Kodomo no Omocha (TV)

Sixth grader Sana Kurata has a perfect life. Her mother is a (fairly) successful author, she has a young man employed to keep her happy and safe, and best of all, she is the star of the children's television show Kodomo no Omocha. There's just one thing bothering her, and that's Akito Hayama.

Akito is a classmate of Sana's, and ever since he's started acting out in class, the rest of the boys have followed his example. Every day, the girls and the teacher wage a battle to keep the class under control and to get some actual learning done. That rotten Akito… Sana won't stand for this!

The hyperactive Sana decides to dig deeper and find out what makes Akito tick, so class can go back to normal and the teacher can stop spending every day crying instead of teaching. But the more she learns about him, the more she realizes that there might be more to Akito than meets the eye.

Kurata, Sana Main

Oda, Shizue Japanese

Hayama, Akito Main

Nakazaki, Tatsuya Japanese

Kurata, Misako Main

Kino, Hana Japanese

Ohki, Tsuyoshi Main

Misawa, Mayumi Japanese

Sagami, Rei Main

Naitou, Ryou Japanese

Kamura, Naozumi Supporting

Minami, Omi Japanese

Babbit Supporting

Hikita, Tomoko Japanese

Gojo, Takeshi Supporting

Takahashi, Hiroshi Japanese

Brad Supporting

Nakazaki, Tatsuya Japanese

Ishida Supporting

Okamura, Akemi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Kobayashi, Noriko Producer

Watson, Barry Producer

Daichi, Akitarou Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard

Reviews

Aug 15, 2009

laurlai

Recommended

This may be the first and last review I ever write.

Kodocha was the very first anime series I watched from start to finish. Yes, this show was definitely worth finishing. Overall, this anime is a 10, even though outward appearances don't suggest so. Never judge a show solely on its art.

My friend referred me to Kodocha, saying I'll definitely like it, but at the time I wasn't interested in anime, so I wasn't sure.

I was curious enough to watch it. Admittedly, I was really not impressed with the beginning of the show (Beginning as in, the first five minutes. I guess I saw the ... pastel colors, so I was a little put off). Quite frankly, I don't know why I didn't drop the show within those five minutes, but I'm glad I didn't.

After the first episode, I was hooked. I don't know about other watchers, but I was up until the darkest hours of the night watching one episode after another. Each episode ends with a little cliffhanger (sometimes you're blindsided by a shocking event at the end of an episode), and it's enough to make you want more.

The story was interesting enough to create an addict out of me. There are a lot of interesting plot points. I suppose there is no singular plot, but there are little "plotlets" that somehow connect in a weird way. In other words, when one problem is resolved, another one forms. It may seem like another cutesy shojo anime, but there are a lot of serious moments as well.

The Art...fair, at best. My standards are high when it comes to artwork (think Satoshi Kon or Makoto Shinkai). The pastel was off-putting for me because the characters and backgrounds seemed washed out. Yes, I am well-aware that this anime was made in 1996, so the art is definitely impressive for its time.

I liked the sound. I really did. Especially the english dub, because Sana's voice was spot-on. Many people say that Akito's voice sounded too old in the dub, but I thought it suited the character just fine. His was my favorite voice in the dub. I also enjoyed the zany music (especially the "Kodocha Mambo" and all of Sana's raps) and the appropriate (not cheesy) music was played during the sad and/or touching moments.

The characters are cute and lovable or wacky, yet endearing. Each character is very different, and I think you can find something to love or hate (good character development means that nobody's perfect) about each of them. Sana is amazing. She runs by the high of life (and the occasional energy drink) and she has the bubbly personality that everyone likes. But Akito is by far my favorite character. He's he strong, silent type that seems rough on the outside, but you can tell he has a good heart. If he were real, I would definitely pursue him.

I enjoyed the entire show from start to finish. The funny moments made me laugh out loud, some of the sad moments made me cry (and I don't cry easily), and the overall crack-craziness of the show was enough to make my entire week.

