Kodocha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kodocha
こどものおもちゃ (Kodomo no Omocha)
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Shôjo, Romance
Manga
Authored by	Miho Obana
Publisher	Shueisha Planeta DeAgostini Tokyopop EMA Dynit
Serialized in	Ribon
Original run	August 1994 – November 1998
No. of volumes	10
TV anime : Story arc one
Directed by	Akitaro Daichi
Studio	Studio Gallop/NAS
Network	TV Tokyo FUNimation Channel, CoLours TV
Original run	5 April 1996 – 4 April 1997
No. of episodes	52
TV anime : Story arc two
Directed by	Hiroaki Sakurai
Studio	Studio Gallop/NAS
Network	TV Tokyo
Original run	11 April 1997 – 27 March 1998
No. of episodes	50
OVA
Directed by
Studio	Studio Gallop/NAS
No. of episodes	1
Released	16 December 1995

Kodocha: Sana's Stage, known in Japan as Kodomo no Omocha (こどものおもちゃ), is a manga written and drawn by Miho Obana, helped periodically by her sister, Kaori Obana. The manga was adapted into an OVA and later into an anime series.

Kodocha was published in the United States in English by TOKYOPOP as Kodocha: Sana's Stage. The anime was licensed for North American distribution by FUNimation and currently airs as part of the FUNimation programming block on CoLours TV.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Books (manga) 2.1 Book 1 - Welcome to the Jungle Gym 2.2 Book 2 - Love is in the Air 2.3 Book 3 - My Daughter and I 2.4 Book 4 - New Beginnings 2.5 Book 5 - Tabloid Romance 2.6 Book 6 - Fiery Feelings 2.7 Book 7 - Star Crossed Lovebirds 2.8 Book 8 - From End To Beginning 2.9 Book 9 - The day Sana lost her Smile (1) 2.10 Book 10 - The day Sana lost her Smile (Part 2) 3 Anime 3.1 English episodes aired so far 3.2 Fansubs 3.3 North American release 4 Theme songs 5 Trivia (Anime) 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Characters

Main article: Characters of Kodocha

[edit] Books (manga)

[edit] Book 1 - Welcome to the Jungle Gym

Cover Art - Streetwise - Akito, Gomi, Sana and Yasuda

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Hayama, a tough kid, is terrorising Sana's class. When Sana finds out that he has been blackmailing the teachers, she sets out for revenge. Tsuyoshi tells Sana that Hayama's weakness is heights, but just as he is about to confess his love for Sana, the girls have to rush off to save Mami, who Hayama is trying to kill. Sana confronts Hayama, and he pins her up against the wall, telling her not to interfere anymore. After numerous failed attempts, Sana decides that she should try to blackmail Hayama with a photograph (the same way he is doing with the teachers). She enlists Tsuyoshi's help, and stalks Hayama to his home where she finds out more than she wanted to know. Hayama's abusive sister throws him out of the house, and father blanks him. Regardless, Sana gets Tsuyoshi to pull down Hayama's trousers, at which point she takes the photo. After Hayama stops being a jerk, Sana discovers from Tsuyoshi that Hayama's mother died giving birth to him, which is why his family hates him. Coincidently, Sana is doing a movie with a similar plot (where she plays a little girl, whose mother got terminally ill after giving birth to her, and Asako plays an older sister who is abusive). After watching the movie, Hayama's family see how wrong they were, that Hayama's mother gave all of her love, even her life, so that Hayama could live. They start treating him better, and thank Sana helping them.

Mini Story - The Hayama Moth Hayama plays a trick on the forest god, who punishes him by turning into a moth. Hayama turns Sana's mom, Misako, into a moth, too. As a result, Sana and Tsuyoshi go to find the Hayama Moth and are tricked several times. Meanwhile, when Sana and Tsuyoshi are shooting the Hayama Moth,(which is no use because the Hayama Moth and his clones are immortal) Misako takes a bath and is cured.

