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Kodomo no Omocha, commonly called Kodocha, isn’t the most widely known series, but is generally well-liked by those who’ve seen it – in fact, I don’t recall ever reading a bad review of it.  I initially decided to watch the show due to an extremely positive opinion posted on the Star Crossed Anime Blog, which effectively diminished any preconceptions I may have held.  The clean and simple appeal of Kodocha is its combination of likable characters, wonderfully off-the-wall humour, down-to-earth drama, and a slowly-developed, charming chemistry between the two lead characters.  Kodocha, like many long series, has its shaky spots, and it certainly took a few episodes to really settle in.  Once it did, though, it quickly became a delight to follow, alternating between being hilarious, sad, crazy, touching, and quite a bit else.  An episode of Kodocha per day is a sure-fire way to keep a smile on your face, and that goes beyond target demographics.

Kodocha, save for a few travel arcs in the middle, follows the ups and downs of Kurata Sana’s life as she balances school, friends, and work .  Sana is often described as a “child star”, but as this review points out, that term has come to give off a “vaguely icky vibe” these days.  Sana doesn’t represent the typical child celebrity or idol that probably figures into most people’s minds when they hear the term.  When the show begins, she is an average, if a tad hyperactive, school student who also happens to take part in an after-school television variety program that is the series’ namesake (“Kodomo no Omocha”, which means “Child’s Toy“).  While her role in the acting world does rise and fall at various points throughout the series, the series always keeps a very down-to-earth portrayal of it, and Sana is always a young student first, actress second.

I can easily say that Kurata Sana is one of the most endearing characters I’ve come across – possibly one of my favourites from any anime altogether and certainly the primary reason I enjoyed this anime to the extent that I did.  To quote again from this review, “the show achieves something which I think is not easy – making the audience believe that the main character is a special, wonderful person, and someone you’d like to know.”  When Kodocha begins, Sana’s seemingly constant perkiness might seem overbearing, but quickly we see that she is much more well-rounded than that.  Her energetic, outgoing side does indeed fuel a great deal of the lighter moments of the anime and often adds a layer of mild lunacy, but it remains endearing throughout primarily because she lacks the sort of annoying traits (such as childish klutziness) that often accompany “energetic” characters in anime.

As we move past the first few episodes, we see that despite her typically cheerful attitude, Sana carries many of the apprehensions that you’d expect of someone her age – yet even when she hits one of many obstacles in the story, she remains forward looking, never content with wallowing in a pit of despair.  That is what makes her such a likable character – right when you, the viewer, start to sit back and feel sorry for her, she will pick herself right back up on her own.  In other words, she’s a character that is easy to relate and sympathize with, but also easy to admire for her headstrong, positive approach to her problems and life in general.  It is particularly refreshing when you consider that these characters are younger than most anime leads, yet they frequently display greater maturity in handling their conflicts.  The way Sana herself matures throughout the anime is worth mentioning as well, since it’s done in a very gradual way that I didn’t notice until I went back to the first episode after finishing the series.

The other main character is Hayama Akito, who is described by Sana throughout the early season as both her sworn enemy and best friend.  When the show begins, he seems to be in a familiar delinquent child role – a pessimistic troublemaker with little regard for the feelings of others – but our, as well as Sana’s, perception of him is quickly reversed after delving a little into his background.  The reason he works so well in this anime is that he is a near-perfect foil to Sana’s friendly, outgoing nature – while conversely she is the only one who can cause any disturbance in his aloof behavior.  There is one particularly amusing scene where Hayama, who is used to brushing people off with sarcastic remarks, notes that Sana annoyingly seems to have a response for everything he says.  The chemistry between the two characters is simply fantastic, and, fittingly, the best moments of the show are when the two interact – either in serious or comedic scenes.

There are a variety of other side characters as well, some more memorable than others.  Among the most important is Sana’s mother, a delightfully eccentric writer who provides both a reliable source of humour as well as a firm emotional crux for Sana.  It is rare for anime about youth to include parents in such supportive roles.  More often than not, they are merely sources of conflict or neglect.  Other major characters include her manager Rei (who Sana naively calls her boyfriend at the start of the show), a variety of school friends, as well as a fellow male actor who has a bit of an infatuation with Sana.  The latter, Kamura Naozumi ends up playing a large role in the story in the middle – which is something I will address in a moment.

