We?ve delved into some fucked up items during our time together, haven?t we? Between Katawa Shoujo, a visual novel where you help a heart patient stick his dick in another disabled student while fighting off the homoerotic approaches of a raging misogynist conspiracy theorist and Tomoyo After where someone gets in a fist fight to try and prove that true love exists even though he has a brain tumor (Key hates logic more than the Christian Right) we have seen shit that would tighten the sphincter of your average consumer schmuck to asshole singularity, but they all seem like child?s play to Kodomo no Jikan (Which I think literally means A Child?s Play). Why? Well, Kodomo no Jikan was at one point slated for American release, but the plan fell through due to some predictions of controversy. The planned English title for this little gem was ?Nymphet.? That explain everything?
Okay, calm down, to the best of my knowledge there are only two sexual relationships we see in the manga, the first is in a flashback between consenting adults and the incest shouldn?t be a problem because they are cousins once removed, and the other is between consenting adults which shouldn?t be a problem unless the board of education finds out. Okay, they aren?t healthy, but they aren?t something you?d call the Special Victims Unit over. Oh wait? the first one does?
Getting to the review, Kodomo no Jikan is an ongoing manga series that had a 12 episode anime and several spin-off OVAs that I?ll review when I find them. I could try to be politically correct and say that this is just a story of puppy love and emotional instability, but I loathe political correctness so I?ll say it?s a tale of a nine year old girl who wants to fuck her teacher who is oblivious to said intentions, dismissing them as her being mischievous.
I swear to Jah this isn?t you hallucinating, this is the plot to something that was published and has been going on for years. This is something combining the unpleasantries of dealing with students who may and sometimes will hit puberty at any moment with a really awkward unrequited crush that has to remain unrequited for fear of reprisal. That?s not the weird part, the weird part? It?s actually pretty well put together and worth checking out if you have a very open mind and a large desensitization to sexual deviance, like oh say for example an invincible judge and executioner of lost souls who started reviewing games and animations as part of an alternate retirement plan to impaling himself on his own spear.
Anyway I?ll focus more on the anime since the manga is ongoing and I haven?t gotten past the second volume due toterminal ?Couldn?t Be Arsed? personal issues, though I?ll give a preemptive ?Check this shit out? seal of approval for the first volume just to see what you?re in for. The anime is decidedly different from the manga in that it has more groin shots, more instance of abuse towards the teacher, though in a bizarre reverse Rosario Vampire syndrome I think the anime may have fewer panty shots than the manga. Also the anime concludes in a more healthy fashion, from what I?ve looked up on Wikipedia the manga includes in later volumes one characters discovery of masturbation, one character starting her period early, and one character putting up with what can only be described as an Oedipus Complex by Proxy issue. That?s sort of the big gimmick of this item, it plays some really bizarre things for jokes then suddenly switches to dead serious matters.
Kodomo no Jikan revolves around three girls and their dipshit teacher. The teacher is Aoki Daisuke, a freshly graduated college student teaching his first class, and he?s a virgin in pretty much every way you can think of. The three classmates who torment him the most are Rin, a precocious psychopath who develops a massive crush on her teacher complicated by the fact that she seems to know A LOT about sex though doesn?t seem to be able to grasp the fact that a sexual relationship with a child is a bad idea. Next up is a gothic Lolita named Kuro.
?wow. Subtle. Kuro is Rin?s best friend in the process of discovering her sexuality as a lesbian who is cruel and manipulative towards people she doesn?t like yet strongly supportive of her friends to the point of violence towards people who harass her friends. So she?s sort of a hybrid Tomoyo Lector/Konata Izumi. I approve! Lastly we have Mimi, a shy naïve girl who excels academically but is socially awkward for several reasons, not the least of which because she bloomed early and is harassed constantly for breasts that looked pathetic on Emi but look absurdly huge on a 10 year old. On a 12 year old? Not so much.
