Chizuru is a tall girl who makes her first appearance as a classmate of Shūichi&#039;s upon their entering into junior high school and is nicknamed Chii-chan. She is a free spirit who enjoys doing unconventional, often outrageous things which surprise those around her, and she usually acts without thinking, resulting in her giving off a childish personality. Her impulsive attitude can often get her in trouble with other characters, but she quickly becomes ashamed when she realizes the consequences of her caprices. She has a stylish demeanor&mdash;highlighted by her stature and long hair&mdash;which captivates both Shūichi and Yoshino when they first meet her. She tries to be everyone&#039;s friend, though she is unable to break through Saori&#039;s distaste for her strange attitude. She quickly joins the girl&#039;s basketball team once in junior high. She is Momoko&#039;s childhood friend. Chizuru&#039;s family runs a soba restaurant.

Fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is considered by most to be one of the prettiest girls in school, but much to her dismay, she is actually biologically male. Fortunately, Shuuichi has a childhood friend who shares similar feelings of gender dysphoria: the lanky tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki, who, though biologically female, does not identify as a girl. These two friends share a similar secret and find solace in one another; however, their lives become even more complicated when they must tread the unfamiliar waters of a new school, attempt to make new friends, and struggle to maintain old ones. Faced with nearly insurmountable odds, they must learn to deal with the harsh realities of growing up, gender identity, relationships, and acceptance. 
 
Lauded as a decidedly serious take on gender identity and LGBT struggles, Takako Shimura's Hourou Musuko is about Shuuichi and Yoshino's journey to discover their true selves as they enter puberty, make friends, fall in love, and face real and difficult choices. 
 
Note: The full version of Hourou Musuko was originally intended to be 12 episodes, but the programming block it aired on only had space for 11 episodes. Therefore, episodes 10 and 11 were edited together and aired on TV as episode 10. Episode 12 was aired on TV as episode 11. The full versions of episodes 10 and 11 were included on the BD & DVD releases and are included in the Hourou Musuko Specials entry.

Saeko Chiba took up ballet at a young age with ambitions of becoming part of Takarazuka Revue. However, having failed the entrance exam for Takarazuka Music School in her third year of middle-school she joined the Minami Aoyama Shōjo Kageki Dan (南青山少女歌劇団, also called Nanshō for short) a stage group for teenage girls. Having had several lead roles over the three years she spent with the troupe, Saeko was then cast in the lead voice acting role of Kotori Haruno in the Sega Dreamcast game Diamond Daydreams. Having had a taste of being a seiyū and deciding that she preferred voice acting to performing on stage, Saeko decided to pursue the career full-time.

Saeko has also pursued a singing career with [Yuki Kajiura](https://anilist.co/staff/100077), who wrote music for some of the Nanshō stage shows, writing and producing almost all her material. Her first single was Koi no Kiseki, the theme song for the PlayStation game Meguri Aishite. She has since released nine singles and two albums, along with various character song and drama CDs. She has also performed theme songs for games such as Alundra 2 and Atelier Judie.

Saeko was also part of the group tiaraway with fellow Nanshō member [Yuuka Nanri](https://anilist.co/staff/95366). The duo released three singles and an album before breaking up on March 6 2005.

On August 26th, 2007 she married (on her 30th birthday), and on February 17, 2011 she gave birth to her first child, a daughter.

Fifth grade friends Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a transgender girl, and Yoshino is transgender boy. 
 
(Source: Fantagraphics)

The full versions of episodes 10 and 11 that were previously edited together into episode 10 of the TV series.

Chizuru Sarashina