Anime: Kodomo no Omocha (1996) 3q6m42

Note: This review is based on.. err, some weird soft subs which came with the torrent I ed. It seems those are the only subs though, so there is little room to chose, but hell, were those the worst subs I have ever seen. It all starts good, though rough around the edges, they get the meaningful things and so on. However, after a dozen of episodes subs start to fall out of sync, well, that's no problem, you can still adjust. Unfortunately, it's later followed by one of the most atrocious translations I have ever witnessed, not only the text doesn't make sense, English itself is completely broken and even names are misspelled. I think the subs recuperate again when the show hits middle school, but they still remained low quality and I turned them off. It's really sad that such a great show doesn't get encodes its worthy of, while we get twenty groups subbing one below average harem anime.



Originally written as manga by Daichi Akitaro (Fruits Basket) Kodomo no Omocha[/b] is a shoujo light romance show with much comedy to keep your mood up. It follows the life of a very talented hyperactive actress Kurata Sana covering her late elementary and early middle school years of life. Yeah, I know, she is young, you'd think she's still a child, but what I will try cover later is that she is not only one of the best main characters in anime industry, she is one of the most mature as well. She meets a weird class bully by the name of Hayama and here their war starts. In essence Kodocha is a deep, full of really good angst, realistic romance anime with many comedic relief moments and coming of age concept as spices.

The Brilliance of old shoujo anime never fails to astound me. Unlike old brainless shounen shows like Dragon Ball Z or Yu Yu Hakusho, shoujo shows always possess at least a mandatory level of intelligence. Yeah, it's girly, but as long as it offers some new insights in anime for me, I'm content. The best thing about Kodomo Omocha is that, despite its seemingly childish premise it succeeds as a really entertaining and even educating show ( Full Moon wo Sagashite?). I wonder if even the creators of this anime are aware of the significance Kodomo Omocha has in adult world, as it seems it's aimed at younger female audience. However, it's not even clear whom would like this show better in the end, young girls or older anime cranks like myself.

Animation: 5/10

Let's face it, this show was made in 1996 and it's 102 episodes long. They would have had to be billionaires to pull out great animation there and since it's clear they weren't, the animation by Studio Gallop (Initial D, Yu-Gi-Oh) is what you would call below average when looking at it from today's standpoint. It's outdated and it shows; motions are choppy and inbetweens lacking. However, I must say they still put quite a few frames in Sana's outbursts of hyperactivity. Backgrounds are exactly what you'd expect from a show made in middle nineties', they possess little detail and somewhat bleak color palette, which makes them look even duller. On the other hand, character designs aren't that bad, though they differ considerably from the manga's version as Obana Miho adapts a drawing style which is quite hard to animate. Everyone looks great in manga and everyone looks good in anime. Anyway, however it looks, I had little time to spare for technical faults as I was completely immersed in the plot and characters of Kodocha.

Sound: 7/10

Though 102 episodes long, this show has only two different OPs and three different EDs. However, little variety is excused, because all of those OPs and EDs are damn good. Not only they fit the show perfectly, they are great as stand alone pieces as well. First and second OPs, 7 O'Clock News by Rina Chinen, exceptionally good. Though still upbeat these songs are considerably slower than OPs and create wonderful atmosphere for viewers to contemplate about the plot they've just witnessed. I mean, I haven't skipped nor OP nor ED even once in this show for 102 episodes, it has to say much.

Background music composed by four different artists, one who also took part in Fruits Basket compositions, is pretty good as well, though nowhere near as marvelous as the OP/ED combinations. There are quite a few good "romance-inspiring" tunes, some even offering vocals. One song even reminded me of the Final Fantasy VIII's Eyes on Me, though it isn't THAT good. Anyway, though very good at those melancholic moments and packing a few nice high tension tunes, BGM is also quite repetitive and packs some of those generic "cheery" tunes I usually frown at. Actually, just in case I've ed the OST and found out that few tracks sound even better stand alone than in the show, so direction is not perfect. The music is still very good and the show will leave an impression of being audio pleasant. It left enough for me to the OST, so.

Finally, voice-acting came as a major surprise to me here. I thought voices sounded fresh and I wasn't mistaken. Both Oda Shizue and Nakazaki Tatsuya are completely unknown in seiyuu business. And I don't mean unpopular, I mean they have no other roles in their biography apart from those in Kodomo no Omocha. And I must say it's a waste of talent, because both of them offer marvelous performances for their respective characters. On the other hand, having only performed here they certainly leave that good feeling of novelty behind themselves. Other seiyuu were pretty generic, those did sound like amateurs.

