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Kodomo no Jikan
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Animation - 6.2 |
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Sound - 6.8 |
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Story - 5.8 |
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Character - 5.8 |
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Value - 5.4 |
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Enjoyment - 6.0 |
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Average - 6.0 |
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| Average |
6.5 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Young Rin falls for her teacher, but she's really really young. Intriguing but it never escapes its shallow first premise.
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| Average |
3.8 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| Against my better judgment, I decided to check out the notorious anime Kodomo no Jikan. Out of sheer curiosity of course. From the amount of flak that's being thrown at it, I thought to myself that it shouldn't be that bad. I just had a rude awakening.
The story starts with newbie teacher, Aoki Daisuke who immediately is bombarded with the antics of the students of class 3-1. The main troublemakers are three girls, Kokonoe Rin, a sexually promiscuous girl who has an enormous crush on Daisuke and her friends the stylish Kagami Kuro and the bespectacled Usa Mimi. For the uninitiated, Kodomo no Jikan sparked a great deal of controversy due to its portrayal of underaged children engaging in *ahem* less than appropriate behavior.
Animation was pretty decent, handled by the fairly fresh Studio Barcelona. From what I can gather about this company, it seems that Kodomo no Jikan is their first major work outside collaborations with fellow animation studios. There weren't any major mess ups on how the characters and settings are presented as far as I can tell. However, when it comes down to it, the show just looks generic, right down to the character designs. I sometimes mistake Aoki as a grownup Keitaro from Love Hina and Kagami as a super loli Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura which leads to question the stagnating quality of the current industry, but that's another story.
The music was generally lighthearted. The Opening, Rettsu! Ohime-sama Dakko done by the seiyuus of Kokonoe and company, and the ending, Hanamaru Sensation by Little Non, are upbeat childish tunes that sums up the series in a nutshell. So much so that it's creepy. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't that great either. If you can't stand bubblegum pop, skip it, but you should really ask yourself if you even plan on seeing this if the music alone irks you. The voice acting was good. The seiyuus were able to capture the personalities of each character with their voices. From the soft spoken vocals of Kadowaki Mai to the stern Somi Yoko. It wasn't a surprise since these people have worked on numerous projects and are known in the industry.
The narrative fails to create a positive impression to me for several reasons. For starters, the flawed direction that it was aiming for in this series. At one point, it is a lighthearted ecchi then goes to a serious dark drama and goes on a 360 cycle back. I have no problem mixing humor with gravity. I mean, the two in their purest forms seldom make engaging stories with the former exploding with stupidity and the latter seeping out dullness, but in Kodomo no Jikan's case, it's just not there. Maybe because of the issue that is being handled in the plot? If it were so, then might as well chop them into two separate series. This alone makes Kodomo no Jikan the odd man out in its genre.
The characters and their interactions with one another were also a main gripe. Being a romantic drama/comedy, the cast act in a very stereotypical way. Main character feels awkward around main heroine's openness, supporting characters there to spice up the relationship. That sort of stuff. It gets old really fast and you'd ask yourself why are you still watching this. It is only when it diverts into the dramatic part that the characters become less painful even to the point that you offer a slight sympathy towards them. But, that moment is instantly destroyed once it makes a U-turn to the comedy segment. After the end of this charade, chances are, you've probably spent all your patience by then.
I was "fortunate" enough to see the show in its uncensored form. It helped show Kodomo no Jikan's true colors. The sexual situations that were covered up surely detracts the show, but I feel it was appropriate. The Japanese networks were running this on public television. They wouldn't dare broadcast the pure form just to please the "fans." I am not a proponent for censorship, but there are just some that you have to draw the line and this is an example.
If you must, the manga covers a lot more of the story and is different from the anime in a number of ways. The manga was slated to reach Western shores, but got cancelled for obvious reasons. Given the actions that were dealt with the manga version, I sincerely doubt that the anime will ever get licensed.
