Guillotine

So right off the bat the name might give someone false impressions of this show… I mean… School Rumble??? You might think it’s another Ikki Tousen type of show (which is funny that the name would be more fitting to ikki tousen), but no there is very little rumbling in School Rumble. Rather than a fighting show it is a romantic comedy with extra emphasis on the comedy. While there is some fighting it is mostly in parody of other more serious shows (Japanese period dramas in particular). The anime is based on the manga of the same name by Jin Kobayashi, and they have been pretty faithful to the style and source material.

To describe the plot is a rather tall order… A girl named Tenma Tsukamato is in love with the class geek Karasama while the class delinquent Kenji Harima is in love with Tenma. Already starting off with a love triangle is usually enough for most shows, but School Rumble has only gotten started. You also have Haruki Hanai who is in love with Tenma’s sister Yakumo, and of course the Japanese tradition of using last names causes tons of misunderstandings between Harima and Hanai. Not to mention the rest of Tenma’s friends and class thrown into the mix. It’s one crazy situation after another on a non stop roller coaster ride.

At first the extreme slapstick comedy of this show might seem a bit much and way too over the top, but once you come to understand the physics of the world you’ll just accept that these things could happen there. It’s kinda like The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals got together and invaded Japan.

One interesting aspect of this show is the dub. I’ve always said that this show has one of the best English dubs ever created, and it actually fits the characters better than the original Japanese dub. The characters are so good that you can’t help but like them all. They get to feel like family, and it’s a show you wish had continued. Alas we only got two full seasons consisting of 52 episodes plus 2 OVAs. There was a pseudo third season which was only two episodes meant to end the series, but they kind of fell flat with those, and personally I like to pretend they never existed, and that somewhere the series continues on. Since those two final episodes never released in the US it’s quite easy to pretend they were just a bad dream and not real.

If you want to check out School Rumble for yourself all the episodes are streaming on Funimation’s site free, and the DVDs are way lower now than when I purchased them. I whole heartedly recommend that everyone watch this series… At least twice. I personally think this is one of the funniest shows ever created.

Oh… Almost forgot… The show has a really cool soundtrack as well. The music in the whole series is pretty amazing.

Kashimashi is Yuri.  If you are unfamiliar with the term yuri, it is Japanese jargon for girl on girl romance or love in manga, anime, or Japanese media.  The 5 volume series tells the story of a young boy, Hazumu, who is inadvertently transformed into a girl by aliens and then continues to live and carry on teenage drama at school and with friends in her new body.  There is a love triangle throughout the series between Hazumu, her childhood best friend, Tomari, and the girl she liked before her transformation, Yasuna.  The idea of gender transformation is certainly not new to manga as it has been put to good use in many titles.  But, if you are looking for serious or deep reflection regarding gender issues this is not the series for you.  It touches on gender issues but maintains a light-hearted feel and humor throughout most of the series.    

The story starts off with Hazumu, a boy that has always had more feminine features and interests, running off to sulk about being rejected by a Yasuna.  He is soft-spoken, loves botany, and I generally a “cry-baby” of sorts.  Whilst sulking in the mountains, the sci-fi-you-have-to-make-a-leap-with-your-mind-because-otherwise-it-doesn’t-make-sense element takes place.  An alien spaceship crashes into Hazumu destroying him and the aliens evidently mistakenly repair him as a female. 

Hazumu returns to his family as a female and the most unrealistic thing happens, they are excited to have the daughter they never had.  I supposed if you can follow the aliens rebuilding him as a girl, you could also see his parents being happy about their son’s sex reassignment.   It’s not like it’s uncommon to have to suspend reality to enjoy a manga series as many seem to make no logical sense. 

Back to the story, so Hazumu is welcomed with open arms from his parents but now he has to play out the role of a girl in school and with his friends.   He finds the role as a female somewhat confusing but it is of course a perfect fit with his feminine features and interests.  There are all sorts of humorous moments that involve bra shopping and gallivanting with the girls of the love triangle, Tomari and Yasuna. 

Tomari is Hazumu’s childhood best friend.  She is a tough girl that sticks up for Hazumu when he was being the said cry baby.  The triangle spins out of control as Hazumu’s new body and the idea of being with another girl is both confusing and a no-no.

Yasuna is the girl Hazumu liked and was rejected by before being rebuilt into a girl.  Afterwards, she begins to show interest in Hazumu and we discover another suspend-reality-and-just-go-with-it moment.  It seems that Yasuna can only see women’s faces clearly (in my opinion making her the true Lezzy in the book) and that is why she wasn’t interested in Hazumu before. 

In volume 4 there is a twist that turns the series from an airy love story to a more intense dramatic story-line surrounding mortality.  The triangle is forced to deal with more important issue than who gets the girl (although that issue stays around until the end).  I thoroughly enjoy this manga series for what it is.  Let’s just say that if you can suspend reality and you enjoy gender issues and love stories you will love Kashimashi.

This Manga Review was written by Mandi Titus, author of @Vermont.