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KODOCHA: DOWN THE DRAIN (VOL 11) [ADVANCE REVIEW] |
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Thursday, 01 February 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL FRAME | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 100 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/06/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 02/02/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD | | | | |
Who knew being a sixth grader could be so tough or so funny?
Known in Japan as Kodomo no Omocha, this frenetic comedy revolves around an elementary school girl named Sana who is a TV star. Helping her balance (or should that be unbalance?) her hectic life is her unique mother and her devoted manager Rei. She has to juggle work with school. At school she must deal with deadlines, class work and the class bully. However, the sarcastic Akito may be more than her arch rival at school, he may be her new best friend, and even…her love interest?
Welcome to the crazy anime series Kodocha. It has more soap opera twists than Marmalade Boy, is as crazy as Excel Saga (but more age appropriate), and has more energy than the Energizer Bunny. In this volume Sana has to deal with being out of work as some dastardly showbiz types try to oust Rei as her agent. Then when she does land a job, it’s love at first sight for Sana. The problem is that Gojo is three times her age! Just who is he? Between having to deal with impossible work deadlines, nefarious showbiz types and entrance exams, drama enters the picture when Akito discovers that Gomi is being bullied and Akito decides to get involved.
No matter what anyone writes, nothing can truly prepare you for the frenzied comedy that is Kodocha. It’s hilarious and never stops for a second. The hyper opening is a perfect introduction to the zaniness about to ensue before your very eyes. There are a lot of sideways jokes along with the more obvious slapstick and outright humor. Kodocha makes hyper look calm next to her tornado personality. She’ll often break out into song to display her displeasure and she’ll go off on all sorts of hair-brained tangents and jumps to the wrong conclusion all the time. The clincher is that she always has her heart in the right spot and when she’s wrong, she’s the first to take the steps to make it right. She cares about her family, her friends, even her manager. Even when things get dramatic with the “delinquent youth” arc in this volume, she’s there doing her best while still giving us the laughs.
The lines of the animation style are simple but the pace is hyper and lively. There’s always something happening in every frame. It really took me by surprise. While I was expecting a queit shoujo style anime like Marmalade Boy, Kodocha ambushed me with its loveably insane characters and crazier storylines.
EXTRAS:
This disc includes previews of other FUNimation titles.
IN SUMMARY:
Kodocha is a unique soap opera dramedy that will surprise you with how much fun it is. It’s rowdy entertainment that you won’t be able to get enough of. |