Kodomo no Jikan left a funny expression in me. A mix of mild disbelief and disappointment. I may have to get my mind out of the gutter after this.
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Budding |
(2008-10-10 10:47:32) 2008-10-10 10:46:32 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Kodomo no Jikan is a 12 episode anime released in 2007 containing suggestive mature themes and preadolescent children. Despite the fact that these themes are only suggestive, the manga from which this anime is adapted has had countless controversies surrounding its release in the USA.
The character designs in Kodomo no Jikan are excellent to look at. The animation is also very well done, as are the details in the scenes and backgrounds. However, there is a significant problem with the censorship in this anime. Kodomo no Jikan features no revealing nudity or scenes of an explicit nature, but every scene containing suggestive themes, no matter how insignificant, is censored in the heaviest way. This totally ruins the viewing experience, since at times it would feel as if the majority of an episode would be censored out. As a result, only the uncensored DVD edition of Kodomo no Jikan is worth watching.
The theme songs in Kodomo no Jikan fit in well with the theme of the anime, although the songs themselves are not noteworthy in any way in my opinion. Kodomo no Jikan has a cast of high profile voice actors, which is reflected in the top quality voice acting. The background music in the scenes are very well made, although they do occasionally repeat too frequently. Still, the excellence of the voice acting in Kodomo no Jikan are truly impressive, overshadowing any flaws in terms of sound.
Kodomo no Jikan's storyline has caused numerous controversies in the USA. However, in my opinion, the anime has a very good storyline, and these problems are caused by simple minded and over protective people who are unable to keep up with the times.
Kodomo no Jikan is in essence a comedy/ecchi surrounding the school lives of some primary school children and their teacher. The anime does contain some scenes of a suggestive nature, however there is nothing explicit in any way. Since the anime features plenty of storyline development, Kodomo no Jikan transforms into somewhat of a drama in the later episodes. This change does seem out of place at times, especially since there is a lack of depth in the drama, and the anime refuses to compromise its comedy/ecchi genre. But, this change does add to the otherwise oversimplified storyline, and makes a strong premise for the second season.
The characters in Kodomo no Jikan are well voiced, but their actions at times are frustrating to watch. The anime does remain true to the personalities of the characters, and features sufficient character development, leaving room for more in the second season. In addition, plenty of moments of comedy result from the personalities of the characters, adding to the enjoyment of the anime.
I personally find it a shame that there are so many problems surrounding the release of Kodomo no Jikan (Nymphet) in the USA. Certainly, this anime is not meant to be watched by the very young, but it is a highly entertaining and comical show for more mature audiences. I would recommend Kodomo no Jikan to viewers who enjoy anime featuring a lolicon theme, and to those who are looking for a comedy and don't mind a few suggestive scenes.
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| Average |
5.2 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| Kodomo no Jikan is it alright to watch it or not? I have to say that it really doesn't matter. I say if you want to kill time then just watch it.
Well I really don't know if their is a main plot in Kodomo no Jikan. I just believe that it's just about Rin the main character loving Aoki another main character. To me this is just a loli service for the viewers. When I watched first watched this I felt really awkward. I mean how do third graders know such inappropriate things. Not to mention using it like crazy. And when i see the teacher denying these things it looks like he enjoys it. That's loli fan service for you right there. All I can say that this is trying to lead you into a story about a somewhat normal life in a elementary school. Yes Rin and her two best friends teasing the virgin teacher Aoki. Her friends are Mimi and Kuro. Kuro is basically another girl who is actually in love with Rin. Yes very strange indeed for a third grader. Not to mention wanting to do naughty stuff with her as well. Next we have Mimi who is a girl who has big breast as a third grader. She has a very strange personality. Now that we know the characters. It feels like the main character Daisuke Aoki is a pedophile. He doesn't want to be yet he's accepting to become one in the series. Not great, but not boring either I guess.