This was the show that led me into the world of otaku. Good or bad, I'm not sure. I've watched a lot more anime since then, but no other series or movie can quite compare with Kodocha. Some have come very close, but they barely missed the mark that Kodocha set. This show will always be number one in my book.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 2, 2017

TakaCode

Recommended

After my re-watch of Toradora which anime that I strongly recommend I decided to look for some more romance anime on the net. while I was browsing the net looking for romance anime to watch my friend recommend me another great romance comedy called Kodocha and he told how great it was. Then I decided to go to Amazon.co.uk and decided to blind buy the series but I couldn't because it was out of print in the US and the whole series would cost me £100+ pounds. One month later something hilarious happened. Despite this show being out of print for a long time, some ... seller on Amazon was selling the first 6 single DVD volumes of the series for £20 pounds while an eBay seller was bidding season 2 (Episodes 25-51) for £6 pounds.

I am sure that the sellers didn't know how rare and valuable the series was but I took the advantage anyway and decide to buy the Kodocha DVDs for the total of £26.00 making the second cheapest out of print anime I have ever brought only losing to Bezz My-Hime Anime Legends complete collection set which I brought for £15 on my local CEX store. A week later I got myself the set and I immediately binge-watch it and after watching both season 1 (Episode 1-51) DVD and season 2 (Episode 52-102) online am going to be truly honest with you. This show is not only the best romance anime I have ever seen but it's also one of the best animes I have ever seen period.

Like with Eureka Seven, My Hero Academia, Full Moon Wo Sagashite and Gundam Build Fighters I never really expected this show to be good but man did this show proves me wrong in every way possible. This was the anime that made not judge an anime based on its cover because while this show has a funky childish cover but man this show completely fooled me because outside the goofy cover this show is pretty dark.

So what made this show so great you may ask? You will soon find out.

Story.
The story of Kodocha follows Sana Kurata who is a star of a popular TV show called child’s toy while being in 5th grade. One originally day at school as she goes into class the boys in her class are raising hell. The ringleader of the group Akito has counted the teacher into silence in some sort of blackmail. So, the boys are free too, reach havoc as they please. Very determined too, lead a normal school life Sana targets the ringleader Akito with all of her energy and the relationship and daily lives of Sana and Akito begin.

Now, what do I think of the story of Kodocha? The story of Kodocha is executed perfectly. The story starts off a very simple as boy’s vs girl’s rivalry but as the series progresses it story become surprisingly complex and it becomes a great coming of age story.

The one that I really liked about Kodocha is how it was able to synergize its comedy and romance elements meaning it's was able to have a nice blend of comedy and romance.

The one problem that I have with a lot of romcom anime in recent memory is how they don't have a balance of romance and comedy elements meaning they have one genre element taking over the other which is not a good thing for a romcom anime

Kodocha doesn’t suffer from any of those problems because the show knows how to an element in an appropriate manner. The comedy in Kodocha is just amazing because not only they are funny and original but the execution and the timing for the jokes are flawless.

The pacing in Kodocha is great. It knows hows to pace itself for certain arcs and scenes and too, be honest you will never get bored when watching this show.

Surprisingly the show really explores really hard-hitting themes and social topics such as child abuse, divorced parents, teenage pregnancy, homelessness, and adoption and these themes are explored in a very mature way too, the point where the viewer can sympathize with the characters.

Also, when those themes are explored the show goes into a different tone that is suitable for those themes and this show knows how to to use its tone correctly as well blend them.
The one thing I loved about Kodocha is the use of foreshadowing. As early as episode 8 the show does a brilliant job at foreshadowing later events that will happen.
On top, of the shows great directing and clever dialogue Kodocha is very unpredictable with its writing which the writing itself it was great, to begin with.
Kodocha is an anime that will make you laugh, cry, happy and it will keep your edge too, your seats from to finish with great plot twists great and interesting arcs and good pacing.

Overall the story of Kodocha was amazing from start to finish and it's easily favourite coming of age story in all anime.
10/10

Chararters.
When it comes to the characters in Kodocha I thought they were all pretty awesome.

