Episode 1: The Young Boy's Life Changed That Day

THE YOUNG BOY'S LIFE CHANGED THAT DAY

EPISODE 1 OF THE ANIME

( Mange Cross-reference---Manga Chapter 1, " The Day a Boy's Life Changed " )

( Story Note---At the beginning of Episode 1, when Hazumu is first introduced as a typical shy, loner teenage boy, abet a very effeminate boy, male pronouns will be used when referring to him. When Hazumu is resurrected to that of an atomically correct teenage female, at that point in the story female pronouns will begin to be used in reference to her, and will continue to be used throughout the rest of the story episodes. The only exceptions will be when a past reference is made to male Hazumu prior to death, and when Tomari continues to wrongly refer to female Hazumu as a male. )

Episode Overview
( Program Note-The story format for the anime differs from the story format of the manga. The anime presents the beginning of the story as many small story arcs all happening simultaneously and/or in chronological order, whereas the manga tells the beginning through a series of flashbacks. )

Hazumu Osaragi confesses his love to Yasuna Kamiizumi, but is turned down by her because she is interested only in girls. Heartbroken, he climbs Mt. Kashima, which overlooks the city in which the story takes place, and tries to commune with nature in order to forget Yasuna. When he doesn't return by evening, his friends begin to search for him. At night, Hazumu thinks that he sees a shooting star, but is inadvertently killed due to an alien spacecraft crash-landing on him. In order to rectify the situation, the alien resurrects Hazumu, but in the process his physical appearance is changed to that of an atomically correct teenage girl, since the alien only had reconstruction instructions for a human female. The alien then does a public apology to the entire world, stating that Hazumu had their body irreversibly changed to that of a human female, and returns the living, naked body of Hazumu to the top of Mt. Kashima, into the arms of two of her teenage friends.

This Episode's Story
A military satellite detects an incoming object, but this is something that has never been seen before---an alien spaceship ! The spaceship quickly turns on their stealth system so as not to be seen by the satellite, or any human radar. The single alien pilot converses with the ship's A.I. personage as to how to approach the Earth. The orbit they select will soon be taking them just above the country of Japan. . . . ..

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Meanwhile, in the Kashimashi section of the outskirts of Tokyo, on Kashima Mountain, a lonely, dejected teenage boy wanders the mountain trail.

''Cacalia hastata. . . . Cacalia delphiniifolia. . . . Schizophragma hydrageoides. . . . Houttuyania cordata. . . . ''The lonely, heartbroken boy is able to name all of the plants and flowers that he encounters along the way. He soon comes upon a familiar place on the trail. Was this the place that he had that encounter with the girl Yasuna ?

Also this afternoon, at the Kashima High School, afterschool activities are taking place. An athletic girl has just ran the fastest dash of record ! Another shy, apprehensive girl is watering the plants alongside one of the school's classroom buildings that is next to the running track. She is somehow saddened by the falling cherry blossoms on a nearby tree. On the bridge that spans the river that runs beside the school, another teenage girl stares off into the distance from the center of the bridge. A boy on a bicycle calls to her from the riverwalk, asking her if she has seen Hazumu Osaragi ? She says no !

At that moment, Hazumu Osaragi, on Mt. Kashima, slips and falls through a brush thicket, and tumbles down to the ground. Ouch ! As he replaces his hat, he recognizes this small clearing next to the thicket. This is the place where he tumbled down and landed on top of Yasuna Kamiizumi !!!

FLASHBACK---Yasuna had become separated from her parents as the family was walking the mountain trail, and found herself alone in the small clearing surrounded by brush and thickets. Suddenly, a boy about her age tumbles down though the thicket and lands on top of her, She is laying prone on the ground, and he is directly above her on hands and knees, with the both of them in a very intimate, romantic position ! They both introduce themselves, and quickly, abet embarrassingly, assume separate positions kneeling on the ground next to one another. Hazumu is collecting plants and flowers to transplant to the school grounds. Yasuna had become lost. She was looking for butterbur plants when she wandered away. However, Hazumu knows where there is an outgrowth of butterbur plants nearby, and takes Yasuna to see them. They begin collecting a few sample plants. But then Yasuna whispers to herself that Hazumu, despite being a boy, is 'just like a girl' ! Hazumu overhears, and tactfully acknowledges that he has been told that he not only acts like a girl, but that he looks very much like a girl ! It's always been that way, so don't worry ! They then collect quite a few of the plants to surprise her parents. (End)

Hazumu only stares the clearing for quite some time, with many emotions and thoughts running through his mind.