[edit] Book 2 - Love is in the Air

Cover Art - Pretty Young Girl - Sana

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - In this book, Sana gets invited to have an interview with Asako Kurumi. When the interview begins Asako starts to ask questions about Sana's manager. Sana tells Asako about Rei's past and Asako realizes that Rei is the man whom she dumped in college after making a decision of whether she wants to become an actress or stay with Rei. When the interview is over then Sana goes to the car to see Rei. She finds out that he is not there and goes looking for him. Meanwhile, Rei is getting a soda from a vending machine and Asako spots him as she is getting in the car. She calls out his name and chases after him because he is running away from her. She finally corners him in a dark alley and ask him if the rumors are true. When he is about to answer, Sana pops up out of nowhere and starts shouting at Asako for talking to her "gigolo". As Sana is talking, a crowd of fans starts to show up. Rei rushes Sana home and tells her that she's his #1 person in her life to make her stop worrying. When he goes to help make the tea, Sana starts dancing and jumping. All of a sudden, she bumps into the bookcase in Rei's room. A box falls from the book shelf and opens. Sana is surprised to find pictures of Asako Kurumi in the box. She has a harder time believing that she's the #1 person in Rei's life right now.

Mini Story - Childs Toy extra - each character presents the weather and finds an individual ways of completely messing it up.

[edit] Book 3 - My Daughter and I

Cover Art - Going to the Ball / Pretty Princess Pink - Sana

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Tsuyoshi and Aono's parents get a divorce, but Aya manages to capture Tsuyoshi's heart by getting him a present to help him get through the difficult time. Sana's class goes on a trip which includes camping, where Sana and Akito share a moment together. Naozumi, another famous child actor arrives, doing adverts with Sana. Hayama starts Karate lessons to help him out. Mariko, Sana's mother, publishes a book called 'My Daughter and I' which reveals that Sana is adopted. The press is all over her to find out more, and Hayama helps Sana to get out of the public eye.

Mini Story - Cool Girl Karen vs Spicy Girl Sana - Sana challenges people on the street to take the Child's Toy challenge: to eat a particularly disgusting food! Karen is chosen from the audience, and is immediately sick- at which point she sticks food down Sana's throat, and she is sick also. The show got the best ratings out of any Child's Toy episode ever. Karen is a crossover from a different comic book.

[edit] Book 4 - New Beginnings

Cover Art - Dolled up - Sana (Doll), Hayama (Soldier), a giant teddy bear (Rei).

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Sana has been attacked by the press about the book that her mother wrote, finds out that her real mother is still living in Japan, and wants to meet her. Hayama and Tsuyoshi provide support for Sana when she meets her real sister and mother at an amusement park. Naozumi, the famous child actor who works with Sana, reveals that he too is adopted and that Sana and he were raised in the same orphanage for a month. Sana hosts a half-birthday at her house*, so that Hayama can celebrate his birthday for once. Hayama and Sana share their first consensual kiss. Sana and her friends begin Seventh Grade at a new school, where Sana makes a new best friend named Fuka. While introducing Fuka to Hayama, Fuka goes berserk and slaps Hayama, then reveals a secret about him...

Mini Story - Oponchi Sisters - Miho Obana gives time to thank her hard working sister.

* A party between two people's birthdays, in this case the date in between Sana and Hayama's birthday. They could not celebrate Hayama's birthday as it is the day his mother died also

