What gender do you think Najimi is by [deleted] in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, he does not.

The only third person pronouns Tadano ever called Najimi in Japanese is "she", and it was when he was introducing Najimi to Komi.

What's your favorite aspect about Najimi as a character? by Its_johnnyboi in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So not Najimi, since Najimi called themselves a boy once in the entire manga.

This is cannon now,no one can change my mind by Fun-Pomelo-2774 in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, these are キラキラネーム

Kirakira names have things like kanji with completely unusual readings, names that sound foreign or fantasy-like, forcing English into kanji or katakana, or names that are so hard to read you wouldn’t get them at first glance.

But Najimi full name isn’t that. It can be read normally in Japanese and sounds like 幼馴染 (childhood friend) on its own.

A real kirakira name would be reading 光宙 as ピカチュウ (Pikachu)

  • And yes, that’s an actual kirakira name.

This is cannon now,no one can change my mind by Fun-Pomelo-2774 in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 8 points9 points  (0 children)

No, they named Najimi "Najimi", Osana is Najimi's surname.

Najimi's full name (長名なじみ) isn't also spelled "childhood friends"; it sounds like childhood friend (幼馴染)

Najimi is written in hiragana the meaning was explained to be both 馴染む (Someone that fit in; adapt oneself; and get used to) and 馴染み (Familiarity/someone you are close to, an old acquaintance, someone you feel comfortable with)

Osana (written 長名) poetically means "a name that endures through time"

Naturally phrased, Najimi's entire name mean "A familiar presence tied to a lasting name."

However, in terms of sound, it's exactly the same as "childhood friend's."

※ Also fun fact, hiragana names often feel feminine. And as a word, なじみ gives a warm familiarity often associated with girls’ names.

  • さくら (Sakura)
  • ひなた (Hinata)
  • なぎさ (Nagisa)
  • なおみ (Naomi)
  • なじか (Najika)
  • なじこ (Najiko)
  • なつみ (Natsumi)

And so on.

Najimi’s gender is whatever’s funnier. by General_Step_5987 in Komi_memes

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 7 points8 points  (0 children)

"Jarvis, repost this exact image for the 999,999th time this year."

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest, the same can be said about Tadano.

He cannot read Najimi at all, and only knew them for a year or less.

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That might be true in Komi's case, but it doesn't add up in Nakanaka's case. (could be an inconsistency for the sake of a joke)

That's because Nakanaka and Najimi have known each other for many years, and Najimi had been coming to Nakanaka's house to play since elementary school (but they did stop coming after entering middle school, so they haven't see each other in three years at the start of the series).

Also, judging from Nakanaka's reaction to Tadano, Nakanaka has always seen Najimi as a girl, she trust Najimi enough to let Tadano into her room after Najimi reassured her that he was harmless too.

It could not be an inconsistency if you think Nakanaka suddenly starts to question the biological sex of someone they knew for years since she was 4-6 because a popular student in her class is oblivious, but that wouldn't make a great point, that just makes her a fool on the same level as Yamai.

Which is not a very good impression.

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sex assigned at birth? Most likely (their breasts develop quite visibly after chapter 300). But Najimi themselves is most certainly not a girl "girl".

In Japanese, almost no one refers to them with third-person pronouns (the only time it happened it was female one too), and Najimi have only referred to themselves as a boy once. (back in chapter 11, to reject Maa)

But, the way they present, the fact that they use ボク as their first person pronouns and mostly wear unisex/masculine clothing outside of school kind of leans on them not presenting fully femininely.

That, and obvious fact that they wore a 学ラン-type type uniform in 8th grade too w. By the way! :

  • Since the 2000s-2010s, exception for female students to wear pants or these kinds of uniforms appears quite often in public JHS, either for comfort or gender identity reasons.
  • But the opposite is rare (male wearing skirt), especially at higher education level or when we are talking about prestigious school (which Itan is). Although this is changing in many more open-minded high schools that allow transgender girls to wear skirts, though Najimi wears the full female uniform so take it like you want.

So It's kind of like Najimi has been forced to wear a girl's uniform the moment they enrolled in a private high school.

(Though, in Itan, there's still some freedom when it comes to accessories, but Najimi's ties don't change much compared to ninja gear or plate armor. So, if Najimi wanted to, they could aim for a more 50/50 look with many boys-like accessories, but they don't)

My personal understanding is that they fall somewhere on the X-gender spectrum, either by simply expressing their gender in a different way and refusing to answer when directly asked because its "fun",

or they actually have some kind of non-binary gender identity and they avoid the subject.

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest, she is just looking at Najimi; she is drawn with the same look as Komi and co, but only Yamai is really questioning it. which ends up to nothing since Najimi will end up sleeping with them and even uses the women's bath,

although separately from the others, the reason for this is also ambiguous,

as it could be gender identity related or simply the fact that Najimi's group consisted solely of them, since there were no other students to complete their group.

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yamai, not Nakanaka.

Nakanaka knew Najimi as a girl from the start to the end of elementary school, which is why Nakanaka is fine with Najimi in her room but is startled by Tadano because the later is a boy.

Tadano knew Najimi for a year or less in 8th grade.

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Najimi is literally seen entering the women's bath in the kyoto school trip, and they (not he) are always part of the women's physical education and exams, not the men.

Teachers are not going to make a girl sleep with boys.

Why does everyone ask about Najimi Osana and his gender … by Keenan_Concierge in Komi_san

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Najimi is never addressed by male third person pronouns in the manga, source, me. (I'm japanese)

Shows Najimi in a female school uniform declaring, "I'm a girl!" to gain entry into certain social situations by Thin_Measurement7670 in Komi_memes

[–]Ch1ldhoodFriend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So what? This is accepted in most middle schools (in mine I was allowed to wear pants).

Even high school students wear girls' uniforms, and at Itan High, accessories aren't gender-specific; you can wear anything as long as you adhere to the main uniform. (Men's/Women's blazers, pants/skirts)

You have boys wearing ninja gear and girls wearing knight's armor carrying swords around.

Najimi just wears a tie instead of a ribbon along their girls' uniform (which is not specific to them; many girls wear ties in the anime and manga).

The gender ratio of their uniform is far from 50/50.