Futaba-kun Change! (FKC!) is a manga by Aro Hiroshi, published by Jump Comics from 1991-1995. Take Ranma 1/2. Increase the zaniness to Lum * Urusei Yatsura levels. Add the number of in-jokes and outside references of Project A-ko. Stir. Pare the explicit sex out of Hot Tails and mince the remainder, slowly mixing into a batter over low heat. Concentrate by pressing out excess water. Futaba-kun Change! just might be what you get.
FKC! is in eight volumes, each with five or six chapters. Studio Ironcat is working on an English Translation of Futaba-kun Change!; currently, they are halfway through volume 2. The cover of each comic is excellent, considering that their only source of images are the black-and-white chapter titles. Every cover has been redone and colored, as well as given a background.
Studio Ironcat is going a step beyond what VIZ Communications did with Ranma 1/2, in that they are keeping the manga 'unflipped'. Since Japanese books are printed right-to-left, in order to have American readers easily understand, companies must reprint the book left-to-right. It is easier to flip entire pages around, but Studio Ironcat has individually flipped each panel back, keeping the original orientation of the art.
Unfortunately, this dedication to the original has its drawbacks. Because Japanese read right-to-left, the order of text bubbles is reversed. This results in some odd touch-up jobs as the bubbles are... redirected. Also, touch-up art has something to be desired. Many times, an easy job such as re-extending background lines where text had been deleted was not done, resulting in disturbing white space. Too much attention has been paid to the original text bubbles; the Japanese read top to bottom, then right to left; resulting in thin, vertical text bubbles. A similar sentance in English would require a horizontal bubble, but Studio Ironcat does not do this. Given the chance, I would have chosen to completely erase each bubble and redraw them. Text is written in different font sizes from bubble to bubble, resulting in a disjointed reading experience. Although keeping the manga unflipped is a good idea by itself, Ironcat's version could use a lot of improvement.
It is also obvious where Studio Ironcat has replaced text and retouched art. Although it is good that their text is crisp, the effect is taken away because the original art is more blurred, like a thin watercolor. Retouched speech bubbles suffer from the same, as well as being pixelated and too dark. Finally, Studio Ironcat occasionally misses deleting part of the original text or sound effects, resulting in a half-cut away kanji or kana.
These are minor nitpicks, however, and are not obtrusive if one is casually reading. Considering Studio Ironcat is only about a year old, this is not bad. With each issue, they improve and hopefully will be comparable to Ranma 1/2 in terms of quality by the end of the series.
Futaba-kun Change! is about Futaba Shimeru, a 14-year old student attending Komatane Junior High School. He is a leading member of the high school pro wrestling club; and, more importantly to the story, is in love with a girl named Misaki Shima. Luckily for him, she's interested in him as well... except they are both so shy and afraid of what the other will think, they don't know how the other feels!
But Futaba's family has kept a secret for generations -- for over 4000 years, in fact. Due to genetics, after puberty, whenever any of them becomes excited, he or she changes gender! (Sound familiar...?) The series begins at the first time this happens to poor Futaba. Not knowing what's going on, she ends up being chased around school by practically the entire male student body (she's got a boy's sense of modesty...). Fortunately, when the transformee calms down, the effect is reversed.
Misaki saves Futaba, but finds herself wondering who the strange girl is. Futaba, on the other hand, does not dare reveal himself because of what Misaki will think (Misaki: Pervert!! I hate you!!)
If you thought (hoped?) the similarity between Ranma 1/2 and Futaba-kun Change! ended with gender-switching, you are wrong. There are many interesting parallels; and I can not help but wonder if Futaba-kun Change! was influenced by Ranma 1/2.
