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First Impressions: Ani-Imo vol. 1 – Haruko Kurumatani

Ani-Imo-cover 1

Ani Imo vol. 1

Synopsis from Publisher: Youta has always had a soft spot for his twin sister, Hikaru. Soft-spoken and docile, she’s everything a doting big brother could hope for! But when a freak accident results in the siblings swapping bodies, Youta discovers that his “innocent” little sister is anything but!

Now trapped in Hikaru’s body, Youta becomes the object of his “little sister’s” advances – advances she now has the testosterone-fueled power to back up! Will Youta ever get his body back in this uproarious forbidden love comedy?



Impressions: Hmmm…this really wasn’t what I expected. I love a good gender-bender, and that’s what I thought I was getting with Ani-Imo. I expected the gender situations to be funnier, but instead I really found them to be plain awkward. I enjoyed the older brother’s character. He’s like a mother hen, and very concerned about his “little” sister. It’s comical how dense he can be even though he’s the fidgety one. I don’t know if it’s just my own stereotypes, but I really disliked Hikaru. She’s this quiet little thing who does express herself physically. We hardly get much out of her though, until the two siblings switch bodies. Then she’s this aggressive pushy type threatening to molest her brother’s body because she’s got his wanker now. Geez. Horny much? The brother even wears a blindfold because he’s respecting the privacy of his sister’s body. You’d think it’d be the brother freaking out and fondling his own breasts now that he has them. Because that’s what you’d expect a guy to do if he suddenly grew boobs. But nope, not Youta. I guess that’s what makes this series work, however. The stereotypes are backwards.



This is the first I’ve seen from Kurumatani so I have nothing else to compare, but I found nothing to complain about her art. The line drawings are clean and the shading and toning are minimal. The paneling is easy to follow as well. I will gripe that the sister character is drawn to look years younger than she is actually. I really don’t want to watch the teenage male suck face with a female grade schooler.



As for reading more, I think I’m done with this one. I’m not interested in seeing these two fall for each other in the other’s body. Especially since they are living in the same household. It’s an interesting premise, but hormonal teenagers are enough just being male and female. The body switch adds another dimension that complicates matters worse than usual.

Heart of Manga Rating: ♥♥♥

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4 Comments

  • Oh I figured this would happen. Ecchi in this seemed inevitable. Funny though that apparently the brother tries to respect his sister’s body, but the sister won’t respect his. Thanks for the review!

    And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 😀

    • The review was all my pleasure. 🙂 Glad to see you again! Happy new year to you, too!

      • 😀 Let’s make this year a great one!

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