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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
*MUCH* better than it might seem, June 23, 2002
This review is from: Strawberry Eggs (I My Me) - Make-up Exam (Vol. 1) (DVD)
I admit, the entire reason that I watched the first episode of this series was because of the name. I wanted to make sense of this seemingly meaningless combination of English words. After watching all 13 episodes, it doesn't make the slightest bit more sense to me than it did before. ^_^; The story is basically "Tootsie" meets "In & Out," if you're a fan of 5-second summaries. The basic premise of the show is that Hibiki Amawa is a 23-year-old college graduate with a degree in athletics who desperately wants to be a gym teacher. He has just moved into a new apartment with his dog, only to be immediately assaulted by his new landlady and told to pay his rent or get packing. He has no money, so he assures Oba-chan ("Auntie," his nickname for the landlady) that he is on his way to apply for a job at the junior high school in the town.. the catch, however (and there's always a catch) is that the principal/vice-principal of the school are essentially insane man-haters, and they will only hire female teachers (and are even working to rid of the school of male students), because they feel that men disrupt their teaching philosophy of gentleness and a loving non-competitive atmosphere. When Hibiki is rejected because of his gender, Oba-chan tells him that because she can't stand the school's principal, she will help him get revenge. Using both makeup and a clever choker that can disguise his voice, she manages to turn Hibiki into a rather attractive woman who sets out to apply for the job once more. The principals decide to test "her" ability by picking out the clumsiest student in the school, a 2nd year student named Fuuko, and telling Hibiki that if she can get the girl to run without tripping - and especially WITHOUT losing her temper - then she will have proven that she is not too 'manly' and impatient, thus filling the school's philosophy of "Love itself" and winning herself the job. Fuuko, however, besides being clumsy, has another strike against her: the girls' gym uniforms are ankle-length pleated skirts (to keep the boys from feeling any attraction to them ^_^;), which prevent her from stretching her legs and get twisted as she moves. Hibiki, determined to win, finally manages to get Fuuko to win - by tying her skirt around her waist and thus freeing her legs to run (shocking the administration). Hibiki gets the job, but Fuuko seems a little starry-eyed around her new teacher.. The series progresses through suspicion about Hibiki's true nature from the vice-principal to blossoming romances among Hibiki's homeroom students to learning to accept everyone for who they are. This last bit really surprised me; I wasn't expecting much out this aspect, but the ending of the series really takes a turn for the dramatic and addresses the issues head-on, very reminiscent of the movie 'In & Out' with Kevin Kline (about a gay teacher). The teacher-student relationship dynamics also make me a little twitchy, but "at least it's not quite as bad as Cardcaptor Sakura" (where it's a FOURTH grader) is a good motto. ^_^;;;; Overall, it's a great show that deserves to be watched, with good artwork, cute characters, and an unusual story.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the funniest Anime ever!, July 12, 2003
This review is from: Strawberry Eggs (I My Me) - Make-up Exam (Vol. 1) (DVD)
I am totally serious. I would have to say that each of the four episodes got more laughs from me per minute than either Ranma 1/2 or even Tenchi Muyo! Not that those anime series are not funny, but this series focuses on a male gym teacher who, in order to work in a school which allows only FEMALE teachers, has to cross-dress! The problems he gets into, the conflicts among the students he has to solve and, sometimes, the gender issues he has to deal with, make this DVD nothing but a minefield of laughs and giggles. He even has to deal with the traditions of the school, which, for example, demand that females wear long skirts while in gym class. And don't forget his own male ego! The extras, such as the art gallery and the student roll call of the males just adds to the great humor. The art work, the lack of magic or silly science, and the perfect voice selection for the characters makes sure that you have no distractions from the story itself. 100 minutes of enjoyment. While rated 13 and up, I can picture younger kids watching it as long as you trusted them to be mature enough to handle it. Sometimes there are serious scenes, dealing with relationships between males and females, as well as between friends, and of course between teacher and students. But these are topics that young people will have to deal with in real life anyway, so why try to shield them? Also, Hibiki Amawa, the teacher, learns a little about himself during this adventure. Buy it!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warm melodramatic comedy breaks stereotypes in each episode, August 19, 2002
This review is from: Strawberry Eggs (I My Me) - Make-up Exam (Vol. 1) (DVD)
IMMSE is a 13 episode series with Vol. 1 officially released on August 13 (unless you bought a fansub). My attention was first grabbed by the very odd title, but after watching the first episode, I was hooked by the quality and pacing of the content. In many anime shows, as with this one, the main characters are exhorted to go beyond their self-limitations. In IMMSE, there are no mecha, magic girls, space ships, gory fights, or large amounts of gratuitous slapstick -- just carefully scripted melodramatic moments and long character vignettes taking place over 12 episodes and concluded in episode 13. In so many things in anime (and in real life), people set limitations for themselves due to their own self-image, their own expectations of themselves, and the limitations and expectations set upon them by others. Each of these topics is carefully addressed by clever and tightly written scripts based upon the adventures of Hibiki Amawa as he interacts with the students and staff of a private junior high school. The director was careful to avoid the talking head syndrome, so even though this is a character-driven show, it keeps moving forward with events and action connecting the character vignettes. The show avoids heavy drama and uses melodrama and humour in a good balance to keep the mood positive. Okay, because the principal and vice-principal only hire female teachers (because only female teachers are capable of teaching properly), Hibiki Amawa endeavors to become a teacher. He crossdresses. Okay, this may turn off a lot of people, but this is done quite low-key and tastefully as possible. It is certainly nothing like the transgender issue in the well-known Ranma show, nor like how Ranma (and friends) behave. Hibiki proves himself as an excellent teacher who exemplifies what I feel teachers should be and what so many teachers don't seem to have in full measure (at least from what I hear from parents after PTA). The opening credits are partially customized for each episode which is something I wish more shows would do. Another plus is that many Japanese signs/images are translated by soft subtitles rather than having digital image overlays. The opening song "Dearest" is also catchy. And finally, though this disc is from Pioneer, there isn't that old tired Pioneer advertisement for their other shows in the Extras Section. A lot of care was done for the disc and you can see the final sendoff by Kuzuha if you watch past the end credits of episode 4. I will buy the other discs as well. Highly Recommended.
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