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I don't actually think that one's pro-trans either; there's a bunch of stuff Mahiro does that doesn't make sense if it was. A guy who plays a thousand ero-novels (or is in it for the sexual pleasure) should know perfectly well how female anatomy works and not be turbo-embarrassed about being the opposite sex (and if it's the line the show wants to push, bigger breasts), but none of those things appear to be true. My assessment of it being anti-trans strengthens when considering what Mihari in particular says and does (where she appears to indicate attraction to the male qualities of female Mahiro more than anything else, which are actively offensive to anyone bearing the modern Western feminist/trans-validation viewpoint which state that anything emblematic of masculinity [in someone who is not currently male] is bad).
Compare that to a show I think is pro-trans, Blend S, specifically because of the way Hideri acts. He doesn't say he's trans but the way he acts is pretty close to the way ex-men do (the boundary-blindness he has is there, but he lacks the uncanniness so it's not as apparent), in contrast to Mahiro who really doesn't. You might say the same thing of Baka to Test considering the entire joke around Hideyoshi and passing in the most inconvenient way possible at the time, but that's generally a throwaway bit to greater degree than Hideri.
It's also one of those things (that I remember you mentioning about Nietzsche, actually) where as soon as you try to take the easy way out by importing a bunch of biases/privileges/facets of reality you're Big Mad about, it renders itself completely illegible. "Sexualization" (and the related "pedophilia" and "muh soggy knees") are the trump cards one typically deploys to fully disengage from a work that exceeds one's capacity for analysis.
Most of the Onimai complaints are like that, it seems- the work is not commenting on those things that don't fucking matter. (Which most of the YouTube videos about it also seem to miss; the fact Mahiro starts as a shut-in is set dressing for the plot, this isn't a serious analysis of the effects here.)
The thing to remember here is not so much that Mihari wants to fuck Mahiro as it is that gender-change swaps the power dynamic to one where it's inherently safe for Mahiro to exercise the [since atrophied] agency, which is the entire reason why Mihari was and is attracted to him[1], which is a key to female attraction (and one that men instinctively discourage one another from seeking because, if you are a man, it's net-negative for another man to understand women better than you- this is the male mirror-image to slut-shaming). Or in your own words,
Which is also why I said that it's the mother's job (or the sister's, if they like you enough, as in Mihari's case- maybe the author has some personal experience of that) to make sure their men recognize this, because clearly, nobody else will (I do agree that it is dysgenic for sons of mothers too instinct-bound to understand this to reproduce). And so any man that feels the need to propagate this information is clearly malfunctioning for the same reason women who want casual sex are- you'd have to be autistic/self-destructive/sufficiently devoid of immutable gender instinct to do those things simply because they are fun and rewarding to do [your instincts cannot account for technology unless they were weak to begin with... a condition more common in the "autistic"].
And it's that dynamic which men don't tend to understand the inherent sexuality of for women (complicated further by certain women having an incentive to not understand it): works can be intensely sexual with scarcely a bulge or nipple exposed (re: Adolescence). But once men get caught in the simplest possible trap of sexuality their body will respond to (i.e. "they see boobies and a guy who is now a girl") it's just the standard impotent rage.
Kodaka obviously understands this; I believe that's why his writing is popular with the types of women who also understand that (generally by writing the protagonist in such a way that he's as emotionally available as you'd want him to be, which is easier in VNs because that's where the narrator lives; his protagonists are like this more often than not- the less this is true, the weaker his writing becomes, in my opinion).
Said protagonist is, at that point, either equal to or slightly lesser to you in the sense that you're not inherently threatened about self-inserting on top of him, but you're not burdened by the requirement to do that; you're still witnessing his ability to actually do the work such that he remains sufficiently interesting to keep playing with.
The V'ehxness route from Hundred Line is this at its most blatant. I found it out of place because from a purely tactical standpoint it makes literally zero sense to do what she does, and every single one of that path's endings involves her actively driving the protagonist to function in a way worthy of her [even though that destroys them both in 3 of the 4 endings, if memory serves]. (Of course, the choice to be that ruthless/worthy begins with selecting Tsubasa to explode simply because it is the choice you make if you only care about your team by the numbers; a very V'ehxness thing to do on its own.)
