Alternative TitlesEnglish: Kodocha Synonyms: Child's Toy Japanese: こどものおもちゃ
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 102
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 5, 1996 to Mar 27, 1998
Duration:
22 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.241 (scored by 6331 users)
Ranked: #2412
Popularity: #1111
Members: 14,694
Favorites: 474 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
comedy drama romance shoujo |
SynopsisSana Kurata has a charmed life. Not only is her mother is a famous, award-winning writer, but she's the star of the hit TV comedy "Child's Toy" while still in the fifth grade. But Sana's biggest concern is Akito Hayama, a pint-sized hellion who's organized the boys in their grade-school class into a mass of unending noise and violence. With the help of Rei, her manager, chauffeur and "pimp," Sana is determined to win back control of the classroom from her new arch-enemy. But as her crusade continues, Sana moves further into Akito's life, and finds that he might not be entirely bad...or entirely safe.
(Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Kodomo no Omocha
Alternative version: Kodomo no Omocha OVA
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
|
|
laurlai
46 of 57 people found this review helpful
|
102 of 102 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
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. read more
|
|
melancholy
81 of 119 people found this review helpful
|
44 of 102 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
this review is based on:
44 episodes of the anime seen
Episodes 1-35 of the English dub
& Episodes 36-44 of Japanese w/ English Subtitles
This review contains mild spoilers to refer back to, so be careful!
Please keep in mind this review is meant for people who have seen the anime.
My notes & Opinion on this anime
[This portion is meant for people who don't want to read the whole review.]
Oh man! I've been wanting to write a review for Kodocha for a while now ~ I was planning to wait until I finished the series, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF HARUHI, I MUST WRITE A REVIEW
So ya XD I think Kodocha is spectacular. It's amazing and just blows me away. It's one of those animes that make me go crazy that I'm smashing my computer with a big smile on my face because it's SUCH a good anime I can't handle it and go insane. What else can I say? I first stumbled onto this anime while flipping channels but just thought it was annoying, kiddy, and pointless. But I decided to take the time to stap myself to the couch and watch the anime from the top, and I am SO glad that I did. One of the best choices of my life XD
The thing that makes Kodocha SO good is, mainly, how perfectly the characters and their personalities are done. Unless you haven't seen the anime, you might know what I mean. With these perfect personalities, the author can easily put the characters together into a masterpiece, despite how simple the storyline is.
This anime has the PERFECT amount of drama. It's not too serious and deep, BUT it's not dumb and cliche what-so-ever. In fact, the romance in this anime is thought out so amazingly well.
Story
Um o_o Ok where to start... More like... how do I put this o_O;;? Kodocha, to me, doesn't have a REAL storyline or plot. To be blunt, it's just a Shoujo anime that revolves around the daily life of Sana Kurata... you know what I mean o_o? The anime starts doesn't totally shout out there and say "THIS IS A ROMANCE ANIME" like most do. That's why you don't really expect much at first. It seems like an episodic anime of Sana's daily life, which it kinda pretty much is. Sana is a 6th grader TV star so you don't expect any serious love drama.
... and THAT'S where this anime catches you off guard.
The romance in this anime is done so perfectly, I am having an EXTREMELY hard time finding the best way to express it xD You NEED to watch it to see what I mean ~
Art
You look at the art and immediately know this anime was made before 2000. I can't say much about the art. Normally I'd go on and on about how perfectly characters are drawn in perspective to their personalities, but in this case, it's kinda just "mmk". I wasn't blown away by the art, nor was I irritated by it. The style is actually kinda pretty, I probably would have thought it was gorgeous and beautiful if I watched it back in 1995 when it was made @_@ So yeah... the art isn't much to talk about.
BUT animation is VERY well done. I must say, the reactions and jokes are old-style, but because of that, it's hilarious for the fact that I've never seen them before. Recent jokes are so re-used and that's why it doesn't impress me much in recent anime, but since this is old and I so RARELY watch old anime, the jokes seem fresh and new to me XD They say such silly jokes that are SO old style, BUT FOR SOME REASON IT'S FUNNY.
"that squirrel on your head. does it poop all over it? cuz i'm starting to think you're head's full of crap."
..ya XD
the babbit is great. spitting soda out of the nose is also great. the smacking is hilarious, and so is the hammer smacking. I can't say anything more than that XD
Sound
Sound is actually really good for something 1995 o_o i'm surprised the opening theme song isn't so old style lke yu yu hakusho's xD The cool part of this anime is that they re-use background music so much, that when you hear it somewhere else, you IMMEDIATELY know it's kodocha. Someone could hum the melody and I'll breakout and ask "IS THAT SUM KODOCHA?"