The boy on the bicycle, Asuta Soro, asks the athletic girl, Tomari Kurusu, who is drinking from an outdoor fountain by the running track, if she has seen Hazuru ? No ! Tomari tells Asuta if he wants to find Hazumu, to go find Yasuna, since they are always together doing gardening. Yasuna was just over there by the building, watering the flowers. But now she is gone, and someone has dug up one of the flowers from the school garden ! Tomari is called away, as Asuta recalls the recent time that he encouraged Hazumu to do a love confession to Yasuna. " Be a man " is what was said. Tomari even puts in her two cents telling him to do the love confession. On the mountain, Hazumu also recalls the people who encouraged him to do the love confession.

It's early evening now, and Yasuna is walking towards Mt. Kashima with the dug up flower plant that Hazumu had given to her as a sign of friendship, in a plastic bag. With a sadness, she recalls the time that Hazumu did the love confession to her in the garden on the school grounds. The sweet cherry blossoms were falling, but Yasuna was bittersweet in declining his love confession.

Evening advances, as Hazumu is still on Mt. Kashima, drowning in melancholy and remorse for what things that could have been, but are not, nor ever can be. He tells himself that he must stay here until he can forget, forget everything about Yasuna. At a soda fountain, Tomari and friend Ayuki Mari are talking about the boy on the bicycle, Asuta. And who should come by at that instant ? Asuta. The two girls want to know if he found Hazumu ? Still, no ! Ayuki wants to know what is so important that Asuta has to give it to Hazumu right now ? Guy stuff ! Actually, playboy style magazines, so Ayuki finds out ! Tomari gives Asuta a kick to the head, 'cause she knows that Hazumu is not interested in that kind of stuff. while Ayuki begins to skim through the mags. Yuk ! Asuta then spills the beans; Hazumu was turned down by Yasuna, and was devastated. That is why he is roaming the mountain now !

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An unexpected explosion rips through the alien spaceship's power unit, causing panic ! The ship's A.I. gives the gloom and doom report to the alien. The crippled, uncontrolled spaceship begins to descend into the Earth's atmosphere.

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Hazumu's parents are all in a quandary over their only-child who has gone missing. Tomari, Ayuki, and Asuta are at their front door to tell them the bad news. Hazumu's homeroom teacher, Mz. Namiko, shows up to tell everyone that it will be herself that rescues Hazumu. But her efforts only lead her to fall into a hole in the front yard that was dug for a persimmons tree.

Yasuna is on the mountain, back at the place where Hazumu and herself found the Primra Vialii flowers. She is replanting the one that Hazumu had given her, as a symbol of the social and romantic separation that is now come between them.

FLASHBACK---After gathering the butterbur plants, Hazumu and Yasuna come upon a bed of Primra Vialii flowers. They dig up two of them, a pink one and a blue one, and replant them on the school grounds. Soon, the plants have begun to bloom with pretty flowers, and Hazumu finds Yasuna to show her the blooming flowers. Both are so happy over the wondrous event. The pink flowers are right next to the blue flowers ! So beautiful ! (End) Yasuna is overcome by the symbolism of what she has done. She has reluctantly removed her flower plant from next to Hazumu's, and returned to it's original place. The pink flower, as well as herself, are all alone again. Tears fall from her cheeks downward, that only serve to water the flower, as she cries her heart out.