But all of his better protagonists are like this. Makoto isn't memed as best female protagonist for no reason (and Takumi is very much Makoto 2.0, much like Hiruko is Kyoko 2.0, Tsubasa is Aoi 2.0, Moko is just Great Value-brand Sakura, etc.). And then there's Rain Code where the protagonist is basically a middle schooler (and treated a lot more sexually than any Danganronpa game treated its protagonists, with the sole exception of V3's love hotel), to say nothing of UDG.
[1] The first close encounter with Momiji only makes sense if she's both younger in apparent age and a tomboy (which she is) specifically because it's too early in the story for Mahiro to be comfortable engaging with anyone else with more developed girl hardware or software. (Actually, all of the girls in the series are like that; you have the girl who only deploys her hardware offensively against 'enemy' women [which is what a gyaru is], the sportier one, the hyper-androgynous one, and the gay one- all of whom a man like Mahiro would find particularly easy to deal with given that those things largely predict an ability to co-operate with men.)
On that note, the later chapters (once the male characters have names) treat said male characters more sexually than the girls ever really are (outside of Mahiro pissing, I guess, but this is more an inversion-of-control thing which I don't feel like explaining further right now).
I mean, if it is anti-trans, it's not for these reasons. This is a very common emotional beat in AGP erotica (meaning, stories that are very explicitly written by AGPs for AGPs). The psychological discomfort is part of the eroticism, it would be too boring if the guy was just totally ok with it right from the start. "Oh nooo I've been turned into a girl, this is so strange and alien, whatever shall I doooo". But of course the guy (usually) comes to like and accept it by the end.
I know there was a chapter later in the manga where Mahiro was visibly uncomfortable when his dick spontaneously regrew, beyond what would be required by simple practical concerns about being "found out".
Frankly, I think it's structurally analogous to how in erotica for straight women, the female character is often just a little bit reluctant before the action starts. "I mean I'm not reallllly into it, and he's kiiiinda pissing me off, and oh who am I kidding yes I'm totally into it haha". Sometimes, you'd just rather feel like you're being coerced into it (even though the final act is ultimately enthusiastically voluntary); the "detour" is important for the eroticism.
That route was fire I'm so mad that it wasn't longer.
My hopes of her getting DLC have unfortunately dropped to zero at this point.
Well the "sense" is that it was just a pretext so we could see her acting like a dommy mommy to Takumi.
I think I missed that one; I got through the first 3 volumes (as in, where the show left off, AIUI).
But then I looked at the latest volumes and the other related doujins (specifically about one of the other boys) completely convinced me that the transness is only important inasmuch it creates space for the development of authority -> 'manliness' on Mahiro's part.
That's the part that's anti-trans (femininity as means, not as end). If it was pro-trans (as in, 'he doesn't want to exhibit the primary/attractive characteristics of a man, and maybe he gets a sexual thrill from not doing that', or 'femininity as end') he would only be participating passively (or get over being terrified with physical contact with the other girls) and that's not quite what I observed.
(Like, look at episode 100. Does the cat-Mahiro imagine spot really scream 'Mahiro is enjoying being submissive and breedable' there? Why would he set himself up as the dominant partner in the exchange if the entire point was getting off on the submission? It's more gay than trans in the sense that the narrative takes pains to clarify that Mahiro [who... still continually appears to perceive himself as a man] is far more interested in being a sexual object to (and by extension, dominating) Yuta/Minato than anyone else [and at least by chapter 50 still doesn't yet see himself as authorized to dominate the girls, which is the kind of thing I'd expect to be present in a pro-trans fantasy]. In 67, he's notably not dysphoric about wearing male-appearing clothes or being called a boy.)
I will admit this is also contingent on a particular definition of 'trans' that isn't just 'changed gender'- it's that plus the attendant overeager lipstick-lesbian sexuality that has to be present, and that's missing in this case. One might even go so far to say it doesn't make sense to evaluate 'definitionally transgender' solely from a physical/male-only perspective considering the claim that framing isn't sufficient is literally in the name.
But I know for sure that if there is a third gender, that this is media that clearly represents it, and that I am probably of it.
But she really doesn't, though; that's the entire reason I found it strange. If that was the point it'd have ended with Takumi in either permanent chains or something like that, but Takumi's active participation is required for the endings to occur how they do (they either die together, or die fighting each other).
That's not usually how that trope/fantasy goes- or at least, not my understanding. But maybe I'm missing some required reading; I'm sure you could fill me in.
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