# Waai!

Waai! (Japanese: わぁい！, "Wow!", stylized "WAaI!") is a Japanese manga magazine which was published by Ichijinsha from April 24, 2010 to February 25, 2014, for 16 issues. The manga in Waai! focus on male characters who engage in cross-dressing, willingly or due to circumstance; the magazine also includes articles, interviews, and reviews. Its sister magazine Waai! Mahalo (わぁい！Mahalo) was published for 6 issues from April 25, 2012 to December 25, 2013, and only contains manga.
The main magazine started as a special issue of the publisher's Monthly Comic Rex, before getting spun out as a separate publication. The creation of the magazine was pushed for by its editor-in-chief, Toshinaga Hijikata, a cross-dresser and writer of books about cross-dressing, who aimed to create a magazine with wider appeal than the more sexual cross-dressing magazines that came before it.
Manga featured in the magazines include one-shots and series, which often combine the cross-dressing conceit with themes of gay male romance and societal rules of femininity; among the serializations are Dicca Suemitsu's Reversible! (2010–2013), Rika Kamiyoshi's Sazanami Cherry (2010–2011), and Norio Tsukudani's Himegoto (2011–2014), the latter of which saw an anime adaptation in 2014. At first the magazine was primarily popular with male audiences, but it gradually also built a female following, which by late 2011 represented about a third of its readership.

## History

Waai! began on April 24, 2010 as a special issue of publisher Ichijinsha's manga magazine Monthly Comic Rex with a focus on otokonoko, after being teased at Comiket in December 2009. The special drew a lot of attention, leading to it being continued as a Monthly Comic Rex special for two more volumes, before being spun out into a stand-alone magazine with the launch of volume 4 on February 25, 2011. The magazine's editor-in-chief Toshinaga Hijikata was a driving force behind its creation, being a cross-dresser, a reader of otokonoko fiction, and a writer of books about cross-dressing. According to Hijikata, the proposal to create the magazine went smoothly without much trouble as Ichijinsha had noticed the popularity of cross-dressing fiction. The rest of the magazine's editorial staff were also otokonoko enthusiasts. The artist Akira Kasukabe provided many illustrations for the magazine's covers and for its short stories; other interior artists included Maki Makita, Usagi Yuki [ja], Penta Aogiri [ja], Yuki Ameto [ja], and Yuu Ueda.
The magazine was printed in a JB5 182 mm × 257 mm (7.2 in × 10.1 in) paper format and was published on a quarterly basis. Starting with Reversible! and Sazanami Cherry in 2011, some of the manga featured in the magazine have also been published in collected tankōbon volumes; the two were chosen for being the Waai! manga standing out the most and representing the magazine. Because of the cross-dressing themes in the manga published in Waai!, the magazine staff took special care when designing the covers for the collected volumes, to avoid readers feeling too embarrassed to bring a copy to the checkout in the bookstore, but also used cross-dressing photo models in the marketing for the volumes. A sister magazine focusing solely on manga, Waai! Mahalo, launched on April 25, 2012, and ran for six volumes until December 25, 2013. Like with the main magazine, Kasukabe provided the cover art.
The main Waai! magazine continued until the release of volume 16 on February 25, 2014, after which it was put on an indefinite hiatus, with the editorial staff advising readers to follow the magazine's social media for any potential future updates. Hijikata apologized for the lack of prior warning, saying that it was a sudden development, but that the collected editions of the manga run in the magazine would continue as planned, as would the production of the anime adaptation of the Waai! manga Himegoto. On June 23, 2014, Ichijinsha published the artbook Paramitta (ぱらみった), collecting Kasukabe's art pieces from the magazine.

## Content

Waai! and Waai! Mahalo published manga series and one-shots about otokonoko and about male characters engaging in cross-dressing. Although the magazines focused on the manga, the main magazine also contains other features about cross-dressing, including coverage and reviews of anime, manga, and video games with otokonoko or cross-dressing themes, how-to articles about cross-dressing, short stories, interviews, pictures of male models wearing women's clothes, and a section called "Otokonoko Land" with letters from readers. In contrast to other more sexual cross-dressing magazines, Hijikata intended for the magazine to be accessible for a broader audience, while still at times featuring elements of eroticism.
To appeal to a broad range of cross-dressing fiction enthusiasts, the magazine tried to vary the type of stories it ran, with some featuring characters who actively enjoy cross-dressing, and some with characters who are forced to cross-dress through the situation they find themselves in. The stories are frequently also themed around gay male romance and initiations into societal rules around femininity.

