List of Kodomo no Jikan chapters

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Kodomo no Jikan manga volume 1.
Kodomo no Jikan manga volume 1.

The following is a list of volumes and chapters of the ongoing Japanese manga series Kodomo no Jikan, written and illustrated by Kaworu Watashiya and published in Japan by Futabasha in the monthly seinen manga magazine Comic High!. As of January 2008, thirty-three chapters have been published since serialization began on May 22, 2005, of which twenty-eight have been collected in four bound volumes to date. At one point, an English language version of the manga was licensed for distribution in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment under the title Nymphet, but the Los Angeles–based company ultimately decided not to publish it due to controversies over its content.[1] An anime adaptation of the series — roughly covering the first twenty chapters of the manga, albeit with plot points and scenes lifted from later installments and featuring an original ending — aired on Japanese television between October 12, 2007 and December 28, 2007 containing twelve episodes.

The main story revolves around newly graduated, twenty-three-year-old teacher Daisuke Aoki, who has just landed his first teaching job as an elementary school instructor at Futatsubashi Elementary School (双ツ橋小学校 Futatsubashi Shōgakkō?). He is placed in charge of class 3-1, where one of his students, a mischievously precocious eight-year-old girl named Rin Kokonoe, develops an intense crush on him. Though he does his best to discourage her efforts, she nevertheless continues with her aggressive campaign to win his affections in spite of the problems that ensue that are her attempt to get closer to him. The situation is further complicated not only by the often complex, intertwining relationships existing between them and their respective friends, families, and peers, but also by the everyday life lessons they all learn together, as well as from each other.

Contents

[edit] Establishment of a series chronology

A timeline for the series can be extrapolated by taking advantage of canonical references and the well-defined structure of the Japanese elementary school year.

[edit] Canonical references

Kodomo no Jikan takes place in the mid 2000s, based on in-series evidence. A class photo of Rin, Kuro, and Mimi's grade one, class one orientation session seen in chapter six of the manga[2] indicates that it was taken in the year Heisei 15, which corresponds to the year 2003 in the Gregorian calendar. Since the picture was two years old at the time, this corresponds to a then-current year of 2005, a figure which reflects the original publication date of the story in question. A variant of that same photograph is briefly glimpsed in one of Rin's flashbacks in chapter thirty-one, with the aforementioned date intact. However, while the events in the story take place some sixteen months after chapter six in official continuity, the story itself only published nearly two years later in late 2007, leaving an eight month delay between the passage of time in the series' fictional universe and the real world. That the originally given date was maintained and retconning was not used to correct the discrepancy indicates that Kodomo no Jikan has a fixed timeline rather than a floating one.

[edit] Japanese elementary school year structure

The Japanese elementary school year, which begins in April[3] and ends in March,[4] can be divided into discrete time periods of two types: trimesters and vacations.[5]

  • The first trimester begins in early April, ends in late July, and is followed by six weeks of summer vacation.
  • The second trimester begins in early September, ends in late December, and is followed by two weeks of winter vacation.
  • The third trimester begins in early January, ends in late March, and is followed by two weeks of spring break.

As of April 1, 2002, a five-day-long school week has become the norm in all public elementary schools.[6] Given that Kodomo no Jikan's fictional Futatsubashi Elementary is such a school,[7] the first chapter takes place well after this aforementioned date, and the structure of the Japanese school year is well-defined and consistent between academic institutions of the same type, events in the series can be assigned to a specific trimester, vacation period, or even day if sufficient information is provided.

[edit] List of tankōbon volumes and manga chapters

In keeping with the academic setting, the individual chapters of Kodomo no Jikan are formally referred to as "jikanme" (時間目?), which means "class period" in English. This same naming convention is employed in the manga series Negima!: Magister Negi Magi by Ken Akamatsu.

