Kodocha, vol. 2

Kodocha volume 2
Miho Obana
Tokyopop, 184 pp.

<- Note Not the American cover.

12-year old Sana Kurata is used to getting what she wants – even in love. Ever since she hired her manager, a man 10 years her senior who she calls her "gigalo," she thought it was true love. When Rei shows his feelings for a woman his own age, Sana realizes that Rei’s feelings for her are anything but romantic. Sana has romantic problems at school, too, as now former-bully Hayama and mama’s boy Tsuyoshi are vying for her affections.

It's about time Sana was hit with reality. Really, Sana, do you think the 20 something year-old manager actually liked you? Really? Well you've got something coming.

Sana's manager Rei ends up meeting Asako Kurimi, his "old flame" at an interview, and Sana ends up following them and sees that they she still has intrest in him. Sana acts immaturely as usual, mad that her "gigolo" (pimp in the anime) has betrayed her. After a talking to (and admitting
that she didn't ever know what gigolo meant) she gets over her break-up with Rei. Well, at least she didn't moan about it for days.

Akito kisses Sana. She freaks out as usual.

There's also a bit of emotional drama where Akito's father has an ulcer and coughs up blood while eating sushi and the whole incident is misunderstood as death. But it turns out Akito's dad is okay! Sana then films some commercials, which isn't as filler in the manga as it was in the anime. And then we find out about how Sana took Rei in off the streets. Also, at the end of the book, we're left with a cliffhanger about what happened to Tsuyoshi since he wasn't in school.

The characters are growing little-by-little. Sana matured a bit, and now realizes that a crush doesn't make that person a "pimp" or "gigolo." Akito and Tsuyoshi start a rivalry for Sana's love, and become frenimies. Rei and Asako get back together, much to the disappointment of Sana. Sana's mom is extra-stern in this volume, giving Sana a talk. T3T Sana is scared for life.

The art still looks dated. It's good, the characters are drawn proportionate and expressive, which is a plus.

I'd say this would be a great publication for Tokyopop, if it wasn't for their messy placement of sound effects. All of the sound effects (except the last chapter) are all in English, which is good. Except they got lazy and didn't translate a few in the last chapter. Oh well. They were very sloppy with the placement of sound effects, where they'd blur out the backround big enough for a size 20 font but only put in a sound effect about font size 5. Why Tokyopop, why?

I still feel there's something missing from the book, and I think I've finally pinpointed it. The manga has less comedy than the anime. It's not balanced enough to make it perfect like the anime dealt with balancing drama and comedy. Even though the manga is advertised as a "smash hit comedy", there's clearly more of a focus on drama and romance. Also notice that the two token "funny" characters, Zenjiro and Babbit, are absent. They provided some of the more "funny" parts of Kodocha, such as Zenjiro filming with Sana and Babbit's comments on whatever is going on in the scene.

Art: 3
Characters: 4.5
Story: 3.5
Quality: 2

Total: 3.25 or barley a C. Something just didn't click with this volume, and your mileage may vary. I'd recommend the anime over the manga still. Because for $34.99, you can grab the first season boxset which covers the manga volumes 1-5.