Manga Review: Kodocha: Sana's Stage, Volume 6, by Miho Obana

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Tokyopop

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: Yes.

Buy it here: Amazon. (Out-of-Print)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Take one young actress used to getting her way, add a handful of ruthless bullies, some humorous twists, and a plastic toy hammer, and you've got the recipe for one crazy story Kodocha follows the antics of Sana, a spoiled 11-year-old TV star, and Hayama, a 6th grade Machiavelli who terrorizes both his teachers and his classmates. In their classroom war of wills, Sana and Hayama find there is more to both of them than meets the eye.

Something Specific:

Quote:

• "'When you feel like things are at their worst, try to enjoy yourself the most.'" (Um, the first chapter of volume 6) I just liked the saying; that's all. I'm sure I've heard something similar to it before, but still.

Review:

So, Naozumi was rightfully pissed at the girls for beating Sana up, but she stops him from hitting them. Sana screamed, so everyone else comes running to see what happened, and Rei immediately takes Sana to the doctor. Turns out those jerks cracked her leg, but she refuses to quit the film. Her legs hurts, and isn’t healing very well because of her constant use of it, and she ends up having to take a few days off from filming, making her feel depressed and useless.

She wants to show up those girls, prove that she can do it despite their hurting her and hate. Her mother immediately flies in upon hearing that something has happened to her daughter, and she succeeds in making her feel better. From there, Sana does pretty well, until they have to set the house on fire for the last scene and Sana has to come outside of the house.

This is crazy, and throughout it, I kept thinking about what their interviews could have been like, what with them saying how crazy and secluded and dangerous the filming was. But anyway, her getting out with a hurt leg doesn’t work out quite as well as it should have, and she almost gives up twice, but it does work out in the end, and the last scene turns out perfect. The cast and crew celebrate, and Sana has one last talk with the girls who beat her up. I am glad that there wasn’t a big lesson-learning moment with the bullies, and that it showed us that Sana wasn’t just going to let it slide. She joked a bit, as she usually does, but she also got serious and didn’t just brush it off; she was mad about it, but she wasn’t going to make it a big thing. Instead, she wanted to show them up with the movie.

Then they all go home and do the rest of the filming on a set.

Sometime through all this, Naozumi confesses and Sana is forced to say no, and they say they’ll still be friends, and they are. Back home, her friends see an article and hear from the boy Sana told, that she’s going out with Naozumi, and they believe it. Akito is obviously upset and gets all moody. Fuka, seeing her chance, asks him to be her boyfriend, and he says yes.

Sana finds out and she’s devastated, and has to fess up to the fact that she loves him. When she finally goes back to school, though, she acts as normal as she can. She gets along with Fuka just fine, is a little awkward around Akito, who has grown four (or two?) inches while she was gone, and who’s voice has gotten deeper.

Sana hangs out with her friends, AkitoandFuka and TsuyoshiandAya, where she finds out that her friends believe she’s going out with Naozumi. She tries not to show how upset she is, but this news crushes her and she excuses herself and runs off. Akito chases after her, but she slaps him and he goes back. At first, I thought she overreacted, and for their part, they weren’t able to get ahold of her and ask, but she did get beat up because of those rumors, so she has her reason for being upset about it.

Fuka asks Akito what this changes, and while I don’t like them going out, I do respect him for responding that it doesn’t change anything because he’s going out with her. Then, in an interview, Naozumi says that Sana turned him down because she likes someone else, and gives a hint of who it is. A hint that only Akito and Sana would understand, so of course Akito sees it and finds out. (After she hears this, Sana charges over to see Naozumi, where they have a small fight, because she’s upset he let out her secret, and he tells her that he’s a little hurt by her rejection. I found his hurt feelings made sense, and liked that it was brought a bit of attention.)

She tries avoiding Akito, but the volume ends with him asking her to tell him if she likes him or not. Horrible ending. I have the feeling that they’re going to get interrupted or she’s going to lie or something, which won’t be nice.

There’s also a short story about when Akito was little, and how his sister hated him and how he first turned spiteful and mean because of some miscommunication and mean words from his sister. The ending was good, though, and overall I just love seeing little Akito. He was so adorable when he was younger.

Now, onto the next volume.

Sidenote: The cover. It really bothers me that this is the cover for volume 6 and not 5, since she's holding up 5 fingers. I feel like it would make more since for it to be the cover of volume 5. Is that just me? Or do other people think so as well?