Volume ISBN Release date
ISBN-10 ISBN-13
1 ISBN 4-57-583177-8 ISBN 978-4-57-583177-1 December 12, 2005
Chapters
  1. Class Period 1 (1時間目 1 Jikanme?)
  2. Class Period 2 (2時間目 2 Jikanme?)
  3. Class Period 3 (3時間目 3 Jikanme?)
  4. Class Period 4 (4時間目 4 Jikanme?)
  5. Class Period 5 (5時間目 5 Jikanme?)
  6. Class Period 6 (6時間目 6 Jikanme?)
  7. Class Period 7 (7時間目 7 Jikanme?)
General timeframes
  1. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  2. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  3. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  4. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  5. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  6. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  7. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
Specific timeframes
  1. Unknown
  2. On or around June 14, 2005[8]
  3. Unknown
  4. Unknown
  5. Unknown
  6. Unknown
  7. Unknown

Replacement third grade teacher Daisuke Aoki has problems. One of his students, the cheeky and flirtateous eight-year-old Rin Kokonoe, has a crush on him. He is blackmailed into keeping secret his discovery that she and the wealthy, spoiled Kuro Kagami drove his predecessor (Nakamura) to a nervous breakdown in retaliation for picking on their classmates and bullying their mutual friend, the shy intellectual Mimi Usa, to the point where she quits school in order to protect herself. While his convincing Mimi to return to class and rescuing Rin and a stray cat she was caring for from a potentially fatal fall begins to restore some of their faith in adults, Kuro is unmoved by his efforts and determined to make sure he never lives down his status as a virgin when she learns of it. Though Aoki finds allies in his struggle to find his teaching legs in the form of friendly, busty fellow teacher Kyōko Hōin outside of the classroom and Rin inside of it, this does not stop the latter from using tutoring as a pretense for spending time quality alone with him. In the meantime, Mimi's struggle with her advanced physical development continues as she purchases her first, proper bra with a little help from her two best friends. As Rin's affectionate behavior towards Aoki escalates, Kuro finds the courage to admit her own attraction to Rin, though the latter completely misinterpretes the confession and only Mimi seemes to fully understand her friend's intention. After Rin's intense crush on Aoki blossoms into something resembling genuine love when he admits to liking her, his sudden generosity with affection fills her with joy. However, she is heartbroken when she learns that his change of heart was at least partially motivated by his discovery that she is an orphan, a fact he accidentally learns while attempting to learn more about his class due to the general lack of interest in home visits among his students' parents. Though Aoki manages to indirectly prove to Rin that he cares for her in his own way after visiting her home and speaking with her guardian, her late mother's cousin Reiji Kokonoe, the mending of their relationship comes with a heavy price: she steals his first kiss from him after catching him with his guard down.
2 ISBN 4-57-583261-8 ISBN 978-4-57-583261-7 July 12, 2006
Chapters
  1. Class Period 8 (8時間目 8 Jikanme?)
  2. Class Period 9 (9時間目 9 Jikanme?)

  3. Class Period 10 (10時間目 10 Jikanme?)
  4. Class Period 11 (11時間目 11 Jikanme?)

  5. Class Period 12 (12時間目 12 Jikanme?)

  6. Class Period 13 (13時間目 13 Jikanme?)
  7. Class Period 14 (14時間目 14 Jikanme?)
General timeframes
  1. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
  2. 2005 - Grade 3: First trimester (early April to late July)
    2005 - Summer vacation (late July to end of August)
  3. 2005 - Summer vacation (late July to end of August)
  4. 2005 - Summer vacation (late July to end of August)
    2001-2002
  5. 2005 - Summer vacation (late July to end of August)
    2002-2003
  6. 2005 - Grade 3: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  7. 2005 - Grade 3: Second trimester (early September to late December)
Specific timeframes
  1. Unknown
  2. July 22, 2005 and July 23, 2005[9]
    Late July 2005[10]
  3. Unknown
  4. August 14, 2005[11]
    Between October 2001 and May 2002[12]
  5. August 14, 2005[13]
    Between May 2002 and March 2003[14]
  6. Unknown
  7. Uncertain, possibly October 3, 2005 and October 4, 2005[15]