[edit] Book 5 - Tabloid Romance

Cover Art - School Uniform Sana - Sana

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Fuka explains to her friends at lunch about how she went to Kindergarten with Hayama and Tsuyoshi and Hayama stole her first kiss, which broke up the relationship between Fuka and Takaishi. Sana and Fuka join the gymnastics club, then their class goes on a field trip to the zoo, where Hayama shows Sana a beautiful scenery, and Tsuyoshi and Sana talk about how Sana has no confidence or time for her love life, and she will not believe Hayama loves her unless he says so himself. Also, Hayama catches some popularity from other girls. The next day, Sana has a press conference with the rest of the cast for "Mansion of Water". Ishida asks out Sana, but Sana lies and says its true she's going out with Naozumi like the tabloids say, to get Ishida to go away. Right before Sana leaves on the bus to location to shoot the movie, Hayama sees her off, shows her his brand new brown belt he just achieved in Karate, and is about to confess, but says he will talk to her when she gets back in a few months. Hayama begins longing for Sana, while she begins shooting in the mountains. When Fuka finds out Takaishi and her old friends from Osaka are coming to Tokyo to visit, she asks Hayama to pretend to be her boyfriend to show off in front of Takaishi, which makes their ties with each other more friendly. Sana is enjoying her work on location but at the end of the book, gets attacked by Naozumi's jealous fans.

Mini Story -

[edit] Book 6 - Fiery Feelings

Cover Art - 'Never Give Up' - Sana

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Sana ends up with a broken leg from Naozumi's jealous girl fans, which makes filming harder for her. Naozumi is extremely upset about this, but Sana tells him she's mad also, but not to worry about it and keep filming. Hayama finds out Sana and Naozumi are dating from a magazine and from Ishida. Fuka asks Hayama to be her boyfriend. Sana gets the director's cell phone and is able to make a call. She calls Hayama right away and finds out that he and Fuka are dating. Sana becomes extremely shocked and goes into a state of sadness. Sana talks with Asako and realizes that she really does love Hayama. Naozumi confesses to Sana that night. Rei tells Mama to come over right away. When Mama comes she helps Sana get over the fact that Hayama and Fuka are dating. They are finally filming the scene when Sana comes out of a real burning house. Before she is able to fully exit the house, she falls due to her leg and cannot get up. Soon, she exits the house before it burns down and finishes the scene. When they go back to Tokyo, Sana stays at the hospital for a few months to let her leg heal. Then she goes back to school. Things seem to be just as normal until Hayama starts calling Sana "Sana" instead of "Kurata", and that all her friends believed the tabloids about her and Naozumi dating. After that, Naozumi is interviewed on TV and reveals that Sana is in love with the one who saw her off the day they left for location.

Mini Story - "An egg full of thorns" A story about Akito when he was young.

[edit] Book 7 - Star Crossed Lovebirds

Cover Art - Cool guy - Hayama

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Sana and Hayama reveal their feelings for each other, but Fuka overhears them. Sana says her feelings for Hayama are in the past, so that Fuka is not hurt. Sana takes as many job offers she can because she wants to concentrate on her acting career so that she can keep her mind off of Hayama and Fuka. While Sana is becoming more popular, Hayama is straying back to his old ways and having violent problems with his science teacher, Sengoku-sensei. One day after school, Hayama, Fuka, Tsuyoshi, and Aya go to the arcade to hang out. Hayama gets in a fight with two high schoolers, surprising Fuka and earning himself a suspension. Tsuyoshi tells Sana the news, and that night Sana happens to see Hayama jogging. His eyes are dark like in the past, but Sana makes him feel better. Sana returns to school and declares a friendly war with Fuka. Hayama is being horrible to a boy named Komori at school, who thought that Hayama was his only friend. A woman comes to school claiming that her son Komori is going to commit suicide because of Hayama. Thus, Hayama leaves to find Komori. Before he gets on the train to leave, he tells Sana that he still loves her.

Mini Story - None

[edit] Book 8 - From End To Beginning

Cover Art - Sana and Akito

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Komori has run away from school, and says that he will commit suicide. Hayama goes after him to convince him otherwise. Hayama ends up with a paralyzed hand from when Komori stabbed his arm. Hayama survives his near-death, caused by too much loss of blood. After Hayama regains consciousness and stays at the hospital, Fuka breaks up with him because she realizes that he needs Sana, and Komori's mother gets counseling to help her become a better parent and understand her son. Sana finds out Hayama and Fuka have broken up, but has not gotten together with Hayama yet. Meanwhile, when Hayama gets released from the hospital, he has lots of trouble managing with only his left hand. Sana plans another Christmas Eve party for this year.