The three friends are out searching for Hazumu. As they search a shrine, a cloud of misery descends on them as they voice their concerns about what may happen to Hazumu. A shooting star lights up the night sky. However, the 'shooting star' is actually the descending alien spaceship ! Without it's cloaking device, the NATO Command in North America is able to see it for what it is---a UFO ! It is coming down towards Tokyo ! Hazumu, now on the top of Mt. Kashima, sees the falling star, too. He begins to 'wish upon a star' by offering prayer. He repeatedly wishes to fall in love again, that he can keep going emotionally and spiritually, that his flowers will all be healthy and bloom, that he will have a pork cutlet for tonight's dinner, to be more manly ( !?!?! ), to be. . . . . . The shooting star in coming so close. . . . . so close. . . . . .so bright. . . . . . Hazumu is now bathed in white hot light as he realizes, too late, that he is going to be hit by it ! The front tip of the spaceship is now buried into the top side of Mt. Kashima, but is intact, and is able to finally restart the cloaking device so as to become invisible again. There now appears to be a huge hole in the ground, whereupon Hazumu's hat gently settles down next to the edge. The spaceship drops into a time warp, with time seemingly standing still, so that repairs can be made.

Hazumu is dreaming. . . . . .somewhere under water. . . . . but not drowning. . . . . unclothed. . .  .  .  floating through time and space. . . . . . so peaceful. . . . . .so pleasurable. . . . . ! ? ! . . . ..

The citizens of Tokyo know something unusual is about to happen by the huge black cloud that is drifting overhead, and heading straight for Mt. Kashima ! The friends searching for Hazumu see it. Yasuna crying on Mt. Kashima sees it. But now, due to the time warp, it seems that the spaceship is hovering over the Kashimahi district. Light beams forming giant digital screens, emitting from the spaceship, together with sound in various languages, form in select places all over the world. One is above Kashimashi. The screens light up with a message---

This message has been converted into many languages so that you can understand it---

We are unidentified, unclassified life forms, or simply space aliens---( Hazumu's face lights up the screen )

We came to this planet to study human psychological traits and behavior---

But our spaceship had unexpected problems, and we accidentally killed this earthling---

By Law, we have to tell you this---

We have restored this human, but we apologize that we reversed their gender---

''He. . . . I mean she. . . . is 100% female, and that process is not reversible---''

See to it that this human receives all of her rights, and blends in with modern culture---

A tractor beam now emits from the spaceship, and lights up a runway from it to the top of Mt. Kashima. Both Tomari and Yasuna rush to the place where the light beam touches the ground. The both get there at the same time, only to see quite a dramatic display. Down the runway comes a human figure that looks like a teenage girl who is completely naked. She slowly descends, gently settling onto the outstretched arms of Tomari and Yasuna, who safely lower her to the ground. The tractor beam then retracts upward, and the spaceship launches upward, blowing leaves everywhere, and disappears from view. Hazumu is the first to speak. She recognizes Tomari and Yasuna. With a big smile on her face, she asks if something is wrong ? Yasuna has an incredulous look on her face. Tomari gives off a look of uneasiness and trepidation. Naked Hazumu is sitting with her hands folded on her lap, as happy and excited as she can be !

Episode Lookback and Commentary
When it was decided that KashiMashi; Girl Meets Girl would begin serialization in MediaWorks' manga magazine Dengeki Daioh, manga creator and artist Satoru Akahori wondered what kind of a message he could send to the readers ? This is when he thought up the idea of changing the main character from a boy to a girl. Akahori knew this would be a problem, since normally changing a person's gender would cause emotional and social complications, one of them being that the now-female character would invariably want to return to being male. He knew that there were a few problems that could not be avoided, but he wanted to dissipate the desire to turn back into a male. For this reason, Akahori devised that the character would not want to turn back into a male if there was the impact of the entire world already having accepted the fact that his physical appearance had changed to match gender identity. To do this, Akahori decided to have the alien who crashed into the character to not only revive the character as a female, but to broadcast this to the entire world's media, which is what happens near the end of Episode 1 of the Kashimashi anime.

Anime Fan's Commentary on Episode 1

FrostFire 1235 / 1 year ago 

Only a few anime girls can pull off short hair, [Hazumu] is one of them...

Hashihash / 1 year ago

Where was I all this time?? This anime is pure gold ! [Yasuna] Kamiizumi was [only into girls,] so she couldn't go out with Hazumu...but not anymore! Hazumu is a cute girl now~ Let the lilies [yuri] bloom!

IOUANAME / 2 years ago

I [didn't] think I [would] love the genre, but as it goes, this is my fav[orite] for the time being; just going through it as fast as possible !