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.

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.