Sana Kurata is an 11-year-old cute redheaded TV film star girl with an uncontrollably hyper and active personality.

Sana is just an amazing character. She starts off a simply uncontrollably hyper character with a lot of passion but as the series progresses she becomes an amazing multi-dimensional character with lots of emotion and depth. Sana is a perfect example of flawed charterer in anime. She is a chararter who barely reacts to emotions and love and every time when facing the reality of life, she will just sing a song so she can keep her positive outlook on life. This obviously, later on, backfires on her because as series progresses others chararters like Akito, Fuka, Tsuyoushi, and Misako start to make Sana face reality where they are grown out of Sana antics completely where they tell her to take life more seriously. Her chararter development in the series is fantastic as this hyperactive girl slowly transforming into a mature young girl who is able to understand love and people feelings.

Overall Sana Kurata is an amazing character and she became one of my favourite female characters of all time.

Next up we have Akito. I personally really like this character Like Sana he is a multi-dimensional character who is realistically flawed in his own right. Not to mention I really adored his character development from start to finish.

Also despite being a troublesome stoic individual he actually cares for Sana deeply. Not to mention he's chararter reactions towards the other chararters including Sana was great.

His character chemistry with Sana was just awesome as they start off as enemies but as the series goes on they eventually stop being enemies and they start helping with other peoples problems and eventually in the second half of the show they start having feelings for each other.
Overall Akito is an awesome character and he’s easily one of the best Shoujo main leads I have seen in anime.

Misako is easily one of the best moms in anime. She is a great mother figure to Sana she is very likeable and very entertaining to watch and she has a great and well-told backstory. This is how you do a mom-type character.

Rei is another great character that I really liked and he is a great surrogate father figure for Sana. Like with Misako Rei has a really tragic and well-told backstory that the audience can relate.

Tsuyoushi is Akito best friend and the main voice of reason for Akito. Like with the other characters I just mention he is also another fascinating and well-written character that I really enjoyed from start to finish.

Naozumi is another fascinating character I really liked.

Like with Sana he is an orphan where he was abandoned as a baby and both Sana and Naozumi used to spend time a lot with each.

He also has a great story/character arc that was well executed. He's an also a great love interest for Sana and I really liked the love rivalry with Akito as they fight who is worthy of being Sana's girlfriend

Fuka gets a special mention to me because she gets a lot of hate from fans of the show for being a backstabber and overall annoying but I actually don't Fuka as a character, in fact, I liked her quite a bit. Sure I will admit she can be a bit of a pain of the ass to deal with in the beginning but the end of the series she does redeem herself as a charter.

The rest of the characters are all pretty great that have a lot of charm into them.

Overall the characters in Kodocha are perfect. This is easily one of my favourite charter cast in anime.

10/10

Visuals.
Visually Kodocha has surprisingly has aged well for the most part least. Studio Gallop really did a great job on the charterers designs, character moment, and the backgrounds scenery while dated was still pretty solid for what it is. It totally has aged well and for a 102 episode series that’s really impressive. If I had any nitpicks with the shows visuals than it would be some use of recycled animation in some of the episodes.

Other than that the visuals were pretty good for the most part.
8/10

Sound.
The soundtrack is honestly great and well executed.
There wasn’t a dull track whatsoever and all of the tracks fit the tone of the series perfectly. My favourite track from Kodocha is hands down Always Be With You. This song is amazingly well made as it perfectly captures the tone with the more emotional moments of the series. Other favourite tracks include Sana Tomorrow, Don't Cry For Me, Vitamin Love, Goodbye Love, Harmony of Sana and Hayama, Sepia Wind and Kennema De Fuka.
Both openings of Kodocha were really good, catchy and they really fit the mood and the tone of the show. I personally prefer opening 2 over opening 1.

