Reviews Manga / Houou Gakuen Misoragumi

Male Tsunderes, Cool Lesbians and Long-haired Masochists

An interesting take on the 'girl cross-dresses to get into an all-boys school' genre (is that a genre?) in that the main character, Kei, is not interested in a romantic relationship with any of the very bishonen guys surrounding her, and is treated more or less as one of the guys by her roommate/possible love interest, who of course knows she's a girl.

The series ascribes to the notion prevalent in Japan that lesbians are women who were hurt by men in the past and can be 'cured' by the right man. Despite the fact that Kei has always been keen on girls from a young age and has never shown any interest in guys, her mother believes that forcing Kei to be around guys at all times (by sending her to an all-boys school) will somehow straighten her up.

It's this plot-point that probably sours many people on this series, as this is a rather offensive notion to begin with, and the way the mother carries it out is rather brutal, especially given Kei's initial physical revulsion at being so close to males (she literally throws up from being near them). But if you can get around this then it's a highly suggested read, as Kei is rather likable and a fresh change from the girls typically put into this situation. She's a rather unusual character in that while she does exhibit typical shoujo traits such as easily getting lost and endless enthusiasm, she also has a 'cool guy persona' that, while not really showing up often due to the lack of girls for her to hit on in an all-boys school, is actually potent enough to get even female readers to swoon, Kei's gender notwithstanding.

The dynamic between Kei and her roommate is also quite entertaining. He's smaller and weaker than Kei but makes up for it by being physically violent and scary towards the more passive Kei, who in all actuality could probably stop a lot of his abuse if she were more bold. It gets even more entertaining as the story goes on and we learn more about him and his reasons for what he does to Kei.

All in all, if you can get past the 'cure your gays' premise and like things that play with gender-roles, I would recommend this manga. It has fresh, non-clichéd characters and interesting character interactions, some delicious male tsundere action, and a female lead who is actually pretty cool.