Mini Story - Oponchi Monkeys (after the main story) Miho describes a game that some of her friends play in pool, and whoever loses gets punished. One of her friends loses and is punished by wearing a monkey suit the rest if the day.

[edit] Book 9 - The day Sana lost her Smile (1)

Cover Art - Sana without a smile

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Hayama and Sana are very close now, and it seems like they will be inseparable. That is, until Hayama's father suddenly tells him that they're moving to America. (Later, the reader finds out that he did this so Hayama could have a special surgery that could return movement to his arm.) Sana goes into a shock, and her face becomes mask-like. Akito is torn between leaving Sana and going with his family.

Mini Story - none

[edit] Book 10 - The day Sana lost her Smile (Part 2)

Cover Art - Group Shot - almost all the cast (more than listed in the cast section above)

Japanese - Miho Obana

English - Sarah Dyer

Story - Sana continues to have a mask-like face and is hoping that she will be able to become a grown up by trying grown up things... that way she and Akito will not have to be separated. She decides to run away to a theme park and brings Akito with her. They rent a hotel room and eventually Akito breaks down because he cannot handle Sana's illness any longer. He says that he's the one who will be most affected by moving away and he feels he cannot be separated from Sana. Sana's maternal feelings for him resurface and they cry together. The next morning, Sana has finally regained her emotions. Later the next day she watches Akito leave and she yells "I'm going to stay a virgin so you better not cheat on me". Everyone hears this which makes Akito blush, but he responds to her with just a simple "ok". Hayama returns to Japan two years later to enroll in high school there.

Mini Story - none

[edit] Anime

The anime version consists of 102 TV episodes, which aired in Japan weekly from April 5, 1996 to March 27, 1998. The first 52 episodes deal with the elementary school story arc and the remaining 50 episodes deal with the middle school story arc. A single-episode OVA was also released, with significantly different character designs. It has now debuted on American TV in a syndicated FUNimation Channel programming block airing on CoLours TV and Los Angeles KSCI-DT channel 18.3.

