Futaba-kun Change is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroshi Aro. Fast-paced, madcap and relatively mature in themes, it's usually comedic, with occasional elements of romance. In Japan, the manga began serialization in the December 1990 issue of the Shueisha magazine Monthly Shōnen Jump. It switched to the sister publication Monthly Shōnen Jump Original in 1993 and ended in the March 1997 issue. A total of eight tankōbon collecting the chapters were released by Shueisha between 1991 and 1997, but it is now out of print. Futaba-kun Change was licensed by Studio Ironcat in the United States, but as the company went out of business their release is also out of print.
Plot
Futaba Shimeru is a normal high-schooler living a normal life, active in his school's wrestling club and slowly getting closer to his awkward love interest, Misaki. This fails to last as he discovers his family's hereditary genetic defect that becomes active at adolescence. Although it will eventually become controllable, either excitement or stress now makes Futaba switch sex. Hilarity ensues. The general status quo of the storyline, tone and atmosphere is maintained until volume 6, at which point Misaki discovers Futaba's secret. In volume 8, the manga abruptly changes from light comedy to serious science fiction. Futaba, Misaki and Kurin are taken by aliens that explain that the Shimeru family are not merely bizarrely mutated but descendants of a space crash 12 to 13 thousand years ago. They are taken to the star system they originated from to see a structure much like a Dyson sphere, but see that the entire race has been annihilated. Determined to find a less tragic future, they return to Earth. 8 years have passed, all their friends and family have happy lives, the Shimeru clan have spread throughout the world, and their condition is now widely known and accepted.
Themes
The characters of Futaba and Misaki are quite realistic, and the former's state is examined from day one. As such, the effects on the sufferer are an important part, especially early on. This includes the physical aspect, which is presented realistically but a few parts are left to the imagination. The gradual romance between Futaba and Misaki, and to a lesser degree Misaki and Futaba, though now very awkward indeed forms a loose central structure. Commonly enough, events turn into chaos, usually through the help of other characters ranging from Futaba's older sister with her/his anything-that-moves attitude to one who suffers from the nosebleedcliché taken to its grotesque extreme. Parallels to the well-known Ranma ½ series, where the protagonist's effect is triggered and reversed by cold and hot water, are unavoidable. Shimeru is even a wrestler while Ranma Saotome is a martial artist. This wouldn't be the only time Aro seemed to be influenced by Ranma 1/2, seeing the title of his other manga Morumo 1/10. On the other hand, Ranma ½ is more cartoonish in both drawing style and content as well as containing precious little references to sexuality. Ranma starts off already used to if unhappy with his situation, and spends a lot of his time fighting while Futaba only occasionally comes to blows and those blows tend towards the theoretically possible. Several other pop culture characters make cameos, including Street Fighter characters, Sesame Street puppets, Ryoko and Aeka from Tenchi Muyo!, Magical Taluluto from Magical Taluluto, or even Hiroshi Aro himself.