The summer of love is about to complicate the lives of everyone at Futatsubashi Elementary School. Kuro's world is turned upside down as Rin and Aoki independently (and inadvertantly) accentuate the frustration of her unrequited love with their antics. Rin suffers from premature separation anxiety at the thought of summer vacation separating her from the object of her affection for weeks, while Aoki argues with strict fellow teacher Sae Shirai over how to properly evaluate student performances when issuing report cards. During a combination study session and sleepover at Rin's house, Mimi experiences love at first sight after meeting her cousin, Reiji for the first time. The arrival of the Bon Festival commemorating the dead prompts Reiji to reminisce about his unhappy, traumatic childhood, the sequence of events which brought him to Tokyo and into the life of his cousin and later lover, Rin's mother Aki Kokonoe, and how their existence as a happy family was tragically cut short by circumstances beyond their control. During the summer interview session with his parents' students, Aoki butts heads twice: first with Reiji, who calls his abilities as a teacher into question while discussing Rin's behavior, and subsequently with Shirai over earning respect and the placement of responsibility in academic matters. As summer gives way to autumn, Aoki attempts to curb the number of students leaving classrooms and the school grounds by becoming a stricter teacher and introducing book readings, though all he succeeds in doing is inciting open rebellion in the form of a massive hide-and-seek session masterminded by Rin. Later, in an attempt to discourage any future amorous advances, he tries to ignore her when she acts up, but, when it becomes clear to him that "the opposite of love is apathy", following a discussion with Hōin and Shirai concerning student and teacher crushes, and their alienation from each other begins having a negative effect on his ability to teach and control his class, Aoki offers her a sincere apology in order to restore the old status quo.
3 ISBN 4-57-583328-2 ISBN 978-4-57-583328-7 February 10, 2007
Chapters
  1. Class Period 15 (15時間目 15 Jikanme?)
  2. Class Period 16 (16時間目 16 Jikanme?)
  3. Class Period 17 (17時間目 17 Jikanme?)
  4. Class Period 18 (18時間目 18 Jikanme?)

  5. Class Period 19 (19時間目 19 Jikanme?)
  6. Class Period 20 (20時間目 20 Jikanme?)
  7. Class Period 21 (21時間目 21 Jikanme?)
General timeframes
  1. 2005 - Grade 3: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  2. 2005 - Grade 3: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  3. 2005 - Winter break (late December 2005 to early January 2006)
  4. 2006 - Grade 3: Third trimester (early January to late March)
    2003 - Grade 1: First trimester (early April to late July)
  5. 2006 - Grade 3: Third trimester (early January to late March)
  6. 2006 - Grade 3: Third trimester (early January to late March)
  7. 2006 - Grade 3: Third trimester (early January to late March)
Specific timeframes
  1. Unknown
  2. Unknown
  3. December 24, 2005[16]
  4. Unknown
    Unknown
  5. Unknown
  6. Unknown
  7. March 19, 2006 and March 22, 2006[17]

With the season of autumn upon them, Aoki and Hōin take their respective classes on a train trip into the great outdoors, during which he is run ragged watching over his three most troublesome students. After he takes Shirai's advice on avoiding excessive physical contact with his female students, Rin attempts to circumvent Aoki's temporary new "hands-off" policy by crossdressing as a boy, quickly ending up dealing with more than she bargained for. On Christmas Eve, Aoki and Rin's holiday experiences are polar opposites in mood: while she joyfully spends it shopping and dining in Reiji's company, he is humiliated by an old friend at a party and completely misses a chance to score with an amorous (and equally single and lonely) Hōin, but does receive a "special" cell phone message from his young admirer as a present, much to his horror.

