Aoki Daisuke just finished his junior grade teacher training and almost immediately got a job at one of the elementary schools after the previous teacher was fired. What he didn’t expect was that the first class he would lead would provide him some of the toughest times of his life. The discouraged students are reluctant to their new teacher at first, but through his kind-heartedness, he quickly gains trust, including among the most problematic children like Kokonoe Rin. Daisuke, however, is unaware of her family situation – he has no idea of the way kids think, which quickly becomes a problem as Rin, unaware of her feelings (mainly because she has no parents), puts her teacher in the role of father and lover, which he is completely unable to cope with.
Table of content
Kodomo no Jikan – Audiovisual design
It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who follows my posts if I write that the visuals were great for me. I love productions from that period and I really miss such expressive animation, character design and a lot of attention to shading in today’s series. Even in lower resolution (the anime premiered at a time when DVDs were still the standard), the whole thing still looks just gorgeous. Of course, there are places where you can see minor flaws or cost-cutting, but looking at the whole thing, I can’t really complain about anything, especially since the backgrounds themselves have also been taken care of.
The cast of actors includes names that often appear even in modern times. Kitamura Eri, Sugita Tomokazu, Kadowaki Mai or Majima Junji. I don’t even have to mention that they did their job perfectly. Also worth mentioning are the awesome songs used in the opening (れっつ！おひめさまだっこ / Rettsu! Ohime-sama Dakko) performed by the voice actresses of the main characters, and the ending (ハナマル☆センセイション / Hanamaru☆Sensation) by リトル・ノン (Little・ Non).
Kodomo no Jikan – Plot and Characters
I would like to write a few words from myself at the outset, as I have an inner feeling that this is needed.
Kodomo no Jikan is definitely a series for people with open minds. At this point, the saying of the tongue always turns to the aching tooth fits in perfectly. Everyone sees what they want to see. I’ve read a lot of reviews and comments about this series over the years and I can honestly say that I’m appalled by the emotional immaturity of the vast majority of commentators.
Japanese media often shows the world in a highly contrasted and exaggerated way. The author of the source material (Watashiya Kaworu) wanted to show in this way (often very blunt and exaggerated) what the lack of parents, especially a father, does to a child’s psyche. She came with the idea of main character that very aware of certain things for her age, and uses this to get closer to her teacher, in whom she sees her father. She completely fails to deal with her feelings and mixes up issues of sexuality, love and the scarcity of parental love in every possible situation. The form in which many scenes are presented, of course, does not have to please everyone, but in my opinion, the author perfectly draws attention to the problem just by using controversy. The sixth episode showing the backstory of Rin and her cousin (and guardian) confirmed me in this belief while emotionally disarming me. Personally, during the years of my education I had contact with peers who had this kind of problems (lack of father, mother, or the whole family) and their pattern was very similar (of course – not so direct and blunt) – a constant search for acceptance and affection from strangers. Therefore, if someone sees this series as something that is silly fanservice and draws attention solely to that (OHGOD SERIES FOR “P”), I simply look at such comments with pity and do not even enter into a discussion with such individuals.
In addition, Kodomo no Jikan also shows the situations a teacher has to deal with in the youngest grades, and how important it is to set a good example for the children and strike a balance between gentleness and maintaining discipline. Daisuke is not mentally ready to be an educator because of this, and he has a lot of trouble even though he is well respected and liked by his students. The situation is also additionally complicated by Rin’s acquaintances, who are operating at the extremes of their personality types. The other teachers do their best to support their younger colleague. Especially Houin Kyouko, who realizes her feelings for him rather quickly, which also clouds her commonsense more and more.
The series does a great job of showing each character’s development and clear, though slow, progress in understanding and accepting themselves. Daisuke painfully learns that teaching children at this age is a huge responsibility, but he also sees that the effort he puts into his work gradually bears fruit. Rin, on the other hand, slowly begins to understand that she needs to change her attitude towards others, and her legal guardian who is her cousin realizes at the end that he needs to stop living in the past and focus on the present, especially since he notices a lot of immaturity in his actions despite his age, caused by a harsh childhood that had a huge impact on him, just like in the case of Rin.
Evaluation and Summary
Once again, I will emphasize an important fact – everyone sees what they want to see. If you’re not ready for some controversy, and if you can’t think soberly enough to evaluate the whole and appreciate the author’s general idea – this is absolutely not the series for you. Personally, I was very surprised while watching Kodomo no Jikan, because I expected a light comedy, while despite the presence of humorous scenes, the drama of everyday life prevails here. The adaptation does not cover all of the source material, so the manga in the original version is already waiting to be read.
Finalny werdykt
Final evaluation
Which translation do I recommend to watch Kodomo no Jikan
- Doutei – there are two subtitle tracks in their release. One normal, the other with extensive translator notes. Normally, I would recommend the second option (track 2) without a second thought, but in this case it also involves reading the translator’s notes, which unfortunately far outweigh the rest of the content, and around the third episode it started to just plain annoy me, even though the notes themselves, when they were there, explained quite a bit.
Screenshots
