It's a fun story but a bit too predictable. Then again, plot was never really the strong suit of this series.
The characters are cute and most of them get a fair amount of development given the length of the story.
The romance will appeal to some and leave others wanting. I was one of those left wanting.
The comedy is okay but nothing outstanding.
The plot is pretty much all stuff that's been done elsewhere but better. I might go so far as to say the specific formula used for the plot is unique when taken as a whole but that's really just me trying to find something to say other than it was contrived and average.
Unfortunately, I can't say more without a spoiler tag.
There's [url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody"]one trope[/url] I really can't stand when applied to gender bending and it happens an awful lot when an author decides to contrive a pseudo-yaoi relationship. You know, the boy falls for his best friend cliche that makes up a lot of yaoi and shonen-ai. I'm not a fan of such relationships to begin with but the fact these relationships simply don't work without playing [url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody"]the mind is a plaything of the body trope[/url] makes it truly loathsome.
I could accept it if Chinami had feelings for Oguri back when he was still a guy. It'd still be a romance that falls outside of my particular tastes but I wouldn't find the development offensive. What makes it offensive is the assumption that becoming a girl would flip some kind of switch and make him suddenly see boys as attractive when he previously showed no such inclination. What makes it even more absurd is the supposed aesop that gender doesn't matter. This was actually lampshaded a bit at the end but the lampshade ignored the fact gender is apparently the whole reason Chinami falls for Oguri.
Simply put, the initial few chapters went to great length to setup Yuika as not only the primary love interest but the only person even on Chinami's radar. If this had been any other story, Chinami would have ended up with Yuika even if he/she had shown interest in Oguri at the beginning because the "childhood friend" (or just plain friend) always loses, especially against the hot chick. This isn't just a cliche, it's pretty much [url="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PatientChildhoodLoveInterest"]the rule for real life too[/url].
The fact that Chinami changed tracks to focus on Oguri a handful of chapters in and stayed makes the ending slightly unpredictable only because it flies in the face of what logic dictates. On the other hand, it's super easy to predict because, from the moment Chinami starts to persue Oguri, he doesn't show interest in anyone else. Yuika continued to pursue him but the love was obviously one-sided at that point.
Simply put, the progression of the romance feels extremely forced from the point where Chinami suddenly loses interest in Yuika and falls for Oguri. The fact they're the one pairing I didn't want and the fact it was poorly executed just makes everything from that point a total downer. It might not be any less predictable but the normal formula of treating Oguri as a distraction and having Chinami remember his feelings for Yuika in an attempt at a "surprise" ending would have still felt a bit forced but it would have at least made sense. Of course, in reality, anyone as wishy-washy as Chinami would have just ended up alone.
It doesn't help that this was supposed to be Seinen and Chinami x Oguri is pretty much a strictly Shoujo pairing.
I kind of feel bad for Subaru. In spite of a rather exciting first kiss, he was reduced to being a stalker plot device. He was just there to provide help when the plot needed it. Since Subaru was someone who seemed to excite Chinami from their first meeting, I would have been happy to see him become a real potential love interest but he was put on the bench almost immediately after he was introduced and kept there for the rest of the story.
I actually would have been accepting of an ending with Subaru sweeping in and stealing Chinami away.
I really enjoyed the first handful of chapters but when the romance suddenly switched tracks it broke a few rules that I'm a stickler for and lost my interest.
(-32)
