Some of them, anyway.

After watching the recent OVA and reading through some of the manga, I have revised my opinion of Kojika somewhat.

I was wrong to call it a pedo anime. It’s not just non-stop fanservice; it has a legitimate and interesting plot. To borrow a phrase from a certain very wise man…it is also a pedo anime.

Temakizushi is serious business, as far as Rin’s concerned.

The characters are all very believable, and the dialogue and varied interactions amongst the cast also seems natural and unforced – to a point anyway. I feel like I have to qualify every statement I make about the show, because of this one glaring aspect that stands out like a sore thumb…

The loli fanservice. Most of the time it feels jarringly tacked on and gratuitous. It’s like they played up Rin’s and Kuro’s characters to the point of ridiculousness because they needed something to make the books/shows sell.

It’s kind of annoying when they do it in Hollywood films, throwing in gratuitous R-rated scenes that have little or no relation to the plot, but at least in those cases they’re all adults. Kojika tries to do the same thing but with grade schoolers, and it comes off as the worst kind of pandering.

That said, it’s my sincere hope that for the televised release they’ll be forced to tone down the questionable content considerably to meet broadcast standards. If they do, I can definitely see myself enjoying the show. The animation and character designs are great, and they seem to have lined up a top notch seiyuu cast for this production. Kuro-chan especially.

I had never heard of the girl who’s been cast for her voice, Shindou Kei, and it seems that she’s a relative newcomer to the industry, but her voice acting is superb. Great voice work, and very distinctive. Plus I’m a sucker for fang characters, as you know if you’re a regular reader.

They just would cast Sugita Tomokazu to play Reiji. Kind of funny, since he totally looks like an Itsuki clone.

The trio’s zany antics are entertaining, and the serious life issues the cast is forced to deal with as they grow up (really, the adults in the show need to grow up almost as much as the kids do) come off as very realistic and challenging in many ways.

As someone who taught in Japan for a little while, I can certainly resonate with the setting and the issues that come up. There are definitely those kids that make you feel like putting your head through a window, or who are too smart for their own damn good, but those same children are often the most rewarding to invest time in.

Even the issue of underage students hitting on their teachers is something I don’t necessarily have an inherent problem with. It is something that happens in real life (although hardly to the extreme that Kojika portrays), and there are many teachers who have funny anecdotes about some of the more shocking things they’ve had happen…Azrael of Outpost Nine fame being a prime example.

Really, what it boils down to is that Kodomo no Jikan seems like a brilliant and engaging story, but it’s buried underneath a veritable landslide of underage fanservice. And I’m willing to bet that a good 50% of the viewers/readers are only following it for the latter reason. Not that I should be surprised, of course. I mean, we are talking about the same country that invented the Shakugan no dakimakura.

Is dat sum pedobear in the OP?

Kojika is a diamond in the rough, all right…but to get to the diamond you have to sift through a pile of used heroin needles. Do not want enjoy your aids lol.

To reiterate, though, if they cut back on the stupid gratuitous stuff, I’d be more than happy to watch the show. Those of you who left me comments and messages were absolutely right; it does seem to have a strong core plot to it.

Now if only I can enjoy that plot without worrying that Chris Hansen is gonna come knocking…

/me facepalm

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