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apparently loves crossdressers. They appear in every genre
of manga
and anime
for every age group, and sometimes for no purpose beyond "Wouldn't
it be cool if they had a dude in a skirt?" First, and
most obviously, drag is used for humor--men in dresses is
funny, and so are the romantic misadventures they lead to.
Shounen
series in particular seem to like that one. Second, gender
confusion can be a source of angst; characters who live as
someone of the opposite gender, particularly if they've fallen
for someone who will never be interested in them, can add
a healthy dose of conflict to a story. Third, drag can allow
people to leave their normal gender roles without everyone
around them making a big deal about it, like a girl in a male-dominated
society leading the peasants to revolution (full Basara
review forthcoming).
Although crossdressing characters are usually on the sidelines or
performing for a one-shot, some manga-ka base entire stories
around the concept of drag. The three ideas mentioned above
can go from being small concepts to the main focus of a
plot; and no, not just to show hairy boys with lipstick
for more than a single episode (although there's that, too).
Below are reviews for some notable drag manga: Tokyo
Crazy Paradise, Hana-Kimi, Kill
Me, Kiss Me, and Pretty Face.
If you like girls spitting inappropriately and boys praying
nobody looks up their skirt, you've come to the right place.
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Tsukasa
poses dramatically with her Yakuza boss and adorable date
book.
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But
You See, We're the Good Yakuza
Review:
Tokyo Crazy Paradise
by Yoshiki Nakamura
Updated: 10/04/04
Title
rating: PG-16 for violence, adult
situations, and occasional nudity and sexual content.
Genre:
Action/Romance/Comedy
-19
Japanese-only manga volumes, complete
-Drama CD "Tsukasa
and Ryuji's Radio Night," complete
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Our first drag
manga takes place in a Horrible Dystopian Future where crime
in Tokyo has risen to a ridiculous degree--murderers and
rapists run rampant, and the cops are spread so thin that
everyone is forced to take care of themselves. Tsukasa,
our heroine, was raised as a boy as a form of protection
by her police officer parents. After they were killed by
the Yakuza, Tsukasa and her three brothers are left with
no money or home, and in a moment of brilliance/outrageous
stupidity Tsukasa decides that their best plan would be
to mooch a meal off her classmate Ryuji, the 14-year-old
head of one of the largest Yakuza organizations in Tokyo.
This is where we learn our first lesson: never ask for free
favors from the Yakuza. The four siblings end up deep in
debt to Ryuji, Tsukasa attempts to pay it off by working
as Ryuji's bodyguard, and it quickly becomes apparent to
everyone (but Tsukasa) that maybe he's keeping her in debt
not because he's entirely cruel and heartless, but because
he really wants her around.
This comic is
technically a shoujo,
but it's probably the closest thing to an actual shoujo/shounen
hybrid I've ever seen. The story uses the drag concept to
full effect, allowing Tsukasa to take the role of both "shounen
hero" (being the loud, badass lead whom no one can
defeat) and "shoujo heroine" (being irresistible
to all potential love interests and ending up torn between
them). The story is mostly made up of short arcs pulled
from average shounen cliché--things like fighting
tournaments with evil sponsors, honest and hardworking civilians
being threatened by evil thugs, and many, many kidnappings.
The love story is a Romeo and Juliet-style affair, although
the things keeping Ryuji and Tsukasa apart make a simple
family feud look like a walk in a non-murderer-filled park.
Even the character designs are a surprising example of the
shoujo/shounen combination: Tsukasa spends most of the manga
looking like the main kid from Yu
Yu Hakusho, while Ryuji reminds me of one of the guys
from Fake
or the seme
from any number of yaoi
couples.
Although almost
every element of Tokyo Crazy Paradise has been done before,
this is one case where the whole is more than the sum of
its parts. The bizarre mix of genres makes old plot elements
seem unexpected, and the characters are funny, the pace
is fast, and the manga-ka's unwillingness to throw away
one-shot characters adds a nice dose of continuity to a
manga that could have been very episodic. Although it sometimes
seems like some of the more difficult aspects of the characters'
situations are being glossed over, the seriousness is generally
dealt with to a decent degree as the story progresses.
Fandom
This
is a fairly extensive TCP page with translations of the
manga, audio drama, and many extras, and the image gallery's
not half bad. Just keep in mind that it's an old site (so
many of the links are broken), and the "character profiles"
section is full of unmarked spoilers that can ruin one's
day. This seems to be pretty much the definitive English
website for the series, since the only other English stuff
is about
15 fanfics and a few mediocre
wallpapers. The title hasn't been bought for an English
release as of this writing, but I wouldn't be surprised
if that fact changes soon.
For being charming
even when it's over-the-top and cultivating weirdness in
the midst of stupid cliché, Tokyo Crazy Paradise
gets 3.8 stars.
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Mizuki
and Sano try to blend in with sunflowers, for no better
reason than Sexy Stealth.
