Satoru Akahori

Hasumu used to be a boy but got turned into a girl by a space alien (officially), or was a trans girl all along. She has to choose between her two best female friends who are in love with her. (So is her best male friend, but he’s mostly there for comic relief and it’s unfortunately not funny).

One is her athletic childhood friend Tomari, who always protects her. The other is her first love, Yasuna, who’s gentle and artistic, but suffers from a never specified condition where she show more can’t “see” men. This caused her to turn Hasumu down before the story starts because she thought Hasumu was a guy.

It’s sweet and silly and very nostalgic to reread. I always wanted a polyamorous relationship with the three of them, but if that failed, for Hasumu to end up with Yasuna. In this volume, we do get a developing friendship between Tomari and Yasuna that I enjoyed. The story is very much about figuring feelings out and sharing them. They learn to recognize each other as friends even if they’re competing for the same girl:

Tomari: “Last time, I declared war on you. But this time... It’s an offer of alliance. Together we can’t lose.”

Yasuna: “Exactly” (chapter 18). show less

[This review is for the whole series.]
Kashimashi is a sweet story about true friendship and finding first love, with a detour through coming to terms with gender identity (one's own and that of a friend). Features farcical sci-fi elements as plot catalysts. The love triangle that is formed settles into true polyamory throughout the middle of the story arc, but the protagonist is artificially forced to choose between his/her two loves by the aforementioned SF deus ex machina. This might not show more bother most, but I found it bittersweet and a tad contrived, though thankfully not preachy. show less

[This review is for the whole series.]
Kashimashi is a sweet story about true friendship and finding first love, with a detour through coming to terms with gender identity (one's own and that of a friend). Features farcical sci-fi elements as plot catalysts. The love triangle that is formed settles into true polyamory throughout the middle of the story arc, but the protagonist is artificially forced to choose between his/her two loves by the aforementioned SF deus ex machina. This might not show more bother most, but I found it bittersweet and a tad contrived, though thankfully not preachy. show less

[This review is for the whole series.]
Kashimashi is a sweet story about true friendship and finding first love, with a detour through coming to terms with gender identity (one's own and that of a friend). Features farcical sci-fi elements as plot catalysts. The love triangle that is formed settles into true polyamory throughout the middle of the story arc, but the protagonist is artificially forced to choose between his/her two loves by the aforementioned SF deus ex machina. This might not show more bother most, but I found it bittersweet and a tad contrived, though thankfully not preachy. show less