Speaking as a self-proclaimed "veteran" anime fan, we have a tendency to be able to judge what's going to be good and what's going to be bad based on the smallest details. Whether it's the fandom that surrounds it, the somewhat cliche sounding plot or any other miniscule detail, we are usually able to say "ok" or "I'll pass". So when asked "what's going to be review #40" I decided to go out of my norm and watch something I feared would be just short of fanboy garbage to mix things up. After reading previews of Kodomo no Jikan, I was surely convinced I would leave feeling perverted and intellectually insulted. More than ever I learned, don't judge it... until you try it.
Daisuke Aoki is a brand new homeroom teacher. When he arrives to his first job, he is assigned to be a homeroom teacher of 3rd grade students. The teacher before him quit ultimately due to extreme stress and insanity. What is it that Daisuke is walking into? The answer: Rin Kokonoe. While out around the campus during lunch, he runs into a cat and treats it well. This surprises Rin as she sees adults as mean and cold-hearted. Once she sees this man being nice to this cat, and a friend of hers who had recently quit school because of bullying, she falls head over heels for this new teacher. So begins Kodomo no Jikan.
While Daisuke is trying to adjust to being a new teacher and how to deal with a group of rowdy children, he also has to worry about the adult-like advances of Rin. She comes at him from all angles, from lifting up her skirt, to surprise kisses and even lewd pictures on his cell phone. Aside of creeping him out a bit, he also wants to find out why she is the way she is and if this is just some cry out for attention. What he gets is a girl with a checkered past full of sad stories and sad people.
Many may be thinking "a grade school girl using sexual advances towards an adult, oh this must be for the loli fan." Well you're right... and you're wrong. Let's get one thing straight, if you are a loli lover then this show could be as shallow as a tablespoon full of water, and the adorable trio of Rin, Kuro and Mimi would be enough to make you love this show. But for everyone else, know this, it is actually a damn good show. Most of it is just humorous encounters between Daisuke and aforementioned trio. In fact one of the funniest things is that many times throughout the show, if something perverted is being done or said, it will outright censor it, leaving it up to the viewer to fill in the pieces. Rin will sit on Daisuke's desk and touch herself and then the screen will switch to her kicking around a backwards 'e' looking symbol until the scene ends, with only sound being heard. Then during conversation you'll see "Oh sensei, your such a -----,-----!" accompanied by birds chirping or a dog barking. This way you get to insert whatever clean or dirty comment you think fits there. Kind of like a "choose your own adventure anime". But it isn't all just comedy, there are pasts that need to be delved into. Personalities that need to be examined. And paradigms that need shifting for the viewer. You may find yourself asking the question "can a child's love be the same as an adults?"
Post Review Edit: The previously mentioned censorship is only on the television aired episodes. The DVD releases are apparently devoid of that censorship. I will edit the review in the future if all episodes uncensored become available.
Rating:
Reviewers note: Judging the art category is actually quite easy. Judging it using words that won't make me seem "pervy" is pretty hard. Forgive me in advance.
Artistically this show is going to be pleasing to everybody. The first mention is the obvious character designs. Rin, Kuro and Mimi are absolutely adorable in every way. You have the big, emotional eyes, the crazy hair, and the chibi bodies that can almost make any person yell "kawaii" (and I normally hate people that do that). Not only are you treated to wonderful character designs, but varying ones at that. Outfits and hair styles are not the same throughout, which is something you normally get in school based shows. Characters will change outfits daily and there will be minor changes in the hair to follow suit. Rin will vary between cute to seductive depending on how she wants to treat Daisuke that day. Kuro is your walking lolita doll with her dark hair, gothic dresses and fashion obsession. Mimi is always going to be conservative in her shy manner. Those three make the show gorgeous.
Backgrounds were done surprisingly well too. Again, based on my early notions, I expected everything to be a "half-ass" job. I figured all they wanted to do was make loli fans squeal with perverted joy and empty out their pockets for the next Rin Kokonoe figurine. Instead we are treated to wonderful detailed backgrounds and other various animations. From the falling cherry blossoms, to the active beach and the subtle shadows on the characters backs, all of it was taken into account in making this a pure feast for the eyes.
I won't let it get off that easy though. I do have complaints when it comes to minor characters and our main man Daisuke. Everybody outside of our main trio and a few of the other teachers, just seem to be stock characters. I won't take too much away for the rest of the class as drawing every classmate with their own personality and clothing would likely take eons to create, but is it really necessary that Daisuke is just the dark haired dork with glasses? Do men really suck that badly in the eyes of the Japanese?
Rating:
Opening: "Rettsu!" Ohime-saka Dakko" by Eri Kitamura, Kei Shindou and Mai Kadowaki
Ending: "Hanamaru?Sensation" by Little Non
Ending Ep6: "Yasashii" by Chata
Ending Ep12: "Otome Chikku Shoshinsha desu" by Eri Kitamura, Kei Shindou and Mai Kadowaki
Vocal music is right on target. The opening and ending for episode 12 are sung by the main trio of Rin, Kuro and Mimi. What makes these great is that it is our main characters singing about thing very related to the show itself. It's not common for the music to ever really relate to the show outside of maybe the music matching the atmosphere. Here we have those three singing about being a little girl in love and wanting to be treated like adults in love. Saying things like "spoil me" to show the child side and "love me" to show the adult one. Not only that but they are catchy. The normal ending is another catchy song paired with the three of them doing various (God help me for saying this) booty-shaking dances. The ending for episode 6 topped off an already sad episode with an equally sad and touching song. By this point I was already teary eyed and adding this song in with the ending animation did wonders to make me even sadder. To quickly note, background music is what you'd expect from a show of this type (assuming you know what to expect). Quirky music when Rin and Kuro are up to no good and slow, sad songs when Daisuke and Rin's relationship is on the rocks.
