So, while i was browsing through stuff i have yet to read, i ended up stumbling upon this extremely underrated jewel.

Illustrated by the same guy (Il-Kwon Ha) who did Annarasumanara (go read it!), it's a very heartwarming story of a guy with a swimsuit fetish living with a strict asian parent and, due to certain circumstances, forced by his teacher to crossdress as a girl and play in a girls water polo team. Kinda generic and uninsteresting, right?

Well, while the premise may not sound that exciting or unique (it isn't), the way the story was handled in such a short albeit suitable run is truly remarkable and worth praising. The comedy, the relationship between the two protagonists, the extremely likable side characters (and a special shout-out to the teacher, whose backstory was surprisingly touching) and even the more serious parts, everything was handled with the dignity and quality of a good writer, which is what Il-Kwon certainly is.

And even though the story as a whole is fairly simple and straighforward, it's also quite meaningful and the deeper themes the artist manages to explore here (things like loneliness, child trauma, the pressure of having to meet expectations imposed by those around you, etc.) are elegantly incorporated in it thanks to Il-Kwon's charmingly artistic artwork, which makes it for a rather satisfying experience, because you can clearly feel the kids you've grown to like becoming more mature and overcoming their issues. And that's what makes a coming of age narrative compelling. You end up feeling happy when they feel happy and you get sad when they get sad. It's that sense of progress that makes the whole thing enjoyable, imo.

All in all, it's only 30 chapters long (kinda wish it was a bit longer) and it's a really sweet and satisfying read, so i highly recommend it. Oh, and don't let the gender bender tag turn you off - even though the main guy crossdresses, the people who should know his true identity know it from very early in the story, so it's never annoying. So yeah, don´t waste more time and go read it, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.