Now what took the enjoyment away from this anime was the censorship. Yeah it was alright for a couple times. But then to do it repetitively over and over again. That's what made me get bored. You have no idea what they're saying even though you can get an idea. But that takes the fun away. Not to mention censoring some scenes. Yes it's fine once in awhile but to do it over and over again as well. This started to make me get bored. Because you sit at the screen staring and saying what are they doing? I mean if i saw or heard what they were saying i would probably laugh or just say that's dumb. But to take away that enjoyment is not good at all.
Now overall is this an anime worth watching? Only if you want to kill time.
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| Average |
6.5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| What is Kodomo no Jikan? Is it an anime with a serious story that just happens to have a lot of little girls showing their panties? Or is it an anime with a whole bunch of lolis and somehow it has a good story? By the time that I finished this anime. I still have no clue at all.
The animations are decent and there's really nothing that outstanding. But then again there is also nothing that bad, so the animations stayed pretty consistent throughout the entire show. But there was this one big thing that bothered me throughout the entire tweleve episodes. Is the constant amount of censoring. This anime has a whole bunch of censoring in it. I mean why couldn't the anime producers just take out the whole thing and just add in the drama instead of showing us pantie shots every minute. All I can do is nod my head when a censor comes up.
The OP/ED were energetic enough to show the fun side of Kodomo no Jikan. I didn't really like them that much, but by the end of the series. I grew to stand them and even found myself liking the opening song which is sung by the seiyuus. ED song still sounds pretty bad to me. Voice actors were pretty good and the background music was pretty decent at some parts as well. Now, we move onto the most dangerous section of them all. The story.
Kodomo no Jikan has a deep dark drama side to all of this loli fanservice. Which is really awkward. I found myself sometimes going is this supposed to be a loli fanservice show with a intense storyline or is it supposed to be a deep dark drama story that somehow reflects the life of third graders. I kept hoping it was the second one, but there were some episodes that went with the first route and some episodes that went with the second route.
The story is about a girl named Rin who has faced more hardship then most people in the world. Rin then falls in love with her teacher named Aoki. Some of you people reading this will probably stop right there, because the story will quite disturb you. If you are already disgusted at the thought of it. So, let's see that knocks about more than half of the audience. For the other half that is still reading this. I'll continue. The story is actually pretty good. If you can look over the loli fanservice. I thought the series did a good job of putting humor and drama together. Each episode I think had a different focus. Some episodes were more drama based than others and some of them were more humor based. Either way the show would have done better without the loli fanservice. Or at least put fewer of those moments and give me more of the comedy/drama moments.
Aoki is the main character and he's a teacher that just started teaching. He has problems dealing with his students, especially Rin. Rin is our second main character and she has had a dramatic past. She's energetic and will speak her mind, no matter what. And she is pretty brave for a third grader. Her two best friends are Mimi and Kuro who have their own problems to deal with. I won't mention them, because I know that will cause some of you to roll your eyes.
So what is Kodomo no Jikan? A pretty decent show that would have been better without the fanservice. I'm pretty sure if the show had less fanservice and less censoring then this show would hit most of the audience. But since it does, it'll probably cause people to be turned off by the series. I almost did, but there was nothing else to watch during the Fall season, so I stuck with this.
Overall, am I glad that I watched Kodomo no Jikan? I would say somewhere in between. There are many other animes that are better than this, but so far none of them have dealt with the kind of issues/problems that Kodomo no Jikan has. I would say Kodomo no Jikan tries to do something new, but by doing this. It has caused many viewers to be disgusted and throw this anime away as another loli show. But the truth is that this show is a loli fanservice show. But it also does a good job dealing with the drama section as well.
Back to my main question. What is Kodomo no Jikan? Is it an anime with a serious story that just happens to have a lot of little girls showing their panties? Or is it an anime with a whole bunch of lolis and somehow it has a good story? It's up to you which way you want to interpret this anime.
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