Manga Focus

By Dov Sherman


Manga Cover
Futaba-kun Change!

Where Ranma 1/2 pokes fun at gender roles, Hiroshi Aro's popular boys' manga (Japane comic book) Futaba-kun Change! addresses the inherent romantic complications, taking the ramifications of gender-switching that one step farther.


Male and female Futaba

Futaba-kun Change! tells the story of Futaba Shimeru (foo-tah-bah shee-may-roo), a junior high school boy and member of the school Pro Wrestling Club. Futaba is just reaching that age when boys and girls are finally starting to notice one another and Futaba has begun to notice his friend and classmate Misaki Shima (mee-sah-kee shee-mah), a shy but pretty girl who has a secret crush on Futaba as well.

But an interest in girls isn't the only thing that comes with puberty for Futaba. While sneaking a look at girlie magazines in the boys' bathroom, Futaba discovers that, whenever he becomes excited, his body changes to that of a beautiful teenage girl. At first, Futaba is confused and frightened by his transgendered metamorphosis but, when his change is discovered by his older sister Futana (foo-tah-nah), she and Futaba's father explain to him that the change is a perfectly normal family trait and that, in fact, it was his father who gave birth to Futaba. Now Futaba is still confused and frightened but at least he has someone to blame.


Older Sister Futana Takes an
Interest in Teaching Futaba About
Girls' Underwear

And Futaba's troubles are far from over. Now that Futaba has matured, his older sister Futana (who changes into a handsome college rogue) takes more than a healthy interest in Futaba's development. Moreover, with the help of the school principal (who knows about the Shimeru family secret), Futaba enrolls at school as a female transfer student so that he can always attend classes, no matter what form his body takes and, as a pretty schoolgirl, is instantly overwhelmed with attention from his hormone-addled classmates.


A Star is Born!

As a girl, Futaba learns how to shop for lingerie and what to do about menstruation. When he meets the enigmatic fashion model Iroka (ee-roh-kah), he is surprised to discover that his father, whom he had thought was only Iroka's manager, is actually Iroka herself. Soon, at his father's insistence, Futaba begins a career as a rising teen idol, competing in beauty pageants and landing spots as the spokemodel for theme parks and soda pop. It's all a dream-come-true to a teenage girl but, to a teenage boy desperately trying to understand his own identity, Futaba finds his adolescence very confusing.

Much of Futaba-kun Change! focuses on humor surrounding sex and romance. Futaba's sister Futana is a lurid, skirt-chasing playboy who plasters his walls with pin-ups and can't keep his hands off of Futaba. The family name Shimeru is also a homonym for the English word she-male. And, when Futaba's father, explaining the family trait to Futaba says "Minna-chan to hentai suru zo" he is saying "We all change!" but, due to the double-meaning of the word hentai, an equally accurate translation would be "We're all perverts!"

While only members of the Shimeru family carry the gender-switching gene, they are not the only unusual characters to be found. When Futaba enrolls in school as a girl, we are introduced to Sabuyama-sensei, a handsome male teacher who is extremely smitten with the male Futaba but thinks all the boys in the Pro Wrestling Club are also attractive. When meeting the female Futaba, Sabuyama is disgusted that a mere girl has the same name as his favorite boy. Much later in the series, we meet a new transfer student Sheena, a short and cute but very agressive lesbian who takes a shine to Misaki, going so far as to kidnap her.

Which brings us back to Misaki and the awkward romance that begins between her and Futaba.


From the very beginning, Misaki and Futaba are attracted to one another but too timid and soft-spoken to admit it. When the Misaki meets the female Futaba, she feels a strange attraction to her as well. Since Futaba is too shy to approach her as a boy, he is overjoyed to become close girlfriends with Misaki and learns about her interest in lucky charms, her insatiable love for sweets, and her complete inability to cook anything fit for human consumption. Misaki confides her crush on the male Futaba to the female Futaba.

