Kodocha

Kodocha
File:KODOCHA.PNG Opening screenshot Logo from Dub anime
Genre	Romantic comedy
Manga
Written by	Miho Obana
Published by	Shueisha
Anime
Studio	Studio Gallop/NAS
Anime
Story arc one
Directed by	Akitaro Daichi
Studio	Studio Gallop/NAS
Anime
Story arc two
Directed by	Hiroaki Sakurai
Studio	Studio Gallop/NAS

Kodomo no Omocha (こどものおもちゃ, Kodomo no Omocha) is a manga series by mangaka Miho Obana, helped periodically by her sister, Kaori Obana. The series is commonly known under the name Kodocha. The literal English translation of the title is Child's Toy. The manga won the 1998 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo. The series was adapted as an OVA and later as an anime television series.

Kodocha was published in the United States in English by Tokyopop as Kodocha: Sana's Stage, although as of 2006, it is out of print. The anime was licensed for North American distribution by FUNimation and currently airs as part of the FUNimation programming block on CoLours TV, as well as the FUNimation Channel.

Characters

Main article: List of Kodocha characters

The main characters of Kodocha are Sana and Akito, along with their friends at school, in Sana's work, and their families.

Sana Kurata (倉田紗南, Kurata Sana) Voiced by: Shizue Oda (Japanese); Laura Bailey (voice actress) (English)

At the start of the series, Sana is an 11-year-old child star who is exuberant and cheerful. She has just begun 6th grade and having a hard time at school because a boy named Akito Hayama is causing chaos in her classroom, and she sets out to stop him. However, as she learns more about him, she's compassionate for Akito. Sana began her acting career at the Kowamari Theater Troupe, and now stars in a popular variety program called Child's Toy, as well as television commercials. During the course of the series, her career flourishes, and she stars in TV dramas and a feature film among other projects.

Akito Hayama (羽山秋人, Hayama Akito) Voiced by: Tatsuya Nakazaki (Japanese); Jerry Jewell (English)

Akito is sullen boy of few words and physically strong, with a powerful karate chop. At the beginning of the series, it is shown that Akito has acrophobia. Akito's mother died when giving birth to him, which leads to his older sister Natsumi resenting him, frequently becoming angry with Akito and calling him "devil boy." In addition, Akito has a distant relationship with his father, who works long hours. Despite his troublemaking ways, Akito is smart and gets good grades. His friendship with Sana softens his behavior, and she helps him have a better relationship with his family. Although capable of cruelty, Akito has his own code of honor: even the teacher who he terrorizes will admit that Akito will never lie, and Akito refuses to pretend to be nice to anyone he doesn't like or respect. Inspired in part by Sana's devotion to her acting career, Akito takes karate classes.

Manga

Volumes

Volume 1 - Welcome to the Jungle Gym

Cover Art - Streetwise: Akito, Gomi, Sana and Yasuda

Hayama, a tough kid, is terrorizing Sana's class. When Sana finds out that he has been blackmailing the teachers, she sets out for revenge. Tsuyoshi tells Sana that Hayama's weakness is heights, but just as he is about to confess his love for Sana, the girls have to rush off to save Mami, who Hayama is trying to drown. Sana confronts Hayama, and he pins her up against the wall, telling her not to interfere anymore. After numerous failed attempts, Sana decides that she should try to blackmail Hayama with a photograph (the same way he is doing with the teachers). She enlists Tsuyoshi's help, and stalks Hayama to his home where she finds out more than she wanted to know. Hayama's abusive sister throws him out of the house, and father blanks him. Regardless, Sana gets Tsuyoshi to pull down Hayama's trousers, at which point she takes the photo. After Hayama stops being a jerk, Sana discovers from Tsuyoshi that Hayama's mother died giving birth to him, which is why his family hates him. Coincidently, Sana is doing a movie with a similar plot (where she plays a little girl, whose mother got terminally ill after giving birth to her, and Asako plays an older sister who is abusive). After watching the movie, Hayama's family see how wrong they were, that Hayama's mother gave all of her love, even her life, so that Hayama could live. They start treating him better, and thank Sana helping them.

