CUTE×GUY

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Sumi Takaoka is a generically cute girl with a problem, she has a crush on guy - Mitsuru Sudou - who rumour says prefers buxom and mature and sexy types... everything she isn't. However, she thinks may just be in luck as her Mad Scientist father has just invented a medicine that he has promised will give her the mature and sexy attributes she desires. So, heart pounding as it always does when she's near Mitsuru she downs the formula in once gulp...

...and it transforms her into a mature looking, tall, and sexy... man! And it will do so now every time her heart races as that was her condition when she drank the medicine and she'll stay male each time she does until the effects have worn off two hours later. On top of all this her father is not only out of the country but also deeply unhelpful whenever she contacts him as he's more interested in using her as a lab rat for his new medicine (designed to replace sex change operations) and her mother who is a stylist just wants to use her as male model. Also, she finds herself aggressively lusted after by the vampish school nurse. On the plus side Mitsuru looks up to her male self (who she seems to present a more confident front as than she does as herself) and wants to be friends, figuring she'll get to know him better this way she decides to become his mentor, acquiring the name Jun Tadano by accident.

Soon other gender benders show up, mostly male-to-female, who have either been similarly conned by her father, or in one case are related to his biggest rival - all of them with different triggers and one of whom who develops a crush on Sumi. Thus commencing the (as yet not yet officially translated) manga Cute X Guy by Makoto Tateno.

Tropes used in CUTE×GUY include:

• Adults Are Useless: Either adults are conspicuous in their absence or humorous for their Comedic Sociopathy. There are only four adult characters in the series who are of any significance to the plot (not counting Doctor M): Sumi's father, her mother, Kyouko-sensei, and Shizuka's father.
• Bit Character doubling as a Shallow Love Interest: Miyoko, better known as "Miyo-chan", a friend of Sumi's. Mitsuru had a crush on her in the first volume, but she rejected his confession and was only mentioned once after that. However, as Sumi describes her, Miyoko is a plain-looking girl, not a "flamboyant beauty with big breasts", which caused Sumi to realize that she was rash to believe the rumors about Mitsuru's taste in women.
• Gender Bender: The single most defining trope of Cute X Guy. The Applied Phlebotinum that made this trope possible In-Universe was an experimental formula developed independently by both Dr. Tadaoka and his rival, Dr. Nishizawa. At least five characters are "body transformers", but each of their individual conditions and circumstances are incredibly different. For one, some of them required a trigger to transform (like Sumi), while others seemed to be able to will the change at their leisure (like Hozumi). And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
  • First Law of Gender Bending: Subverted. Unlike similar stories wherein genderbent characters are "stuck", in Cute X Guy, the characters will inevitably return to their original forms given enough time. However, for those like Sumi, whose transformation is involuntary, it's a chronic problem which (in a realistic setting) would range in severity anywhere from "can't eat my favorite food anymore" to "physically incapable of getting to know the person I love as myself". For those with control of their transformations, it was a harmless alternative lifestyle.
  • Second Law of Gender Bending: Played With. All of them reacted to their condition in different ways, though Sumi and Shizuka and Hozumi and Misaki had the most in common with one another on that front. The latter two adapted quickly and easily to their newfound ability to change genders at the drop of a hat, and they both embraced their other self with a sense of escapism. Sumi and Shizuka were vehemently opposed to this trope, though Sumi was more vocal with her frustration than he was, and although they were willing to use their transformations to their advantage, they were also acutely aware of the more Blessed with Suck aspects. Interestingly, however, even the most obvious pros and cons to life as either gender were ignored entirely, undoubtedly for the sake of preserving the light-hearted tone of the series.
  • Third Law of Gender Bending: Played Straight. Although they each have their own personal flair. Hozumi, for one, took to pretty dresses and feminine behavior like a duck to water, but Shizuka retained his usual assertiveness and tendency to confront threats head-on, even as a woman, and never wore a skirt, let alone a dress (though a bikini and lingerie were another matter). On the other end of the spectrum, neither Jun nor Seiji became particularly obsessed with feats of strength or drooling over girls, but they did act like, well, Bishonen. They were enveloped in clouds of Bishie Sparkles and possessed natural, effortless charm, leaving masses of swooning young women in their wake.
• Gender Bender Friendship: The story's main premise, at least until the other "body transformers" started showing up.
• Hilariously Abusive Parents: Sumi and Shizuka's Mad Scientist fathers inflict gender dysphoria on their children just to use them as lab rats, and Sumi's mother is more interested in making her daughter dress up as a male model, since she wanted a boy anyway. No mention is made of Mrs. Nishizawa's reaction to her son's predicament, but she is presumably just as indifferent as Sumi's mother. All of this is Played for Laughs, of course.
• Hot for Teacher: Kyouko-sensei is very popular amongst the male students at Sumi's school.
• Last-Minute Hookup: With Mitsuru.
• Mad Scientist: Dr. Takaoka (Sumi's father) and Dr. Nishizawa (Shizuka's father) are the two foremost examples of this trope In-Universe, but Doctor M showed a lot of the warning signs for Science-Related Memetic Disorder, though he didn't stick around long. Still, Mad Science and the Phlebotinum resulting from it has a huge impact on the story since, without it, there would be no Gender Benders running around making things interesting.

• Attractive Bent Gender: Sumi is your cute but averagely so looking shojo lead. Jun, on the other hand, is tall, toned, and looks older than his years in a good way. Sumi also carries herself better as Jun and seems effortless cool and charming - then you cut to a (still male) Jun freaking out and wondering why just as he's running off somewhere.
• Mistaken for Gay: Whenever Jun is out with Mitsuru giving him 'manliness tips', due to the fact that they look like the archetypical Seme and Uke, they keep attracting crowds of fujoshi
• Sue Donym: This how Jun end's up with his surname, the name Jun is a different reading of the same Kanji as Sumi but "Tadano" came into play when Kyoko-sensei asked for Jun's full name again got "Ta da no Jun!" or "It's just Jun!" and misheard it as "Tadano Jun".
• Yaoi Fangirl: small crowds of them flock to Jun and Mitsuru whenever they are out together as the two really look (and act) the part of a Seme and Uke