Is that me?
Kaiji Girl Caramelise S1
The first episode is now streaming on Crunchyroll. Subsequent episodes will debut every Thursday.
For the first 15 minutes of the first episode, I was wavering.
Ever since she expressed her true feelings to her first crush a few years before -- and promptly saw her hand take on a monstrous form -- Kuroe has kept her feelings to herself. If she develops strong emotional reactions to any situation, her body begins to change. Perhaps it's just one hand or the other, perhaps it's horned ridges on her head or, more prominently, horns on her back.
She and her mother have visited doctors, who can offer no help. So Kuroe rarely talks. And now that she's 16, she simply shies away entirely from others, especially a handsome boy in her class that all the other girls not-so-secretly covet. Still, he takes an interest in her, and invites her to accompany him to a new restaurant with a restricted-admission policy.
To herself, Kuroe acknowledges that things have changed. When the two are leaving the restaurant, however, fellow students see them and begin mocking Kuroe. The boy takes her hand in unity, Kuroe's feelings begin to intensify, and then ---
Well, the title of the show gives it away.
Returning to how the episode began, from the first moments I appreciated the genuine wit and the cogent observations about young people in the voiceover narration by Kuroe. I was ready to file it away as a show I would happily watch, even if its romantic themes don't quite mesh with our site.
And then things changed, and I have added it to my watchlist. Here's the official synopsis:
"Kuroe Akaishi just wants a normal high school life--but that's impossible with a rare condition that turns her into a giant kaiju whenever her emotions spike! Things get even worse when she falls for Arata Minami, the most popular boy in class. Now every blush, heartbeat, and crush could trigger a monster transformation. Can Kuroe survive high school love before it destroys everything around her?!"
Image ©Spica Aoki/KADOKAWA/Project KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE
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