Voice acting... KAWAII! *ahem* must regain composure. Yes, it's true, our main characters all sound just as adorable as they look. God help you if even you have the slightest weakness to all things cute looking or sounding because you will find yourself creepily smiling the whole 12 episodes. The wonderful thing is that all of them compliment one another very well. It isn't as if it's all just cuteness for the whole series either. The three of them are protective of one another, show anger and in Rin's case... (can't believe I'm going to say this) does a good job at seduction and even blackmail. Yea Satan, I got your message, I'll see you after I submit this review. But surprisingly, the same stock character I just slammed really made the whole thing work. Junji Majima as Daisuke really brought it all together. Yes, he was just your dorky male, but he also was very caring and concerned. He was always willing to help and found himself constantly involved in inner monologue trying to resolve issues.
Rating:
Here's where I give Kodomo no Jikan it's highest praises. Many shows try to tap into viewers emotions but usually come up short. Sure we may snicker a bit or feel sad but very rarely is there a visual or audible show of emotion. Kodomo no Jikan will actually make you act. There were countless laugh out loud moments. There were those moments where you could feel that unease in the pit of your stomach. For me personally, there was a time where it wasn't just sadness, but tears. Maybe that's because I'm a wuss, but you all knew that already. But for me, when something can actually force an emotion out of me, I feel that I'm watching something special.
I'm aware that there is going to be fierce disagreement between opinions on this one, but I fully stand by this one. There will be those who either prejudge this or watch it and write it off as exactly what I stated in the beginning; fanboy garbage. A seductive 8 year old girl flashing her panties for her teacher is nothing but a drool inducing tool for the lolicon perverts out there right? Well, yes... there are times where the show can feel uncomfortable or even creepy. But if you just sit back and enjoy the whole show you'll see that you have something of a good bit of substance and is really enjoyable.
Hilarious hijinks of overactive 3rd graders. The internal struggle of a new teacher as he discovers himself and his students. And the question of "does Rin love Daisuke as a child would, or as an adult?" If you have an open mind or just an outright affinity for loli's, then Kodomo no Jikan might be just the thing you are looking for.
Reviewers note: Seeing straight 9's is probably going to throw people aback on this one. I can say that none of what was done here was perfect, but it was all extremely enjoyable. I know that 9's are usually reserved for the creme de la creme of all anime. Sometimes a show can come out and surprise you, and while it's plot may not be the deepest, it is one of the most enjoyable. Let the "shoujoboy" you are an idiot commence.
Rating:
9.00 (very good)
Reviewed by shoujoboy, Mar 03, 2008
Quote by shoujoboy in the MT-Review guestbook 4 weeks agoIf I was capable of human emotions like guilt, I'd probably feel that right now.
Oh so you ARE capable of human emotions. Go Satan... take him away!
But on to the review; I've never seen you this passionate about something before. Excellent work on voicing out your thoughts. I think this is your best review ever.
And as promised... a Kodomo no Jikan with a big 40 wallpaper will be available soon.
I don't normally find good reviews on MT, so I tend to read wikipedia, and with things like this... the talk pages on wikipedia. Your new review grabbed my eye, because I had just today read about this on wikipedia. While I've not seen/read the story, and I'm not sure I want to, my initial impressions, particularily given the manga author's comments on HER story, are that this is *like* a manga version of the original novel Lolita by Nabokov. It addresses a serious, taboo topic, and I suspect it does so well, from everything I've read.
You can write Lolita off as "child porn" as well, but that would be missing the mark (not to say that you're doing so -- on the contrary, I like your review). I think that's the case here as well -- there will always be detractors that cannot get over the subject matter, but there IS something here. I wouldn't hand out Lolita for reading in a grade school, and probably not a high school, but I certainly would in a college. The same here, I believe. I sincerely think the author is trying to face taboos head on, make people a bit squeamish, and discuss things.
I try it 'cause I see lots of debate on this series.
I was surprised finding a anime really humoristic, and with a story much butter than i thank. I even cry when i heard the past of the main character (well ok i do so a lot in dramatic animes :p). Past which explain a lot of her comportement : she only wants people look at her, but she does not know how take attention from adults. And she's not wanting him to see her as a child, but as a woman (and this is very common thing)
It's like koi kaze (an anime about a man who fall in love with a girl who's his sister...) : it's taboo, it's shocking, but it's not a show for pervert, just a show that's explain why. but of course it's not a show for children (like all ecchi animes).
It's true some scene may shock (there is 2-3 scenes that shocked me, including one in the first episode - which is
perhaps the most shocking of all ... and will never be shocking from a hight school girl), but not because there's
ecchi, but because what it is said on itn and the way it is do.
there is not lots of ecchi, even less than some other ecchi anime, and you don't see lots (even pantsu - even in
uncensored version, the camera don't show it from front -, on the censored version they even censored ecchi from the
female teacher wich is about 25 years old...), but what Rin sometimes says is chocking. Like "you hope I don't know
what i'm talking about [sex], it's easier to think that, but what will you do if I say I know ?"
(sorry if I did lot's of typping errors, english is not my mother language)
this is very good
merged: 03-31-2009 ~ 07:53am
o yeah
merged: 03-31-2009 ~ 07:55am
go!
I will see it tomorrow
this anime scares me
Good review. This was a cut anime, I loved it!
Thanks for the review!
hahaha, i love this anime too.
Thanks for the review!
awesome review,tnx
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