What, you thought Sakura Con was gonna keep me from checking in on Moon Phase? Nothin’ doin’! Today’s report mentions that the ever-controversial Kodomo no Jikan is getting a second season. (Damn RIGHT. It needs to give us more creepy!Reiji.)

Also being buzzed about: Shokotan will be singing the Gurren Lagann movie theme. I have more questions to ask her at Anime Expo now! ♥

I’m heading to California later today. I think I’ll put this video on repeat on the plane and piss off the passengers:

Original source: Tatsuko’s 2ch Summary
Secondary source: Had to find a YouTube copy. Silly NicoNico!

So that last article’s mention of Fumi Yoshinaga reminded me to do this…here’s the final list of the underrated manga articles I did for Fanboy.com. In no particular order:

• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (I said MANGA)
• Yubisaki Milk Tea
• Lunar Legend Tsukihime
• Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (I beat Shaenon to it!)
• Kodomo no Jikan (yes, really)
• Ouran High School Host Club (yes, really)
• Bokurano
• Antique Bakery
• Hajime no Ippo
• Gintama

Here are the most recent few entries in my Underappreciated Manga series on :

Six down, four to go!

Lazy bum. We can’t open presents until he’s up and moving. *grumble*

• So Ken Hirai– my favorite Jpop artist, for the record –is going to sing the theme for the new Honey and Clover drama, says TokyoGraph. Damn, now I’ll have to actually watch it. (Yes, I’m a heathen and I could never really get into H&C.)
• About.com manga lists Mushishi as 2007’s Best New Manga, and I’m inclined to agree with that assessment. ♥ Good pick Deb!
• For us perverts who want to see what Kodomo no Jikan is like without all that nasty censorship, Japanator spotted a video on Moetron that provides a batch of the previously-censored scenes uncut from the DVD. Some of the scenes seem silly to censor, but a few I have a hard time being upset over.
• ComiPress Backstage has a feature on Anime News Service, a long-running but often-on-sabbatical news site. (It hasn’t updated since September at the moment, but in all likelihood it’ll pop back into constant updates for a few months in the near future before dropping back out.)

That’s it! Happy holidays, everyone. ♥

So we’re up to ~episode six in most series, which is the halfway point for the Fall season (though not necessarily the halfway point for each show). I figured I’d check in and talk about where I am with each show these days.

• Bamboo Blade: Miya-Miya owns the ass of every female character this season, hands down. Then again, it’s not like she’s up against a lot of competition. Status: Watching regularly.
• Blue Drop: The pacing is sooo slow, it took until episode three or four for anything to actually happen. But the promise of lesbians keeps me going. Status: Watching regularly.
• Clannad: I maintain that this show would be so much better if they would just ditch Nagisa entirely. Beyond that, I’m liking it better than I expected to. I do still wish that anyone looked somewhat close to how old they actually are / sound…but eh. Status: Watching regularly.
• Dragonaut: The Resonance: I can’t explain why I keep watching this show. I’m not really fond of the art style, the plot is pretty mediocre…and yet, I keep watching. I blame the boobies. Status: Watching regularly.
• Genshiken 2: Ogiue’s Sasahara x Madarama FTW. That is all. Status: Watching regularly.
• Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun: GOOO REIKA! GO GO GO! Mayu’s cute, but boring. Status: Watching regularly.
• Jyuushin Enbu: Story-wise it’s gotten better, but the art and animation are still incredibly mediocre compared to FMA, and the characters aren’t as cool either. Status: Watching every so-often.
• Kaiji: I’m interested in seeing where this goes, but running out of space on my anime plate for watching it. Status: Dropped for watching later.
• Kidou Senshi Gundam 00: Major improvements in terms of developing characters, but I think I still like the ending theme better than anything else about the show. Status: Watching regularly.
• KimiKiss: I like this show, and I think it’s because it’s a dating sim but not one that focuses on one guy and a dozen girls, but rather a group of friends (male and female) and their love lives. Status: Watching regularly.
• Kodomo no Jikan: Epic yet uncomfortable win. But I’ve ranted about this show being undervalued as mere pedo fodder enough, so suffice to say Status: Watching regularly.
• Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro: I would totally be watching this show IF ANYONE WOULD FREAKIN’ SUB IT. I’ve actually already seen people cosplay from the manga, and yet no one will sub the anime? Am I missing something? Status: Watching…if it ever comes out.
• Minamike: I like the show a lot, but almost all the comedy comes from either crazy middle sister Kana, or crazy Kana-like characters (Chiaki and Haruka each have a classmate with a similar dynamic). And Kana is never given the opportunity to have any redeeming features. Hmph. Status: Watching regularly.
• Moyashimon: This one’s a little behind, but I like it…though the agriculture 101 bits can be a little dull, the rest of the batshit insane stuff makes up for it. Status: Watching regularly.
• Night Wizard: I’m getting a little tired of Eris being the sweet, cheerful, flock-of-birds attracting Mary Sue, and annoyed at Renji being the show’s whipping boy with, like Minamike’s Kana, no real opportunity to redeem himself. Status: Considering dropping.
• Prism Ark: …One episode was really enough. Status: Dropped.
• Rental Magika: It got so boring in episode three I just couldn’t continue. Status: Dropped.
• Shinrei Kari / Ghost Hound: I still have some issues with the art style, but the pacing has picked itself up nicely and I’m curious to see where it’s going. Status: Watching regularly.
• Shion no Oh: Mmm, delicious trap, must eat. Status: Watching regularly.
• Shugo Chara! Mmm, delicious magical girl, must eat. This is probably one of the more solid shows of the season, IMO, though it’s obvious not for everyone. Status: Watching regularly.
• Suteki Tantei Labyrinth: Looks cute, but pretty dull– I’m more interested in the dolls than in anything to do with the main character. Status: Dropped.

• 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.

Mie TV has also dropped Kodomo no Jikan, according to Canned Dogs. With that and TV Saitama, that leaves two stations airing the series still: KBS Kyoto on the 11th and ChibaTV on the 12th…

Anime Banzai! has the scoop on a life-size figure of Kodomo no Jikan’s chief loli, the cute and somewhat troubled Rin. Honestly I’m a little skeptical that this is really 1:1, it seems a little small for it.

But there’s just something really funny about a life-size Rin. I wonder if she’s anatomically correct?

SaiAni pointed to a blog post from one of the KoJikan creators on its recent cancellation from TV Saitama. The basic gist of the blog entry is that TeleTama cancelled it because of Axegate 2007. But they express dismay:

“But [in our show] no axe or saw or knife comes out, not to mention there are no grotesque depictions. When we think about that, the feeling is ‘where is it’ [i.e. the violence that poses a problem]?”

Canned Dogs translates a post on the Barnum Studio website (they’re making the anime) which talks about their concern not just for the show but for the industry, since the TV station can pull the series even after everyone has paid for everything (including advertisers) without any consequences. (!)