Story: 7/10

The first thing I would like to note is that I, after watching anime for a couple of years, have noticed it really lacks in romance department. When you cut silly shounen harems and emotionally exaggerated shoujo shows out, you get a feeble quantity of shows you can count on your one hand's fingers. I mean, so far, the only really good, mature, original and believable romances, possessing strong female and male leads I've seen are Seikai no Monshou, Rose of Versailles, Full Moon wo Sagashite and, finally, Kodomo no Omocha. You could say Tsukihime had it cool too, but it only was the very few details, it managed not to screw up, which it had inherited from its novel counterpart. Anyway, Kodomo no Omocha is strong both at comedy and serious moments. It offers deep, multi-dimensional characters, with real life troubles and the type of angsty romance which really happens in real world. At times it's heartwarming, at times it's heart-breaking and you'll feel sad more frequently than you'll feel happy, but the feelings it offers are both strong and great.

This show had no fillers for the first 20 or so episodes. To tell the truth I was completely dumbfounded, I mean, I have never ever seen such a long shoujo show having no fillers for such a long time. Unfortunately, it had a comeback ready. After those 20 episodes, a malicious filler spree is introduced, more than 15 filler episodes in a row, uugh... What's worse is that absolutely nothing moves in these episodes. Yeah, we learn new things about side characters like Tsuyoshi, Sana's classmates or her teachers. However, those characters' significance to plot is so little that they are not even worth to count. Hayama and Sana are the true stars of the show, as long as they don't have mutual screen-time - the show sucks. And when Hayama doesn't develop and is kept static he loses all of the interest anyway. After all, the development of Hayama is the highlight of the show in the first and best 20 episodes. And those episodes are damn good, so good I nearly cried, what I seldom do in romance anime. When watching the fillers, rather than being annoyed by them, I felt more scared that it might not finish the great romance it started. And it didn't. Manga did. So I've read it. Twice.

As it appears only Hayama's (first 20 episodes) and Fuka's (first half of the second season) arcs were originally in the manga. It's not surprising that those episodes are way superior to both fillers and "fake" arcs, like Gojyou Takeshi and New York. Hmm, they could have done a 52 episodes show with a complete ending, without any filler episodes. Wow, that would have been one hell of a show. Unfortunately, since anime is both filler filled and incomplete it is nowhere near as good as the manga. In other words if you've liked Kodomo no Omocha you will have to read its manga. It brings closure and is much better both plot and character wise.

The most important thing in this show is that the love story is portrayed in a completely original and creative way. There was not a single moment in the whole show where I could feel that I have seen something similar before. With every ing show my thirst of originality grows bigger and bigger, yet, Kodomo no Omocha, despite being one of the triple digits under my belt, satisfied my lust.

Characters: 9/10

I'm already in the territory of four digits when it comes to counting the narrative art I have been through and, frankly, I still have never seen a character as hyperactive as Sana is. Darn, in one episode she says more words than other show characters say in ten. Not like they always make sense, but... I usually hate blabbermouths, however, like Onizuka in GTO she manages to do things in a smart way, while not being intelligent at all. Again, she develops a lot and the feelings she has, they are very real. I must say, however, that the complexity of her personality is quite unrealistic considering her age as she thinks about problems more relevant to twenty-year olds. It might be that she already has a full fledged job as an actress that makes her think about the future, about the complexity of emotions, meaning of family and so on. Anyway, Sana is not only a great heroine, she is one of the best shoujo leads I have ever seen. And that doesn't come out lightly, believe me. It's an equal ground with Oscar from Rose of Versailles. Anyway, I bet you still haven't seen an eleven years old girl in anime who likes to express her complex feelings through hip-hop. It's funny how she manages to put her sad emotions into an upbeat music and don't sound awkward.

Then we have Hayama, the main male in the show. His sarcastic and nihilistic attitude is certainly not what you'd expect from an eleven years old. I mean, kids of that age would either whine or just be unable to comprehend the complex situations Hayama is always put in. However, not only he manages to cope with everything being an intelligent bully, leader of a gang and so on, but he also has this complete unawareness of fear. Due to hard childhood he constructed so many walls around himself that simply no one can reach his heart. He even denies life as a significant thing, there is this scene in the beginning where he gives Sana a knife and suggests her to kill him if she doesn't like his behavior that much... with a bored face. There are very few shows I've seen which managed to pull out a situation like that without being the slightest bit emo and Kodocha might have been the best out of them. Anyway, the chemistry between Sana, who masks her sadness with hyperactivity, and Hayama, who is usually lost in his thoughts and always secluded from everyone, but is never really in the right sense of the word sad, is what ultimately bought this show for me and made it into one I will never forget.

