For those of you that didn't get enough of the gender bender discussion in the Futaba topic, here is yet another one for me to talk about. Previously I really wasn't able to articulate very well why I liked some manga/anime and not others that use some sort of gender swapping as a main premise. So rather than try to argue the point I will just present another example of a story that I did like. Like I My Me Strawberry Eggs I very much enjoyed Your and My Secret.
The two main characters start out as rather unusual people. Nanako Momoi is a high school student that is exceptionally attractive or beautiful and the object of desire of many of the boys around her. This is until she opens her mouth (as the back cover synopsis puts it). As much as she is physically pretty, Nanako's personality is equally if not more nasty. She is loud, rude, selfish, violent, and just plain mad at the world it seems to me, but that point doesn't get developed by the author. The other main character, Akira Uehara, is one of the many admirers of Nanako, but a rather distant one. Akira is intelligent and cute, but very shy and socially withdrawn. As much as he would like to get to know Nanako despite her tyrannical nature, Akira doesn't think he could ever work up the courage to say hi to her, or any other girl for that matter. In fact he is so quiet, most people find Akira boring. As they say opposites attract ...
One day Nanako fails to show up at school and at the end of the day the teacher requests that someone take her homework assignments to her at home. Naturally, everyone refuses out of fear (even the teacher when someone suggests that he do it) however Akira recognizes an opportunitiy to meet Nanako and volunteers to do it. When he arrives at the Momoi house, no one appears to be around so Akira lets himself in and pokes around. Very soon he discovers the secret laboratory of Nanako's mad scientist grandfather and the reason she was absent from school was that he was trying to do experiments on her. Even though Akira is normally very calm and quiet, he is outraged that Nanako's grandfather would experiment on human beings and proceeds to rescue Nanako from her grandfather's equipment. Rather than expressing gratitude, Nanako volunteers Akira to take her place in the experiment which gives some good insight into her character (or lack of it). In the scuffle, Nanako's grandfather accidentally triggers the machine, performing his diabolical experiment on both Akira and Nanako. After the machine explodes and the smoke clears, Akira and Nanako find each other looking at their own faces - their personalities have been switched and they are now in each others bodies. A similar device was used in the final episode of the original Star Trek series so this is hardly a new premise.
;;Horrified, Akira or "new Nanako" as I will call her demands that they be switched back, but her grandfather cannot do it because all of the equipment has been severely damaged and will take a long time to repair. He promptly gets to work by immediately leaving for a 5 day vacation in Hawaii which gives some good insight into his character (or lack of it). Nanako, or "new Akira" as I will call him seems rather unimpressed and sort of likes the idea of being a boy. However the body swap is only the half of it. Because new Nanako cannot go home to the Uehara house new Akira must go in her place and so begins the "life swap". This of course is the crux of the story. Both new Akira and new Nanako suddenly become far more popular in the school social settings than they were previously. New Akira's outgoing and aggressive personality appeals to both the guys and girls and even to the Uehara family who welcome the changes in him. The same goes for new Nanako, whose cute and ladylike demeanor suddenly has every guy in school interested in her. So it's almost as if the experiment "problem" was actually a "solution". New Akira very much likes being a guy and while new Nanako doesn't come out and say it, she does admit to herself that she does like being a girl. Erm, so you would think that this is the end of the story ... and they lived happily ever after? Wrong ...
The problem has to do with the life swap issue. While new Akira successfully ingratiates himself into the Uehara household, new Nanako's life leaves a lot to be desired. The Momoi family very shamefully mistreats the new Nanako and constantly takes advantage of her kindness. Her grandfather comes back from vacation and seemingly has no desire to fix the machine and the mess he has made. In fact he likes how much better a housewife new Nanako is and would like it to stay that way. New Akira would like to stay a guy and so he offers no help either. One of "old" Akira's friends tries to force himself on new Nanako, so she has to suffer that hurt and the loss of a friend at the same time. So all in all, new Nanako becomes very lonely, unhappy and depressed as shown here:
But that realization made there by new Nanako, that she may never get old Akira's life back enables her to move on a little bit and come back from that low point. Soon she gets a job and starts to work and stops trying to look back.
Well, that picture isn't isn't the only scene of new Nanako crying, in fact she cries a LOT in the first volume, so the angst factor is pretty high so far in this manga. For people like me who like such things, that's a good thing. If you have an aversion to a lot of angst, you'll probably find new Nanako to be rather pathetic, but like Yoko in the beginning of 12 Kingdoms, do not write new Nanako off until you've seen more of the story. Which is where I am now - wanting to read more of the story. All of the little details Ai Morinanga puts into this story are fascinating and typically ignored in other gender bender stories. Also unlike Futaba-kun Change! there is virtually no nudity or ecchiness in Your and My Secret. Her grandfather makes a few comments, there are some sexual innuendos with nothing explicit, and there is one bath scene. However, Nanako keeps herself covered with a towel or her arms, so no full nudity anytime.
Well that's just another example, but if anyone else has read this please share your thoughts too, thankies.