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Kodocha
Volume 1: School Girl Superstar (1996)
Released by: Funimation
Animation Production: Studio Gallop
Running Time: 100 Minutes
By Kakumei
Shojo
The Premise
Hyperactive Child Actress Sana Kurata learns
the pains and pleasures of life as an actress and as a girl,
while troubled withdrawn Akito Hayama realizes he has met
his match.
Story
11 year-old Sana Kurata is much more than
your average hyperactive school girl. She is a child actress
on a popular TV show called Child’s Toy (Kodomo no Omocha),
lovingly referred to as Kodocha. She lives with her manager,
boyfriend and pimp (naively thinking that a pimp is only someone
who you give your money to) Rei kun, and her eccentric mother,
who is an award winning novelist. But Sana’s problems
await her everyday at school. The boys of her class, lead
by Monkey boss leader Akito Hayama terrorize the teacher,
and make it impossible to focus on class. Sana challenges
Hayama for peace to be restored in the classroom. When that
fails, Sana begins to play dirty by targeting Hayama’s
weak spots, and takes things too far leading to a terrible
discovery about his personal life. As Sana meddles in Hayama’s
life they develop an unlikely camaraderie; in which they are
the worst of enemies, and the best of friends.
Review
This 1st volume in Funimation’s release
of Kodocah features episodes 1 through 5 in the series, which
include:
Episode 1
Meet Sana Kurata. She is an 11 year old girl in elementary
school. She lives with her manager who is also her boyfriend
and pimp, and her mother who is an award-winning novelist.
But Sana is much more than your typical energetic 11 year
old. She is also a TV star on a show called Kodocha. But life
for this actress is anything but glamorous. Sana’s problems
are just beginning when Sana challenges the boys who are constantly
wreaking havoc in class. She is forced to go head to head
with the leader of the boys; the infamous Akito Hayama.
Episode 2
School gets more unbearable day by day! Eventually the girls
in class decide to stand up against the boys, but as insults
fly and are carried too far so is the retaliation Hayama and
his goons inflict. This time the boys have gone too far, and
Sana aims to put a stop to their antics once and for all.
Episode 3
With a little “motherly advice” from Sana’s
Mama, Sana puts plans into motion to hit Hayama where it hurts;
his weak spot. First she must discover what it is and after
several unsuccessful attempts Rei kun gives Sana advice to
the tune of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It might
not be fair, but neither is the chaos the boys are causing!
Episode 4
In her mission to put Hayama in his place, Sana haphazardly
discovers his horrible life outside of the classroom. Sana
begins to feel sorry for Hayama. Still, with leverage she
now has over him she forces Hayama to resign from Monkey Boss,
but Hayama grows increasingly withdrawn. He turns into the
lone wolf of the classroom and a new Monkey boss takes over.
Will Sana and her classmates ever get their classroom back
to normal? What will become of Hayama?
Kodocha is a series very near and dear to
my heart. It is one of my top five favorite anime series of
all time. I caught the series years ago on x gen video tapes
from Japan and watched it with my anime buddies in college.
I have so many fond memories of the good ol’ days when
anime and people to watch it with was plentiful and I actually
had TIME to enjoy uninterrupted HOURS upon HOURS of viewing.
Now that those days are past and I have to be a responsible
self sufficient adult (yuck), imagine my surprise when I learned
that my beloved Kodocha was being licensed and released by
Funimaton!
Two thoughts raced through my mind: The first was Woo hooooo!
One of my all-time favorite series is being released!!! The
second was, oh I hope they don’t try to dub it. I don’t
think they could ever do Sana justice.
As soon as Japan Hero approached me to do reviews for this
series I snatched it up in a heartbeat. The first thing I
did once I got it home was pop it in the DVD and listen to
the English dub completely out of curiosity. I was hoping
for the best and expecting the worst, and I am pleased to
say that the American dub held its own admirably. Laura Bailey
does an excellent job with a very difficult character. Sana
is the most hyperactive and fast-talking 11 year-old imaginable,
plus she raps! Miss Bailey plays Sana to the hilt with the
energetic and hyperactive naivety and sensitive maturity Sana’s
character demands. Vocally she was appropriately suited. I
believe her performance is the strongest out of all the American
VAs, although from what I listened to everyone did a good
job.
Admittedly, I reviewed this DVD in Japanese, returning to
my familiar and favorite series I know and love, and the amazing
performances by the Japanese cast, spearheaded by the incredibly
talented Shizue Oda who plays Sana. I don’t know how
she is able to maintain that kind of energy, switch it off
for a sullen moment, and then go right back to that hyperactive
place. Oda san is truly one of the greats! The rest of the
Japanese cast is perfect for their characters. Hayama’s
voice talent Tatsuya Nakazaki provides the perfect counterbalance
to Oda san’s Sana chan, and dynamically speaking the
two play off each other very well.
Both the English and Japanese dubs are solid, so regardless
of which one you listen to you will be pleased with the performances
of the casts.
