Random Curiosity

OP Sequence

OP: 「オトメチック初心者でーす」 (Otome Chikku Shoshinsha Desu) by 喜多村英梨, 真堂圭, 門脇舞以 (Kitamura Eri, Shindou Kei, Kadowaki Mai)

We join our loli brigade on the roof level of the nearby mall where they are licking half-melted ice cream. I wonder what flavor it is.

They’re at the mall to buy a present for Aoki-sensei, but girls being girls, they’re messing around and having a merry time. Of course, this includes playing on things like those rocking saddle-stools (the ones that do all the “pelvic thrusting” for you) on the highest speed setting (wooo~ it’s going so fasssttttt~~). Random Lucky Star note - we saw Yui-neesan on one of these in episode 14 when Yutaka first shows up (Yui-neesan, violent driver; Yui-neesan, comes home drunk; Yui-neesan, never serious about anything)

Flash back to a scene where the girls are looking through Aoki’s profile to find his “weakness” (interpretations may vary) – Aoki catches them in the act but the girls get away due to Kokonoe’s panty flash attack. “Jyaannnnnn”

Lemme take a second to introduce the characters for those who haven’t read the manga:

Kokonoe Rin is the main girl, the one with the huge twintails – cheerful and supergenki third grader with a commanding sense of her sexuality and a huge willingness to use it to get what she wants.

Kuro Kagami is the black haired chick, the sarcastic, bitchy type who wants nothing more than to engage in some yuri lovin with Kokonoe.

Mimi Usa is the chick that resembles Miyuki, in both looks and behavior – with the big glasses and the overly developed boobs, she’s totally clueless on half the things her two friends frequently say.

Then there’s Aoki-sensei, the helpless victim of Kokonoe’s “aggressive” feelings of affection – he’s kinda like that dumbass with the pure intentions that always ends up on the butt end (literally and figuratively) of Kokonoe’s teasing. Kyouko-sensei, another teacher at the school, has a crush on him.

And Reiji, Kokonoe’s “onii-san,” the guy who’s taking care of her after her mother passed away. He’s the cool, dependable, do-it-all onii-san type; all the girls love him, with Mimi always getting super deredere when he’s around. Reiji had a burning crush on Kokonoe’s mom.

The first third or so of this OVA has them running around the various stores trying to pick out a present – naturally, the lingerie store is one of the main stops, with Kokonoe pulling her topless “your present is m-e” line, among other things. Afterwards, they head home (present-less) and decide to draw a picture for him. Reiji serves them up some milk and cookies, but while handing the milk to Mimi’s trembling hands, spills it all over the place – as we all know, milk has a slightly creamier consistency in the anime world, and it gets all over Mimi’s face. And their painting gets smudged. Mimi. Milk. Creamy.

The one thing that anime milk has in common with real life milk is that both will get all sticky and sour-y if you don’t wash it off – so it’s off to the bath! You know, after watching all those episodes of Moetan, I’ve been completely desensitized to this kinda stuff, so seeing these girls all naked in the bath is really no big deal. They’re not really drawn with the same “sexual accentuation” as Moetan was (the overly rounded limbs, the attention to certain bodily curves and crevices, and the blush effect on the joints), so really, no biggie. No biggie. No biggie.

Still feeling bad for screwing up, Mimi gets all soppy-eyed in the bath, and gets some skinship from Kokonoe. Kuro starts a game called “OTONA!” (adult) where she takes her long hair and sticks a bundle between her legs, having just the tips stick out in the front of her crotch. OTONA! Kokonoe joins in and it’s all fun. No biggie. No biggie.

After a quick dinner involving some “oh, you got rice on your face, lemme take it off with my finger so you can suck it off” action, the girls head for bed. Everyone is pretty freakin’ giddy at this point, as Kokonoe just got to suck Reiji’s finger, Kuro is wearing a set of Kokonoe’s pjs, and Mimi (having popped all the buttons on Kokonoe’s pink pjs) is wearing one of Reiji’s shirts. Reiji gives Kokonoe a good-night kiss, which gets Mimi all hot and bothered – why did they kiss! Are they going out!

Naw, says Kokonoe, Reiji already has someone he’s in love with. Flash to scene of Reiji on his bed, looking at a picture of preschool Kokonoe with her hot mom. The Louise Rule applies - if Kokonoe can grow up lookin like her mom, it’s no wonder Reiji is keeping her around. The producer decides to give Reiji some privacy and cuts back to Kokonoe, who’s started on a new painting as she sits by the moonlight. Whoo – she gets a better idea for a present, and gets to work.

The next morning, Aoki gets some nice pictures on his cell phone. Real nice. No biggie. No biggie.

ED Sequence

ED : 「愛情◎エデュケイション」 (Aijou Education) by Little Non

Thoughts

Here’s the deal – based on this first episode, the TV series (due out in October) can take one of several directions. Several very distinct directions. One of which is immediately obvious to everybody, even and especially to those who haven’t read the manga. For those who have been following Random Curiosity in the past few weeks, think Moetan.

Still, those who have read the manga will might tell you that Kodomo no Jikan has some very real and very serious psychological drama woven into the background. Aoki’s continued shadowing of Kokonoe is not only due to her advances, but also his observations on her character, her upbringing, and her past. Mimi’s inner dialogue touched on the surface of that in this OVA – the reason Kokonoe is able to maintain her cheerful self without a mom or dad is because Reiji is there to fill both roles. Later, we’re likely to find out more about her past, and just how Reiji came into that position.

It’s an odd and rather extreme contrast, and it raises questions about the identity of this show – is it a loli exhibit that just happens to have some real storyline, or is it a legitimate drama that just happens to play itself out in third graders? As one that’s read the manga, I’m leaning towards the latter, but it’s a very shallow lean that’s up for reevaluation with every chapter.

But in the end, what do we have? A decently-animated, decently-cast anime series that not only has plenty of moe and spunk to it, but also the potential for some heart-warming drama. Whether it realizes this potential is yet to be seen, but from what I’ve seen in this OVA, I’m not too worried. No biggie. No biggie.

-jaalin