First Date: Kodomo no Jikan
- Title: Kodomo no Jikan (Child’s Time; a.k.a. Nymphet, almost.)
- Studio: Studio Barcelona
- Genre: Comedy
Ratings (out of 5):
- Story: ♥♥♥♥
- Animation: ♥♥♥
- Characters: ♥♥♥♥
- OP/ED Themes: ♥♥♥♥
- Overall: ♥♥♥♥ (I’m going to get so much shit for being into you.)
Thoughts:
Daisuke Aoki is a brand-new elementary school teacher. He’s got his first job as a homeroom teacher for a third grade class…only to find out that his class is the noisiest, most disruptive in the school. In particular he is hounded by Rin Kokonoe, a third grade girl with a remarkably dirty mind. Hijinx, loli fanservice, and some legitimate drama ensue, with a lot of little censorship screens Isee above) and bleeps– to the degree that some lines cease to make any sense (like Kuro calling Aoki “Virgin!” all the time).
Some of you may have heard my KoJikan rant in part before, so I apologize if I’m being repetitive. But in spite of KoJikan’s comedy and fanservice exterior, I honestly feel that there is some serious drama hiding even within this first episode, and plenty more to come. It’s not so unusual for younger kids in today’s society to have had some exposure to sex and sexuality– on TV, from older siblings, finding their parents’ magazines, the Internet, whatever. Without giving anything specific away, Rin is a child who has had even more exposure for various reasons, none of which are amazingly far-fetched at their core.
And so KoJikan poses an interesting question. Society expects everything to be sanitized for our kids, and yet in many ways our kids are more easily exposed to the “adult world” than they have been in probably a couple of centuries. Any guy who likes kids can be instantly suspected of being a pedophile, and the danger is doubly true for teachers. So what is a male teacher supposed to do with a child like Rin?
Maybe you’ll think I’m giving the series too much credit– on the surface it is still just a comedy. And of course, there is plenty of fanservice involving third grade girls, so I would never fault anyone for not feeling comfortable watching the series. In all honesty, it squicks me a bit too. In this first episode, one scene features Rin sucking on Aoki-sensei’s bleeding finger, and frankly, it ran on entirely longer than necessary. So yeah, if you’re not up for watching it, you’ll get no complaints from me; I completely understand.
But I strongly recommend against dismissing the series as nothing BUT fanservice for pedos, because I honestly think it brings up interesting points about the hypocricy and selfishness with which many people raise kids.
Tags: fall-2007, first-dates, kodomo-no-jikan
October 21st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Ya know, I didn’t know what to expect from this show. I didn’t know if I should feel dirty watching it or what. But after watching the first two episodes, I really like it. Yeah, the little girls knowing what they know id kinda creepy, but the show is really cute. I am starting to think that the people that bashed it or cancelled it before it started panicked too much.
I will continue to watch this show as long as it is going to be aired. It’s just too good of a show to pass up.