After School Nightmare Pt. 1 (with Mouna Toure)

Covers volumes 1–5 of After School Nightmare by Setona MizushiroWelcome to the most mysterious and frightening after school club you’ll ever join. Content warning for sexual assault and gender essentialism themes. This is a manga that isn't afraid to go to dark places, as its intersex main character, Mashiro Ichijo, grapples with his gender (he currently identifies as a "he") and fights his fellow classmates in a collective nightmare, hoping to graduate. Cartoonist Mouna Toure and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss what genre Setona Mizushiro’s series is (is it horror? is it drama? is it BL?), the representation of an intersex character, how they feel about the love triangle between Mashiro, Kureha, and Sou (Team Kureha!), and generally what the heck is even going on in this manga. Listen if you dare.REFERENCESAfter School Nightmare is out of print. You can use BookFinder to find used copies.Other manga/anime mentioned:Sailor MoonTokyo Mew MewShugo Chara!Free!Maid-Sama!Kitchen PrincessKimi ni TodokeLove ComX-Day (another series by Setona Mizushiro)Fruits BasketFrom Eroica with LoveOuran High School Host ClubTsubasa: Reservoir ChroniclePeach GirlRevolutionary Girl UtenaPrincess JellyfishFushigi Yugi: Genbu KaidenOther media with intersex characters we were aware of:Middlesex by Jeffrey EugenidesNone of the Above by  I.W. GregorioSteven UniverseCreators mentionedJunji ItoAsumiko NakamuraMouna is very into Hypnosis MicOutro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by DanosongsCONTACT USYou can find Mouna on:FacebookTwitterInstagramTumblrPatreonWork for BlackLight Sugar PressShojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and InstagramAshley on Twitter @AshMcD00Next episode will be about the second half of After School Nightmare (volumes 6–10).