The showcase this comic deserves!

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TSF Showcase 2024-30
Changed Into A High School Girl [Joshikousei ni Kigaetara] by Iko Sasagawa

…Okay, I’m kind of cheating with this one, as I already featured it prior to the debut of TSF Showcase, as part of Rundown (9/25-10/01) Dope Skinsuit Comic. BIG Inspiration. Inferior Official Distribution. However, I did not go into much detail on the manga, and the more I thought about TSF stories that I could really sink my teeth into, the more I realized this is a perfect showcase candidate. Meaning it’s getting another shot in the limelight!

Changed Into A High School Girl is… an incredibly generic title for such a personality and ideas rich story. It’s a skinsuit comic, and among the darkest ones I’ve ever encountered, as it takes that concept in a more literal direction. 

The story begins with the disappearance of Rikako Moriyama, the titular joshikousei who works as a waitress at a family restaurant owned by Ryuji Toudou. A former pro wrestler and yakuza who, despite his gruff exterior, is a caring, righteous man. Rikako went to the new theme park, Animaly Land, with her friends three days ago and none of them have been seen since. That is until Toudou sees her walking around in the rain, barely dressed and with dead eyes. She is slow, distant, and takes a minute before registering who Toudou is. Being an upstanding gent, Toudou takes Rikako back to her apartment.

Once at the apartment, Toudou cannot help but think something is… strange. The apartment is pristine, sparse, and nothing seems to match the cutesy character loving Rikako who was so excited to attend a mascot theme park. As his suspicions rise, he opens up a closet… and finds it’s full of sheathes of skin, torn clean from their body, all wrinkled and sagging. Right as he sees this shocking sight, Rikako appears from behind him, wet and naked from her shower. She embraces Toudou, and as he hugs her in return, he notices something off about her back. A… zipper.

‘Rikako’ then injects Toudou with a drug, but before they can do anything more, Toudou throws them into a mirror, shattering it against their head. The impact reveals ‘Rikako’s’ monstrous form as their eyes morph into dark orbs and black goop drools from their mouth. They smile as the drug takes hold of Toudou’s body and before he can do much but swear revenge, the monster begins tearing apart his body. This should have killed Toudou, but even with no skin, his flesh still lingers with enough rage to try to fight this monster, who lures him into a new vessel.

When Toudou comes to, he finds himself in Rikako’s body, complete with a zipper on his back. He takes his time getting his bearings. Going through the apartment, getting himself dressed, and finding no traces of the monster or the skinsuits. He turns on the TV, hoping for some exposition on what is going on, and conveniently tunes in on the right channel at the right time. 

Toudou learns that he has been out for three days, that the monster has stolen his body for its own, and became the newly appointed CEO of Animaly Land. To commemorate this occasion, they are seen along with Toudou’s family, his ex-wife and daughter, who Toudou turned away due to the pressure of his career and substance abuse issues. Meaning that this monster didn’t just steal Toudou for his body. It mended things over with his family, and in just a scant three days. This pisses Toudou off, and he rushes into action. He cuts his hair to a more androgynous cut— a symbolic gesture. Dons his leather jacket (which somehow fits his now tiny frame). Psyches himself up by channeling his former delinquent spirit. And storms out, looking like the baddest bitch he can!

…Except Toudou does not have any way to start enacting his revenge, so he wanders around town for a while. He tries going to the restaurant, only to see that it was completely demolished in three days— which is completely unrealistic. In this setting, Saitama City, it’d take weeks just to get the permits. But after walking around for a while, he finds his body luring him into an unfamiliar neighborhood, one that contains Rikako’s actual home.

Arriving there, Toudou sees that it’s in the middle of a media circus, with a swarm of reporters asking bad faith questions to Rikako’s poor grandmother, as if she was the reason behind Rikako’s disappearance. This little old lady is promptly saved by Mariko, Rikako’s younger sister, who puts these creeps in their place with a straight face. After seeing this, Toudou cannot help himself, and… begins sobbing. Not because he personally is moved by the act, but because he can feel Rikako’s emotions, feel what she would feel in this situation. It’s a concept that… warrants an aside.