Anyway, Kodocha is not that kind to its side cast as after side characters get "used up" they are stripped of all their seriousness and are given comedy roles. As Rei and Hayama's Father for example... They were great characters at the beginning, but later, after their story arcs ended they got their roles cheapened... a lot. It isn't that bad, maybe only slightly disappointing. After all, it's hard and not particularly efficient to maintain a big cast of good characters and keep them interesting for 102 episodes. They were certainly hurt the most for wandering too far from the manga's tracks.

P.S. Babbit is probably the most brilliant shoujo anime mascot I have seen to this date yet. While 99% of other mascots are nerve-wrecking annoying or just annoying, Babbit is actually funny and interesting. Best thing is that he can't really interfere with story as nobody sees him, so he just gives funny comments to the watcher from time to time (and those comments are really funny).

Miyers-Briggs personality type indicator:[/b]

Sagami Rei - ISTP (B)
Matsui Fuka - ENFJ (B)
Sicil Hamilton - INFP (C)
Tsuyoshi Ohki - ISFJ (C)
Hayama Akito - INTP (A)
Kurata Sana - ENFP (A+)
Misako Kurata - INTP (B)
Gojyou Takeshi - INFP (B)
Kamura Naozumi - INFJ (B)
Hayama's Father - ISTJ (C)

Show Spoiler

Value: 7/10

Kodomo no Omocha is amongst the best shoujos I have ever seen. If not for the huge amount of fillers this score would have been a lot higher. It also led me to its manga version which became my second favourite after Berserk. So, yeah, it is valuable. Though I doubt I will watch anime version with all its fillers again, I will still open up some better places in one episode or another from time to time. Anyway, if to relive it whole again - I'd rather read the manga, as that paper, well, it's a masterpiece, shoujo in its finest form.

1. Conclusion[/u]: Kodomo no Omocha is a great show offering both wonderful characters and profound romantic story. Though fillers hurt, they are tolerable because the characters are simply awesome, they can carry whatever you throw at them. Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who has even a slightest interest in romance anime as it's one of the finest there is. Finally, though the manga is better, I recommend watching anime prior to it, as without a closure it ultimately makes manga's version absolutely compelling to read. I mean, the RAW scans of manga are extremely hard to come by, so I searched frantically through the darkest corners of Share for days to finally pull it out. I don't a better sense of fulfillment than the one I've felt when I finally confirmed it was readable... Anyway, if you've liked this show you will probably also want to check Seikai no Monshou, though not shoujo, has the best romance I have ever seen in anime.

[/ol]

long ass series calls for long ass review...


EDIT: I reposted this review after having read the manga. compared to the manga, the series is low ball. It focuses too much on the naozumi and sana relationship leaving out very vital parts of the actual story that could have been told within the 102 ep span this went on for. the value of the series does not match up to the value of the manga. however, I highly advise newcomers to watch the series first, then read the manga. Take my word for it. I kept my bias as low as possible :3

Small comment about the length: A GOOD 25 EPISODES WAS WASTED TALKING ABOUT SANA BEING HOMELESS AND THE JOURNEY AROUND NEW YORK, and RECAPS! They could have perfectly portrayed the real ending within this wasted time span...but i am reviewing on base of the anime (i wrote this pretending not to have read the manga..otherwise the story would be dropped to a 6)

When I first picked up this series, I practically knew what to expect - crazy little girl who makes friends with a blonde boy and thats it...well I was wrong in sooo many ways.

Kodocha started out fast into a whirlpool of wackiness, but then takes the turn into DRAMA. That was the last thing I expected, but it played off very well. For the intro: You should NOT judge this series by the cover...


Animation:
*I rated fairly high because i'm used to the old school styles*
The animation isn't the greatest, but it fits in with the surrounding . The characters are all drawn in a unique style resembling that of marmalade boy and I find appropriate for the era its in. The landscapes are cheap yet still flow. Nothing too bad here, it'll stick to you (in a way) after watching 102 episodes but just be wary of the animation style if you're not experienced with older anime.

Sound:
The soundtrack is very typical of a kids soundtrack (what'd you expect?). Sana's Drawing song along with Babitto's counting song are both very cute i'll it but goes a little overboard @ targeting the child audience. I personally thought the other music I felt was aiming @ adolescents. Other than that, the music isn't overused too much, and put in @ the right times. GOOD JOB! *especially the dramatic scenes*

Story:
The story like I said takes its turns away from the childish elements sometimes but constantly goes back to Sana and others dancing. =]
However, there is a lot of value built within the story with elements and different themes dealing with death, orphanage, abandonment, isolation, suicide, romance, joy, MAINLY themes dealing with growing up and how children's should behave (refer to Fuka's and Sanna's dialogue in ep 102). I'd say it's more of a dramatic story than a comedy...seriously (but just by like 34% more)!
But nevertheless, there is PLENTY of comic relief with Babitto and Sana's singing to put the fun back in Kodocha.

