Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5
Publisher: TokyoPop
Volumes: 10
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.
Available on Amazon (in the marketplace, as it is out-of-print).
Review:
So, I’d just about
given up on finding this series at my somewhat-local bookstore, and had been somewhat
wavering on buying it volume by volume on online, when I found several of them
at the bookstore again. I, of course, do not have the next volume, or the last one,
but hope to get them soon.
I really like this
series. It’s just… a really sweet series. It isn’t mature, at all, and even though
it says for 13+, I would think that it’s fine for kids a bit younger than that.
I mean, it’s true that some serious stuff is happening, but it’s not graphic,
the humor is much more for younger teens, and there’s the fact that the main
characters are in, I would think?, late elementary school (and if they're not, they really act like it most of the time).
Anyway, this volume
contained the, pretty much, end to the search for Sana’s real mother plot line,
including meeting her, Sana talking with Akito about it and him trying to cheer
her up, and Sana and her not-biological-mother talking about it. This was a
rather serious plot, and my favorite part of it, was getting to see Sana act
serious, and it showing us how she hides behind humor so much. Usually it just
shows us the humor, and a lot of it, and it was interesting to see her trying
to joke when the reader, and her close friends and family know that she’s
faking it. It was sad, but also a little sweet.
Sana also went to
visit the orphanage that took her in, and we got some more backstory on Naozumi
(the other actor, who likes her). Then the story moves on to something more
lighthearted: Christmas, and Sana and Akito’s mid-year birthday part, since
Akito doesn’t like celebrating on his birthday. Akito has a hard time picking
something out for Sana, and so doesn’t get her anything, but at the last minute
decides to show her his true feelings by kissing her, even though he’s already
been told that he has to outright tell her, as she won’t get it through being
shown. And, of course, she doesn’t. She’s confused, and frustrated, by the
kiss, but when she asks him if he likes her, he’s so dumbfounded that she didn’t
get it, that he tells her no.
During all of this,
Sana is turning down all of her movie/tv offers, which is frustrating Rei (her
manager), and finally she agrees to do this one movie, since the part is a bit
close to her heart and the director wants her specifically to play it, and
Naozumi is also in the movie. She’s worried about not getting to be around all
her friends, but Akito reassures her that nothing will really change.
Then, in the last
chapter, they all move up into the next grade (they’re in middle school now),
in which Sana is in a different class from all her friends, but she meets a new
girl, Fuka, who she gets quickly close with. But the other kids are all freaked
out about going to school with Sana, and there’s this boy who I think likes her
and fights with Akito, plus Fuka knows Akito from elementary school, and she is
not happy to see him.
This volume, much
like the other volumes, was very good, and I’m really hoping to get the next
one soon. I’m guessing that the movie is going to cause us to see more of
Naozumi, who is a nice character, but I’d much rather see more of Akito. I want
to see Sana get closer to Akito, have them talk more and have him outright tell
her how he feels, and I hope that happens soon.
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