I love it when that happens XD
Characters
Like I mentioned earlier... the characters are perfectly done o___o
First off, I can't help but mention that I'm blown away by how the age set is perfect. They're not so young that it annoys me, like in Naruto how it's WAY too serious a storyline with 12 year old characters @_@ BUT they're still old enough to learn more, and slowly crawl out of their fantasies. If this was set in high school, the whole story would be thrown off. You'd think of the character's SO differently o_O;;;
Sana Kurata is a perfect example. She is, in fact, pretty annoying because of how dense she is, but in a way, you can actually accept that o_o; And the main reason for the acceptance of Sana is cuz she's just freakin hilarious. She just is. But her age set is perfect because when it comes to stuff like, the way she believes in loving someone with almost a 10 year age difference, you can see all the flaws but still understand why Sana believes she's in love. If she was in high school, you'd think that it's plain dumb for a teen to be in love with some 30 year old. Sana can get away with a lot of stuff due to her age. Hopefully I'm making sense here o__o;;
The character I am MOST impressed by is Akito Hayama. He's so well done and developed so perfectly, it almost scares me how the author can come up with such a character o_o
See... Akito is one of those quiet, reserved characters and so damn mature for his age. I like how he's laid back but it doesn't annoy me. Because I usually think those kind of characters are cliche and annoying because they're EVERYWHERE, but there's something about Akito that doesn't make him so cliche. He's a wreckless trouble maker, but from most trouble makers, you'd expect them to be loud and obnoxious, but Akito isn't. I think that's the thing that makes him unique, really cool and ACTUALLY likeable o__o; With his personality, you can do a hell lot with him which makes him one of the best, flexiable characters you can think of in a story. I especially love his development throughout the anime. It's amazing how much an impact Sana put into his life. AND THAT WAS ALSO SO PERFECTLY DONE. The way the author shows Akito's family life, how you can tell he's going to fall for Sana but when it happens you're ACTUALLY surprised by it XD It's just perfect.
I also love Sana's mom. She is the most awesome mom I have ever seen in any anime. BUT THAT'S WHAT'S SO WEIRD. In most anime, the mom doesn't play much of a role at all unless it's like a "ZOMG YOU'RE MY MOM???" situation. But Sana's mom cracks me up. It's just funny how she is a genius at relationships and plays such a good role. I dunno XD Unless you haven't seen the anime, you should know what I mean XD
Naozumi is great too. His trumpet. Oh lawd XD
There are other characters I know but I don't really feel like going into depth about, such as Rei and Tsuyoshi. Some of the characters are exist just for the heck of it. And the thing that kinda sucks is that you can find some characters to be useless and annoying. But as long as you focus on the main characters, you'll think they're very well done, VERY well developed and freakin hilarious XD.
Dub vs Original
The dub is better.
Mainly because Sana's voice actor is AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. I've never seen such a good voice actor in my life o_O Akito's voice actor is a lot better in English than Japanese. I didn't like the Japanese version so much when I decided to switch languages... it sucks how the dub only goes up to 35 :/ You'll still like it either way XD
Ending Statements
I obviously enjoy this anime. Don't need to make a big paragraph on that XD I HIGHLY recommend this to girls. Guys, I'm not so sure o_o; But I guarantee you, you'll like this anime. This anime has the PERFECT amount of drama. It's not too serious and deep, BUT it's not dumb and cliche what-so-ever. In fact, it's extremely very well thought out. This kind of amount is perfect for me. So... watch Kodocha XD
...thank you for taking the time to read this o_o; read more
Recommendations
|
|
Both are about kids in elementary. The energy in both series is fast paced and exaggerated, and feature cool male leads. Very cute, and very similar. Even the main characters in both look alike.
gakuen alice and kodocha are similar, gakuen alice is like lighter I guess and not as hyper. the sanaxhayama and natsumexmikan are similar for the romance.
The characters seem alike just a bit by their personality, true they don't have Alices but it's just a suggestion
The heroines of these series are extremely similar in both their personalities and their outlooks on life. Mikan and Sakura are both elementary-school girls who find their school life difficult because of their crazy classes, especially one troublemaking boy. They succeed in solving their problems using their optimism, never-give-up attittues, and unique skills.
I think you'll like Kodocha and Gakuen Alice; they are so alike in so many ways its not even funny. The main character cares for the main guy character, tries to help them out in what they can. The main character tries to prove something to the guy main character and its gets out of hand with a bunch of laughter, and a lot of sadness. Just watch it and you'll know what im talking about. ;D
Sana and Mikan has the similar personality. Aside from that, they both are dense in terms of love. And the main male characters: Natsume and Hayama are both cool type, yet secretly love the girl.
The story line is similar too, like in the beginning, were both classes are really corrupted, but the main character will change it to the good way and make it peaceful. Both Mikan and Sana carries a huge problem on them, but they'll do their best to solve those problems.
And lastly, these two anime are more on friendship. Eventhough GA doesn't have much love, but they're really similar in terms of friendship.
Similiar characters and comedy. Sana and Mikan are almost the same (both twintailed and hyperactive), and same goes for Akito and Natsume (usually serious and cold but also very angsty and little perverts).
Both anime have kids as protagonists, are set at school, deal with friendship, and have romance. Kodomo No Omocha has more drama than Gakuen Alice, and the latter has magic instead of music.