She really drives home the theory that the writers wanted to do their best to make an item where you can?t help but enjoy it but are going to hell for doing so. Mimi actually is the earliest example of playing things for shits and giggles then suddenly getting serious, like it?s Heath Ledger?s Joker directing. In the pilot episode we get character introductions, Rin declares herself the teachers girlfriend on the spot despite his objections, Kuro somehow finds out the teacher is a virgin, and then all of a sudden it shifts to the teacher trying to coax a girl back to class after she spent a month truant in self defense due to a teacher being very abusive towards her. We later on find out that that teacher was Aoki?s predecessor, only when he drove Mimi away, Rin began tormenting him from the shadows and driving him to have a nervous breakdown.
I shit you not. It suddenly goes from Tomoyo?s evil twin making fun of her teacher?s sexual ineptness to trying to approach a victim of abuse. It?s just verbal abuse mind, but physical abuse does become a factor towards the end when things suddenly turn into a game of ?Guess who will have a psychotic episode first.?
The anime plays out as a slice of life anime in that it?s mostly grounded in reality and has really horrible music, and another detail of slice of life is that the teachers must all be useless. Okay, Lucky Star played that for a lesser effect, Kuroi actually did a good job as a teacher, she was just an online gamer and occasionally whacked Konata for dozing off in class. But this time around the teachers are either a complete *****, fan service with no personality, or a man who desperately needs to get laid before a ten year old tries to take advantage of him. While I will say I really liked Kuro and Rin?s characters, some of the more serious elements I?m dubious about. Yes they?re handled well, but it turns out later on in the manga the fact that we never see any parents is a plot point, and that absolutely nobody who gets a lot of screen time has a good family life. Also I?m iffy on the resolutions of the more serious arcs concerning Mimi. If she was being verbally abused so often she felt she had to run away, how is it one dipshit was able to so easily coax her out?
On the voice acting side of things we mostly get solid performances. Kruo and Mimi?s voice actors aren?t outstanding, but it?s worth mentioning they both seemed to have been hired from the Atelier series of video games, so it?s likely this is the only good role either of them have ever been in. Rin?s voice actress, Eri Kitamura, is also worth mentioning. She was the voice of Miki in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so this is the second time I?ve encountered her in a role which seems aimed at redeeming her of the first role I found her in. That role being a part in High School of the Dead, stupid schlock of the highest order which tried to get us to feel sorry for the high school girls being eaten by making us think of how much we?d like to fuck them if they weren?t being murdered by the thousands.
Nice. Actually speaking of offensive roles, her video game credentials are similar. She?s contributed to Disgaea 4 and No More Heroes, good games I?m sure, but also was part of the Japanese dub of Duke Nukem Forever. Tragically, it seems we did export that game. She seriously has my sympathies, she does a decent job but keeps getting shit roles since she appeared in the Atelier games also.
Actually I have a similar experience to another Puella Magi voice actress named Ai Nonaka, who has contributed her voice to Kyoko Sakura, my favorite magical girl personality wise, and Kafuka from Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei, a girl who acts ditzy and positive but who actively tries to murder her classmates. What was the first role I found her in? She was in Clannad and contributed her voice to the astral projection of a retarded coma patient. How lovely! Actually her voice work in games is even more tragic than Kitamura?s, appearing in the Atelier series, a Final Fantasy game, and Mega Man X: Command Mission as Cinnamon.
Back to the item at hand, we come to the final question. Is Kodomo no Jikan good?
That?s a naughty question. I thought it was good, yes, but I made it clear this is absolutely not an item for everyone. I was able to like it even though I hate kids because of just how fucked up it is, but some people would take one look at the first episode, hear about Mimi?s abuse, and run screaming to a priest to be exorcised. There are bound to be some knee-jerk reactions decrying it as the worst thing ever if it ever reaches American shores, and I can sort of see where they?re coming from on this one. That said, the drama is decent when compared to Clannad in that it?s at the very least kind of believable and doesn?t betray character personality, but that said if you do watch the anime and find it to be a little harsh for your tastes do not under any circumstances read the manga which is much more twisted.