### Manga
#### Waai!

Manga published in Waai! :
| Release | Vol. | Title | Creator | Format | Premise |
| 2010 | 1 | Nonono | Reku Fuyunagi | One-shot | The cross-dresser Nono's lesbian friend Sei helps him be more feminine. |
| 2010–2011 | 1–7 | Onnanoko Tokidoki Otokonoko | Notari Hinemotsu | Series | Yuusuke meets his childhood friend Akira, who now wears women's clothes. |
| 2010–2013 | 1–15 | Reversible! | Dicca Suemitsu | Series | Shuu Kaidou transfers to an all-male school where students must dress like women. |
| 2010–2011 | 1–6 | Sazanami Cherry | Rika Kamiyoshi | Series | Kazuhiro Migiwa confesses his love to the cross-dresser Ren, thinking he is a woman. |
| 2010–2014 | 1–16 | The Secret Devil-chan | Emu | Series | Sou Kurosaki summons the feminine, male demon Kogure. Note: published in English by Digital Manga. |
| 2010–2012 | 1–8 | Suzunone: Wakaokami? Funtouki | Hako Hitsuji | Series | Ryoto must cross-dress to work as a hostess at his family's inn when his sister refuses. |
| 2010 | 2 | Onna no Buki ga Tsukaete Koso Otokonoko desu. | Yuu Ueda | One-shot | A cross-dresser uses his femininity to convince his brother to get a haircut. |
| 2010–2013 | 2–12 | Past Future | Tsukasa Takatsuki | Series | Kako Akari borrows and wears his sister Mirai's clothes, to her displeasure. |
| 2010 | 3 | Fuwa Kyun | Hyuura Konata | One-shot | Kae wants to be surrounded by women, so she makes her butler Haraguchi cross-dress. |
| 2010 | 3 | Mayo Elle Otokonoko | Pop | One-shot | Follows cross-dressing students. Prologue to the original video animation of the same name. |
| 2011–2014 | 4, 7–16 | Otasuke Miko Miko-chan | Hiroichi | Series | Ayumu Mikoshiba must as an only child continue his family's magical girl tradition. |
| 2011 | 5 | Kindan no Mama ni | Muranako | One-shot | A cross-dressing male student attends an all-female school. |
| 2011 | 5 | Yomi ♂ | Zenzai Yoshihira | One-shot | Usagi Mitsuki accidentally promises to marry a male deity, believing he is a woman. |
| 2011 | 6 | Tintin Cheer | Hideyu Tougarashi | One-shot | A student at an all-male school must cross-dress to be a cheerleader. |
| 2011 | 6 | ♂ Yorishiro ♀ | Muranako | One-shot | Follows cross-dressing ghost hunters. |
| 2011 | 7 | Boku no Otouto no Kawaisa wa Ijou | Gorou Yoshida | One-shot | The cross-dresser Yuuki's brother tries cross-dressing to understand why Yuuki likes it. |
| 2011 | 7 | Hikaru to Hikari | Getsu Takebayashi | Series | Hikaru's neighbor Aya gets him to cross-dress and participate in a singing contest for women. Bonus chapter of the series run in Waai! Mahalo. |
| 2011–2014 | 7–16 | Himegoto | Norio Tsukudani | Series | Yonkoma about Hime Arikawa, who due to a debt must cross-dress until graduating. Adapted into anime. |
| 2011 | 7 | Tomodachi Nanka Iranai | Reku Fuyunagi | One-shot | Follow-up to Nonono. |
| 2011 | 7 | Tutor Maid | Yuki Ameto | One-shot | Yuuki Narusawa is hired as a tutor, and must wear lingerie and a maid outfit for work. |
| 2012–2014 | 8–16 | Boku to Boku | Futago Minazuki | Series | The cross-dresser Junichirou Izumi is saved from a molester by Yuuki Kimino. |
| 2012–2013 | 8–13 | Otokonoko Days | Asuka Kanan | Series | Shuusei's cross-dressing friend Hinata gets him to begin wearing women's clothes. |
| 2012–2014 | 8–16 | Taboo Quartette | Muranako | Series | Tomoe is a male heir to a family tradition of shrine maidens. |
| 2012 | 9 | Oshiire kara Ai o Komete | Ayame Nagi | One-shot | Haruka's closet is home to a cross-dressing male zashiki-warashi spirit. |
| 2012 | 10 | Omaera Minna Damasareteiru! | Airi Mori | One-shot | Soutarou Yamazaki's friend Kirika Tachibana must attend school in women's clothes without anyone realizing he is not a woman, or be forced to join a theater group. |
| 2012–2013 | 10–15 | Oneechan ga Mamotte Ageru! | Sora Yoshino | Series | Kairi Shinonome's brother Anri has been dressing like a girl since childhood, and goes to an idol audition. Follow-up to Change Idol. |
| 2013 | 11 | Dousei Chuu‼ | Benny's | One-shot | Shinya has cousins who cross-dress. Continued from Josou Shounen Anthology Comic. |
| 2013 | 11 | Mise Moi! | Red Kamaboko | One-shot | Hiro dislikes the shamelessness of his cross-dressing neighbors Akira and Suguru. |
| 2013 | 12 | Ore to Fuuki Iin no. | Airi Mori | One-shot | Riku Kurata must live as a woman due to issues relating to succession after his father remarries. |
| 2013–2014 | 12–13, 15–16 | Super Family Complete | Red Kamaboko | Series | Mirin Asami dislikes cross-dressing, but his three brothers like it. |
| 2013 | 13 | Damatte Watashi no Iu Koto Kikinasai! | Airi Mori | One-shot | Kanata Tsukishiro's dead sister's spirit frequently possesses him to make him cross-dress and romantically pursue a male classmate. |
| 2013 | 14 | Hanazawa-kun wa, Hanikanda. | Naoya Kaneko | One-shot | Hanazawa acts drastically different when wearing women's clothes. |
| 2013 | 14 | Nise Shōjo Sentai Q | Red Kamaboko | One-shot | Hiyoko joins an all-male hero club which fights evil while dressed like tokusatsu superheroines. |
| 2013–2014 | 14–16 | Zettai Fukujuu Game | Peke | Series | Kotarou Hayasaka's all-male school's student council makes all students wear women's clothes. |
| 2013 | 15 | Immoral Josochology | Naoya Kaneko | One-shot | Follows a student with a focus on his identity as a cross-dresser. |
| 2014 | 16 | Boku no Geboku ni Nare! | Assa | Series | Rion Tachibana suspects that Yukinari Takase knows that Rion secretly is a cross-dressing man rather than a woman. Continued from Waai! Mahalo. |
| 2014 | 16 | Hanazawa-kun wa, Kakenuketa. | Naoya Kaneko | One-shot | Follow-up to Hanazawa-kun wa, Hanikanda. |

