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Kodocha
Kodomo no Omocha ("Child's Toy") is hilarious story of Sana
Kurata. Sana is an eccentric child star. Sana tries to fix problems,
such as a classroom full of bullies or the demon-child, Hayama's, bad
family life. Throughout the series Sana learns about friendship, love
and that whacking people with a giant hammer will shut them up.
I don't believe this is an ordinary shoujo story. Though, it may seem
like one due to the fact Sana has problems with her love life. Also,
there are a few love-triangles sprinkled throughout the series.
Kodocha takes a comical approach to dealing with common teenage
problems, such as suicide and the pressures of fitting in. The
problems and feelings the characters have are easy to relate to.
(Most of them anyway.)
Created by Miho Obana, and English adaptation by Sarah Dyer (known
for her own comics) Kodocha has picked up a fair amount of fans. It
is currently being published in English by Tokyopop. Kodocha has been
made into a anime, which I BELIEVE came out in Japan in 1996. The
anime has not come out in English, but is fan-subbed. The manga
originally ran in Ribon. It has 10 volumes. |
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Kodocha has some suggestive content, and some subjects may not be
suitable for young children. Though, I'm sure kids over the age of 10
could handle it. (It's actually rated 13+). Overall Kodocha is a
highly enjoyable manga, and I definitely recommend it!
Characters
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Sana Kurata- Sana is a twelve year old star. She is a very good
actress. Sana always seems happy, and is usually over enthusiastic.
She hates to see people in pain and always wants to help. |
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Akito Hayama- Akito starts off as a classroom bully, and Sana's
rival. He has a somewhat depressing home life, which Sana dedicates
to fixing. He is almost always calm and cool. Akito has a hard time
expressing his feelings. (How typical...)
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Naozumi Kamura- Naozumi is a fellow child actor, and quite popular
with the girls. He is very handsome. Naozumi shares a secret with
Sana of their past.
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Tsuyoshi Sasaki- A fickle, timid, bad-tempered boy in Sana's class.
He is friends with Akito. He starts off claiming to love Sana, but
changes his mind after another girl gives him a present. He also has
family problems, but are only touched upon.
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Rei- Rei is Sana's manager, who she calls her "gigolo".
(She doesn't understand the meaning of the word.) Sana has a big
crush on him, and is very protective of him. Apparently, he's the
sworn enemy of Akito. ^_^; |
Links: Monochrome:
Kodomo no Omocha Manga Translations
Angry Cow's Hayama
Akito Shrine
Kodomo no Omocha: Marmalade Boy
on Crack?
TokyoPop's
Kodocha Page
Redrose's
Kodocha Image Gallery
Kodocha Bubbles
Kodomo
no Omocha at Sayoko-chan's World of Anime Madnes
Kodomo
no Omocha
Panikku! |