[edit] English episodes aired so far

No.	Episode Title (from the FUNimation dub)	Plot Summary	U.S. Airdate
001	I'm an Elementary School Student with an Agent	Sana Kurata is a 6th grader at Jinbo School, and the star of a variety show. Her class is a mess because of a troublemaker named Akito Hayama. Out of frustration, Sana complains about Akito on her TV show.	June 19, 2006
002	The Whole Classroom is a Monkey Mountain	Sana continues to confront Akito, and the girls in the class join her. Akito's reaction surprises and angers Sana even more.	June 20, 2006
003	Operation Eyeball, Toothball	Sana learns about Akito's weakness and tries to exploit it, but fails to think it through. But Rei gives her an even better idea.	June 21, 2006
004	Lone Wolf, Awooo!	Another boy vies for the "boss monkey" title. Sana insists violence is not the answer, but changes her mind, just a little bit.	June 22, 2006
005	Where are You Going, Mr. Dark and Gloomy?	Sana gets a glimpse of a family very different from her own.	June 23, 2006
006	Crazy Stew Family Crisis	Sana is determined to make an impression with her next job on a TV drama.	June 26, 2006
007	Asako Kurumi ... Rival In Love!	Whenever Sana meets her drama co-star Asako, her manager Rei always disappears.	June 27, 2006
008	A Fruit Juice Soaked First Kiss	Sana learns that Rei has a past; during a class field trip, lemon juice is spilled.	June 28, 2006
009	Double Double Sana's Love Trouble	Sana copes with her surprising first kiss; Asako visits Rei, and Misako summons Akito.	June 29, 2006
010	Love Flew Out the Window Like a Chicken!	Sana meets Aono, Tsuyoshi's younger sister. She decides to give Aono a pleasant surprise, to Akito's objections.	June 30, 2006
011	Mr. Hayama, You're a Real Dad	Sana becomes a little more grown-up about Asako and Rei. The Hayama family has a family emergency. Sana gives Akito a Burutcha.	July 3, 2006
012	This Time, Sana is the Lone Wolf	After working too hard, Sana forgets a promise she made.	July 4, 2006
013	My Name's Going to Change	Tsuyoshi misses school one day, and Akito and Sana get together to help their friend.	July 5, 2006
014	The Promised Summer, Part 1	Everyone is excited about a class camping trip. While Sana looks cheerful as usual, Akito notices that she is worried. Andoh-sensei discovers the joys of limbo dancing.	July 25, 2006
015	The Promised Summer, Part 2	Sana returns from the class trip, and learns that her next job will be a commercial with popular actor Naozumi Kamura.	July 26, 2006
016	Two Pounding Hearts	Sana performs in a play and invites her classmates, teachers, and Naozumi. Akito makes a big decision about his life.	July 27, 2006
017	Mother's Book of Surprises	Misako's essay, "My Daughter and I" is released. Both Akito and Naozumi vie to help Sana through the pressures of intense media attention.	July 28, 2006
018	Two Hungry People Playing Hide and Seek	Sana and Akito have trouble sleeping. Akito learns Sana's secret. Naozumi makes a surprising grand gesture.	July 31, 2006
019	Daughter Cries, Mother Cries	Misako and Sana have a heart-to-heart talk.	August 1, 2006
020	Sana's Super Happy Quiz Show	A recap of the story so far.	August 2, 2006
021	Look Out! It's a Pint-Sized Akito!	Sana visits Kamura Academy with Naozumi.	October 9, 2006
022	Karate Heart, Quitting Blues	Akito begins studying karate, but isn't happy with his first lessons. Sana considers dropping out of show business.	August 3, 2006
023	Sunny, With Occasional Disappearing	Sana helps find Mariko.	August 18, 2006
024	Math Mess	Principal Narunaru goes on a business trip, and Andoh-sensei takes this opportunity to threaten Class 3 of not advancing to junior high school! Sana freaks out over her math skills, and Akito becomes "Hard-Boiled Hayama" once again.	August 21, 2006
025	A Bandage for a Broken Heart		August 22, 2006
026	Every Chicken Has Its Day	Sana's gift to Aono, a little baby chick, has grown into Piyoko.	August 23, 2006
027	Pity Me and Cough Up Some Dough	Misako's ex-husband Ryosuke asks Sana for a favor. Akito and Tsuyoshi become worried about her.	February 2, 2007
028	The Romantic Love Song of Mr. Hayama	Sana and Tsuyoshi visit Akito's mother's grave with the Hayama family.	February 5, 2007
029	Here She Comes, Mama's Mama	Misako's mother Shizuka visits Misako and Sana in Tokyo. Grandma Shizuka brings with her quite a few other visitors. When Misako refuses to cooperate with Shizuka's schemes, she turns her attention to Sana.	February 6, 2007
030	Rei & the Jolly Green-Eyed Monster	Asako stars in a romantic drama with popular performer Takuya Kimochi, and rumors begin.	February 7, 2007
031	A Snake Came Slithering in Muddy Shoes	A tabloid photographer named Kurosaki is determined to get a scoop on Sana.	February 8, 2007
032	Daddy, You're Busted!		February 9, 2007
033	Love Tastes Like Curry	The boys and girls of Class 3 battle it out over after-school cleaning chores. Mitsuya-sensei takes the girls' side, and Tanaka-sensei takes the boys' side. Aya and Tsuyoshi can't bear being apart during the fighting.	February 12, 2007
034	Three, Two, One: Sing!	Sana joins two other child performers, Mayu and Tomomi, to perform in a group called "Shorokutai." Sana also throws Zenjiro a birthday party at her house.	February 13, 2007
035	There's a Reason for the Gift	Tsuyoshi receives an anonymous gift.	February 14, 2007
036	Take Me To Kusatsu!	Winter vacation brings a trip to the Kurata Hot Springs Inn in Kusatsu. The Hayama family are surprise guests.
037	Karate and Trumpet Compete for a Kiss	Akito stresses about trying to buy a gift for Sana, and Sana stresses about a job. Rei's distracted while looking forward to his Christmas Eve date with Asako, and Naozumi challenges Akito.	n/a
038	The Special Christmas Kiss	Sana invites her classmates to a party at her house to celebrate Christmas Eve, and her half-birthday with Akito.	n/a
039	100 Haya-Moths/Ooga Booga Boo		n/a
040	Suddenly One Day, I'm Homeless Sana!	The Kurata household copes with a setback. While Sana and Misako remain optimistic, Rei faces greater obstacles as Sana's manager.	n/a
041	He Got Me Blacklisted!		n/a
042	The Deadline's Here!		n/a
043	Age Difference, Shmage Difference!		n/a
044	Gomi, Gomi, Where are you Going		n/a

