The Show:
Just as wild and wacky as the first three discs, the fourth volume of
Kodocha is a lot of fun. This time Sana has a problem that she can't
solve by being chipper and happy. It seems that there is a mystery
in Sana's past, possibly involving her father, and her mother is going
to use it as fodder for her next book. Will the revelation cause
a scandal like her mother anticipates?
Series recap:
Sana Kurata is 11 years old, in the 6th grade, and a TV star.
The only girl in her class with an agent, she has to balance her school
work with her career. Sana's mom is an award winning author who has
taken to wearing very odd hats, lets a chipmunk live on her head, and doesn't
want to turn in her latest manuscript. The other adult in Sana's
life is her agent, Rei Sagami, who is very loyal to the budding star, and
she has a big crush on him.
Though her TV show is doing well, school is not so good. She has
the misfortune of being placed in the worst class in the school.
The guys are very disruptive and they are led by Akito Hayama, the toughest
kid in class. Though Akito starts off as Sana's blood enemy they
eventually become friends. And maybe a little bit more.
There's also a problem with Rei. It turns out that he has a past
with Sana's favorite movie star, Asako Kurumi, which makes Sana green with
envy.
This volume:
When Tsuyoshi, a good friend of Akito and Sana's, doesn't show up for
school one day the two friends go looking for him. At his house they
discover that he doesn't live there anymore. His parents have gotten
divorced and he, his sister and mother have moved across town. Sana
and Akito track him down and help him move in, though the move would probably
gone smoother had Tsuyoshi turned down their offer.
In the two-part story that starts next, summer is arrives and Sana's
class goes on a field trip. They go up to the mountains for three
days, but just before she leaves Sana's mother tells her that she is going
to write a book about their lives. It'll be in stores by the time
the summer is over, and Sana's really worried that the revelations that
will appear in the story will change her life forever. There's a
mysterious secret in their past, something that will probably cause a scandal,
and Sana's sure her happy life will come to an end. Things get even
worse for Sana as she falls off a cliff while trying to catch a firefly
and Akito follows after her, right down the side of the mountain.
After the short vacation, Sana tries to keep busy so that she won't
think about her mother's book. She throws herself into her work,
but she only has limited success. Rei doesn't know what is in the
book, but he's determined to protect her no matter what. So he tries
everything he can to find out what the mysterious secret is, with no luck
at all.
This series keeps on growing on me. It's very silly and irreverent,
which makes it fun to watch, but there's a good amount of continuity too.
With the main story involving the 6th grader and her relationships with
boys and the problems of her budding career, it would be easy for this
show to become sappy and maudlin. It never does however, even the
more serious moments are broken up by off the wall humor that really lightens
the mood. A very entertaining and funny show.
The DVD:
This volume contains the next four episodes of the series in a white
keepcase. Unfortunately, FUNimation is still including trailers before
the main menu that you can't skip past. This is really irritating,
and this from someone who loves to watch the trailers on anime discs.
I wish they would stop this annoying practice.
Audio:
This disc has the original stereo Japanese language track as well as
an English dub in both stereo and 5.1. I alternated between the Japanese
track and the 5.1 dub while watching this show and found both of them to
be equally good. The English track has some very good talent, and
Laura Bailey does an outstanding job as Sana. The way she pronounces
the phrase "monkey-boy" while insulting Akita and his pals always gets
me laughing. When she talks fast, it gets even more humorous.
Make sure you listen to her "next episode" tags at the end of each show.
Her delivery really made the English dub very entertaining.
The sound quality is very good. The 5.1 dub makes very good use
of the surround speakers as well as the front soundstage. While the
Japanese track isn't as enveloping or dynamic it too sound very good.
Video:
The full frame video looks fine. The lines are tight and the colors
are solid. I was surprised to see a few spots on the image, but these
were fairly rare. There is very little aliasing or other digital
defects. A very good transfer.
Extras:
As for extras on this disc, there's part one of an interview with director
Akitaro Daichi which runs about seven minutes, and a commentary to an episode
with the ever present Monica Rial (Aya) and Chris Cason (Babbit) who play
very minor characters on the show. It certainly sounds like they
are having a good time, laughing and kidding around, and they even manage
to talk about Monica's car. Oh yeah, and the show a bit.
There is also another Mr. Stain on Junk Alley. This is
an odd CGI series that's worth watching, and I can't wait for it to be
released next year.
Final Thoughts:
I can't give Laura Bailey enough credit for this show. Her work
as Sana on the English dub really brings this show alive and makes it incredibly
funny. Her voice just fits the 11 year old Sana well, and the many
scenes where she's rattling off some mondo-bizzaro dialog really crack
me up. I can't imagine how many takes she has to do on some of it.
This is a very entertaining show that really should be getting more press.
Check it out, it is highly recommended.
Buy: