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Thoughts.
Yo.
I recently got my hands on the first episode of this little series, and it seems pretty interesting in theory, but it's not as "serious" as most of the anime I tend to watch. Actually, I gravitated toward it because of the main plot device [the whole reversal of sex by aliens] was actually something featured in a story of my own creation.
I've been reading the previous posts and many seem to think this is an allegory for transsexualism or transgenderism, and I tend to think otherwise. I don't think Hazumu had problems being male, he was simply shy and unable to express his feelings of love for fear of rejection. I'm sure many young men go through that, and while it might be considered "unmanly" to many, it does not make one female.
Secondly, his sudden transformation into a "cute" girl [as in why he seemed to become magically cute as a result of the transformation] simply smells like a way to please viewers, since the idea of a boy, an especially delicate and fragile seeming [read: effeminate] boy becoming a hyper feminine girl is interesting [read: sexually interesting] to some.
I feel it's mostly a gag show, not a show attempting to push, or teach a social issue. But I can understand how people, especially in the West, would sort of tack that on as a metaphor. While as interesting the concept is as a show to me, I think the most interesting part is how others will come to view Hazumu, and how he, or she in this case, will ultimately come to view herself. Simply because of the change, will she end up somehow "different" because of it, or continue being Hazumu. After all, while chromosomes and hormones make up what sex we are, it does not define who we are as people completely. I think I would love to see a series that reflects this, by having a character who does not really change after such a life altering event such as this, but rather, forces those around him or her to change their perspective.
As I type this, I'm trying to get my hands on episode two. Let's see where this show goes.
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