Character:
*they all lived up to the expectations*

Sana- I firmly believe that Sana would have to be one of the best ing actresses of all (anime of course) time. She is there to put the smile back on YOUR face...literally! She deals with so much throughout the whole series, you'd think she's just all jollyrogger here....wrong. Sana may get TOO hyperactive @ moments, but that's is one of the commitments you know you're gonna get yourself into. She is here to balance the drama and comedy most of the times. Overall she is the most ive, influental character in the whole series... despite the look. Very likeable character if you are prepared to accept her personality, however I have known some guys who have paid too much attention to her hyperactivity and dropped the series since they wouldn't take it seriously.
BOTTOM LINE: Who wouldn't want a friend like Sana????

Hayama - The troublesome boy who seiously needed the most . The start of the series focuses mainly on him and the establishment of his relationship with Sana. He is who he is and only Sana can help him with his problems. He is the character who is most likely to hide his feelings though (ironic since he is the most in need). He establishes a motherly like relationship with Sana which fuels the love tank. *laughs* He can be very witty @ some times and very perverted which will show with his jaguar ears and tail coming out? *ponders* Anyways he is the punk you probably will end up liking or not liking, it depends on your tolerance for downandoutters.


Value:
I'll it that this series taught me a lot that I never realized. However to begin to appreciate it, you'd have to get up to ep 50 (wild guess). Once again, don't judge by the appearance. No matter what age group you are, there's something in here for all of us I believe. Basically very strong family values, and finding and love that we strive to seek.

Enjoyment:
The comic relief, jokes, Babitto, and the DANCES really really got to me. However, some experience of Japanese humor must be known to fully get these jokes. The drama was very touching (kinda pointed that out already), and it wasn't too violent, too childish, too boring, too soft @ any moment. *the only exception though might be in NY...it depends on who you want Sana to fall for though*

conclusion
All in All, I'd highly recommend this series for anime fans who want to get in touch with styles of the 90's and the early anime. Also for anime goers who revolve around stories about kids, and just for a really good series I guess. This should be in the list of anime you must see before you die or something.

I wouldn't recommend this series for folks who can't stand hyperactivity, children *lul*, and for those who just starting out with anime as you will probably not appreciate the animation style or get the jokes!

Note: this review NOT based on episodes 40-51.

The anime I can compare this best to is Kare Kano. Both of them have moments of true greatness, and both of them are plagued by atrocious amounts of filler. Unlike Kare Kano, however, Kodocha is long enough to somewhat justify this. In the end, I enjoyed the anime a lot.

To start out, Sana and Hayama are absolutely fantastic characters. Both are pretty much completely unique from any other anime character that I have seen; they make the show what it is. Other characters (there are too many to mention all of them) are also remarkably funny and surprisingly deep.

Animation is not only sufficient, but actually helps the comedy. Various comedic visual touches are put into the anime, and all of them work wonderfully at making the overall show funnier. As for the music, I found both the opening themes to be absolutely terrific. Also, there is really something to be said about Sana's rap songs. Yes, I know they're terrible, but they're also ridiculously funny.

Storywise, the first 26 episodes are almost pure brilliance. Aside from a recap episode, the plot is consistently hilarious and touching, and it never slacks in pace.

Unfortunately, many aspects of the later episodes greatly lower the overall quality of Kodomo no Omocha. For instance, over time, an initally annoying mascot named "Babbit" gets more, more and more screen time until he's dominating the anime and appearing four or five times an episode. This character, in my opinion, is not funny, not interesting, and not intelligent. He seems to be there as a backdoor whenever they need filler. Sometimes he sings songs, sometimes he says inane comments, sometimes he has conversations with the other characters, but he's ALWAYS annoying as hell.

Furthermore, I also immensely disliked the entire New York story arc; it makes the classic mistake of putting the entire main story on hold for a very long amount of time (HnG does this when Sai makes his exit). The new characters, while not bad, are certainly not as good as all of the ones that Sana has left behind. I would, in fact, recommend skipping the entire arc. It's boring, long, and relatively uneventful. Not counting the New York story arc, I think I would rate Kodocha closer to 9.0.

My last complaint involves the fansubs that are available online. As of right now, KTP has very nice fansubs up to episode 32. However, after 32 there are remarkably poor quality AVIs with sloppy subbing and bad sound. After episode 52, you can only find the anime in .rm format. While the fansub is surprisingly good for a .rm (subtitles are a seperate file), it's still bad. As far as I can tell, episodes 40-51 can't even be found on direct connect. 101-102 are available in bad avi format. However, AnimeDB seems to have a good deal of the episodes, so this might be a moot point.

Still, despite the typical weaknesses of any long anime, Kodocha succeeded in getting me to watch to the very end. Recommended.