One of the very best things about Kodocha is that, with very few exceptions, it knows when to when to be be light-hearted and when to take itself seriously.  This is something of a rarity when you have anime starring young people, which often try to squeeze as much melodrama out of a trivial situation as possible.  In Kodocha, however, when a scene starts to get too heavy-handed beyond what the gravity of the actual conflict calls for, the show always reigns itself in with humour.  However, it also knows when to quiet down the distractions and allow and allow those truly serious moments to speak for themselves.  Thus, for example, when the relationship between Sana and her mother is treated with an emotional three-episode-arc that finds the humour level toned down dramatically, it feels perfectly natural despite this shift in balance.

Kodocha, story-wise, is divided up essentially into three main segments.  The first segment introduces us to Sana and her classmates and then follows the various events in their day to day lives – ranging from stories involving incessant reporters to the divorce of a friend’s parents.  These shows are propelled forwards by a developing, charming relationship between the lead characters.  After the middle point of the series (marked by Sana and the cast going to a new school), however, there are a few story arcs that tended to wander.  The character I mentioned before, Naozumi, becomes a more significant part of the cast, and the setting changes as Sana takes various acting jobs.  While Naozumi worked fairly well as a minor character, he’s unable to replace the chemistry between the original cast, and some not-so-subtle relationship melodrama starts to seep in.

In many ways, it was almost an experiment: if you changed everything around her, could Sana still carry the show almost all by herself?  The answer, I found, is mostly yes, as I still found myself enjoying the show, but it would be a lie to claim that some episodes weren’t a chore.  Luckily, the anime pulls itself together and reincarnates the wonderful formula from the early episodes in a slightly modified form at the end, with Sana returning to school.  This all culminates in a closing arc which rounds off the story very well and gives us a satisfying, though understated, resolution.

There are a few outright filler or recap episodes thrown into the series (as typical for series this long), but Kodocha‘s approach to fillers in particular is fairly unique.  Whereas a lot of anime series tend to stretch or rehash story elements in an attempt to prolong a certain plot segment, Kodocha throws plot out the window for its fillers.  They all take place in alternate universes and are played for comedy – making no pretenses about contributing to storyline.  Thus, if you hate fillers, you will recognize them immediately and can skip them with absolutely no impact on your enjoyment of the show.  On the other hand, if the idea of having some random fun with the characters interests you, then they are all quite entertaining in their own way.

As for the technical elements, being a fan of 80s classics like Touch and Maison Ikkoku, I didn’t have any problem with the artwork despite its age.  The series doesn’t have fantastic visuals, nor does it need to.  Likewise, the music does its job adequately, hovering in the background and providing the necessary punch to the comedic and emotional scenes, but never really reaches beyond that.  The various theme songs are probably not exceptional, though having heard them for so long and connecting them with Kodocha, I have come to enjoy some of them quite a bit.  The second OP, a quirky song called “Ultra Relax” with a squeaky singer that would probably annoy me anywhere else, has actually grown on me – though the amusing visuals it is set to probably helped.

Once again, I face the Maison Ikkoku dilemma when it comes to giving a final impression of Kodocha.  Just like MI, Kodocha isn’t a perfect series in regards to its execution – it has its high points and low points and I can definitely think of a variety of improvements that would improve the overall effectiveness of the show.  However, the most important thing is that the overall impression that Kodacha left me with is extremely positive, and I am completely satisfied with the experience of following these characters from the beginning to end.  It’s a show that always left me in high spirits, and even now I think I could easily load up the first episode and blast through the entire series again without tiring of it.  Indeed, I find myself dropping back into the show for an episode occasionally, just to have some more fun with the cast.

1/2

Note: Funimation only licensed the first half of the anime for release.  There are fansubs for the entire series, but different sections were translated by different people, and they vary in quality, with about ten episodes in the middle being somewhat terrible.  It is not a major problem, but when you hit these episodes, keep in mind that it will improve.