365 Days of Manga, Day 128: Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl

KASHIMASHI~GIRL MEETS GIRL~ (Kashimasi~Girl Meets Girl~) ??????????????????? • Satoru Akahori (story), Yukimaru Katsura (art) • Seven Seas Entertainment (2006-2008) • MediaWorks (Dengeki Daioh, 2004-2007) • 5 volumes • Yuri Romantic Comedy • 16+ (partial nudity, sexual situations)
Hazumu, a delicate high school boy who loves talking to plants in the school garden, has a crush on his classmate Yasuna, but she rejects his declaration of love. Not long after, he is injured by a UFO crash and reconstructed by a mad-scientist-like alien, who gives him a girl’s body and tells everyone on the planet about it (nicely eliminating the need for predictable “concealing Hazumu’s secret” subplots). A yuri love triangle soon develops between the new “him,” Yasuna (who, it turns out, is basically a femme lesbian), and his butch-but-in-denial childhood friend Tomari. A body swap romantic comedy, Kashimashi’s good points include pretty art and a certain delicacy. This isn’t slapstick like Futaba-kun Change or Ranma 1/2, it’s a fantasy aimed at presumably male readers who wish they, too, could project themselves into the idealized world of girls (it’s not by accident that Hazumu’s original “male” face is never shown). The series achieves some touching moments of love and identity, but the comic relief is clichéd; the scenes with the alien feel like outtakes from Onegai Teacher, and the scenes in which Hazumu’s pervy dad tries to take a bath with his new daughter are even more perfunctory. On the whole, it’s borderline above average by manga rom-com standards, and a good introduction to the appeal–and limitations–of the “yuri for boys” genre.

Today’s winner is Sheli H. of Pennsylvania. Congratulations, Sheli!
I’m moving to Seattle in a few days so manga shipments are a little delayed as I put everything into new boxes. However, everyone will still get their prizes, just like Tathyana:

Thanks for sending your photo, Tathyana! If anyone is interested, I recently wrote up a very personal list of my Top 5 Anime Films (films only, that is, not OAVs or TV series!). Of all the films that I listed, I’d say that the one most deserving of wider recognition is “Night on the Galactic Railroad,” an absolutely amazing movie. It’s out of print now on DVD, but if you can find a copy, definitely watch it.