This series captures the potency of touch, as the casual physical contact of Mizuki’s schoolmates causes her concern and sometimes emotional overreaction. The school doctor quickly figures out Mizuki’s secret and becomes her confidant, identifying with her because of a secret of his own. He’s attracted to Mizuki but fighting it hard for fear that means he’s gay, in a subplot reminiscent of Victor/Victoria. Nakatsu, a good-hearted show-off, completes the triangle. Her dreams contrast with what’s best for him, so she must also learn to be selfless. Her enthusiasm is inspirational, but she has to keep reminding herself not to be too “girly” in order to keep her secret. They grow closer as friends but are kept apart by her masquerade. She’s determined to see Sano jump again, but as she works towards inspiring him, she realizes how little she knows about the boy behind her fantasy. Her outspoken, “foreign” ways quickly tag her as a weirdo in the other students’ eyes, while her good luck gets her rooming with the object of her crush only to discover that he’s quit competing. Now she’s attending the same boys’ school he does. She’d been living in America, but after seeing Izumi Sano compete in the high jump, she developed a crush on him. Mizuki has returned to Japan to pursue her dreams, even if it means pretending to be a boy. This modern comedy of gender roles by Hisaya Nakajo, subtitled For You in Full Blossom, is populated with androgynously cute teenagers sporting beautiful faces framed with sprays of bangs.
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