I hate having to be just a man or a woman.
All that matters is that you're beautiful.
I was convinced she was a man for a long time.
When I eventually found out she was a woman,
I was amazed that a girl can look so handsome.
It's aestheticism.
It's like she's an anime character.
She's so beautiful.
Akira has a more masculine vibe than most men,
yet is able to express feminine beauty as a man.
Akira is better looking than any boy I've ever met.
She was so cool. My hands were shaking.
Akira is awesome in a way that goes beyond cross-dressing.
Perfect beauty, like an anime character.
Akira is better looking than any boy I've ever met.
If she hit on me, I'd follow her anywhere.
I'm Akira.
I work as a model, a musician, and in theater.
I always used to dress like this,
and one day someone scouted me.
But I actually turned them down at first, so it wasn't until
a year later that I started working as an amateur model.
We cover the more unconventional styles that come out of Harajuku
like gothic, lolita, punk, or rock fashion.
I appeared on my first cover six months before the whole
"boys" movement took off.
So I don't feel like I jumped on the cross-dressing bandwagon.
My style just happened to fit the trend.
Kera's readers are aesthetes.
They openly express what they like, or think is beautiful.
What makes Akira stand out is that
she enjoys dressing in these unique styles in her day-to-day life.
I've been dressing like this since high school.
I used to do it for fun.
I even had a wig, since my hair was long.
I couldn't cut my hair because of work,
so I'd put on a wig and dress up like a boy.
In Japan, we have precedents for women dressing as men, like the Takarazuka Revue.
Some of the fans are male,
but an overwhelming majority are actually women.
Women here tend to respect beauty at face value regardless of gender.
Back then, I didn't wear makeup.
I'd draw in my eyebrows so I'd look more masculine,
and wear hip-hop style clothes.
Hey.
I just finished a shoot for Men's Spider.
I've been busy with shoots recently.
Akira has a more masculine vibe than most men even.
But she can express feminine beauty even while dressed as a man.
I generally like masculine fashion, similar to what boys wear here.
But I tend to mix up the genre,
because the trend changes so much.
I tend to follow the trend.
I prefer baggy tops.
All of my tops are baggy. I don't like tight stuff.
I don't want my breasts to stand out.
I never wear a bra.
These are my clothes.
If I'm wearing black, I scowl and pose like this.
For casual outfits, I pose like this.
It's a model's job to make clothes look good
in the eyes of the viewer.
This is a casual boyish look.
It's not like I have a compulsion to always look like a man.
In fact, last year I wanted to be a forest girl.
No one will marry a girl who looks like this,
so I thought I should switch to being a forest girl.
But everybody talked me out of it.
When I wear curly brunette wigs, I end up looking like a heavy metal fan.
So I gave up on the idea.
I'll never be cutesy.
I was already this tall in elementary school,
so the boys didn't find me cute.
There's always one in every class, right?
In my class it was me, the super tall girl.
Lots of famous musicians and models appear in Kera,
but Akira is by far the most popular among our readers.
For example, on Valentine's Day
we get tons of letters and presents from fans to give to Akira.
I hate the whole concept of gender.
All that matters is that you're beautiful.
But I hate people with ugly personalities, no matter how good they look.
I wouldn't call you a cross-dresser.
This is just the way she is.
I think she's a good looking guy.
- She looks better than most men. - That's because of her face.
- My face? - Forget your style.
You've just got a handsome, manly face.
Well I'm definitely better looking than you guys.
- That goes without saying. - That's true.
Akira is a model, so of course she's good looking.
But she's also a true gentleman.
She has a natural respect for women.
I ask them everything.
Like, "How's your love life?" or "How did your test go?"
"How are things with your family?"
"Make sure to thank your mom."
I went to an all-girls high school and college, so that may play a big part.
The pictures and messages on the wall are from fans.
I put them up with tape, so they've started to fall.
One fan said something funny.
When I asked if she had a crush on anybody at school, she said
she doesn't like the guys because they all have shaved heads.
That's what put her off.
They stink and have shaved heads.
A lot of my fans aren't into really manly guys.
You're so cute. Are you OK?
Here we go! Want to look up?
I'm so happy!
Thanks to Akira, we're seeing a lot more (cross-dressing models).
People still look at them strangely,
but compared to before, they're definitely more accepted.
I'm Kyohei.
This is a coffee shop where all the staff cross-dress as men.
I was originally into cosplaying,
and this led me to start cross-dressing.
I dress as the type of boy you'd see in girls' comic books.
I want to look like a prince or like the people in Takarazuka.
I think it's good that people are able to express themselves
in their daily lives through cross-dressing or cosplay.
I reckon these types of people will increase as time goes on.
People should dress however they want.
Cross-dressing isn't anything special.
I think we should do away with boundaries.
Men should be able to dress like women, and vice-versa.
It'll be great if we can reach a point
where people stop making a big deal about this.
But we're not about pretending to be men.
We're purely playing with clothes.
There's no need to actually be a man.
A the end of the day, it's all just fashion.
You can dress like this, but still be a girl inside.
To each their own.
I hope that one day, people like us will be accepted as normal.
Instead of being treated as weird, I want people to understand that
sometimes you just want to dress like a man,
and vice versa,
regardless of gender.
I hope that one day, people can feel free to dress however they want.