Moto Hagio published Heart of Thomas in 1974. Fourteen-year-old Thomas Werner falls from a pedestrian overpass to his death after sending a single, brief love letter to another boy, Juli, at the all-boys boarding school he attended. This manga follows many Gothic tropes. For instance, it uses death as a catalyst for the story, which immediately casts a haunting shadow over everything that follows. His presence after his suicide lingers in the minds of his students, particularly Juli, whose emotional repression and self-imposed isolation echo the classic Gothic figure of the tormented protagonist. Furthermore, the figure of the double is highlighted by the arrival of Erich, a new student who bears an uncanny resemblance to Thomas. Thus, the line between reality and illusion blurs as Erich becomes a living reminder of Thomas's death. Through these elements, Juli's emotional turmoil is foregrounded as he struggles with guilt, denial, and a fear of intimacy. Characters are constantly at odds with one another and threaten to expose each other's deepest regrets, yet they also crave love. This intermingles with the themes of sexuality and gender. Gender presentation in the story is fluid as many of the boys are not "traditionally masculine" and form intimate bonds with other boys. This creates a Gothic tension between what’s natural, what’s forbidden, and what’s unspoken.