| Paralells | Similar because... | |
| Ranma 1/2 | Futaba-kun Change! | |
| Ranma Saotome | Futaba Shimeru | Gender switch |
| Family names | Family names | Hidden meanings |
| Akane Tendo | Misaki Shima | Likes main character, can not cook |
| Nabiki Tendo | Negiri Shusendo | Mercenery, money is what's important |
| Principal | Principal | A bit... wierd |
| Kodachi Kuno | Takane Hirouin | Daughter of the Principal, wants to maim female version of lead character, certifiably insane |
| Anything-Goes Martial Arts | Pro-wrestling | Fighting style of main character, both are experts |
| Strange opponents | Strange opponents | Examples: Combat Calligraphy, Manga club, Gardening... |
| Jusenkyo Curses | Genetics | Gender switch |
| Mikado or Happosai | Futana, Futaba's older sister | Hentai (more like Mikado, actually) |
| Multiple fiancées | Multiple girls (and boys) after him | They are both very... popular |
| Ms. Hinako | Yuki Kojiro | Child teachers, very dangerous |
So Futaba-kun Change! is, in at least some ways, very similar to Ranma 1/2. But what makes it different? Several things, of which an obvious one is it's length. With only 45 chapters, there is no way it can compare to about 400 of Ranma (38 volumes, 9-12 chapters each). Why it is so short is, of course, open to question. Possibly because Ranma was already well-established with a similar story. Additionally, think of how quickly Ranma 1/2 would be over without the presence of antagonists such as Ryoga, Shampoo, Kodachi, Kuno, or any of the regular cast. FKC!, while having more surprise "friends" than would be realistic, places limits on new characters more than in Ranma. This may be an effect rather than a cause of FKC!'s shorter length, however.
Another way Futaba-kun Change! differs from Ranma 1/2 is the attitudes of many of the characters. In Ranma 1/2, although many people are in love with and after Ranma, there is little in the canonical story that has a good chance of becoming a lemon; with the exception of Shampoo, of course. This does not hold true for FKC!, although it never quite crosses 'the line'*. The style of art is reminicient of some 'H' manga; although this is purely secondhand information.
Ranma has repeatedly expressed his fustration at being cursed to turn into a girl. Futaba, on the other hand, never has. This may be because the series is only about an eighth of the way done, but from transltions on the internet, this never changes. The difference in acceptance seems to be a major personality difference between Futaba and Ranma: Futaba is more accepting of events that occur to him, while Ranma seeks to fight against his 'destiny' at virtually every turn.
Fans of Ranma 1/2 are naturally familiar with Ranma-chan's modesty; rather, lack thereof. Would you believe that Futaba-chan has even less? Overall, FKC! is definitely more... risqué than Ranma. One question that is currently on my mind lies with the author. It would be extremely easy to turn this into an 'H' manga; in fact, just allowing some events to reach their logical, implied conclusion would fufill the requirement. The question is, why did Hiroshi Aro choose not to? I have no good answer for this, but perhaps some reflection may answer the problem.
* - Based on three things: Futaba-kun Change! has more dialog than one would expect to find in an 'ecchi' manga, it is not sold under an adult listing, and, of course, that nothing quite happens.
In conclusion:
From what I have seen, although Futaba-kun Change! can be closely compared to Ranma 1/2, they target different audiences; and careful scrutiny should be applied when deciding which, if either, is better suited to any individual. This is not to say one is superior, but merely that they are different. If one is interested in Futaba-kun Change, it would be best to borrow a copy from a friend or buy a single issue before committing to a subsciption.
Legal Disclaimer -
This is an unofficial page, indeed, sites linked from this page probably do not even know what I am doing. Which may be for the better. More to the point, anyone who is in a position to sue should know that they already have all my money.
Informational Disclaimer -
What I know of Futaba-kun Change! is limited to the first two english volumes and translations from the internet for the rest. Needless to say, the information is very limited, I have only found one or two sites that actally have any information. Fortunately, they both carry amateur translations of every volume. The major site is: http://www.otakuworld.com/fkc
While on the topic of translations, these "ametur" translations are quite a good learning experience. They have the original kanji & kana (Japanese characters) along with romanji (English pronunciation), literal translations (each word, individually), scattered notes about the translation process, and finally an English translation. Eric has gone through the translations and condensed them to just English; that is what is posted on this page. Because of spacing, the best way to read these is to copy and paste into your favorite word-processing application.
