Kodocha #1:
Schoolgirl Super Star

100 minutes
English/Japanese
English Subtitles
Released: 06/28/2005
Reviewed: 11/15/2005

Time and time again it is proven to me that I am not the key demographic where anime is concerned. Time and time again I discover that the most hyped, most popular, most loved series of the most hard-core of anime fandom is not exactly my cup of tea. Though I want to keep believing, want to keep the faith, I am burned over and over by shows that contain screeching twelve year olds, jubbly breasted maids, and milquetoast protagonists surrounded by throngs of big breasted lactating cat girls. But still I want to believe. I want to believe there's people out there whose tastes conform to mine. Maybe it's just my relentless optimism, but anime DVDs ain't cheap! So I want to think that there's some review website or internet forum or mailing list that I can access that will inform me all I need to know about my purchases before I actually make them. Believe as I might, I've yet to find that place.

I'm lucky that I did not have to purchase this DVD, it was furnished upon us by the good folks at Funimation. They will, for any anime club with an excess of 20 members, happily shoot out a free DVD to you every month. I've told you about this before. The only thing they ask of you is that you spend a brief few moments filling out surveys so that they can gauge your reaction. I suppose it's to decide whether or not their solicitation was worth their time. A few dissenters aside, our surveys generally result firmly in the negative.

I'm actually starting to feel sort of bad about it.

But I thought I had a sure lock this time! Kodomo no Omocha (Child's Toy), Kodocha as its fans tend to call it, could legitimately called one of the top five most popular shows of the past fifteen years. Man fans label it an instant classic, and it's made more runs on the fansub market than you could shake a stick it. Why I thought that any of that was promising is beyond me, but again... I try to be an optimist about these things. So I ordered from Funimation the first disc of Kodocha and crossed my fingers, hoping against hope that things would work out for the better. I've discussed creator Akitaroh Daichi's speckled track record before, but I figured a spotted career is better than him being someone I just out and out hate like that poop swilling Ken Akamatsu. And really, do I even have a creator that I would trust beyond all shadow of a doubt? Maybe Cowboy Bebop's Shinichirô Watanabe, but he's a special boy. I live for the risk!

You might think that this kind of schedule would be tough for an elementary school child, but fortunately Sana is so inured with crystal meth-like levels of energy that she accomplishes it all with aplomb. My question is this: how is this different than any other anime where the main character is a child with an obscene amount of responsibility dropped onto her shoulders? Sana is equally as loud, conniving, and self-serving as any random sampling of preteen protagonist you could find with a random sampling of modern day anime. Unless she goes though some major revelation in episode five that makes this show act smart then I can't given even a single reason why it would be a worthwhile investment.

Sana's antics, which mostly feature her attempts to get back at the moody Akitoh, are an absolute bore to watch. She flails helplessly as schemes of bungie jumping and fights in the playground go awry. It's something that I could see an eight year old girl squealing with delight and clapping her hands at, but with anyone above the age of twelve I'm a bit at a loss as to where the allure comes in. All the banshee screeching that goes on in this show (sub or dub) is just another generic feature that makes me want to ignore it all the more. Maybe 15 years ago Kodocha cut the mold for this sort of stuff, maybe it was the original... but it wasn't a very good mold to begin with.

Kodocha, despite it's befuddling popularity among the most vocal of anime fandom, is most definitely not for me. The whole show is boomed directly into your ears via a saccharine microphone. It's so self-assured that it's cuteness is awe inspiring that in four episodes it never really bothers to do anything REAL. If the whole show is Sana's "whacky" and "zany" antics against moody ten year old boy antagonists then you can count me out. I had enough of squealing overzealous girls last week.