Comics / Manga

Metamo Kiss: Volume 1

By Leroy Douresseaux
March 8, 2007 - 09:13

Kohanamaru Taki is moving back into the city to live with his family after living in the countryside with his Grandmother for so long.  At a train station, Kohanamaru (or " Hanamaru" or " Kohana") has a chance physical encounter with another teen, a young woman named Nanao Higashiyama, and suddenly finds himself in her body.  Much to his surprise, he discovers that he, like the each member of his family, can switch bodies.  Kohana's sister, Koharu, even switches bodies with a cat.

For Kohana such a power is a gift, for he discovers that he's smitten by Nanao, and being able to switch bodies with her seems perfect.  She, however, things this is a terrible situation.  In fact, Nanao is in love with Kohana's twin brother, Konatsu, who certainly acts as if he doesn't much care for Nanao.  Konatsu doesn't switch bodies, but has the power to reverse Kohana and Nanao's transformations with a kiss.  Thus is born a combative love triangle.

Quite a few of TOKYOPOP's titles bear the description, "Romance/Comedy," but Metamo Kiss is a "Comedy/Romance," a comedy first and a romance second.  Almost a Hollywood high concept movie pitch, Metamo Kiss certainly dresses itself in the clothes of romance and shojo.  Still, Manga-ka Sora Omote jumps at every opportunity to exploit this concept's comic possibilities.

There is a scene in which Kohana and Nanao are trapped in each other's bodies.  When Kohana-in-Nanao must bathe Nanao's body, he finds Nanao-in-Kohana not at all happy with the idea of Kohana seeing his new body bare-butt naked.  Omote smartly mixes slapstick, gentle innuendo, and clever dialogue in a way that allows both teen and adult readers to enjoy this edgy comic scene without making the entire book adult-oriented.

Omote's character designs are also quite good.  Her specialty is drawing beautiful faces with expressive eyes.  In fact, she's mastered cartooning the human head to the extent that it's worth taking special notice.  While this is a Manga for teenaged girls, anyone looking for unusual physical comedy will find this sly he said/she said romp worth a try.

 

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20