#### Waai! Mahalo

Manga published in Waai! Mahalo :
| Release | Vol. | Title | Creator | Format | Premise |
| 2012–2013 | 1–6 | Boku wa Senpai ni Josou o Shiirareteimasu. | Kotaro Shono | Series | Wataru's senpai Ayane Takamura forces him to wear women's clothes. |
| 2012–2013 | 1 | Change Idol | Sora Yoshino | One-shot | Nanami Kousaka wants to be an idol but is rejected due to his cuteness, so his producer Kouichi Kitami makes him debut as a woman. |
| 2012 | 1–2 | Chuu x2 Trap | Kurena Minakami | Series | The lesbian woman Minori Takasaki becomes the target of a cross-dressing vampire. |
| 2012 | 1 | Kasukabe Koukou Josou-bu | Sakuya Yuuki | Series | Akira Komukai attends a cross-dressing club. Continued from Josou Shounen Anthology Comic. |
| 2012–2013 | 1–5 | Motto! Himitsu no Akuma-chan | Emu | Series | Spin-off from The Secret Devil-chan. |
| 2012 | 1 | Onnanoko Kenkyuukai | Beru Okabayashi | One-shot | Yuuma Yamabuki must wear women's clothes to help Laira, a student at an all-female school. |
| 2012–2013 | 1–3, 5–6 | Porte Tricolore | Seri Minase | Series | Brothers Rio, Noa, and Rei were raised as girls, and live in a world where otokonoko can use magic. |
| 2012 | 1 | Re:Volutions | Ryouko Amami | One-shot | Follows a cross-dressing swordsman. |
| 2012 | 1–2 | Suzunone: Wakaokami? Funtouki: After | Hako Hitsuji | Series | Follow-up to Suzunone: Wakaokami? Funtouki. |
| 2012 | 2 | Hatsukoi Lovers | Ayune Araragi | One-shot | Mamori Kusunoki's cross-dressing friend Wakaba Kisaki is attracted to him. |
| 2012–2013 | 2–6 | Hikaru to Hikari | Getsu Takebayashi | Series | Hikaru's neighbor Aya makes him cross-dress and participate in a singing contest for women. |
| 2012–2013 | 2–6 | Himegoto+ | Norio Tsukudani | Series | Spin-off from Himegoto, about Hime's cross-dressing brother Kaguya. |
| 2012 | 2 | Narcissus Tomo-chan | Yoshino | One-shot | Tomo Fukuya loves taking pictures of himself while cross-dressing. |
| 2012–2013 | 2, 4–6 | Onnanoko Play | Notari Hinemosu | Series | Junichi Sasaki must cross-dress for female roles in the drama club. |
| 2012 | 2–3 | Twins Game | Ryou Kurashina (writer), Miyabi Hasaki (artist) | Series | Follows a brother and sister who both cross-dress. |
| 2012 | 3 | Kiratto! Yell | Airi Mori | One-shot | Yuuto joins a male cheer squad expecting it to be manly, but the members dress like female cheerleaders. |
| 2012 | 3 | Onii-chan Complex | Ayune Araragi | One-shot | Haruki's brother Natsuki keeps visiting him in school while cross-dressing. |
| 2012 | 3 | Ruru Chouchou | Nami Nishiuri | One-shot | Sorano is a cross-dresser in feudal Japan. |
| 2012–2013 | 3–5 | Family Complete | Red Kamaboko | Series | Follows cross-dressing families. |
| 2012–2013 | 3–4 | Tadashii Ace no Kouryakuhou | Mitohi Matsumoto | Series | Baseball player Hiroto Fujiki has a cross-dressing groupie; and team manager Ayumu Tsumori follows a book's advice to cross-dress to motivate his team. Continued in Monthly Comic Rex. |
| 2013 | 4–6 | Boku no Geboku ni Nare! | Assa | Series | Rion Tachibana suspects that Yukinari Takase knows that Rion secretly is a cross-dressing man rather than a woman. Continued in Waai!. |