That said, if you do have an open mind and can sit through George Carlin?s ?It?s Bad for Ya? CD without flinching, you may be able to handle this item and find that you enjoy it. Check out the first episode or first volume just to see what it?s like, it?s worth that at the very least, but like I said, people of small minds and small cajones will be horrified by this item and how gleefully it makes jokes and depicts serious instances of abuse aimed at children or performed by children, so have a stiff drink handy just in case your soul starts to burn. I personally will be finishing the manga when I get the chance, and thank Escapist evilneko for inadvertently directing me to the single most fucked up yet enjoyable anime I?ve seen in 2012.
Now you know why i'm terrified by the statement "Children are our future"
--Pyramid Head
Next Review: Gyo
Okay, calm down, to the best of my knowledge there are only two sexual relationships we see in the manga, the first is in a flashback between consenting adults and the incest shouldn?t be a problem because they are cousins once removed, and the other is between consenting adults which shouldn?t be a problem unless the board of education finds out. Okay, they aren?t healthy, but they aren?t something you?d call the Special Victims Unit over. Oh wait? the first one does?
Getting to the review, Kodomo no Jikan is an ongoing manga series that had a 12 episode anime and several spin-off OVAs that I?ll review when I find them. I could try to be politically correct and say that this is just a story of puppy love and emotional instability, but I loathe political correctness so I?ll say it?s a tale of a nine year old girl who wants to fuck her teacher who is oblivious to said intentions, dismissing them as her being mischievous.
I swear to Jah this isn?t you hallucinating, this is the plot to something that was published and has been going on for years. This is something combining the unpleasantries of dealing with students who may and sometimes will hit puberty at any moment with a really awkward unrequited crush that has to remain unrequited for fear of reprisal. That?s not the weird part, the weird part? It?s actually pretty well put together and worth checking out if you have a very open mind and a large desensitization to sexual deviance, like oh say for example an invincible judge and executioner of lost souls who started reviewing games and animations as part of an alternate retirement plan to impaling himself on his own spear.
Anyway I?ll focus more on the anime since the manga is ongoing and I haven?t gotten past the second volume due to
Kodomo no Jikan revolves around three girls and their dipshit teacher. The teacher is Aoki Daisuke, a freshly graduated college student teaching his first class, and he?s a virgin in pretty much every way you can think of. The three classmates who torment him the most are Rin, a precocious psychopath who develops a massive crush on her teacher complicated by the fact that she seems to know A LOT about sex though doesn?t seem to be able to grasp the fact that a sexual relationship with a child is a bad idea. Next up is a gothic Lolita named Kuro.
?wow. Subtle. Kuro is Rin?s best friend in the process of discovering her sexuality as a lesbian who is cruel and manipulative towards people she doesn?t like yet strongly supportive of her friends to the point of violence towards people who harass her friends. So she?s sort of a hybrid Tomoyo Lector/Konata Izumi. I approve! Lastly we have Mimi, a shy naïve girl who excels academically but is socially awkward for several reasons, not the least of which because she bloomed early and is harassed constantly for breasts that looked pathetic on Emi but look absurdly huge on a 10 year old. On a 12 year old? Not so much.
She really drives home the theory that the writers wanted to do their best to make an item where you can?t help but enjoy it but are going to hell for doing so. Mimi actually is the earliest example of playing things for shits and giggles then suddenly getting serious, like it?s Heath Ledger?s Joker directing. In the pilot episode we get character introductions, Rin declares herself the teachers girlfriend on the spot despite his objections, Kuro somehow finds out the teacher is a virgin, and then all of a sudden it shifts to the teacher trying to coax a girl back to class after she spent a month truant in self defense due to a teacher being very abusive towards her. We later on find out that that teacher was Aoki?s predecessor, only when he drove Mimi away, Rin began tormenting him from the shadows and driving him to have a nervous breakdown.
