This review has been cooking up in my head for a long time.

Now to the actual review
{if you're not interested in my opinion, skip to Wandering Son technical rundown}

What is Wandering Son?

Well, in the most simple explanation, it's an anime about gender identity and puberty.
Our main characters are Shuuichi Nitori, a young transgender girl could pass off as a girl for her feminine physique and cutesy behaviour, but as she grows older, she slowly faces her struggles through male puberty.
A similar struggle is seen through the lens of our second main character Yoshino Takatsuki who is a transgender boy facing the struggles of female puberty.
Seeing these two grow up and interact with the people around them is the lifeline of show, but it can also be detrimental to it.
So;

How is the LGBTQ topic treated?

In short, I find this anime to be the best representation of LGBTQ characters in the medium, usually these topics are treated as minor jokes with the prevelance of 'tr*p' characters, but the treatment here towards these topics are mature, accepting and honestly touching...
However, this treatment didn't last all the way to the end..
What do I mean by that?
Well unfortunately the show was cancelled mid way, and the team had to rush an ending not everyone was happy with.
it's completion left people down because of it's unhappy wrap up.
Now for my perspective: The ending sure is depressing and feels all for naught, but in my opinion, it's a realistic outcome, a sad one sure, but it's honest and hard hitting.
Not everything will go as planned, it's a part of life, Nitori's transformation and it's depressing finale sure isn't happy or motivating, but it's real.

Now with all of that said, it still isn't something that should ruin or demotivate you from watching it, because this anime stands for much more than just a half-baked ending, and the ending was still interesting in it's own right, it just could've been much more.

Now with this part out of the way, i'll move on to the elements of the show, if that doesn't really interest you, skip to 'Summary & Score'.

Wandering Son technical rundown

• Art & Animation - The art direction and overall animation is top tier and extremely unique, using a bright & warm pastel palette, it suits the show extremely well and delivers an overall very fitting vibe,

This show looks like what a warm hug feels like.
Overall rating: 10/10

• Sound & OST - Audio in general is of high quality, very good voice acting, appropriate casting and excellent performances.

The OST is pretty darn good also, having a very cute intro, excellent outro song and fitting track usage.
Overall rating: 9/10

• Story & Characters - A super loveable cast that play well into the school life, all are unique and fun on-screen, they all play into the warm and bright feel of the show.

Story itself is what i've already said before the technical rundown, it's a growing up story with a unique persective and appropriate treatment of the LGBTQ topic, it's relatable, emotional and adorable.
It's ending might've left some people sad, but sad doesn't always mean bad
Overall rating: 10/10

With that out of the way, i'll move onto the;

Summary & Score

So to sum up, Wandering Son is one of my favourite anime for what it stands for and what it does, it's one of the rare few times that I felt extremely connected to a show and actually touched by it's message and purpose.
This show isn't only about being transgender, it's about accepting others and living your life your own way, not letting people dictate what you do and accepting yourself as you are.
You don't have to be a part of the LGBTQ community to enjoy this anime, everyone can learn something from this and I feel like it's one of the most touching and accepting shows out there.

My personal score for the amount of emotion and joy I felt throughout the show is easily a 100/100, but i'll lower the score because of it's incompletion and rushed ending.

Overall score for Wandering Son: