Adapted from the Manga written by Akahori Satoru and drawn by Katsura Yukimaru, this is another in a long line of gender bending stories coming out of Japan like Ranma 1/2, though this one is certainly unique. The story centers on a unique lesbian love triangle in high school, where the main girl, was once a boy, but has changed by space aliens who are studying the Earth. Silly sure, but the emotions are there, and you really feel for and fall for these characters. This was a 12 episode TV series and a second OVA, so I am hoping for 4 DVD’s total, but the 4 episode DVD is well worth checking out.

The series starts off with 3 high school girls in a room in school, all incredibly cute, a dark haired girl is leaning in to kiss a red head, when a pony tailed blond walks in and sees it and drops all her books. We then move to the beginning of the story, following the young effeminate boy Hazumu (大佛はずむ,Osaragi Hazumu played by Ueda Kana) who enjoys taking care of flowers and plants more than anything else. On the advice of his friends, the aforementioned blond pigtailed tomboy Tomari (神泉やす菜,Kamiizumi Yasuna played byTamura Yukari), and his one guy friend, he asks out the girl he likes Yasuna (æ¥æ –ã¨ã¾ã‚Š,Kurusu Tomari played by Horie Yui). Yasuna is a flutist and is the black haired girl from the opening, and she turns Hazumi down. Distraut Hazumu heads out into the mountain near his house where, he first got close to Yasuna, when they found flowers together, but this won’t be a normal walk. In space is an alien spacecraft that is observing earth, but it has problems, and comes crashing down into the mountain, and into the spot where Hazumi stands. Hazumi is saved by them, but changed into a girl, and they reveal themselves to Earth, and let him go, and into the arms of Yasuna and Tomari.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Hazumi must not learn to live as a girl, strangely his parents are overjoyed, as his mother always wanted a daughter, and that is probably why he is so effeminate, and his father is a letch and wants to bathe and take naked photos of his nubile young daughter.

Hazumu starts wearing a girls uniform and goes to school with his guy friend and Tomari, who though a total tom boy slowly shows him how to be a girl. Yasuna on the other hand ignores him, until he goes to her and tries to make friends again. And sparks start to fly when Hazumu again becomes close to Yasuna, and she confesses her love to him, and tries to kiss him, but is stopped by Tomari who is also wrestling with her feelings for Hazumu who she grew up with, and has always protected. The two girls begin to fight for Hazumu’s affection.

Meanwhile the Alien Captain has returned to Earth with the computer from the Aline spacecraft, which is in female form, in a body just like Hazumu’s, and they are observing the Earthlings and causing more mischief. Thanks to the Captain Hazumu realizes that Yasuna has some issue with men, from seeing her painting from the previous year and he(she) confronts her about it, and finds out that Yasuna stopped being able to distinguish men from when she was very little, even her father, until she met Hazumu, who was the first man she could ever see, and she fell for him, but she thought he would fade like her father did, so she would not return his love, and caused him to go the mountain, and now that he is a woman, she will never change, so she will always love her, and that is when she goes to kiss her again, just as Tomari enters, and the first volume ends.

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This actually keeps pretty close to the manga, except having Yasuna be more emphatic that she can only like women in the manga, much more of a lesbian element added quickly. Still this sticks pretty close, though the second volume does differ more than the second volume.

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Sure it is high melodrama, but I have gotten into these High School love stories thanks to Kare Kano which totally addicted to me, and so far this new series seems a worthy addition. I might even check out the manga. Well worth checking out if you go for these love stories.