Kodocha

This review is over the anime and manga Kodocha no Omacha (こどものおもちゃ) which translate to "Child's Toy", but is known simply as Kodocha. It is written by Miho Obana.

Genre: Shoujou, romantic-comedy
Anime: 102 episodes
Manga: 53 chapters


Synopsis:

The main character, Sana Kurata, is an 11-year old actress who lives with her mother, who is an award-winning author. Her life can be considered as perfect. She has an amazing manager/bodyguard, a fun mother, and a great career. The only problem is that her school is a mess! The boys in her class, especially Akito Hayama, are always causing problems and make learning impossible. The story revolves around how Sana eagerly tries to make school better. But doing so, she gets to know Akito more and soon makes new friends.



Main Characters:

Sana Kurata is the main character of this romantic-comedy shoujou manga. She's a loud girl who always has a smile on her face. She is a famous child actress that appears on the show "Child's Toy". Throughout both the manga and anime, her career flourishes. She lives with her mother, a well-known author and her agent/"boyfriend". She's a very nice and friendly girl, though she does often get out her hammer and hits people when she's mad - literally. She wants everything done her way (such as the situation at school), and is determined to make it happen.

Akito Hayama is a troubled classmate of Sana. He often causes problems at school, though he does not directly cause them. He's like the "boss" of the troublemakers at school. He is strong, and quiet at the beginning of the series but becomes more open and loud later on. He doesn't really like Sana in the beginning and just wants her to leave him alone. His family life is unknown at the beginning, but becomes really focused on later on in the series. His best friend is Tsuyoshi Ohki, which is very strange to everyone in the series because Tsuyoshi is like the exact opposite of Akito.



Tsuyoshi Ohki is the best friend of Akito Hayama. He's a smart and cheerful person, kind of the opposite of Akito. He is in love with Sana, even though Akito doesn't really like her. He wears glasses and has black hair [Does he not look like Detective Conan?!]. Even though he appears nice, he does get angry when someone insults his family.

Rei Sagami is Sana's manager, bodyguard, and current "boyfriend". He is probably the one person who cares about Sana more than anyone. He was found as a homeless man that Sana wanted to keep in (just like the stray dogs they own)He is very protective and does anything in his power to make sure Sana is safe and happy. He has blonde hair and always wears sunglasses to hide his "beautiful eyes" (Sana's order).

Misako Kuruta is Sana's mother. She is also a very famous novelist. She is a very creative person, as seen by her outrageous outfits and hair styles each day. She is a wise and strong woman. She usually has a squirrel on top of her head, for some reason. She offers her daughter advice and often tells her to deal with the consequences she causes, and comes off being a bit mean for this. But she means well.



My Review:


This anime is hilarious! I have no idea how to explain this any further..just watch it.

Each character has their funny moments all throughout the show, and there's a whoooole lot of characters I have not mentioned.
I'm not sure how to explain the art, but it's "old"-styled? Like Hamtaro, Detective Conan and Sailor Moon. I really like it though. It isn't too vibrant, but more subtle and plain.
I've only watched the Japanese subbed of the show, and I adored it! The voices are realistic to each character. The 11 year olds sound like 11 year olds, and the adults sound like adults. I just now watched the first episode in English, and it isn't bad, but to me it isn't great. Akito's voice is way too deep and scary.. but I like Rei's voice a lot. Maybe it's that weird effect of liking the first one you watch, then hating the second one.

The opening and endings are nice songs! They suit the anime a lot.
Especially the introduction.. it'll probably be the first thing you see too. It's catchy.


The manga was perfect. I loved it so much! Each chapter either made me experience some kind of emotion. I've laughed and smiled at some parts, and I've even cried at some parts! The art work was nice, especially the covers of each manga volume.

What I disliked about the anime was that it didn't match the manga, and it seemed weird. I just did not enjoy it. The beginning was wonderful though! I really enjoyed the first 50-ish episodes. [SPOILER] But then the whole thing changes compared to the manga! I guess if you read the manga and then watched the anime, you'll understand me.. Heck, if you even watch the anime and read the manga you'll understand! I know it would be lame for an anime and manga to match up completely, but they both just give up entirely different vibes.

Regardless, this anime will make you smile, and so will the manga. I recommend people of any taste of anime/manga to read/watch Kodocha.

Ouran High School Host Club

Hey guys! I will be reviewing Ouran High School Host Club.
Ouran High School Host Club was the first anime I ever watched, so I decided to make it my first reviewed anime/manga. I will be writing the synopsis, character list, and then my personal review [please keep in mind that I will be posting some spoilers; but of course I will warn you before any major spoilers]

Genre: Romantic-comedy
Anime: 26 episodes
Manga: 83 chapters

From left to right/top to down -
Mori, Kyoya, Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru
Honey, and Haruhi

Synopsis: 

The setting takes place in a large, wealthy school located in Tokyo. The story begins with Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at this very high-class school,  looking for a quiet place to study. She then finds a "music room", which she believed to have been empty. But there she finds 6 gorgeous males who are members of a wealthy host club. The surprised and nervous Haruhi then accidentally knocks over an ¥8,000,000 vase owned by the group and thus begins the real problem - how exactly is a scholarship student going to pay for such an expensive vase? The president of the host club, Tamaki Suoh, then decides to make poor Haruhi the "errand-boy" in order for him to pay off the debt that he now owes. A little after, Haruhi is promoted into being one of the hosts to pay off his debt faster. But then - the group slowly realizes that Haruhi is actually a kawaii girl. Talk about awkward! Throughout the rest of the series, Haruhi and her new friends keep her gender a secret in order for her to continue working at the club.

