I My Me! Strawberry Eggs Review
Title: I My Me Strawberry Eggs
Director: Yuji Yamaguchi
Japanese Production Studio: TNK
Type: (TV)
Number of Episodes: 13
Vintage: 2001-07-04 to 2001-09-26
US Licensing Company: Geneon
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
General Summary
Recently graduated from college, an enthusiastic and bright Amawa Hibiki aims to establish a teaching career. Unfortunately, the school he tries to apply for a job at only hires female teachers. The principal points that men can't teach here because they do not know anything about love. Daunted by the feministic principal's rejection, he swears to prove that men do know about love as women do. Listening to his story, the landlady offers him a proposal. She tells him to dress as a woman to get a teaching position. Then he reluctantly agrees. As Hibiki and the landlady perfect his womanly disguise, he returns to Seitow Sannomiya Academy academy to apply again but as a woman. The Principal gives the female Hibiki a challenge: to get a clumsy student named Kuzuha Fuuko to run 50 m dash without tripping. After several attempts and Hibiki's advice, Fuuko succeeds. That was her first 50 m dash without tripping. She was his first student ever. And Fuuko's classmates notice the female Hibiki with curiosity. Fuuko helped him get a job at Seitow Sannomiya school. Thus Hibiki's career at that school begins.
In the second episode, Fuuko starts to call the male Hibiki a "bra-man" because she saw him wearing a bra. Ironically, she was pretty scared of the male Hibiki but trusted the female Hibiki.
Hibiki has witnessed his students' self-doubts, problems and angst but counseled them to overcome their troubles and doubts. Examples:
1. Hibiki noticed that Fuuko is trying hard to finish her committee duties and no classmate could give a care about it and were too self-centered. So Hibiki decided to take action and inspired all of Fuuko's classmates to help her. Thus Fuuko was no longer the only one who wears bloomers (female gym shorts) because every girl wore bloomers.
2. Hibiki broadens the communication between the parents and students, bringing them as close-knit and loving families on "Family Day".
3. Hibiki helps the kids who were fighting with each other finally come to an understanding and encourages them to share their fears with each other.
4. At the camp, while the vice-principal teaches the kids about the moral wrongs of male-female interaction, Hibiki butts in and opens the kids' minds and makes them realize that nothing is wrong with a male and a female together. He adds that they have nothing to be afraid when they'll be ready to reach adulthood and still interact with each other.
In the end, a 22 or 23-year old teacher Hibiki Amawa realizes he is in love with his own 14-year old student Fuuko Kuzuha who develops lesbian feelings for the female Hibiki but doesn't completely have any idea. Hibiki and Fuuko are 8 or 9 years apart. Not only they are teacher and student but also they're an adult man and an underage girl. Such a forbidden romance.
When the vice-principal began to doubt Hibiki's gender, she embarks on her intent to expose him. After several disastrous failures, she was able to succeed securing proof and reveal the cross-dresser’s identity to the public. As Hibiki's true gender was revealed to the public, at first Fuuko thought her feelings for him were fake. But she finally realizes she still loves her teacher, regardless of his gender and it was no lie. Therefore, she staunchly defended his actions by reminding everyone of his good deeds while being a teacher and successfully rallied the students, faculty and parents to support Hibiki and oppose the school's plans of making it an all-girls school.
Fuuko runs for a desperate last time to reconcile with Hibiki but all she got was Hibiki's look at her running to reach a speeding train he is on. But just a look at his expression was enough to assure her that she'll meet him again someday.
Storyline
The story focuses on not only teacher-student relationships but also the junior high school kids' immature attitudes towards the different roles of males and females in the society. Which was somewhat well executed with the kids' clear and broad understanding of the roles of the gender and age due to Hibiki's lectures in the end. That was a enjoyable storyline, though I didn't enjoy particular episodes. Many of the episodes, however are just decent, some are great and all of them are not terrible. Amusing actions of Mori and Toufu, the perverted residents at Hibiki-sensei's apartment as well as the landlady Ruru's actions inject a good dose of humor into storyline. Unfortunately, the guys' roles are rather cameo. However, the landlady has a major role in the story which I can appreciate.
Character development
Hibiki Amawa is a well-developed character since he’s the lead character of the show. The more we listen to his thoughts and point of view, the more we know about him. He is genuinely concerned about his own students. He is so willing to prove to the feministic principal that men know love that he decided to cross-dress himself as a woman. He loves teaching so much that he is ready to sacrifice his dignity in order to become a teacher.