I really like the idea of someone retaining ‘muscle memories,’ ‘repetition-based memories,’ or doing things similar to the body’s original owners as they go on ‘auto-pilot.’ It doesn’t have much of a scientific basis, but it helps ease the transformed person into the act of being someone else with subtle suggestions. They don’t know things they shouldn’t, but rather have a sort of sixth sense of how they should act. It can help ease someone into a new body— walking with new legs and weight, moving with new arms, talking with a new voice— without making impersonation too easy. 

Sadly, this concept is just kind of thrown away as a stray idea and something to help the plot move forward. It gets Toudou in the right place to learn about Rikako and it helps strengthen his bond with her as he feels her feelings.

As the paparazzi disband, a stray creeper approaches Toudou and he promptly gets thrown to the asphalt by him. As Toudou tries to run away though, he falls to the ground. Both translations say that this is because his body was too weak, but I think it’s because he hasn’t had anything to eat in three days. Fortunately, before the paparazzi can sink their claws into Toudou, he is swiftly saved by… a giant plush tanuki with a red scarf, who scurries him away.

Now halfway through the story, we are treated to a lore dump, as this mascot costume of a tanuki is actually Rikako, who cannot talk yet communicates to Toudou by writing in a notebook. Just like a certain other character from a famous TSF comic who turns into a furry bipedal critter. She explains that Animaly Land is actually a front for a group of monstrous beings known as Skin Collectors, who abduct anyone in the park after hours. They then hack them into pieces, and stuff their flesh into bodies of plush, where they are mind controlled, forced to act out as obedient members of this park. Rikako was under this very same affliction, but after she happened across her phone, she remembered who she was and escaped.

With a mutual desire for justice, the two make plans to take down this deranged park. …But first, the comic takes time to establish the two’s relationship. The intro already did a good job of showing Toudou to be an intimidating yet considerate boss and Rikako to be a somewhat clumsy but good-hearted girl. But now that the two are together in different bodies, their dynamic is a bit different, as they are now partners with a mutual goal. …And an occasional comedy duo.

Rikako has Toudou call her sister to tell her that she’s still okay. Toudou says some perverted stuff and gets rightfully bonked by Rikako. And the two share a cute moment on a train together, where Toudou holds Rikako like the giant novelty plush she is as he dozes off ahead of the final battle. It’s basic when pointed out, but scenes like these are highly effective at adding to characters without eating up too much of the page count.

When they finally arrive at Animaly Land, Rikako takes charge, using her experience with this facility to guide Toudou through an elaborate structure of metal and concrete, filled with staff and droning mascot minions. The two eventually get separated, leaving Toudou on his own as he stumbles into the heart of this whole operation. The processing plant.

This is where the comic shows the grotesque ways the Skin Collectors both create human skins and stuff humans into the mascot costumes. First by sinking the body in a mysterious black fluid, applying a zipper onto their backs. The meat is then then hoisting out the skin with a crude claw, where it is spun over to a station where the flesh is packed into its new package. Once emptied, the human skin is placed on a hook to dry and become home for… something.

While observing this, Toudou hears the butchers working the floor talk about how they want to take these skins for themselves, their faces revealing them to be patchworks of mismatched skins. Early experiments before the process was refined. Or, as one of them says, “low purity beings.” They describe that over time the flesh settles into the new skin it is inserted into, and once enough time has passed, the flesh can never be removed. 

Meaning, unless Toudou acts quickly, Rikako might be stuck as a mascot character for the rest of her life. It’s a familiar enough trope for transformation that I’ve seen a bunch over the years. It’s a slightly artificial form of desperation, but there are things IRL that a human body can only recover from once, and only recover from if action is taken quickly. So while part of me always asks ‘why design it like that?‘ I do consciously get why someone would.

