I My Me! Strawberry Eggs

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I My Me! Strawberry Eggs
あぃまぃみぃ！ストロベリー・エッグ (I My Me! Strawberry Eggs)
Genre	Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Shonen
TV anime
Directed by	Yuji Yamaguchi
Studio	Geneon
Network	WOWOW
Original run	4 July 2001 – 26 September 2001
No. of episodes	13

I My Me! Strawberry Eggs is a 13 episode anime about a man who disguises himself as a woman with the help of his crankily eccentric but resourceful landlady so that he can work at a school with the man-hating faculty. The show is a typical "bait and switch" anime, in that it begins as a light and immature comedy but then suddenly, about midway through, becomes a very moving drama. This has the effect of making the dramatic moments more intense, and allowing it to return to the comedic voice when issues get too heavy. This is especially true when the series starts to address such topics as homosexuality and ephebophilia-- an attraction to pubescent children.

The series makes no judgments on these issues. The entire series is simply shown from the points of view of the various characters, and the audience is left to come up with their own judgments. This is tempered slightly by very sympathetic characters, but still leaves room for varied outlooks.

The series has produced a range of critical perspectives. For example, some critics cite the fifth episode as exemplary of the series as a whole, consisting as it does almost entirely of young girls comparing their breast sizes. Proponents of the series, however, are quick to point out that the rest of the show does not follow this format. While these appraisals (both positive and negative) have their place within the dialogue regarding the series, they tend to skirt the more important issue of the way I My Me! Strawberry Eggs negotiates the already mentioned issues of homosexuality and ephebophilia. As with many anime products from Japan, the series seems perfectly comfortable openly representing what other cultures (with a different or more conservative cultural history) might broach less candidly.

I My Me! Strawberry Eggs does not denigrate the former (homosexuality) as abhorrent and does not clearly endorse the latter (ephebophilia). In fact, the series can be said to almost embrace with a comedic abandon the erotic possibilities of cross-dressing. Its handling of underage sex is more complicatedly situated within Japan's history and social norms. The potential critic or analyst of this aspect of the series' story-line is well served by contextualizing it within, first, Japan's history and social norms, and, second, within similar representations in other anime as well as other media in the world at large prior to coming to any final judgments.

The North American version of this series was released in August 2002 by Pioneer.

The opening soundtrack is "Dearest(OP)" by Hitomi Mieno(瞳). The ending soundtrack is "White Station" by Acefile.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Episode list (American release titles) 3 Cast list 4 External links

[edit] Characters

• Hibiki Amawa
  

  

  Hibiki Amawa
  

  

  "Hibiki-chan"

He is the main character of the show. He must find a job to pay the rent to Ruru, his landlady. He applies to teach physical education at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School, but is rejected due to his gender, leading him to conspire with Ruru to disguise himself as a female. In this new guise as Hibiki-chan, he successfully gains employment at the school. He later finds that he is developing feelings for Fūko, feelings that appear to be requited. However, when out of his disguise, Hibiki is despised and feared by Fūko, a situation arising after she discovered him wearing women's underwear. As such, he is shunned as "bra man". Another misunderstanding occurs when he is seen with another man, the school director's nephew, who had previously been introduced to Hibiki-chan as a potential husband.

• Fūko Kuzuha

She is a clumsy, selfless girl and a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. She finds she is developing feelings for Hibiki-chan, a matter which causes her much angst. She is, however, shocked when she finds out Hibiki is a man, though she still loves Hibiki.

• Ruru Sanjo (Lulu)

Also known as Ba-chan (grandmother), Ruru is Hibiki's, Morikoji's, and Toufukoji's landlady at the Gochiso. She helps out Hibiki and keeps her other two tenants out of trouble.

• Mori Koji

He is a salaryman and a tenant at the Gochiso. He enjoys taking photographs of girls' junior high school uniforms using his camera and mirror, which he affectionately refers to as his reflector.

• Tofu "Kochi" Tofukuji

He is a retired tenant at the Gochiso. He is obsessed with Fūko Kuzuha, to the point where he even has merchandise bearing her likeness.

• Kura-ge

He is Hibiki's faithful dog. Ruru is holding Kura-ge as collateral until Hibiki can pay the rent.

• Principal Chieko Sannomiya

She is the principal at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. She makes her disliking of men well known.

• Vice-principal Reiko Mukogawa

She is the vice-principal at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. She is very suspicious of Hibiki and often tries to humiliate him/her.

• Fujio Himejima

She is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. She is a student of martial arts. She likes Akira Fukae, as seen in ep.5, though he rejects her.

• Miho Umeda

She is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. She is Fujio's friend. Mature for her age, Miho tries to maintain an air of precociousness, especially when it comes to experiences with men.

• Seiko Kasuganomichi

She is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. She is a little shy.

• Akira Fukae

He is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. He is more quiet, and coolheaded. Despite his sometimes hostile demeanor towards Fūko, he likes her.

• Kyosuke Aoki

He is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School. Kyosuke is Akira's friend, and has a personal affinity for Hibiki-chan.

• Shyoichi Iwaya

He is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School and close friend of Kyosuke. It is possible that he admires Seiko.

• Shiro Naruo

He is a student at the Seitow Sannomiya Private School.

[edit] Episode list (American release titles)

1. Desperate First Lipstick
2. Forbidden Narrow Eyeliner
3. Selfish Blush magic
4. Delicate Tear Concealer
5. Wicked Dream Foundation
6. Fragile Powder Puzzle
7. Longed For Complexion Toner
8. Rebellious Eyelash Curler Boys
9. A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy
10. Bemusing Love Palette
11. Fragrance Heart to Adulthood
12. Cleansing Shock of Deception
13. Someday, Without Make-up As Promised

[edit] Cast list

• Hibiki Amawa: Male - Yuuji Kishi (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English); Female - Yuki Masuda (Japanese), Sally Dana (English)
• Fūko Kuzuha: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English)
• Ruru Sanjo: Kujira (Japanese), Jody Jaress (English)

[edit] External links

• Review at DigitallyObsessed.com
• Smashed Ice // I My Me Strawberry Eggs Summaries, music, images, information
• I My Me! Strawberry Eggs @ IMDB