When the new trimester begins, a chance discovery by Kuro triggers Rin's memorories about how she first became friends with her and Mimi during the first grade and together with Mimi helped her move beyond the trauma of her mother's death. Reiji, tortured by nightmares and hatred borne from his traumatic childhood, begins shifting the feelings he held for Aki on to her daughter instead, in the deluded belief that she will be his salvation and redemption. Meanwhile, Rin begins her own descent into darkness when a failed attempt to make Aoki understand her love for him results in a dramatic confrontation, one which forces him to acknowledge the depth of his own, undefined feelings for her and shakes them to their respective cores. In the aftermath, a depressed and dejected Rin is inspired to switch tactics by the words of her "love rival", Hōin, and begins her quest to try earning Aoki's love with kindness instead of taking it by force. During the school's graduation ceremony, Shirai — even more critical of Aoki's abilities as a teacher than usual after having taken over his class while he attended a week-long seminar — unwittlingly finds herself defending him when she explodes at Kuro for humiliating and deriding him in front of Hōin for being a virgin, an action which has two unexpected consequences: she betrays her own virginal status to Aoki, and in the process earns Kuro's starry-eyed admiration.
4 ISBN 4-57-583405-X ISBN 4-57-583405-5 September 12, 2007
Chapters
  1. Class Period 22 (22時間目 22 Jikanme?)
  2. Class Period 23 (23時間目 23 Jikanme?)
  3. Class Period 24 (24時間目 24 Jikanme?)
  4. Class Period 25 (25時間目 25 Jikanme?)
  5. Class Period 26 (26時間目 26 Jikanme?)
  6. Class Period 27 (27時間目 27 Jikanme?)
  7. Class Period 28 (28時間目 28 Jikanme?)
General timeframes
  1. 2006 - Spring break (late March to early April)
  2. 2006 - Grade 4: First trimester (early April to late July)
  3. 2006 - Grade 4: First trimester (early April to late July)
  4. 2006 - Grade 4: First trimester (early April to late July)
  5. 2006 - Grade 4: First trimester (early April to late July)
  6. 2006 - Grade 4: First trimester (early April to late July)
  7. 2006 - Grade 4: First trimester (early April to late July)
Specific timeframes
  1. Unknown
  2. April 2006
  3. Unknown
  4. Unknown
  5. June 14, 2006
  6. Between June 19, 2006 and June 24, 2006
  7. Late June 2006

During spring break, Hōin and a frustrated, mildly depressed and disillusioned Aoki bond over a drinking session, an experience that leaves him with a renewed sense of inspiration yet still oblivious to her romantic interest in him. The season of the sakura brings with it not only the beginning of grade four but also its fair share of surprises: while Rin volunteers for the class representative position and subtly uses her newfound powers to facilitate Aoki's life as best she can, Kuro and Mimi's suspicion that he might be a closet masochist inspires the former to begin abusing him like her friends and cows the latter into submission, resulting in misunderstandings all around. Reiji and Aoki's animosity towards one another grows as each becomes convinced that the other may be treating Rin inappropriately, though she is mostly confused by the tension. When Shirai, still reeling with confusion from a bizarre combination of brutal honesty, brazenness, and hero worship from her young admirer, gives advice about how Kuro should deal with her lesbian attraction to Rin that is angrily misinterpreted as s suggestion that she is abnormal, Shirai realizes that her own social and familial dysfunction makes her a poor judge of what constitutes normal. She makes a subtle, successful gesture to make amends with Kuro, which marks the beginning of her own change of heart. As Aoki and Rin cooperate to make the upcoming school athletic meet successful, the two finally come to an understanding and fully heal the emotional rift from their confrontation weeks earlier. Kuro, however, is bothered by Rin's recent willingness to push herself to the point of self-destruction because of her love for their teacher and is even more disturbed by the sudden reemergence of self-esteem issues and an inner sadness not seen since first grade. Aoki also becomes concerned when Rin confesses a fear of her own inner demons to him, though she is confident that she can endure if he remains by her side no matter what. A subsequent attempt by Kuro to prove to herself and others that Aoki is no better than his predecessor only ends with a guidance counselor visit for her. Meanwhile, Mimi, humiliated at the athletic festival, depressed, and struggling with her sense of self-identity, independently learns of the cheerful facade masking Rin's weakness during an intimate encounter with her friend, who was left sick and bedridden due to recent overexertion. Reiji, however, recognizing much of who he once was in Mimi, encourages her to never lose hope that she will find one day find someone who will love and understand her, urging her to not let hatred and sadness build up inside and consume her as his own did him.
5 Not yet released Not yet released To be announced
Chapters
  1. Class Period 29 (29時間目 29 Jikanme?)
  2. Class Period 30 (30時間目 30 Jikanme?)
  3. Class Period 31 (31時間目 31 Jikanme?)
  4. Class Period 32 (32時間目 32 Jikanme?)
  5. Class Period 33 (33時間目 33 Jikanme?)
  6. Class Period 34 (34時間目 34 Jikanme?)
  7. Class Period 35 (35時間目 35 Jikanme?)
  8. Class Period 36 (36時間目 36 Jikanme?)
General timeframes
  1. 2006
  2. 2006 - Grade 4: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  3. 2006 - Grade 4: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  4. 2006 - Grade 4: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  5. 2006 - Grade 4: Second trimester (early September to late December)
  6. 2006 - Grade 4: Second trimester (early September to late December)
Specific timeframes
  1. Unknown
  2. October 2006
  3. Unknown
  4. Unknown
  5. Unknown
  6. Unknown