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Wish
I Had Her Problem
Review: Hana-Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi
e)
by Hisaya Nakajo
Updated: 10/04/04
Title
rating: PG-13 for themes, mild
sexual content (including some boy/boy action), and nudity.
Genre:
High School Romance/Shoujo with
a capital "S"
-23
manga volumes, complete. Currently being released in English
by Viz,
still running.
-4 drama CDs, complete.
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Mizuki
is a lucky, lucky girl. She transferred to an all-boys school
to meet her idol, Sano Izumi, a record-setting high jumper
and sad bishounen.
Because it's that kind of manga, Mizuki not only ends up
in Sano's class, but also gets assigned to be his roommate.
Now she not only has to pretend to be a boy day and night,
but also deal with her newly-budding romance while her female
pheromones make half the dorm question their sexuality.
Will Mizuki make everyone's lives better in proper shoujo
fashion? Of course. Will she and Sano end up in all kinds
of accidental awkward situations? Hell yes. Will secondary-love-interest-with-no-chance
Nakatsu ever get any from anyone? Probably not. A lot of
the plot elements of this manga are obvious way ahead of
time, but we're not here to be surprised. This comic is
horribly addictive because the manga-ka drags out the inevitable
while giving the audience small payoffs every once in a
while, and the characters involved are so likable and so
right for each other that we really want the inevitable
to happen. Hana-Kimi's not edgy or hardcore in the slightest;
tensions and story points tend to fall easily into the path
of least resistance. As far as straight-up mushy romance
is concerned, however, Hana-Kimi gets most of it right.
This
manga is probably the ultimate shoujo guilty pleasure. It's
comprised entirely of school hijinks, unrealistic pretty
boys who are strangely willing to dress up like girls, and
a boatload of sexual tension. For 23 volumes. It's definitely
not for everyone (especially those of you with Y-chromosomes),
but for those of us who are in the proper mindset to appreciate
how good Sano looks in mini shorts, Hana-Kimi has its ups
and its downs. On the good side, the art is excellent, the
characters are all likable, and relationships are well-developed--and
if some of the male characters are more the product of a
lonely female brain than real representations of human beings,
that just makes them more appealing. On the bad side, the
story is dragged out longer than it has to be, and the hijinks
and story arcs range in quality from quite decent to major
wastes of time. If you want a warm and fuzzy love story
that leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting for somebody
to get kissed already, this is probably a series for you.
Fandom
First of all,
this
is a manga preview on the Viz
website; it doesn't ever want to work on my computer, but
hypothetically it must work for some people. This
is a decent info site with some in-depth information on
the manga-ka's previous works and doujinshi, and the Hana-Kimi manga summaries go up to around volume 16. Whoever put together
the image gallery seems very fond of the semi-creepy "male
cheesecake" shots, though. This
is another very extensive info site; the text is mostly
in pretty bad English, but there's enough info on there
to make it worth a look. It also has Hana-Kimi greeting
cards, fan stuff, and some fun flash extras under "miscellaneous,"
so knock yourself out if you're so inclined.
3.0 objective
stars don't properly reflect the wonderful addictive
shoujo-ness of this series...but if you've read through
the description, you probably know whether Hana-Kimi's for
you or not more than any star ranking could tell you. |
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Yes,
this is a boy. In fact, I don't even think he's in drag
here.
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Questioning
Your Sexuality is Always a Laugh Riot
Review:
Kill Me, Kiss Me
by Lee Young You
Updated: 10/04/04
Title
rating: PG-13 for violence and
themes.
Genre:
Romance/Action/Comedy
Shoujo
-5
manwha (Korean manga) volumes, complete. Currently being
released in English by Tokyopop,
still running.
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High
school girl Tae and her effeminate male cousin Jung-Woo
look so much alike that they can pass for each other. When
Tae finds out that Jung-Woo is classmates with the male
model she has a crush on, she bribes Jung-Woo into switching
places with her for a week--but unfortunately, neither of
them seem to realize there's been some gang tension flaring
up around Jung-Woo (after he got in a scuffle with some
tough guy), and this leads to all sorts of hurt awaiting
Tae in Jung-Woo's place. And as for Jung-Woo in a dress,
his brooding nature still draws chicks to him from
Tae's very hard-up all-girl student body. Because Tae and
Jung-Woo's personalities are wildly different, they cause
trouble in each other's lives that stretch far beyond the
span of a week: people get the shit kicked out of them,
people fall in love, people question their sexual preferences...that's
pretty much it for plot. But the characters do those three
things with so much flair and humor (and at a fast enough
pace; pretty rare for shoujo) that this quirky little manwha
is never boring.
Kill
Me, Kiss Me is kinda like Hana-Kimi
with 10 times the speed and 20 times the destructive power.