As for the ending themes they were all great.
The first ending theme Panic by Still Small Voice is a great catchy ending theme that I adore. Easily one of my favourite anime ending themes.
While I wasn't a fan of the second ending theme DAIJO-BU by Tomoko Hikita at first however as time went by the second ending theme grew on me to a point where I liked it as much as the first ending theme.
The Third Ending theme Pinch (Love Me Deeper)" by Rina Chinen is one of my favourite anime ending themes period as it was very catchy and it song itself fits well with the second season of Kodocha as a whole.
Now for sub vs dub.
Both are honestly fantastic for what they  All of the actors in both dub and sub really did a great performance in the roles.
Funimation did an amazing job with the dub overall and it added more life to this wonderful series.
Laura Bailey did a fantastic job at voicing the hyperactive Sana Kurata. She is filled with range and her portrayal of Sana was amazing. Easily the best performance in the dub.
The rest of the voice actors did a great job in the roles.
If I had to pick which one is I prefer I would pick the dub even though the dub cuts off after episode 51. Sad times.
Overall the soundtrack is great, the openings were amazing the ending themes were good and both sub and dub are really good.

9.5/10

Final Thoughts.
I absolutely adored Kodocha.
It has everything that I love about romcom. The story is amazing, has great pacing, wonderful theme exploration and its handled in a very mature way. Great and well-developed characters that are relatable to, the viewer. Visuals that have aged well for the most part and the soundtrack is amazing.
Kodocha is a romcom anime done right and it’s not the best romcom anime I was seen but it’s now one of the best animes I have ever seen.
If you're looking for a great romcom series that deals with heavy themes as well as having great and interesting characters then I strongly recommend Kodocha.
Sadly, Kodocha hasn’t been licensed in the UK by any UK DVD studio but it was once available by Funimation in the USA before going out of print.
I hope Kodocha gets re-licensed someday as well getting a Blu Ray with a new English Dub that has episodes 52-102 dubbed.

Final Score 10/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 10, 2015

literaturenerd

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (65/102 eps)

Everyone has heard that you "can't judge a book by its cover", but some anime really surprise you by COMPLETELY changing partway through in terms of tone and style. Kodomo no Omocha is definitely one of the more misleading anime I've ever seen in that regard.

This anime starts by introducing us to a vapid, moronic child TV star named Sana that zooms around the screen on a permanent sugar high, much like an anime version of The Great Cornholio from Beavis and Butthead. I'm going to come right out and say it, Sana starts out as one of the most annoying characters in the history ... of anime! However, if you have a LOT of patience and are willing to wait about 40-50 episodes, she actually does develop as a character and must face real world examples of pain, loss, and the struggles of growing up. The other main character is Sana's romantic interest, a juvenile delinquent "tsundere" named Akito. This romance is highly praised by the many fans of this series, but it takes a LONG time to start getting interesting.

Kodomo no Omocha basically starts out as a hyperactive chibi comedy and very slowly evolves into a hard hitting emotional drama over a whopping 102 episodes! When my friend recommended this show to me and said how beautiful the drama was, I watched the first 10 episodes and honestly thought he had just trolled me! There are slow anime that take a while to get good, then there are REALLY slow anime, and finally there is Kodocha. Some people say that one of the most beloved anime on MAL, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, is kind of slow at first and takes a while to get good. That example isn't even comparable to Kodocha. LOTGH is never THAT slow and it certainly is never annoying or borderline unwatchable, unlike the first 30 or so episodes of Kodocha.

Bottom line: There is a reason why this comedy/drama series has fans. Eventually it does evolve into an emotionally touching series with some well done romance and bitter tragedy. However, I refuse to rate this series higher than 5 because it takes SO long to even become bearable to watch, let alone get to the good stuff. This easily has the worst pacing of any anime I have ever seen! If an anime viewer wants to watch an emotional drama/romance, why would you make them sit through 30+ episodes or over 15 hours of a much less funny, much more annoying version of Beavis and Butthead?!! Human beings don't have an infinite amount of time on this planet Kodocha!!! No one should have to waste that amount of time on a show in order for it to get good!

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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