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Information

Title (English) Child's Toy

Title (Japanese) Kodomo no Omocha

Advertising
Fantasy Novel

Notes a.k.a. "Kodocha". The manga, by Miho Obana, was serialised in "Ribon" magazine.
See also the OVA.
Genre(s): comedy, romance, acting, elementary school, junior high school

Classification shoujo

Synopsis About a girl, Sana, who is a juvenile actress, and a disturbed boy in her class whom she tries to help and befriend. Sana lives with her eccentric mother (a mangaka) and has her own manager whom she innocently calls her "pimp".

Review Sana has more energy than you've ever seen and a wonderful empathy with others. An unmistakeable hit. [Also, there are classroom riot scenes which are more reminiscent of the notorious Ridings School in Britain (from which dozens of pupils were expelled for riotous behaviour) than any image one had of Japanese education!]
This has basically the same story as the OVA original, but is rather different in tone, being a frenzied farcial comedy. It also has what looks like blatant product placement of various gadgets that Sana handles in the series. I saw a fan-subbed version in which the subbers in their on-screen notes stress that in this version Sana is a complete idiot. I disagree, on the grounds that at 11 years old one is entitled to be a bit of an idiot. They don't point out either that one has to realise the boys are a bunch of monkeys. (sexists). Anyway, I didn't like it quite as much as the OVA, but Sana, full of energy and empathy, is still a great, (if slightly different) character. The TV series soon exhausts the original story material, and starts losing its way after about 16 episodes.
TV eps 21-22 are the two eps where Sana revisits the orphanage where she stayed briefly as a small child, and thinks about retiring from show business. Funny, but not as good as the early episodes. It now seems rather make-weight. Hiyama | Sana & girls

Credits Series Director: Akitarou Daichi; Broadcaster: TV Tokyo; Creator(s): Miho Obana; Series Director: Akitarou Daichi; Episode Directors: Producer(s): Planning: Storyboard(s): Layout: Writer(s): Art Director: Character Designer(s): Animator(s): Backgrounds: Music:
Voice Actors (regular characters): Oda Shizue (Sana Kurata), Nakazaki Tatsuya (Akito Hayama) Note(s):

Episodes 102

Release It:TV

TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.

Date 1996 April 5 - 1998 March 27

Production NAS (Nihon Ad Systems), Pony Canyon

Broadcaster TV Tokyo

Animation Studio Gallop

References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

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Information
Title (English)	Child's Toy
Title (Japanese)	Kodomo no Omocha
Advertising Fantasy Novel
Notes	a.k.a. "Kodocha". The manga, by Miho Obana, was serialised in "Ribon" magazine. See also the OVA. Genre(s): comedy, romance, acting, elementary school, junior high school
Classification	shoujo
Synopsis	About a girl, Sana, who is a juvenile actress, and a disturbed boy in her class whom she tries to help and befriend. Sana lives with her eccentric mother (a mangaka) and has her own manager whom she innocently calls her "pimp".
Review	Sana has more energy than you've ever seen and a wonderful empathy with others. An unmistakeable hit. [Also, there are classroom riot scenes which are more reminiscent of the notorious Ridings School in Britain (from which dozens of pupils were expelled for riotous behaviour) than any image one had of Japanese education!] This has basically the same story as the OVA original, but is rather different in tone, being a frenzied farcial comedy. It also has what looks like blatant product placement of various gadgets that Sana handles in the series. I saw a fan-subbed version in which the subbers in their on-screen notes stress that in this version Sana is a complete idiot. I disagree, on the grounds that at 11 years old one is entitled to be a bit of an idiot. They don't point out either that one has to realise the boys are a bunch of monkeys. (sexists). Anyway, I didn't like it quite as much as the OVA, but Sana, full of energy and empathy, is still a great, (if slightly different) character. The TV series soon exhausts the original story material, and starts losing its way after about 16 episodes. TV eps 21-22 are the two eps where Sana revisits the orphanage where she stayed briefly as a small child, and thinks about retiring from show business. Funny, but not as good as the early episodes. It now seems rather make-weight. Hiyama \| Sana & girls
Credits	Series Director: Akitarou Daichi; Broadcaster: TV Tokyo; Creator(s): Miho Obana; Series Director: Akitarou Daichi; Episode Directors: Producer(s): Planning: Storyboard(s): Layout: Writer(s): Art Director: Character Designer(s): Animator(s): Backgrounds: Music: Voice Actors (regular characters): Oda Shizue (Sana Kurata), Nakazaki Tatsuya (Akito Hayama) Note(s):
Episodes	102
Release	It:TV
TV Showing	See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date	1996 April 5 - 1998 March 27
Production	NAS (Nihon Ad Systems), Pony Canyon
Broadcaster	TV Tokyo
Animation	Studio Gallop
References & Help	Look up the latest data on this title at: Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) , or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001). Help & further information.