Everybody's either in a gang or the target of one, so even
if there's not a lot of real plot going on the constant
gang fighting makes it seem like there is. The characters
aren't particularly deep, but they're all a little weird,
and their oddities make them more interesting than the norm.
Some of the relationships are downright bizarre. The art,
the story, and the (albeit very funny) script could all
do with a bit of tightening up; but while the scratchy art
is mediocre, it has a lot of personality and matches the
tone of the manga well (like I.N.V.U.),
something that's often more important than straight-up quality.
In general, this is a stylish, funny comic that's worth
picking up if you want something a little different.
Fandom
Here's
the Tokyopop site for the English translation. As far as
fanpages are concerned, there aren't many: this
is a very basic page with synopses and an image gallery
of tiny pictures (though the page romanizes the names differently
from the Tokyopop translations and confusion may result).
There's also a decent number of fanfics
on Fanfiction.net.
Kill Me, Kiss
Me gets 3.5 stars for fitting the same major plot
points Hana-Kimi dealt with in 23 volumes in a volume and
a half. And seeing teenage thugs kick the crap out of each
other is always amusing--definitely points for that.
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If
you really don't want anyone to notice you've got the wrong
genitalia, don't wear a miniskirt.
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We
Have Medical Review Boards for a Reason
Review:
Pretty
Face
by Kano Yasuhiro
Updated: 10/04/04
Title
rating: PG-16
for nudity, some violence, and sexual situations.
Genre:
Shounen
Comedy
-6
Japanese-only manga volumes, complete.
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Unlike
many of the previous crossdressing characters who were proud
and happy to wear the pants of men, the hero of Pretty Face
had a miniskirt. and heels thrust upon him. Randoh is your
average shounen hero; a loud, obnoxious, spiky-haired martial
artist who has a huge crush on the pretty underclassman
Kurimi Rina. Actually, he was an average shounen
hero, before a bus he was riding on took a spill into a
ravine. Randoh was knocked into a coma and burned his face
beyond recognition, but somehow, instead of going to an
actual certified hospital, his body ended up in the hands
of a crazy plastic surgeon. Since the surgeon had no idea
who Randoh was, he decided to reconstruct Randoh's face
into that on the picture in Randoh's pocket--you guessed
it, the lovely Rina's. When Randoh wakes up a year later
(and subsequently screams and screams into the mirror),
he runs into the real Rina, and she mistakes him for her
twin sister who ran away a year before. Since Randoh can't
bear to break the news that he's not who she thinks he is,
he decides to pretend to be Rina's sister until he can find
the real girl. Hilarity, and lots of male-targeted fan service,
ensues.
This
is a really funny comic. It's shounen through and through,
but because of its short length and non-combative subject
matter it manages to avoid many irritating shounen clichés.
While there's some fighting, it's never the focus of the
story and therefore can't bog the plot down, and Randoh's
typical shounen obnoxiousness becomes a major source of
humor (and plot, as Randoh tries and fails to act like a
sweet, feminine girl). The premise is weird and different,
again rare for a Shounen
Jump title; those manga-ka have made an art form of
doing the same old stuff really, really well. As far as
characters are concerned, I would argue that Randoh is the
only actual character in a world of barely-there clichés,
but because the series is short, the story doesn't have
any pretensions otherwise, and Randoh is an entertaining
guy with enough personality to carry a series on his own,
it really doesn't matter.
The
most confusing weak point of this manga is the, um, art
choice. The actual art quality is excellent--although if
you don't like panty flashing or nudity played up for humor,
it can get on your nerves--and in particular the character
designs of Randoh's two forms stand out as excellent visual
jokes (his male face is especially funny as the "generic
shounen hero's"). The problem with the art is usually
in how female-faced Randoh is posed, particularly in image
shots: he's constantly in some sort of shounen-cheesecake
pose, leaning over to show his nonexistent cleavage or not
taking proper care to cover the mini-skirted groin that
could easily give him away. Not only does the constant application
of this bypass some good opportunities for visual humor,
it also seems as if there's some bizarre psychology going
on with the manga-ka that's distracting and a little creepy.
Fandom
There's
no English version of Pretty Face and practically no information
on the web to be found. I found a few old press releases
on the English language site Anime
on DVD about the
end of Pretty Face in the Japanese Shounen Jump (scroll
to "A bit of Japanese news"), and later a clarification
on the reason it was dropped from the magazine. Other than
that, you can also read about Viz deciding on series for
the English Shonen Jump
in articles like this
one (Pretty Face was cut from their list; no surprise,
considering the sexual content). Because of Pretty Face's
length, format, and everything-on-the-surface story, no
one seemed to think an English fanpage was necessary despite
Pretty Face's enjoyability.
For being a
solid, brainless, funny story with faults that can be overlooked
in favor of enjoying the ride, Pretty Face gets 3.7 stars.
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copyright © NotHayama, October 2004. Pictures are copyright
© their respective owners and are used without permission
for this nonprofit review. |
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