It's all Hayama's fault!!!!!!!

You'll never see elementary school the same way again. Kodomo no Omocha is the name of a manga feature which appeared in Ribon magazine along with such features as Marmalade Boy and Nurse Angel Ririka SOS. It's also been made into some of the most unique anime I've seen since Macross 7. The story might take place in an elementary school, not exactly the typical anime setting, but it's the characters who drive the show. They may be kids, but they act beyond their age, and the effect is kind of weird and very entertaining. You'll just have to see to understand what I mean.

Expect a lot of word play, interesting Japanese expressions, visual metaphors, and non-stop energy. If it feels like there's a lot going on which isn't fully explained, you're right. There's a whole manga story behind Kodomo no Omocha, and the Kodomo no Omocha TV series is currently airing in Japan. Several of us on e-board really like this show, so if you hear us saying things like "Puchin!" or "C'mon Peggy!" - that's from this show.

The characters:

Sana-chan: The hyper, super-gutsy, extroverted child actress whose TV school life is nothing like her real-life school. Her TV show is called Kodomo no Omocha - hence, the name of this OAV.

Hayama Akito: The head troublemaker of Sana-chan's class, one dark and troubled guy. [He's kind of cool.]

Tsuyoshi: One of Hayama's friends. He tries to keep Hayama from overdoing things. Actually a pretty nice guy.

Rei: Sana-chan's manager and confidant. Don't you dig the sunglasses?

Mama: Sana's adoptive mother. She has cool headpieces and drives around the house in a neat little car.

As a side note, you might be interested to know that the seiyuu who voiced Sana is Chisa Yokoyama, who also plays Sasami from Tenchi Muyo, and Rei is voiced by Maasami Kikuchi, the voice of Tenchi from Tenchi Muyo and Keiichi from Ah! My Goddess.

The television show is cool, too. It's even more hyper than the OAV, and it's a lot of fun watching Sana-chan rap in each episode. If you ever get a chance to watch this show, translated or not, I highly recommend it.

[12/2/04 Update: For further articles by Lawrence Eng, see his anime page.]