As concerns about Rin's well-being grow among her two best friends, the long-standing tension between Kuro and Aoki comes to a head during an annual Tokyo festival. Though unwilling to betray any confidences, Kuro states in no uncertain terms her belief that he is incapable of helping Rin because he cannot give her the kind of love she needs "to sustain herself", namely the romantic kind. While he subsequently manages to diffuse Rin and Kuro's efforts to educate Mimi about the nature of an erotic cell phone message, she actively begins avoiding Aoki out of sheer embarrassment for a time after reading a pornographic novel. While he justifies his efforts to Rin as part of his attempt to preserve their childhood innocence and purity, she begins to wonder whether he will remain at her side no matter how dark she becomes since she believes she possesses neither of the qualities he seeks to maintain. A chance comment by Mimi, which finally diffuses the awkwardness between her and Aoki, leads him to realize that his intense, hitherto undefinable feelings for Rin are those of a father's love for his daughter. An amusement park visit with the three girls in commemoration of Rin's tenth birthday, with Aoki acting as a chaperone, leads to a private moment where she begins opening up to him about her inner demons, though they are interrupted before Rin can make clear their nature to either Aoki or herself. The development of Shirai's social skills and healing of her emotional scars continues as she repays Hōin's rescue from attending a teacher's workshop by helping her deal with a belligerent, troublemaking mother in charge of the local parent-teacher association. And as Reiji's self-delusion about his future romantic prospect grows, a haunted Rin, after using misdirection to chase away a coworker with a crush on her guardian, makes a second attempt to open up to Aoki, only to have him accidentally discover the hickey-like marks on the back of her neck that she has been hiding for weeks and confront her with his suspicions concerning their origins, going on to ask if Rin is still a virgin. Rin, flustered, defends Reiji and says that he'd never do something like that. Meanwhile, Reiji receives a call from someone representing Rin's father asking to meet with him and discuss custody of Rin. After receiving the news, Rin asks Aoki to come to the meeting, and Aoki agrees. At the meeting, Rin's father brought his lawyer with him. During the meeting, Rin's father admitted that he did ask Aki to abort Rin, but that was because if Aki didn't abort Rin, Aki would die. Reiji, incensed, started to argue with Rin's father while the lawyer made thinly veiled threats about improper treatment of Rin towards Reiji. Aoki wrestles with whether or not to reveal the 'kiss marks' on Rin, but then realizes that if he does, he'll be selfish like the other adults, and that he should allow Rin to speak her own mind. Rin asks her father to talk with her privately, and then tells him that she doesn't want him to visit her anymore. Then, suffering under the guilt that she might've been the one who caused her mother's death, Rin went up to her room and cried, repeatedly saying 'sorry'. Aoki, too, is in trouble for interfering with family affairs.
This incomplete list is frequently updated to include new information.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Seven Seas kills Nymphet. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  2. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (December 12, 2005). "Class Period 6", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 1. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583177-8.  The class photo of Rin Kokonoe, Kuro Kagami, and Mimi Usa's grade 1-1 orientation session on page 143 has a banner identifying the year as Heisei 15, which corresponds to the Gregorian calendar year 2003.
  3. ^ Kids Web Japan - Explore Japan - Calendar: Start of School Year. Web Japan. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  4. ^ Kids Web Japan - Explore Japan - Calendar: Graduation Ceremony. Web Japan. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  5. ^ Kids Web Japan - Explore Japan - Schools: Vacations. Web Japan. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  6. ^ Five-day school week: Good or bad?. Japan Today (April 4, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  7. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (February 10, 2007). "Class Period 18", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 3. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583328-2.  Kuro Kagami comments in a flashback about how "public schools (like Futatsubashi Elementary) really are filled with nothing but talentless children."
