Review: Kodomo no Jikan
Revisiting cherished series years later is always risky as it could, with your new outlook and thoughts, quite easily dismantle what you loved about it. Kodomo no Jikan is the anime that drew me into the ero world proper but I didn’t have this problem. My love for it is too strong to the point I can overlook the flaws I’d notice more thoroughly now but why does it? Let me tell you.
Izumi a regular yet beautiful high school student, she works part time as a babysitter for some of the neighbour’s kids. One day when she is tasked with babysitting three boys the boys, after discussing some adult activities seize their chance and Izumi will never be the same ever again.
The possibility of three young boys being able to do this
to Izumi is absurd but that is what I like most about ero anime, the
unbelievable acts, and the improbable scenarios so I liked this. I also liked
the setup in that it is unique in the ero anime world as it features shota.
Three young boys mercilessly teasing and toying with a high school girl is very
rare compared with what we usually see and it makes it stand out because of
this. Of course there has to be a level of disbelief to imagine that three boys
(sometimes one boy) could overpower a high school girl to that level but you
should be accustomed to that by now.
Izumi herself is very naïve, she is ill prepared and she
is also kind of, well stupid. These horrible acts happen to her but time and
again she returns at their bidding, subjecting herself to more humiliating
acts. She doesn’t tell anyone (out of fear of embarrassment and no one would
believe her arguably) and she never learns from the same mistake. When she does
put her foot down she pays the consequences as one of the boys ties her up and
begins toying her even more mercilessly than before.
The boys themselves are nothing to write home about. They
are your typical school kids, love cartoons, sports and the like. Whilst they
have a common interest in Izumi that doesn’t mean they won’t fight with each
other: when they disagree they use and abuse Izumi to make a point and to take
issue with one another whilst Izumi suffers. It’s an interesting dynamic to see
and typical of school kids who will argue at the most minute of things. That
said there are some interesting developments between the boys and Izumi which
are worth seeing.
This show contains all manner of genres and kinks. There
is shotacon, bondage, oral, a bit of mind breaking, humiliation, exhibitionism,
pet play, degradation and even rape. Because that is quite a mix this show is
for the more open minded.
The variety of scenes here in the seven episodes is
remarkable. Rarely does it retread the same path, always offering up something
new, something beyond what has come before to keep you interested and it did
just that for me.
You have tying Izumi up in episode one and using an array
of sex toys on her nipples, pussy and ass until she cums. It moves into the
bathroom for some very interesting scenes. Still tied up they shave her pubic
hair whilst making her show off her pussy, they tie her up with rope and pull
through her pussy as they force her to give oral in the bath tub. It is quite
something and shows some nice inventiveness and exploration by the boys. This
is just the taster though.
From there we have all manner of scenes. A lot of
exhibitionism by leading her around with a collar and sex toy in her pussy,
making her walk like a dog in her school, sexual punishments, underwater oral
at the beach, applying body lotion to her naked body, forcing her to wear a
vibrator in her bikini, tying her up at the hot springs, forcing her to wear a
vibe on her date with a boy, groping on a train the list goes on and on and on.
I could be here all day detailing my love for each and every part but that’d
take too long and spoil so many tantalising and salacious scenes. I do want to
talk about two of my favourite scenes though as they show the creative
perverseness of the boys and developments with Izumi.
The first of these is set in the park in episode two.
Wearing a trench coat to cove herself she is bound in the park. With her legs
spread for all to see the boys apply some sort of aphrodisiac gel to her pussy
and proceed to do some drawings while she drips from the pleasure. It taps into
the fact these are young boys and that they have a twisted imagination. She
could be caught at any time, she has no escape. When they get bored they start
playing with her until they stop and the switch hits Izumi. She doesn’t want
the pleasure to stop so she begs and eventually starts masturbating with the
toys in the park, on her knees in broad daylight shoving the toys in her pussy
and anus without a care in the world. It was nice to get a glimpse of her like
this, that pleasure can overcome all else.
The second of these is where she is taken, collar and
all, on a walk at night. With the rope still wrapping around her body they take
her to the mens public toilets. In a cubicle they tie her up in a very
compromising position, blind fold her and insert all manner of vibrating toys
into her and just leave. Her fear and excitement mix, her anticipation of the
pleasure, of an unknown man possibly coming and violating her is too much to
handle. When someone opens the door she braces herself for the onslaught of
pleasure. It is nice to see her succumb to the fear and pleasure and is a joy
to watch.
One remarkable point about this show is the lack of
penetration. Yes the boys use an abundance of sex toys on Izumi time and again,
playing with her orifices until she can no longer hold back on the pleasure but
the lack of actual penetration with cocks is clear. Not until the last episode
did we actually see this so the big focus throughout the series is on non
penetrative acts, exhibitionism, sex toys, oral and the like. Whilst I adored
all the scenes and plays before this it will test the patience of some and will
put off others altogether.
One thing I had mixed thoughts on was the ending. The
story was leading to something and it did feel like a resolution of sorts but
it also felt like there was more to come but it didn’t. One look at the manga
it is based on proves this right with another volume to adapt. Whilst I am
disappointed with this I cannot say the ending was satisfying seeing Izumi take
another step into the sexual abyss through no choice of her own.
Lets discuss what else is not good here. The animation is
the main one as it shows its age. Movements are slow both during and outside
the sex scenes, there is a large amount of scene recycling as well especially
during said movements. This also comes into play on the length of the scenes
where the scene usage is stretched to pad out the scenes. This makes it all the
more noticeable and brings the cheapness to the fore on more than one occasion.
Taking into account it’s age this is to be expected and
age also plays a factor in the art which is distinctly in that retro esque
look. By that I mean characters aren’t as sharp, as detailed as they are now.
Clothing is a big teller as well with baggier clothes, less emphasis on body
sizes in school uniforms and more. Even the underwear and bikinis match this
with no focus on the skimpiest, sexiest underwear or revealing bikinis. It’s
such a change from today’s ero landscape that you have to take a step back and look.
Izumi is a normal looking high school girl, her
proportions are relatively normal for a girl her age and she isn’t idealised to
the nth degree which means she looks like a high school girl might. This is
actually quite refreshing and it works because of it. This isn’t to say she
isn’t beautiful though, her body is gorgeous and her breasts whilst not the
largest are sizeable enough.
I will always hold a special place for this series. It
was the first ero anime I ever watched and despite the clear flaws it has I
still see this as strong as the day as the first time I watched it. It still
arouses me, has me hooked and has me salivating at the perverse nature and
absurdity of it. That is the sign of a good anime.
Studio: Five Ways
Release: 2000 – 2002
Length: 7 episodes
Availability: DVD Singles (OOP and Uncensored) and DVD
Box (Censored)
10/10
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