Unfortunately, both the English and Japanese versions also
have their disadvantages, although neither had to do with
the actors. One of the biggest problems with the Japanese
version is that some moments in the series have no sound to
them at all. This is because Funimation was unable to get
the rights to the first opener of the series, and therefore
had to remove all dialogue involving that band. I was sad
to hear this, as I love the first season opener, but all things
considered the translation for the Japanese version was very
well done. This is no small task either, for Sana babbles
and rants endlessly about virtually nothing. The translators
must have had a time rounding up all her dialogue and working
it into the official release. Kudos are in order to the translators
and subtitlers for the fine job on this release.
The task of scriptwriting and dubbing a series steeped in
Japanese pop culture is equally daunting to subbing if not
more so. Especially when the heroine prattles endlessly at
a million miles per hour and raps every episode! So, I wanted
to give a shout out to those who were brave and crazy enough
to take on this monstrous project.
Having said this, the American Dub is not without faults.
I was very disappointed to see some of the dialogue had been
changed to be "family friendly". Kodocha is considered
a children's show after all. But honestly there isn’t
anything that terrible that a child around Sana’s age
would be subjected to that they have not been subjected to
already. An example of this is the change from Sana calling
Rei kun her “pimp” to her “agent”.
While this might not seem like a large change believe me it
is. Allow me to explain. Sana refers to Rei Kun as her "pimp".
In truth, she has no idea what a pimp actually is, but naively
she tells adults with pride that as long as she keeps giving
him money he will be her pimp. To Sana, (who utilizes a mature
and expansive vocabulary courtesy of her mom's novels but
has no idea what the words mean, just the context they are
used in) a pimp is someone you give money to, nothing more,
and seeing as how he is her agent she has to pay him. One
of the charms of this series is Sana using very grown up vocabulary
incorrectly to people who know it is incorrect. Its a good
reminder that no matter how mature Sana may seem, she still
is after all, a child.
Other than several fairly minor disruptions in which there
is no dialogue in the Japanese version, I thoroughly enjoyed
watching the series again. Like I said before, I watched the
Japanese version mainly so I wouldn’t have to sit through
the family friendly version. Still, if you want to watch it
dubbed you will be pleased with the performances the English
cast gives.
I am trying my best not to go into too much detail as I do
no want to give anything away. I will say that although the
series is considered a Shoujo (girl’s) anime (just like
the manga) there is plenty in it for the guys too. In fact,
there is plenty in it for everyone. Overall, it’s a
very funny series, but its filled with moments of seriousness,
love in its purest and most innocent form, suspense, and some
moments of such intense seriousness that the viewer might
be surprised. The trials and tribulations Sana and Hayama
face are some of the unfortunate truths kids must come to
terms with. For example, not everyone comes from a loving
home. Of course how they work through life’s difficulties
is the crux of the series, and clearly defines both their
characters. . The obstacles Sana and Hayama face as the series
progresses are life lessons that one can appreciate regardless
of their age.
Like most anime, just because the main character is an 11
year-old girl does not mean she acts like one. Although Sana
is wise beyond her years, and acts mature most of the time,
she is still a child, and the series constantly reminds us
of that. Sana is by no means perfect, but you learn to love
her, imperfections and all, as she is a kind and nurturing
girl who only wants to set things right so everyone can have
a happy ending. She just tends to do things in her over-the
top fashion, which means disastrous consequences created from
the best of intentions.
The pacing, like the series’ hyperactive star rockets
at light-speed as Sana overcomes one obstacle after another.
The dialogue is snappy, witty, and heartfelt. There are hilarious
site gags and jokes, cleverly written from the perspective
of an eleven year old girl. The series is mainly from Sana’s
point of view, but periodically you will see glimpses into
the other characters, providing foreshadowing of events to
come.
On the DVD front the most impressive extra
included with this disc is the commentary by the ADR director
and one of the voice talents. There are also character profiles
and of course previews for upcoming series.
Final
Thoughts
So you already know by now that I love this
series. The best thing about this series is there is literally
something in it for everyone. I like almost all the characters.
A lot of time is spent fleshing them out, giving them a back-story,
a reason to identify with them and care about them. Also,
this is a series that presents its protagonist with one obstacle
to overcome, which is resolved quickly, and then the next.
Kodocha never suffers from “filler episodes” that
have nothing to do with the main story arc, as each episode
propels you through one event and into another.
Child’s Toy is a series for anyone. There is something
about the characters and the life lessons they learn that
strikes a cord with its audience, much in the way of The Peanuts,
but these characters are much more eccentric and off-beat.
The story arc, while far fetched at times, offers realistic
insight into how a child might view the world and deal with
it accordingly.
If after reading this review you are still unsure if this
is a series for you, rent it. After the first episode I think
you’ll have a pretty good idea of how a Shoujo anime
about a child actress, developed enough of a following over
in the US to be picked up and released by Funimation. Now
the rest of the world gets to discover this hidden gem of
a series, and I couldn’t be happier.
Kakumei Shojo
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