FUTABA-KUN CHANGE by Hiroshi Aro
by ROMAN NOEL B. LOCSIN

Being a fan of Ranma 1/2, I once got to thinking, What would happen if Ranma got pregnant while he was a girl, and then changed back to a guy? When she was asked that same question at the San Diego Comic-Con, Ranma 1/2 creator Rumiko Takahashi answered "I don't think ever about things like that, and neither should you." Fortunately, true otaku don't ever stop thinking about "things like that", and one of them was a guy named Hiroshi Aro, and the end result was a little something called Futaba-kun Change.

Like Ranma 1/2, Aro's Futaba-kun Change, currently translated in English by Studio Ironcat, is the story of Futaba Shimeru, a student at Komatane High School, and member of his school's wrestling club. But he has a small problem. You see, young Futaba transforms into a girl. However, this is where their similarities end. You see, Futaba changes into a girl when he's aroused or excited, as opposed to Ranma who transforms when he's splashed with cold water. In fact, this genetic trait runs in his family, and get this, it was his FATHER who gave birth to him. After this rather shocking coming-of-age revelation, Futaba's female self is enrolled in school along with Futaba-kun (on alternating days). However, his secret identity complicates his crush on his cute classmate Misaki, a girl who secretly likes him too (I guess Futaba sorta has it easy unlike Ranma, huh?)…

The first story arc deals with Futaba-Kun's discovery of his, ahem, unique attributes. In fact, they began to manifest themselves while he was reading a girlie magazine in the boy's room. As far as the artwork goes, Aro's art is not great, but it's cute, curvy and friendly. Evidently, Aro's an anime fan, as you can see his crowd scenes are full of in-jokes (For instance, in some crowd scenes, you can see characters like Chun Li, Dhalsim, and Zangief of Street Fighter fame, as well the cast from Twin Bee, while in one scene, Misaki is seen wearing a swimsuit whose design was obviously inspired by the Japanese superhero Ultra Seven.), and he can't resist adding to the already-weird premise with more and more strangeness: man-eating plants, a war-hardened gym coach, a principal who's also a wanna-be superhero and the school beauty who is secretly Queen X, Mistress of the Dark. It's all basically hit-and-miss; those who are more interested in the main storyline will have to wade through the silly (and sometimes juvenile) stuff. The second story arc features a wrestling tournament in which the characters have a match with Futaba-chan as the prize; the series almost turns into Ranma 1/2 with wrestling instead of martial arts (It's not necessarily a bad thing, though.). Oh, and incidentally, Futaba-Kun's crush Misaki shares something in common with Akane Tendo (you'll find out soon enough in later issues).

In the most recent story arc, Misaki decides to join the wrestling team in an attempt to get near Futaba-Kun. Things take a new turn when she and Futaba-Kun get themselves into a wrestling match (courtesy of team captain Motomura) against the Konishiki Sisters. Throughout the course of the match, Misaki soon gets help from new tag team partner Futaba-Chan, but Misaki sustains injuries which lead to severe blood loss. In an attempt to save her, Futaba-Kun gives Misaki a blood transfusion, which leads to Misaki gaining some, ahem, unique attributes. To top it off, there's a young girl who has a serious crush on Misaki, and would do just about anything to get her. And if that wasn't enough, Nurse Kojiro is getting dangerously close to discovering Futaba-Kun's secret.

Where Ranma 1/2 uses the sex-change gimmick mostly for slapstick comedy, Futaba-kun Change goes deeper (and more explicit, though not hentai or X-rated) with the premise. (According to Viz Communications' internet magazine J-Pop.com, in an unpublished interview, Aro said "I wanted to show how a guy would really react to have a girl's body…To begin with, he'd probably test the equipment, right?") Things you'd never find in Ranma 1/2 include Futaba-chan gazing at a poster of an actress (You'll never guess who it really is), thinking "I wonder if I could be that pretty?…"; the line "This is really kind of exciting…walking around school in a girl's uniform!"; the behavior of his twisted older sister/ brother Futana; and the split identities of the other sex-changers who show up later. The series also has gay and lesbian characters. I'm not sure if Aro intended any such subtext, but whether or not he did, it's no surprise to find that the Futaba-kun Change homepage is on a Transgender Webring.

In addition to being a good companion piece to a manga most fans are familiar with, Futaba-kun Change is extremely tweaked fun on its own merits. Hiroshi Aro likes having an actual resolution to his stories, so the plot development of Futaba-kun Change promises to go somewhere interesting.

Sample panels from Futaba-kun change:

PANEL ONE: Futaba-girl and Misaki-guy contemplate their feelings

PANEL TWO: Futaba-girl realizes that his and Misaki's bloods have mingled. It's both innocent and erotic.

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