After a visit to Futaba's home, Misaki sees the male Futaba through the window of Futaba's bedroom and mistakenly suspects that the male and female Futaba are having an affair behind her back. Misaki is hurt and confused by her friend's betrayal and a strange feeling of jealousy toward not only the female Futaba but the male Futaba as well. Still not realizing that the two are one in the same, Misaki is confused by her growing affection for the female Futaba but allows their friendship to continue to grow.


Misaki Wakes to a
Shocking Discovery

When Misaki is injured in a wrestling challenge match, the school doctor gives her a blood transfusion from her wrestling teammate, the female Futaba. When Misaki awakens, she discovers that her body has changed to that of a boy. Confused and terrified by her change, she sneaks home and becomes grief-stricken when she finds that none of her clothes will fit properly anymore. That night, she dreams of the male Futaba rejecting her love when seeing her as a male, a reversal of a similar dream that Futaba had about Misaki shortly after his own changing began. However, in Misaki's dream, after losing the male Futaba, the female Futaba throws herself into Misaki's arms, delighted by her rugged, masculine form.


Misaki Recalls Her
Unsettling Dream

The next morning, Misaki dresses for school, padding her bra to hide her male body. Upon seeing, the female Futaba at school, she recalls her dream and is more uncomfortable with her feelings than ever. When she visits the school doctor to explain her problem, Futaba, hiding at the window, overhears and is overwhelmed with guilt but is afraid to tell Misaki the truth about the cause of her condition. Fortunately, Misaki's change is only temporary but it drives an ever bigger wedge between them as Futaba tries harder and harder to keep Misaki from discovering his secret.

But Misaki does discover Futaba's secret and after an initial quarrel and Futaba's very sincere apology, they finally become a couple.


Misaki in Male Drag

Now that Misaki knows Futaba's secret, she can help him to hide it but she becomes more jealous of the female Futaba's admirers than before. When Futaba lands a role as the bad girl in a high school TV soap opera, in which she'll have to kiss the male lead, Misaki dons unconvincing male drag in an attempt to land the role, not wanting anyone to kiss Futaba but her. That night, Futaba calls Misaki to a secluded park and they kiss for the first time.


An Unfortunate Misundersatnding

Their romantic troubles aren't over yet. After working on the set of the soap opera, Futaba and her male co-star are talking in Futaba's dressing room and, due to a very unfortunate mishap and bad timing, Misaki walks in on them at just the right moment to completely misunderstand their relationship.

At first, Misaki believes the worst and refuses to even listen to Futaba but, after Futaba's co-star confesses his love to Misaki, she realizes the truth. Then, after so many complications from misunderstanding, secrets, and confusion, Misaki tells Futaba that it's a duty for a man and a woman to be truthful and honest with one another.

While I enjoyed the comedic trials of Futaba as a teen idol, a glamorous fantasy which appeals to the most girlish of hearts, I found the lesson that Misaki and Futaba learn about honesty the most compelling element in the story.

Countless relationships end because the people involved were unable or unwilling to be honest with one another. How many marriages have we seen end in divorce when a wife discovers that her husband had been hiding the secret of his cross-dressing? So often, it is the fact that something has been hidden that hurts so much more than what has been hidden. If a couple can be honest with one another, almost any problem can be dealt with or accepted.

But wait! There's more! Hiroshi Aro's Futaba-kun Change! manga from Jump Comics is now compiled in eight volumes, continuing one volume beyond anything revealed in this article and containing many, many hilarious stories not mentioned here, and is available from manga import stores everywhere. This manga of love and gender, pro wrestling and secret identities, is a must-see for members of the transgender community or anyone who has ever given much thought to their own gender.


Futaba-kun and Misaki-chan

Futaba-kun Change Transgender
Computer Paper Doll!
Futaba-kun Change Homepage
Visit the Big KiSS Page, home of the KiSS computer paper doll system, and pick up FUTABAMI.LZH, the KiSS doll of the male Futaba seeing the female Futaba in a mirror. For more information about Futaba-kun Change!, visit the Futaba-kun Change Homepage at Otaku World, maintained by Dov Sherman.

Futaba-kun Change! is copyright 1996 Hiroshi Aro / Jump Comics
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