Kuzuha Fuuko, the heroine of the show is clumsy and a bit whiny but very cute. Fuuko is really immature and very confused about her feelings. After all she is fourteen years old. She has no idea why she likes the female Hibiki. She sees Female Hibiki as a mother figure because "she" is very kind to her and reminds her of her late mother. Hibiki was attracted to Fuuko, as well but not as a woman as a man. He gradually realizes that it was the male Hibiki who fell in love with Fuuko. He feels that his hesitant attraction to his underage student was wrong but he wasn't sure it is. It was one of the most awkward romantic relationships I've seen but I can't think why it should not work at all. In fact they're a very interesting pair.
Mori and Toufu are hilarious and equally perverted. Ruru the Landlady is strict but spunky. I don't really like Akira Fukae, anyway because he acts like a jerk. I felt that Fuuko's classmate, Himejima Fujio isn't to my liking. She is quite headstrong, tomboyish and kind of emotionally immature when it comes to Akira. On the other hand, her narrow-minded intolerance of men reminds me a bit of Naru. Seiko, another of Fuuko's classmates is even more wimpy than Fuuko and has a dislike of the men, But both the principal and vice-principal are even more narrow-minded and a hundred times more feministic than Fujio or Seiko. Umeda Miko, Fuuko's fourth classmate, is the most feminine of the four girls and is quite boy-crazy. Miko is my third favorite IMME character after Hibiki and Fuuko. All of the students in Hibiki's class are pretty angst-ridden and most of them have a terrible misunderstanding of the gender roles in the society. I find two horny classmates Aoki Kyosuke and Shyoichi Iwaya are not interesting enough personality-wise.
Animation
Animation is top-notch. But male Hibiki could look a bit more chiseled instead of polished. However, the character designs were neat overall. The female Hibiki looks very feminine indeed and hardly resembles the male version. Also, I like those cute schoolgirl uniforms. This anime has little fanservice. For example you get a nice view of Fuuko-chan's panties.
Final Summary:
This focuses on Hibiki’s teaching abilities to shape and guide maturing teenage minds. This is his primary role in the show and he did it well. However, Hibiki and Fuuko's relationship is the main focus of the anime series. Of course, it is not only a teacher-student relationship but also one between an adult and a minor, which is pretty interesting. That was what makes it worth watching if you don’t mind this taboo. I think it is a good series, while what makes it not worth watching is some of those episodes which need to be better-written. A few episodes, especially thirteenth episode, have re-watching value.
Director: Yuji Yamaguchi
Japanese Production Studio: TNK
Type: (TV)
Number of Episodes: 13
Vintage: 2001-07-04 to 2001-09-26
US Licensing Company: Geneon
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
General Summary
Recently graduated from college, an enthusiastic and bright Amawa Hibiki aims to establish a teaching career. Unfortunately, the school he tries to apply for a job at only hires female teachers. The principal points that men can't teach here because they do not know anything about love. Daunted by the feministic principal's rejection, he swears to prove that men do know about love as women do. Listening to his story, the landlady offers him a proposal. She tells him to dress as a woman to get a teaching position. Then he reluctantly agrees. As Hibiki and the landlady perfect his womanly disguise, he returns to Seitow Sannomiya Academy academy to apply again but as a woman. The Principal gives the female Hibiki a challenge: to get a clumsy student named Kuzuha Fuuko to run 50 m dash without tripping. After several attempts and Hibiki's advice, Fuuko succeeds. That was her first 50 m dash without tripping. She was his first student ever. And Fuuko's classmates notice the female Hibiki with curiosity. Fuuko helped him get a job at Seitow Sannomiya school. Thus Hibiki's career at that school begins.
In the second episode, Fuuko starts to call the male Hibiki a "bra-man" because she saw him wearing a bra. Ironically, she was pretty scared of the male Hibiki but trusted the female Hibiki.
Hibiki has witnessed his students' self-doubts, problems and angst but counseled them to overcome their troubles and doubts. Examples:
1. Hibiki noticed that Fuuko is trying hard to finish her committee duties and no classmate could give a care about it and were too self-centered. So Hibiki decided to take action and inspired all of Fuuko's classmates to help her. Thus Fuuko was no longer the only one who wears bloomers (female gym shorts) because every girl wore bloomers.
2. Hibiki broadens the communication between the parents and students, bringing them as close-knit and loving families on "Family Day".
3. Hibiki helps the kids who were fighting with each other finally come to an understanding and encourages them to share their fears with each other.
4. At the camp, while the vice-principal teaches the kids about the moral wrongs of male-female interaction, Hibiki butts in and opens the kids' minds and makes them realize that nothing is wrong with a male and a female together. He adds that they have nothing to be afraid when they'll be ready to reach adulthood and still interact with each other.
