Summary
Akira Uehara is a less than confident high-school boy with a serious problem. He’s fallen in love with Nanako Momoi, one of his classmates. She’s cute alright, but has a real fierce temper—and isn’t afraid to scruff with the best of the boys. Uehara is convinced Momoi is just acting tough on the outside though, and he feels like he knows her better than the rest of the class, the people who only see her violent acts and fear her because of it. One day, he’s at Momoi’s house en route to drop off some school material, when he gets mixed up with a weird experiment Momoi’s grandfather is conducting. Before either of them know it, Uehara and Momoi switch bodies! How will they learn to adjust, and will they ever switch back?
Review
Gender switching is a delicate topic in most social circles, but Japanese entertainment manages to get away with poking fun at the endless possibilities (most with sexual implications) of what would happen if you could possess the body of the opposite gender. Boku to Kanojo no XXX is a light-hearted live-action on this subject matter, and while it might not be a forerunner for any film awards, it’s certainly good entertainment.
Mai Takahashi and Shun Shioya certainly put on a great metrosexual display as Nanako and Akira, the unfortunate victims in this tale. What’s ironic, at least from a viewer’s point of view, is that Nanako’s character seems better suited for a man than a woman, and the same can be said about Akira’s shy, timid behavior. The two (Mai and Shun) portray their initial awkwardness with their new bodies very well, although Mai’s eventual bravado with her body might be a little for some more conservative viewers. The plot is mediocre at best, with a rapidly moving storyline that leaves little room for any real character development. In it’s defence though, with a premise like this, who really needs a full-fledged story? Every episode is full of humour and sexually-charged excitement, regardless of gender.
In retrospect, the drama should have been kept on the air longer: a typical 11 episode series could’ve been a real success. The production really left a lot to be desired, and while the acting was comedic, the filming and compilation of the entire drama was amateur at best. From the success of other cross-dressing series’ like Pretty Face, a manga series with the same idea, it’s clear how disappointing the results of this live drama was.