  8. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (September 12, 2007). "Class Period 26", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 4. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583405-X.  Daisuki Aoki states that the events of chapter two happened "one year ago" in chapter twenty-six, which takes place on June 14, 2006.
  9. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (July 12, 2006). "Class Period 9", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 2. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  The wall calendar at Rin Kokonoe's house indicates that the pre-summer vacation closing ceremony takes place on July 23, 2005 and the story opens the day before on July 22, 2005.
  10. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (July 12, 2006). "Class Period 9", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 2. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  Daisuke Aoki references a comment Kuro Kagami made "just the other day" before school ended when she, Rin Kokonoe, and Mimi Usa visit the pool after summer vacation begins, indicating that not much time has passed since then.
  11. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (July 12, 2006). "Class Period 11", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 2. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  In the story's opening, an announcer mentions that "today is the middle of the Bon Festival", which is held from August 13 to August 15 annually. The middle day would thus be August 14, 2005.
  12. ^ Since chapter thirty takes place in October and Rin Kokonoe is seen celebrating her birthday in chapter thirty-one, her birthday must fall somewhere between October and the end of March given the structure of the Japanese school year. Reiji mentions in chapter seven that his parents died four years ago which was in 2001, and that he was taken in by Aki Kokonoe afterwards. Since it is explicitly stated that Rin is already five years old when he comes to live with Aki, this means that his arrival occurs after her birthday in 2001. As the wall calendar at the beginning of the next chapter (twelve) indicates that it is May, the events in chapter eleven's flashback must happen between October 2001 and May 2002.
  13. ^ The part of chapter twelve that occurs in the manga's present takes place on the same day as chapter eleven.
  14. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (July 12, 2006). "Class Period 12", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 2. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  The wall calendar at the beginning of chapter twelve indicates that Aki Kokonoe's doctor's appointment takes place in May and it is established there and in chapter eighteen that she died while Rin Kokonoe was still in kindergarten and well before she entered grade one.
  15. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (July 12, 2006). "Class Period 13", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 2. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  Chapter thirteen takes place on the third of an unspecified month and ends the next day. The events of chapter twelve indicate that the students leaving class and the school grounds had been happening for some time, making it improbable that chapters twelve and thirteen take place right after the beginning of the second trimester in September.
  16. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (February 10, 2007). "Class Period 17", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 3. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  Kyōko Hōin makes a comment to Daisuke Aoki about "what a coincidence (it is) to meet like this on Christmas Eve."
  17. ^ Watashiya, Kaworu (February 10, 2007). "Class Period 21", Kodomo no Jikan Volume 3. Futabasha. ISBN 4-57-583261-8.  A blackboard has the date March 19 written on it and Daisuke Aoki comments that there are "three days left until the closing ceremony."