In the end, a 22 or 23-year old teacher Hibiki Amawa realizes he is in love with his own 14-year old student Fuuko Kuzuha who develops lesbian feelings for the female Hibiki but doesn't completely have any idea. Hibiki and Fuuko are 8 or 9 years apart. Not only they are teacher and student but also they're an adult man and an underage girl. Such a forbidden romance.
When the vice-principal began to doubt Hibiki's gender, she embarks on her intent to expose him. After several disastrous failures, she was able to succeed securing proof and reveal the cross-dresser’s identity to the public. As Hibiki's true gender was revealed to the public, at first Fuuko thought her feelings for him were fake. But she finally realizes she still loves her teacher, regardless of his gender and it was no lie. Therefore, she staunchly defended his actions by reminding everyone of his good deeds while being a teacher and successfully rallied the students, faculty and parents to support Hibiki and oppose the school's plans of making it an all-girls school.
Fuuko runs for a desperate last time to reconcile with Hibiki but all she got was Hibiki's look at her running to reach a speeding train he is on. But just a look at his expression was enough to assure her that she'll meet him again someday.
Storyline
The story focuses on not only teacher-student relationships but also the junior high school kids' immature attitudes towards the different roles of males and females in the society. Which was somewhat well executed with the kids' clear and broad understanding of the roles of the gender and age due to Hibiki's lectures in the end. That was a enjoyable storyline, though I didn't enjoy particular episodes. Many of the episodes, however are just decent, some are great and all of them are not terrible. Amusing actions of Mori and Toufu, the perverted residents at Hibiki-sensei's apartment as well as the landlady Ruru's actions inject a good dose of humor into storyline. Unfortunately, the guys' roles are rather cameo. However, the landlady has a major role in the story which I can appreciate.
Character development
Hibiki Amawa is a well-developed character since he’s the lead character of the show. The more we listen to his thoughts and point of view, the more we know about him. He is genuinely concerned about his own students. He is so willing to prove to the feministic principal that men know love that he decided to cross-dress himself as a woman. He loves teaching so much that he is ready to sacrifice his dignity in order to become a teacher.
Kuzuha Fuuko, the heroine of the show is clumsy and a bit whiny but very cute. Fuuko is really immature and very confused about her feelings. After all she is fourteen years old. She has no idea why she likes the female Hibiki. She sees Female Hibiki as a mother figure because "she" is very kind to her and reminds her of her late mother. Hibiki was attracted to Fuuko, as well but not as a woman as a man. He gradually realizes that it was the male Hibiki who fell in love with Fuuko. He feels that his hesitant attraction to his underage student was wrong but he wasn't sure it is. It was one of the most awkward romantic relationships I've seen but I can't think why it should not work at all. In fact they're a very interesting pair.
Mori and Toufu are hilarious and equally perverted. Ruru the Landlady is strict but spunky. I don't really like Akira Fukae, anyway because he acts like a jerk. I felt that Fuuko's classmate, Himejima Fujio isn't to my liking. She is quite headstrong, tomboyish and kind of emotionally immature when it comes to Akira. On the other hand, her narrow-minded intolerance of men reminds me a bit of Naru. Seiko, another of Fuuko's classmates is even more wimpy than Fuuko and has a dislike of the men, But both the principal and vice-principal are even more narrow-minded and a hundred times more feministic than Fujio or Seiko. Umeda Miko, Fuuko's fourth classmate, is the most feminine of the four girls and is quite boy-crazy. Miko is my third favorite IMME character after Hibiki and Fuuko. All of the students in Hibiki's class are pretty angst-ridden and most of them have a terrible misunderstanding of the gender roles in the society. I find two horny classmates Aoki Kyosuke and Shyoichi Iwaya are not interesting enough personality-wise.
Animation
Animation is top-notch. But male Hibiki could look a bit more chiseled instead of polished. However, the character designs were neat overall. The female Hibiki looks very feminine indeed and hardly resembles the male version. Also, I like those cute schoolgirl uniforms. This anime has little fanservice. For example you get a nice view of Fuuko-chan's panties.
Final Summary:
This focuses on Hibiki’s teaching abilities to shape and guide maturing teenage minds. This is his primary role in the show and he did it well. However, Hibiki and Fuuko's relationship is the main focus of the anime series. Of course, it is not only a teacher-student relationship but also one between an adult and a minor, which is pretty interesting. That was what makes it worth watching if you don’t mind this taboo. I think it is a good series, while what makes it not worth watching is some of those episodes which need to be better-written. A few episodes, especially thirteenth episode, have re-watching value.
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(This review/pictures made by Ichirou Ohgami)