Both of these Anime take place in a school setting and the main female lead has to deal with a boy who is anti-social as possible. They also have simular style to the art work and the female character ends up changing the status quo, so to speak.
The Characters are soo similar
Both of them have a female protagonist who ultimately just helps out the male who they of course fall in love with. But in Gakuen Alice or Alice Academy it is currently only season 1 and so nothing major has happened and the only way to know is to keep reading the manga.
Kodomo no Omocha and Gakuen Alice both have VERY similar characters. Natsume is a lot like Akito, and Mikan is a lot like Sana. The relationship between the two is also VERY similar. Kodomo no Omocha doesn't involve supernatural powers though. Other than that, they're REALLY similar.
The main girls are basically the same character; a very energetic girl who is oblivious to people's feelings. Akito and Natsume are also basically the same, being an unfeeling dangerous guy, but I think that Akito shows more feeling.
Both series start off in the same way, with a girl who is in a rowdy class but then she challenges the leader and he ends up falling in love with her.
Both have love triangles between the main girl, a cold guy (Akito/Natsume), and a nice guy (Luka/Naozumi), but it is obvious who she's going to end up with.
Both series are about kids in grade 5/6, and have the similar theme of "adults are just humans and therefore are not always right".
Gakuen Alice is fantasy while Kodocha is slice of life.
|
|
|
There both great story's and the characters do more than ust look alike. This is like kodocha note Kodocha is marmalade boy on crack!
Both are Old anime From 1999s , same art , The 2 main characters are smililiar to the other Main Characters but it's a baby face =D
They are both in the same genre.They both have similar plots.Kodomo no Omocha is your love problems and uncertainly when your a kid.Marmalade boy plot is similar because of uncertainties and love problems but the main characters are a bit older and mature.They both have happy endings too despite of all the difficulties.
Akito = Yuu; the love story is very similar and the style and the animation and the type of argument.
well the characters look the same sana is miki and akito is yuu. I think that kodocha(Kodomo no omocha) is way better than marmalde boy. So far i think that kodocha is the best anime i've seen so far.
|
Opening Theme#1: "7 O'Clock News" by Tokio (eps 1-44)
#2: "Ultra Relax" by Tomoe Shinohara (eps 45-102)
Ending Theme#1: "Panic" by Still Small Voice (eps 1-39)
#2: "DAIJO-BU" by Tomoko Hikita (eps 40-74)
#3: "Pinch ~Love Me Deeper~" by Rina Chinen (eps 75-102)
| No posts for this board were found |
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related ClubsOld School Shoujo Anime, Whatever...., The Luci Christian Fan Club!, Boys & Girls, Akito x Sana FC, *HAYAMA FANCLUB*, Anime and Manga Romance Club, Comedy Explosion, Showbiz Fan Club, Anime Experience, ♪ MUSICAL AND SHOW-BIZ ANIME ♪ , English Dub Fanclub, BOY-GIRL-BOY/ REVERSE HAREM GARDEN <3, The Anime's Couple Club, Idol Anime Club, OMG, It`s So BIG!!!, The Ultimate Laura Bailey fanclub, The Muddykipz Fanclub, The Noble Heroines, Sana Kurata Fanclub!♪ MUSICAL AND SHOW-BIZ ANIME ♪ , BEST OF THE BEST ANIME, Magical Mascot/Sidekick Club, Entertainment Industry Genre, MALs Creature Club {Closed}, Romansu Anime/Manga Fanatics, romance/love triangle anime, Shoujo Anonymous, Chris Pattards, Romance Anime/Manga Fanatics, Genre of the Arts Fanclub!, Lolicon and Love, jenny's entertainment busness, Kodomo no Omocha , MAL's Got Talent, Nice Shades ~ The Sunglasses Fanclub, Sakura421 and her friends, ♛☠♥ We Love Anime ♥☠♛, I WANT A COOKIE!!!, love triangle FACE OFF!! XD, [HIATUS] Teach A Character [HIATUS], !~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, Otaku no Namida * Otaku's Tears, ~ C.and.Y Fan.Club ~, Kodomo no Omocha, romance/love anime club, Anime with Music Club, Shoujo Wonderland-少女アニメと漫画大好き, FUNimation fan Club, LIFE RP , Anime Couples!♥, Silver, White, Gray-Haired Characters Fanclub!, Kamichama Karin, Claim anime best friends ~, ♔ LoveBerries96's Club ♔, magic knight rayearth , The Lighthearted Anime Club, We Love Random Dancing!, ~Kodocha and Inuyasha fan club!~, MALs Comedy Club see all
Recently Watched By|
60 minutes ago |
2 hours ago |
3 hours ago |
3 hours ago |
6 hours ago | |
Today, 1:00 AM |
Yesterday, 11:48 PM |
Yesterday, 7:39 PM |
Yesterday, 3:32 PM |
Yesterday, 1:03 PM |
|
|
