After angering his father over an incident with a girl at school, Shuu Kaidou, a son of an electronic company's president is sent to all-boys school, St. Stokesia Academy. However upon arrival, he sees half the campus populated by cute girls, one of which he locks eyes with. But when he meets the principal, he is told by her that in order to help the academy's students understand relationships between men and women, for alternating weeks half of them dress up and live as girls.
And then the "girl" from earlier, Tsubaki Yaesaki shows up with carrying an extra girl's uniform and wig and is appointed Shuu's partner coordinator committee member. His job: make Shuu look cute.
A manga penned by Shuu Shirase and drawn by Suemitsu Dicca, Reversible School Life looks in antics and the relationships between Shuu, Tsubaki, Shuu's roomate Matsuyuki Touma and the class president Natsume Aoi as they deal with their dual lives in St. Stokesia. The manga ran in WAaI! magazine from 2010 to 2013.
Compare Princess Princess, only with everyone supplying the traps.
This manga provides examples of:
- Even the Guys Want Him: Deconstructed. Tsubaki looks so pretty as a girl that he often gets propositioned by guys, but he hates this, because he knows they're only lying to themselves that a pretty guy is 'as good as a girl' when the two things are completely different and will ultimately end up breaking up once everyone goes back to the real world.
- Gayngst: Played pretty realistically with Natsume. He knows that the fact that they're both guys doesn't mean it's impossible for him and Shuu to be together. He also knows that he's the son of a famous businessman and that things like that really do matter in the real world.
- Maybe Ever After: Shuu and Tsubaki don't officially hook up by the end, but the manga leaves open the possibility that they do.
- No Romantic Resolution: The series ends without anyone hooking up, though it's hinted that Shuu and Tsubaki might get together.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Defied by the principal and averted by the allowance system she puts into place which forbids outside monetary help from the students' parents and instead is determined by students' grades. No pass, no cash.
- Shown Their Work: Chapter Two has a tutorial on basic makeup for crossdressers, all in character. The next few chapters sneak a few more in, like hair extensions.
- Time Skip: The final chapter takes place after everyone's graduated and entered college.
- Witness Protection: A non-governmental version. The school is for students who are the sons of the rich or the influential (such as politicians) to avoid the media and other unwanted attention over the scandals of their parents or their own. Most students go under fake names, though Shuu overlooked that part on the application.