Also, I should not let this… visceral display go without being mentioned. This comic is gorey, is clearly not afraid of unsettling imagery, and while this is a far darker take on a skinsuit than about any other example I could name… I think it’s appropriate. Transformation and body horror go together brilliantly— they always have— and I think it’s something with immense depth to it. 

Human bodies, while they can be beautiful, comfortable, and euphoric, are also fucking disgusting. Blood is gross. Raw meat is rank and gag-inducing to most. There is something horrific about realizing that, when broken down into meaty chunks, there’s barely a difference between man and cattle. That your brain is little more than hamburger meat locked behind something you can crack open with a good few whacks of a hammer.

I’ve covered examples of this general range of fleshy body horror TF. JK Kuricha ni Sareta Otoko, Bishoujo Factory, Darcy’s Breeder’s Guide, and Transjitter Ibitsu na Karada. But there aren’t as many as I would like to see. Why is that? Well, it’s an overlap between niches, as most people do not like gore, and those who do probably aren’t interested in a TSF transformation. This is also probably why it is so rare to find a skinsuit story that takes things this literally, ripping the flesh out of its sheath. Because most skinsuit/bodysuit stories are based around the fantasy of putting on a costume, not literally transplanting flesh between vessels. And even when the execution is more extreme, it tends to be more akin to that one scene from Crossdressing Fetish Gone Out Of Hand. 

Now that my tangent quota’s been met, back to the story! After observing the bloody details, Toudou pops off! He kicks down a metal door, grabs a pipe off the wall, and starts busting heads of whatever freaks cross his path. He takes on a whole gang before getting overwhelmed, only for Rikako to come to the rescue, armed with a kart. They hop on, drive away, and leave a trail of petrol behind them, and throw a lighter into the fuel, igniting this fucked up flesh factory. …In doing so, Toudou is technically killing the innocent abductees and those who have yet to properly meld with their new bodies. Doing so does kill the main opposition, but also harms the abductees… who might have no hope of ever returning to normal. Is that a just move? Is that the best option with their limited resources? You decide!

After leaving the facility in flames, Toudou tells Rikako to leave while she still can while he takes on the bastard wearing his body. Rikako protests— as she should, because she needs to get back into her body pronto— but Toudou is a hot-blooded hero with a hankering for revengeance, and goldarn is he gonna get it. He forces his way through creepazoid plush monsters, kicking them down to their deaths, drop kicking them into giblets as he makes his way to the stage. There, at long last, he stares down the bastard who stole his face.

Now, you might be wondering how Toudou is able to do any of this after he got tuckered out after a single throw earlier in the day. Well, that’s simple. Toudou ate some McMoe and drank some “Gaterade” when he made up with Rikako the first time. So now he’s not starving.

The mastermind applauds this display of conviction, yet when they expect their goons to come to their aid, they realize what Toudou has truly done, sending the facility up in flames. With both jetjacked to 11, begin the brawl, but despite his skills, Toudou is easily outclassed in terms of strength. He needs to play dirty and exploits his body’s old knee injury— something foreshadowed in a flashback. This sends the mastermind down and before they can recover, Toudou picks them up with their legs and slams them off the stage, where they get a pipe jammed into their lung. 

Toudou, completely spent, gets on his knees as the mastermind rises, but rather than dispose of him, they just laugh, applauding him and explaining their goals. Not to replace humanity, but to observe and learn all they could about humans. Which… I don’t believe for a goldarn second, but whatever. Rikako then shows up, forced to return to the park thanks to her programming, and she’s in rough shape, with her purpled guts seeping out of her. With no time to improvise, the mastermind gives Toudou an ultimatum. Reclaim his life and resume a life with his ex-wife and daughter, or give it all up for some girl. He shouts in rage at this decision, only for the comic to cut back to a hospital, where Rikako’s body wakes up.

