Search - Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl, Vol. 1: Role Reversal on DVD

For People Who Like Shoojo Anime

Robert G. Boyd | Torrance, CA USA | 06/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The basic plot for this shoojo anime is a love triangle involving three girls in high school. One of the girls was originally a boy, but got changed into a girl during an unfortunate encounter with space aliens.

The principal focus of this anime (like most shoojo anime) is on feelings and relationships. People who like mecha and demons should look elsewhere for entertainment.

Since I have two daughters and a granddaughter, I am rather fond of girls in general, and I particularly like the three main characters in this anime. I wish them well in their struggles with their feelings, although I do wonder why they need to form a triangle; why can't they just be three together, instead of splitting into a bonded pair and somebody who gets left out?

This anime is very well done, so far as the main characters are concerned. I took off one star for the bizarre treatment of adults."

Role reversal or Gender Reversal

Mark Morrissey | Rockdale, NSW Australia | 08/08/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An interesting take on the old love triangle. A boy in love with one girl while another is in love with him that is until the boy is accidentally turned into a girl after a close encounter with an alien space ship. Now that he is a she his/her romantic problems get even more confusing with both the girls in her life and the boy who was his now her best friend.
Note: this is subtitled only, there is no English dialogue and the subtitles themselves are a bit large and distracting but otherwise its an interesting story and nicely animated."

Second Guessing the Author

C. G. Mercer | Texas, USA | 02/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first manga-based anime I've seen, (like Robert, I'm a grandpa too) and I enjoyed it very much. I wasn't sure where the story was heading when I first started, but I found the plot of Hazumu (the changling) having to deal with how to handle choosing between the two girls who love him/her, and the two girls dealing with both that issue and their relationship with each other, most intriguing.

Some potential viewers may be concerned about the gender-bender aspect of this story, and the lesbian flavor it creates. It seemed to me that the nitty-gritty of this story could've proceeded just as easily if Hazumu had remained a boy, and had to choose between the girls. While Hazumu's body is rebuilt as a girl after the accident, his mind appears to still be that of a boy. He/she seems to develop more into the female frame of mind as the story progresses.

I may be second-guessing the author of this story, but it occurred to me that the change from boy to girl may have been utilized to allow the subject of feelings to be explored as they were. It's no mystery that males aren't champions of verbalizing emotional issues. Even though Hazumu was a sensitive and somewhat effeminate boy from the start, I think the physical change was used to let his character deal with feelings and emotions more expressively.

My only complaint with the series was the behavior of Hazumu's father. It didn't further the plot at all, and wasn't funny the first time, let alone as a running gag. Fortunately, Hazumu's mother decks him every time he gets out of line. Still, it could've been left out of the anime as well as the book, and wouldn't have been missed.

I'm looking forward to reading the manga, which I understand was completed after the anime was finished. The third volume of this DVD series contains a 13th follow-on episode, further resolving the state of affairs at the end of the original series. I'm anxious to see how the author ties things up at the end of the fifth volume of his book."