| 2013 | 4 | Boku to Boku | Futago Minazuki | Series | Bonus chapter of the series run in Waai!. |
| 2013 | 4 | Houkago, 2-C no Kyoushitsu de. | Ayune Araragi | One-shot | Yuuto Sasaki is a cross-dressing student who is attracted to his teacher Sasaki Tsukimori. |
| 2013 | 5 | Ore ga XX de Model Debut!? | Shiki Kazutoki | One-shot | Koutarou Asama is an aspiring male model who is unwittingly hired to model women's fashion. |
| 2013 | 5 | Present Koukan wa Kiken na Kaori...!? | Ayune Araragi | One-shot | The cross-dressing characters from Hatsukoi Lovers, Onii-chan Complex, and Houkago, 2-C no Kyoushitsu de. exchange Christmas presents. |
| 2013 | 6 | Boku ga Otouto to Nakayoku Naru Houhou | Shiki Kazutoki | One-shot | Haruki cross-dresses to reconnect with his brother. |
| 2013 | 6 | Hataraite Kudasai, Haruko-sensei! | Hyaku Fujishiro | One-shot | The teacher Haruko Sakurai has her students try cross-dressing. |
| 2013 | 6 | Majo-san to Issho | Red Kamaboko | One-shot | A monster-slaying witch hires a cross-dressing male witch as a bodyguard. |

## Reception

The first issue of Waai! drew a lot of attention through its focus on male-to-female cross-dressing and was a commercial success, selling well enough to prompt a second printing. Although its main target demographic was men – many of whom were cross-dressers or wanted to cross-dress – Hijikata noted that they also wanted to attract female readers; for the first issue, the vast majority of Waai!'s readers were male, but the amount of female readers grew with each new issue, and by October 2011, about a third of its readers were women. At that time, the average Waai! reader was in their 20s. It was the leading magazine within the cross-dressing manga niche and was considered to have paved the way for the later cross-dressing magazine Oto Nyan, although the publisher did not divulge the circulation figures.
Japanese entertainment news site Natalie thought that the cross-dressing characters in the Waai! manga were cute and specifically found Reversible! and Sazanami Cherry to be the foundation that the magazine rested on, standing out among the rest of the manga and diversifying the magazine's content. Himegoto was another popular series, with both Hime and Kaguya appearing in the results of a 2016 Goo Rankings survey of the most popular otokonoko characters in Japan. Jonathan Clements, writing for Neo, found Waai!'s conceptualization of femininity too overtly consumerist and materialistic, describing it as that of a beautician's, and considered the manga stories aside from the cross-dressing themes to often be all-male-cast retreads of old manga conceits. However, he found it difficult to criticize the magazine's motives without inadvertently also criticizing cross-dressers' lifestyles. Da Vinci found the magazine comprehensive, with its combination of entertainment and how-to guides, and still found it an "indispensable magazine" for cross-dressers and cross-dressing enthusiasts by 2017. Yuricon founder Erica Friedman posted a eulogy to the magazine after its discontinuation, speaking to the frustration of a magazine or serialized manga shutting down as publishers fail to draw new readers in.