This is a great little page and a half of suspense, as you could read either Rikako or Toudou being in this body, but after letting out a shout of rage, their identity is made clear. Rikako is back, but rather than be filled with joy, she’s crying over the loss of Toudou, his whereabouts unknown. She could rest on her laurels and not let his sacrifice be in vain, but Rikako refuses to just accept that he’s dead. Toudou would never give up, so she won’t either. Even with her body literally scarred from her last run-in with the Skin Collectors, she grabs Toudou’s jacket, declaring it’s her turn to save him.

And from there, the rest is history. Rikako searched every day in Saitama City for weeks, hoping to find some lead before, eventually, finding Toudou, in the body of a rough and tough delinquent JK. From him, she learned that the Skin Collectors were still at large, planning a bigger and badder operation far beyond the scope of a simple theme park. Planning on taking over the whole damn city. Toudou has been biding his time, accumulating a posse of righteous youngsters to help quench his first for vengeance, and while he doesn’t want to involve Rikako again after saving her, he knows the power of her determination. So, together, they launch their second attack on the Skin Collector, ready to take them down once and for all!

…I’m just screwing with you! I made that up in two minutes. There is no continuation! The story ends on a damn cliffhanger, then and there. That kinda sucks, yet… the comic still tells a complete story. One frothing with ideas and creativity. And if I truly was unsatisfied, there’s more than enough inspiration here for me to whip up something similar.

Seeing as how this comic is from 2017, this is the part where I talk about what the creator has done in the intervening years. Sadly, I cannot say that Iko Sasagawa has done much would tingle the palate quite like Changed Into A High School Girl. Both in regards to the artwork and in regards to comics. 

Sasagawa is a skilled artist who has posted their work publicly since at least 2007. During these early years, they developed a style that, while a bit raw and weird looking in places, was vivid and unique. But after 7 years of further development, their artwork has become more polished, at the cost of being more homogenized. It still looks very good, it’s clean and professional, it just has less flavor.

Which extra sucks, because I adore how this comic looks! It genuinely does not look like any other manga I have ever seen. It has its own self-taught style that, while a bit messy, bears an overwhelming amount of… personality. The painterly backgrounds, the little chibi critters that are thrown in the margins, the unnerving imagery thrown in to enhance the story. I enjoy myself a polished and refined mainstream manga style, but I love a comic that feels like an artist’s unfiltered and raw vision.

And in regards to comics… they’ve been working on isekai stuff for the past few years, like Kakure Tensei Yuusha ~Cheat Skill To Yuusha Job wo Kakushite Daini no Jinsei wo Tanoshin de Yaru!~ Also, their Pixiv is full of anime girls getting tentacle raped. As in half of the first page. I get that this is where the money is, but it’s upsetting to see another good one get gobbled up by the tentacle hentai and isekai industrial complex. 

They were actually merged in August 2022, because if you’re going to have one, you should just have the other. It’s the mature thing to do.

Also, as one final note, Changed Into A High School Girl received an official localization on August 24, 2021 (if not earlier) and also received a fan translation in September 2022 via Greenway Scanlations. Why not just rip the official translation instead of doing a whole new translation? I don’t know, and nobody appears to have ripped the official translation from any of the usual manga web reader sites. I bought the four chapters on BookWalker, but the DRM is too strong for me to work around, and while I could rearrange the snippets from something like the Manga Planet release… that’d be a lot of work. So instead I just took screengrabs of each page, displayed vertically on my 1080p monitor. That’s what you’ve been seeing throughout this review. It’s a bit stretched, yet I think the quality is acceptable.

This release also has its issues, particularly with chapter four, where Rikako’s surname changes from Moriyama to Aoyama and the confrontation between Toudou and the Skin Collector is… butchered. Gotta love it when the official release is worse than something done by some rando weirdo. While I always want to support official translations, like any official release where the artist(s) gets paid, sometimes they botch it in really obvious ways.

But no matter what translation you check out, the free or premium one, this manga’s dope, and easily among my upper echelon for TSF comics. …Which might say more about me than the comic itself.