Kodomo no omocha

Meet Kurata Sana, age 11, the lovely and talented star of "Kodomo no Omocha", a live television improv series. However, she is not exempt from attending school, and just so happens to share a class with Hayama Akito, any teacher's worst nightmare. Her "war" with him quickly blossoms into grudging respect, and finally to a deep, caring friendship as she draws him out of his shell.

So where does the "on crack" part come in?

Well, Sana contributes to a lot of it, talking at something like 200 words per minute and moving at speeds only attainable by consuming IMMENSE amounts of sugar. She also raps--rather badly--at some point in each episode. There's also Sana's mother, who is a bit...strange; her assortment of hats attests to that. There's Rei, Sana's "pimp" (or at least that's how the subtitles translated it) and agent. There's also Babbit, a strange but cute creature who pops up every once in a while to give explanations or commentary.

So far only available in Japanese, but I don't think any dubbing effort could do this series justice.

Does anyone know a site where I can watch the Kodocha series with English subtitles? Almost all the episodes are deleted from www.youtube.com! Only number 1 and 2 are left! Please, anyone, answer! And if anyone know about any funny anime series, please tell me! I'm a anime fan=) Wohoo! I'm bored.. Please answer! I'm in a hurrrry! Must... Watch... Kodocha... NOW!... Just kidding:P But oblivious I have to write at least 10 lines of text, so I'm just messin' around. Sorry.. Don't read all of this... You really don't need to bother... I'm from Norway by the way! There's almost no manga here. All I've seen is Inuyasha and Love Hina... And some others I can't really remember... Thanks anyway.. Please answer about the 'where to watch anime series, especially Kodocha', or whatever I wrote :P Byebye

This Anime is Hilarious! When I first watched it in second grade, it was like the best! I love it.

So yeah, it's about a famous child star actress named Sana. Sana has a big wild and optimistic-kind of attitude that just makes you love her! This romantic-comedy show has many twists and surprises you don't find in your average anime. This anime may be old (I think the manga was out in 1996 in Japan), but it is one of the most awesomest ever! It is split-your-sides-because-of-laughing painful! Main characters include : Akito Hayama (a class destroyer- but he plays a big role in the show), Naozumi (another child actor that has a past with Sana), Sana's mom, Rei (Sana's used-to-be "gigolo"), and Sana's class mates play fairly important roles too. It is basically all about Sana's life. This anime is hilarious, and I suggest all comedy lovers to watch this!

Sana Kurata is 11 years old girl, cheerful and with much energy. OK, she already works... Erhem, right, she is a child TV star what doesn't mean she can escape classes! All right! She has a busy schedule, then everything is planned. And there's her manager - who she made her "boyfriend" after met him heartbroken and miserable at streets... If she doesn't care him who will do? It's a waste of time to be at school and don't even pay attention, right? Well, seems like the boys don't agree with that... Specially the leader Akito Hayama, the king of cool and unpassion. But don't understimate a girl's strength! Sana will do her best to learn SOMETHING at school, and no boy will stop her. Well I thought that was a regular show about girls versus boys. But it was much more. It's about how difficult is to be kid. To live until grow up! The characters are so lovely made, that you can feel then. They are right here in this world, everyone of them. They sorrow, they laugh, they cry or not... Nobody understand your own heart, and that's what we have here. Disguised as a show about a STAR child, Kodomo no Omocha is a tale to children and to grown ups. A tale to help everyone of us to remember how hard is to be child, how easy we forget the wrong ways of our parents and repeat that in our children, the feelings of a girl forwards an older man... every facet of human being is there, put in a way simple but yet very caring... Because everyone have to love something...

The series is now available on DVD -- or at least the first two discs as of today. This is the animé that many said would never get translated into English (see previous review) because of some of the strange premises. For the most part, this is a straight forward shôjo (girl- oriented/relationship) animé, but that doesn't mean guys won't enjoy it too.

As the story develops, love interests form and break as in many other shôjo, but this one's different: Starting from the first episode (no spoilers), Sana's self-proclaimed boyfriend, manager, and "pimp" is Rei, who is obviously much older than she is, if only by the fact he can drive and she's 11. Rei lives with Sana and her mother and has a seemingly somewhat- too-friendly relationship with Sana. It's a little creepy at the beginning but things normalize as the animé progresses.

With the exception of Rei, this is a fairly normal animé, and is relatively tame with no "fan service" and very little harsh language. (A few "damn" and "hell" and one "pissed", but that's it.)

Sana is the world's most hyperactive girl, easily speaking over 200 words per minute, but she has obviously been around adults for most of her life because she has wisdom beyond her 11 years. Unlike many Japanese, Sana is very outspoken and has no problem telling people -- adults included -- how she feels about them.

To some, Sana might seem overly pushy, nosy, and annoying, but her intentions are always honorable. Sana occasionally breaks into song or a rap to explain her feelings during the show which helps the plot along nicely.

There are very few lulls in the action (or Sana's dialog!) and the English dub is very nicely done. Hats off to Laura Bailey for voicing Sana! There is no way that was an easy read... even for Laura's skill!

This is one of the last in a generation of cel-based animé. There are no sweeping CG landscapes or flythroughs. This is old-school animation and it's wonderful. This animation is smooth and no cels were spared. The artwork is bright and colorful and loads of fun.

If you enjoy "Marmalade Boy" or other shôjo animé, you're in for a treat with Kodocha.