Manga of the Week - こどものじかん

Sunday, March 06, 2011


Likely to be one of the most questionable series that you'll see in the spotlight here.

Title: こどものじかん, A Child's Time, Nymphet
Author: Watashiya Kaworu
Genre: Seinen, Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Loli, Romance, Slice of Life
Serialized in: Futabasha Comic High!
Total Volume Count: 9 (ongoing)

Series Summary from MangaUpdates:
Daisuke is a 23 year-old new schoolteacher. He ends up being put in charge of a 3rd grade elementary school class since the previous teacher quit, and in that class there's a girl who's quite a troublemaker--Rin Kokonoe. You could call her a masegaki (used to describe a kid that acts more like an adult in some ways), and she's also part tsundere (though more dere than tsun).
Kenn's Comment: I bolded two the genre tags. I normally don't do that, but it's fairly important in this one. Important being not so much towards the story, but towards your mental health. Those who absolutely despise loli characters to the point where you may self-destruct and /or become clinically insane will want to steer well clear from this series. Also, I hope you all realize that this is about as safe for work as reading To Love-ru Darkness, or a Playboy mag. This ends my warning.

Behind the loli and fanservice (first few volumes) lies a story about growing up with broken families and maturity. If you can look past it's controversial outer shell, and dive deep into the manga's story (which really kicks into high gear in the later volumes), you just might be able to appreciate even a little bit of what the series has to offer. It touches on matters that few authors want to go to, as putting children in the same sentence as sex could land you a few decades in the slammer. Watashiya more or less kicks the western belief that children are pure and innocent to the curb and stomps on it a couple times. Sexuality doesn't come from the rain after all. It's a touchy subject that I won't pander around with here.

The characters all have their own quirks and personalities, as well as their own sets of problems. From abusive parents to emotional insecurity, the characters (Mimi, Usa and Kuro) make themselves more human than many other characters you find in manga (specifically shounen characters).

All in all, the series could be called a light psychological story featuring children in not-so-great parental environments with a teacher who could be overstepping his authority while being toyed with by his students and this is one of the worst run on sentences I've made.

Not sure where the name 'Nymphet' came from, but it seems that some American company tried to bring the series across the Pacific. Not surprisingly, the attempt was cancelled. I can't find any information though, so I'm not sure about that story.

You Might Also Like

0 comments