Kashimashi, Vol. 1
Published by: Seaven Seas Entertainment
Writer: Satoru Akahori
Artist: Yukimaru Katsura

210 (188) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. US edition December 2006.
Original Character Design: Sukune Inugami
Translation: Adrienne Beck
Adaptation: Janet Houck
Lettering: Nicky Lim
Retouch: Cheese
Logo Design: Fawn Lau
Design & Layout: Nicky Lim
Assistant Editor: Jason DeAngelis
Editor: Adam Arnold
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, 16+

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Premise: Guy gets run over by a UFO; dies. (pg. 26. But wait! It’s not the end of the story.) Aliens, feeling remorseful, rebuild him. Aliens, being less than skillful, rebuild him as a her. (Advanced technology my ass…) Hijinks ensue.

Synopsis:

Osaragi Hazumu was wandering the mountains in a bit of a daze, reminiscing of days gone by–working through his current depression in his own way. This is where he first met Kamiizumi Yasuna, one day while he was out studying the plants and flowers. And now, after Yasuna has rejected his confession of love, this is where he instinctively returns. Out here in the mountains among the plants is where he feels at peace. He’s always been a bit of an odd fish.

It’s about to get odder.

After a really close encounter with a couple thousand metric tons of UFO, Hazumu is toast. The alien driving the ship feels remorse (and apparently is also under an obligation under galactic law) so he puts Hazumu back together from the DNA up. Some of the now-crispy DNA can’t quite be unscrambled, however, so Hazumu is back as a girl.

The wording of the galactic law also calls for a public apology, so not only is the newly minted Ms. Hazumu returned in flashy, Spielbergian fashion right to her front doorstep, but there is also an announcement in the skies above every major city; paraphrasing: “Sorry, our bad. He is back, but he is now a she. Please treat her kindly”

Of course, the media (ignoring the alien’s recommendation) has a field day. And life is about to get a lot more interesting for Hazumu. Reporters outside the house everyday is the least of it.

Mom and Dad are suspiciously cool with the idea– enthusiastic even. And Mom already has a closet full of clothes for Hazumu, in her size. Hazumu’s best guy friend, Asuta… notices that she has a nice rack, and immediately (after an oh-so-brief crisis of conscience) thinks of how to leverage the deal. Hazumu’s other best friend, Tomari–the girl who lives next door–picks up where she left off, looking after and protecting her childhood friend, though now that they are both girls that dynamic has changed a little.

And Yasuna, the girl who rejected Hazumu as recently as the day before, is acting friendlier than ever…

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Review:

SO, we note the rating (16+). We note the concept (wishy-washy guy becomes surprising cute girl overnight). We think we know the content: over-the-top fan service and comedy-of-errors relating to a former boy suddenly given access to a whole new world. It would be easy to dismiss this as an exploitive title, and toss it in a bin with the other trash.

Do yourself a favour. Go fish this one out of the trash, and read it.

The gender swap isn’t a gimmick. It’s permanent, no takebacks. Hazumu has to figure out what to do to go forward with her new life as a girl. Instead of treating this as some kind of problem, or making this a major point of conflict, just about everybody in the book shrugs and moves on.

The story hinges on those who can’t quite shrug the situation off, and why.

- Tomari, the girl next door, secretly liked Hazumu but never admitted that to anyone, even herself. Now she finds that Hazumu is still Hazumu, and the things she liked are perhaps even accentuated by the change. She’s confused.

- Yasuna, the girl who couldn’t quite accept Hazumu as a guy, has what seems to be a sudden change of heart. She has her reasons–and a good chunk of volume one is spent explaining them–but what it boils down to is that she is really ready to give Hazumu another chance.

These two relationships, and the resulting triangle, are at the core of the book. I really like the way this plays out: It may be one of the oddest set-ups (hokey, even) but the characters all read true, you get a sense of genuine emotion and internal conflict from each, and the story as a whole reads like a bitter-sweet remembrance of first loves and high school crushes.

…with lesbians. Of course I like it.

All the background stuff–
The non-nonchalant response of the other students, the warm reception from Mom and Dad, Asuta’s misreading of what really is just the old friendship between “guys”, a teacher’s maternal instinct to protect the new girl, the sudden reappearance of the Alien and (a form) of his ship in Hazumu’s closet
–this all helps keep things light, and makes this a surprisingly funny book.

Also, there is some fan service. I think they would take away Akahori and Katsura’s manga license if they didn’t take advantage of this set-up without at least, say, throwing Hazumu into a lingerie store for her first bra fitting, or covering her initial foray into the girls locker room. They do both. To their credit, however, each scene serves to develop character and not just [*cough*] character outlines.

I’ve spent almost all of this review telling you I like the story, let me talk about the art for a minute: It’s good. All the girls are cute, each character is well differentiated one from another, and emotions (even the churning, conflicting emotions that result from the stresses of this particular story) are well rendered on everyone’s faces. Both the front and back covers, as well as a one page color insert, do an excellent job in introducing our female leads, even before we start reading the comic. And I’ll note– this gets a 16+ rating for concept, not for content: If Hazumu weren’t a girl, this same storyline would likely have merely merited the generic 13+ rating. The art here is understated where it needs to be, so you don’t need to worry about Junior seeing things he shouldn’t.

I wouldn’t give this title to Junior, necessarily, but if he found it on his own I might silently support his decision to read a comic that will challenge his preconceptions of gender, attraction, and what true love really is.