (in the 1980s), the question of transgender people belonged to a very closed, hidden space. It was a question that was not addressed by public debate, an underground world. [since] has become [a question requiring delicacy] to resolve. If I were to rewrite it today, I couldn't do the same thing I did 38 years ago. At that point, finally, I had a kind of freedom of tone.
[author’s translation]
While casting a transgender character for humor isn't ideal, The author's intentions regarding Hibari's gender identity are also unclear.. At other times, Eguchi has stated that Hibari is a boy. Intuitively, this might conflict with his description of Hibari as transgender, but the explanation could be simple: Hibari is not a black and white character that fits into gender norms.; she may “be a boy,” but still present and function socially as a girl until people know her assigned gender.
In manga, this question is more difficult. First, it is important to remember that Japan has a different culture and relationship with gender. For example, visual kei is a genre of music in which men wear makeup and express femininity without necessarily identifying as women. Any translation also involves a combination of language knowledge, cultural understanding, stylistic choices, and personal bias – a problem, since Hibari-Kun! has so far only been translated by fans.
So maybe the official translation will “clear things up.” However, while Hibari isn’t explicitly referred to as transgender in the manga, it’s still a story about self-affirmation and challenging gender roles. The upcoming version of Peow2 Stop!! Hibari-kun! is a great opportunity for Western fans to get acquainted with this important manga, one that holds great historical significance for the genre, despite the controversy surrounding it.
Source: @peowstudio (X); Radiofrance
