Once again the dread and mighty Coengar2 rouses from his deep slumber from deep within his secret manga cave and reviews the latest in a new wave of gender bending titles

TITLE: Kashimashi

Publisher: Seven Seas

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Age: Older Teen 16+

Volumes: 1 so far (Vol 2 due out soon)

Violence: minor, mostly slap stick

Sex/Nudity: Fanservice mild themes and dialog

Status: Ongoing series, still being published

Hazumu Osaragi is not like the other boys in his high school class. With his gentle and mild mannerisms and soft delicate features he is often mistaken for a girl. His long time friend Tomari, the toughest girl on the school track team, helps keeps the bullys away from Hazumu as does his best friend Asuta. One day Hazumu meets and soon falls in love with a schoolmate by the name of Yasuna but when he finally gets the nerve to confess his feelings she rejects him. Saddened by the rejection he goes out in the woods to try and forget what has happened but just when he thinks his life cant get any worse, he is hit by an out of control UFO. The alien manages to repair and heal Hazumu back to full health but make a slight error. Confused by his delicate features the alien restore him as a girl instead of a guy. Now Hazumu has to get use to living the rest of her life as a girl and if that werent enough to handle, Yasuna the girl who rejected him now seems to be interested in her now and Tomari and Asuta are both dealing with a growing attraction to Hazumu.

GOOD POINTS: The artwork is pretty good and the story seems to be developing nicely. The sexual elements are well handled and dont have any real ecchi feel to them. The character interaction is enjoyable and there are several funny moments in the series.

BAD POINTS: There are a few silly moments in the series. Hazumu’s father is a tad creepy in a bad hentai kinda way

OVERALL REVIEW: This series sprung up in the crop that includes other such gender benders as Gacha Gacha: The Next Revolution and After School Nightmare. The series manages to combine both the comedy involved with a boy suddenly having to deal with being a girl and the romantic drama of growing affections with the only real distractions being some cartoony artwork and a few rather silly characters (such as the alien and Hazumu’s homeroom teacher). This is an enjoyable series and is one that i have reread on several occassions and always with a sense of enjoyment and really what more can you ask for in a romantic comedy manga. And watching Tomari struggle with her growing feelings for Hazumu is rather funny.

Coengar2 says that you really should check this one out!

MANGA TRIVIA TIME!!! November 2006 saw the release of the 36th and final volume of Viz media’s Ranma 1/2, the longest running manga in U.S. history (Having been in constant print in one form or another in the U.S. for 16 years).

What Series now holds the title of longest running and currently active manga series in the U.S.? (By currently active,i mean the series is actively being printed today)?