[edit] Fansubs

The series was very popular in fansub -- though none of the groups that took on the project ever came close to completing it (collectively episodes 1-43 and 52-102 were completed)Current update: as of 12/24/06 all 102 episodes have been translated however 5 of them are still rough translations^{[citation needed]}. This made the series popular in North American shōjo fandom. In fansubs, the series was usually released under the title Child's Toy, and many American fans still refer to it by this title^{[citation needed]}.

A single-episode OVA was released in 1995. It covers the first volume of the manga and is much less frenetic than the TV series. The TV series itself were originally aired from 1996 to 1998.

[edit] North American release

The first DVD was released in the U.S. on August 2, 2005, containing the first four episodes of the series. While no actual footage was removed from the series,^[1] the first two episodes of the dub has removed references to Rei being Sana's "pimp". (The Japanese word used, "himoo", can mean either "pimp" or the less problematic term "gigolo" -- American fans were used to the former.) The first opening song, "7 O'Clock News", could not be used for contractual reasons concerning the Japanese boy band Tokio and "Ultra Relax" (the theme to the second story arc) was used instead. All references to Tokio in the Japanese version of episode 001 have been removed from the subtitles and are replaced with (XXXXX) where Tokio would be mentioned and the audio is silent as well. The name Tokio still appears in the end credits.

[edit] Theme songs

• Openings

1. "7 O'Clock News" by TOKIO (Eps. 1-44)
2. "Ultra Relax" by Tomoe Shinohara (Eps. 45-102)

• Endings

1. "Panic" by Still Small Voice (Eps. 1-39)
2. "DAIJO-BU" by Tomoko Hikita (Eps. 40-74)
3. "Pinch ~Love Me Deeper~" by Rina Chinen (Eps. 75-102)

[edit] Trivia (Anime)

• Manga author Miho Obana makes several cameo appearances throughout the series, where she is seen wearing a pink kimono and playing a saxophone. She occasionally pops up in the background, was a contestant in the quiz show episode, and was also the fiancee of Takuya Kimochi, an idol singer of the group SNYAP (a spoof of Takuya Kimura.) Also, her name is frequently referenced, as the author of various books the characters are reading, as the license plate of Rei's car, and as the name of a never-seen school friend of Sana.
• Among the omake epilogue of the series, the following alternate universe scenarios play out:

1. Akito fails his black belt test twice
2. Asako marries Mikio Ono, the moody director of Water Palace
3. A very angry Shizu gets her vengeance on Fuka for stealing Takaishi

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Official sites

• Kodocha.tv, FUNimation's official English anime website