I shit you not. It suddenly goes from Tomoyo?s evil twin making fun of her teacher?s sexual ineptness to trying to approach a victim of abuse. It?s just verbal abuse mind, but physical abuse does become a factor towards the end when things suddenly turn into a game of ?Guess who will have a psychotic episode first.?
The anime plays out as a slice of life anime in that it?s mostly grounded in reality and has really horrible music, and another detail of slice of life is that the teachers must all be useless. Okay, Lucky Star played that for a lesser effect, Kuroi actually did a good job as a teacher, she was just an online gamer and occasionally whacked Konata for dozing off in class. But this time around the teachers are either a complete *****, fan service with no personality, or a man who desperately needs to get laid before a ten year old tries to take advantage of him. While I will say I really liked Kuro and Rin?s characters, some of the more serious elements I?m dubious about. Yes they?re handled well, but it turns out later on in the manga the fact that we never see any parents is a plot point, and that absolutely nobody who gets a lot of screen time has a good family life. Also I?m iffy on the resolutions of the more serious arcs concerning Mimi. If she was being verbally abused so often she felt she had to run away, how is it one dipshit was able to so easily coax her out?
On the voice acting side of things we mostly get solid performances. Kruo and Mimi?s voice actors aren?t outstanding, but it?s worth mentioning they both seemed to have been hired from the Atelier series of video games, so it?s likely this is the only good role either of them have ever been in. Rin?s voice actress, Eri Kitamura, is also worth mentioning. She was the voice of Miki in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so this is the second time I?ve encountered her in a role which seems aimed at redeeming her of the first role I found her in. That role being a part in High School of the Dead, stupid schlock of the highest order which tried to get us to feel sorry for the high school girls being eaten by making us think of how much we?d like to fuck them if they weren?t being murdered by the thousands.
Nice. Actually speaking of offensive roles, her video game credentials are similar. She?s contributed to Disgaea 4 and No More Heroes, good games I?m sure, but also was part of the Japanese dub of Duke Nukem Forever. Tragically, it seems we did export that game. She seriously has my sympathies, she does a decent job but keeps getting shit roles since she appeared in the Atelier games also.
Actually I have a similar experience to another Puella Magi voice actress named Ai Nonaka, who has contributed her voice to Kyoko Sakura, my favorite magical girl personality wise, and Kafuka from Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei, a girl who acts ditzy and positive but who actively tries to murder her classmates. What was the first role I found her in? She was in Clannad and contributed her voice to the astral projection of a retarded coma patient. How lovely! Actually her voice work in games is even more tragic than Kitamura?s, appearing in the Atelier series, a Final Fantasy game, and Mega Man X: Command Mission as Cinnamon.
Back to the item at hand, we come to the final question. Is Kodomo no Jikan good?
That?s a naughty question. I thought it was good, yes, but I made it clear this is absolutely not an item for everyone. I was able to like it even though I hate kids because of just how fucked up it is, but some people would take one look at the first episode, hear about Mimi?s abuse, and run screaming to a priest to be exorcised. There are bound to be some knee-jerk reactions decrying it as the worst thing ever if it ever reaches American shores, and I can sort of see where they?re coming from on this one. That said, the drama is decent when compared to Clannad in that it?s at the very least kind of believable and doesn?t betray character personality, but that said if you do watch the anime and find it to be a little harsh for your tastes do not under any circumstances read the manga which is much more twisted.
That said, if you do have an open mind and can sit through George Carlin?s ?It?s Bad for Ya? CD without flinching, you may be able to handle this item and find that you enjoy it. Check out the first episode or first volume just to see what it?s like, it?s worth that at the very least, but like I said, people of small minds and small cajones will be horrified by this item and how gleefully it makes jokes and depicts serious instances of abuse aimed at children or performed by children, so have a stiff drink handy just in case your soul starts to burn. I personally will be finishing the manga when I get the chance, and thank Escapist evilneko for inadvertently directing me to the single most fucked up yet enjoyable anime I?ve seen in 2012.
Now you know why i'm terrified by the statement "Children are our future"
--Pyramid Head
Next Review: Gyo