Main Characters

Haruhi Fujioka is the main character of this hilarious show. She's a first-year, scholarship student at Ouran High School. At the beginning, she is shown wearing ruggish clothes and wearing glasses, which is why the whole school had believed she was actually a male student. Throughout the rest of the anime and manga, she wears a male school uniform. She has very short brown hair, which can be attributed to why people have mistaken her as a boy. Her family life can be considered a bit strange; her father is a cross-dresser and her mother was in a car accident and had died when Haruhi was just a little girl. Though quiet at the beginning of the series, she is very blunt and honest girl, but incredibly caring. 

Tamaki Suoh is the club president and founder of the host club. He is a second-year student. His father is the chairman of the school, and his sick mother lives far away (probably in France) due to an agreement made by his two parents and his grandmother. He, like every other member of the host club, always wears his school uniform. He is considered the father of the group and considers the whole group itself as a family. He has blonde hair and purple colored eyes, which make him the "prince" of the group. He's a very funny and naive man. He was actually the last one to find out that Haruhi was a girl. He tends to be the one who in an awkward situation, makes a joke or just simply makes it less awkward in order to make things at peace. His best friend is Kyoya. He is also very kind-hearted and plays the piano. 

Kyoya Ootari is a second-year student along with Tamaki, his best friend. He is the vice president of the club, and is the "mother" of the group. He does all the money-related activities and planning. He is the 3rd child of his rich father, making it difficult for him to ever prove himself worthy to be the successor of the great company his father owns. He has black hair and is the only character that wears glasses. To his admirers, he is considered the "cool" type. He is often seen as very blunt and "evil" (in the sense that he is mean, but not the antagonist). But he is seen to be kind in certain scenes of the show. 

Hikaru and Kaoru Hiitachin are the first-year twins, along with Haruhi. They both have orange hair and are very mischievous. They were both born dependent on one another, since their parents were usually away at work or at parties. They often get mixed up with one another, even though they have their very distinct differences such as their hair parting a different way (though this does changes so be warned!) and their voices changing in the anime. Also, Hikaru is a tad bit more immature compared to Kaoru. To get more clients at their host club, they usually are seen having a "forbidden brotherly love" (it's very innocent; not like Kiss x Sis).

Takashi Morinozuka, simply known as Mori, is a third-year. He's considered the cool and strong type, and is very quiet. The Morinozuka family had served the Haninozuka family for generations and until recently this had stopped because of the marriage between a member from each family. Regardless of this, Mori "serves" and takes care of Honey. They are technically also cousins. Mori has black hair and a really masculine body (mhm ;3). He is probably the quietest of all the characters in the show, though he is very kind.


Mitsukuni Haninozuka, known as Honey, is a third-year along with Honey. He's a very sweet character - and he is obsessed with sweets himself. He enjoys eating cake and sweets a lot. Along with this, he also likes teddy bears, which gives him the "boy loli" type vibe. Contrary to the fact that he is the oldest of the 7 characters, he is the shortest and looks the youngest. He usually says happy and positive things. He has blonde hair and is almost always seen with his pink stuffed animal.

My review on the anime: 

This is one of my favorite animes.  It's considered a "romantic-comedy", but I consider it lean it slightly more towards the comedy side. As the anime progresses, you learn about each of the character's background story and you grow more attached. This is a huge plus side when it comes to anime for me. I also enjoy how they added things that are considered a sin, such as homosexuality, incest, and
cross-dressing. Now please don't be alarmed about this if you are against LGBT or incest or anything. It's very light and it is not anything indecent.
And I really enjoyed the art. It isn't realistic, nor is it too chibi-like.

And shockingly, I LOVED both the English and Japanese voice actors/actresses! I usually hate one or the other, but I really liked both. I first watched the English dubbed on Netflix awhile ago (it might possibly still be there), and I enjoyed it.

The music was really nice. I enjoyed the opening song "Sakura Kiss". It's a very cute and girly song. As for the ending song "Shissou", it was very nice! I loved how they had an English version and a Japanese version of the song. Most animes I have watched haven't done this yet.

[SPOILER] The major thing I disliked about this anime was the ending. I felt like it was too.. quick. And it did not go along with the manga. They both had completely different endings. At the end of the anime, Tamaki returns back to the host club and that's it... Even though I disliked the manga's ending, the anime's ending was just bad. I feel like it should have ended with Haruhi ending up with someone, as it did during the manga. Most people say regardless, but whatever this is my review

My review on the manga: 

I really enjoyed the manga. Beautifully drawn art, and a beautiful hilarious story. It feel like it's a unique story, regardless of those other girl pretending to be a male just to join blahblahblah stories.
Just like the anime, I "grew" with each of the characters. When I first started the manga, I was so obsessed with the Hiitachin twins. But by the time I finished, I loved each and every one of them!
I liked how the length of the manga wasn't too long, or too short. 83 chapters. I enjoy mangas that are within 100-200 chapters, but 83 isn't far from it.


The ending of the manga.. hm.. I think it went by a little too fast. But that is the only problem I have. 

Overall review

I highly recommend everyone reading/watching Ouran High School Host Club! It's one of those animes that will leave you in a good mood, and one of those mangas that'll have you clinging onto it. 

New blog - hello!

Hello! ..
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so.. I'm a typical 20 year old otaku obsessed with anime and manga and anything kawaii and stuff. I decided to make this blog since one of my friends (Cat you better be reading this >:o ) asked me to write reviews on all the mangas I read, since I kind of have read over 100.. 

Hopefully this blog will be smashing and help you guys find mangas to read! 
I will also be reviewing anime, Asian cosmetics, and anything else I find worth reviewing.