Title: Mario’s Metamorphosis
Subtitle: A Gender-Bending Journey Through Youth and Unexpected Femininity
Series: Japanesque
Author: Yulia Yu. Sakurazawa
Sixty is supposed to be a return to the calendar’s beginning, a kanreki, but for Mario Aso, it felt like the end. Stripped of his corporate title and relegated to domestic obscurity, he felt like oversized garbage in his own home. His future stretched before him, a vast and terrifying void.
Then, a chance encounter at a middle school reunion reignites a forgotten spark: Misaki Gotoda, his first love, now a stunningly successful and strikingly tall career woman. But Misaki offers more than just nostalgia; she speaks of a legendary “rejuvenating hot spring” deep in the mountains, a chance to reclaim lost youth.
What Mario doesn’t expect is a complete overhaul. One dip, and he wakes up a twenty-year-old woman, while Misaki, alongside him, transforms into a twenty-year-old man! Suddenly, Mario is navigating the world from an entirely new perspective: periods, shifting social dynamics, and the constant, bewildering attention of his former crush (now a man) and her equally alluring daughter (who becomes *very* interested in female Mario).
But the transformations don’t stop there. Mario’s body fluctuates, reverting to his male self for a few hours each night, creating escalating comedic and horrifying predicaments frrom transforming in a public restroom to facing his bewildered wife, Taeko. As his aging male body struggles to reassert itself against his newfound femininity, Mario faces an ultimate choice: embrace his bewildering new identity, or cling to the vestiges of his past?
For readers new to Japanese light novels, this genre is known for its fast-paced narratives, strong character voices, and imaginative premises that often blend fantasy with relatable, slice-of-life humor. Mario’s Metamorphosis is a prime example, delivering a story that is both wildly entertaining and surprisingly insightful.
Part hilarious gender-bend comedy, part poignant exploration of identity, Mario’s Metamorphosis is a whirlwind journey of self-discovery. Experience the world through Mario’s increasingly complex eyes as he grapples with age, gender, societal expectations, and the bizarre realities of a life turned upside down. Will he find happiness as Mariya, the elementary school girl, or reclaim some semblance of his former self?