Mini Story - The Hayamoth: Hayama plays a trick on the forest god, who punishes him by turning into a moth. Hayama turns Sana's mom, Misako, into a moth, too. As a result, Sana and Tsuyoshi go to find the Hayama Moth and are tricked several times. Meanwhile, when Sana and Tsuyoshi are shooting the Hayamoth,(which is no use because the Hayamoth and his clones are immortal) Misako takes a bath and is cured.

Volume 2 - Love is in the Air

Cover Art - Pretty Young Girl: Sana

In this book, Sana gets invited to have an interview with Asako Kurumi. When the interview begins Asako starts to ask questions about Sana's manager. Sana tells Asako about Rei's past and Asako realizes that Rei is the man whom she dumped in college after making a decision of whether she wants to become an actress or stay with Rei. When the interview is over then Sana goes to the car to see Rei. She finds out that he is not there and goes looking for him. Meanwhile, Rei is getting a soda from a vending machine and Asako spots him as she is getting in the car. She calls out his name and chases after him because he is running away from her. She finally corners him in a dark alley and ask him if the rumors are true. When he is about to answer, Sana pops up out of nowhere and starts shouting at Asako for talking to her "gigolo". As Sana is talking, a crowd of fans starts to show up. Rei rushes Sana home and tells her that she's his #1 person in her life to make her stop worrying. When he goes to help make the tea, Sana starts dancing and jumping. All of a sudden, she bumps into the bookcase in Rei's room. A box falls from the book shelf and opens. Sana is surprised to find pictures of Asako Kurumi in the box. She has a harder time believing that she's the #1 person in Rei's life right now.

Mini Story - Childs Toy extra: Each character presents the weather and finds an individual way of completely messing it up.

Volume 3 - My Daughter and I

Cover Art - Going to the Ball / Pretty Princess Pink: Sana

Tsuyoshi and Aono's parents get a divorce, but Aya manages to capture Tsuyoshi's heart by getting him a present to help him get through the difficult time. Sana's class goes on a trip which includes an overnight stay, where Sana and Akito share a moment together. Naozumi, another famous child actor arrives, doing adverts with Sana. Hayama starts Karate lessons to help him out. Misako, Sana's mother, publishes a book called 'My Daughter and I' which reveals that Sana is adopted. The press is all over her to find out more, and Hayama helps Sana to get out of the public eye.

Mini Story - Cool Girl Karen vs Spicy Girl Sana: Sana challenges people on the street to take the Child's Toy challenge: to eat a particularly disgusting food! Karen is chosen from the audience, and is immediately sick- at which point she sticks food down Sana's throat, and she is sick also. The show got the best ratings out of any Child's Toy episode ever. Karen is a crossover from a different comic book.

Volume 4 - New Beginnings

Cover Art - Dolled up: Sana (Doll), Hayama (Soldier), a giant teddy bear (Rei).

Sana has been attacked by the press about the book that her mother wrote, finds out that her real mother is still living in Japan, and wants to meet her. Hayama and Tsuyoshi provide support for Sana when she meets her real sister and mother at an amusement park. Naozumi, the famous child actor who works with Sana, reveals that he too is adopted and that Sana and he were raised in the same orphanage for a month. Sana hosts a half-birthday at her house, so that Hayama can celebrate his birthday for once. Hayama and Sana share their first consensual kiss. Sana and her friends begin seventh grade at a new school, where Sana makes a new best friend named Fuka. While introducing Fuka to Hayama, Fuka goes berserk and slaps Hayama, then reveals a secret about him.

Mini Story - Oponchi Sisters: Miho Obana gives time to thank her hard working sister.

Volume 5 - Tabloid Romance

Cover Art - School Uniform Sana: Sana

Fuka explains to her friends at lunch about how she went to kindergarten with Hayama and Tsuyoshi and Hayama stole her first kiss, which broke up the relationship between Fuka and Takaishi. Sana and Fuka join the gymnastics club, then their class goes on a field trip to the zoo, where Hayama shows Sana a beautiful scenery, and Tsuyoshi and Sana talk about how Sana has no confidence or time for her love life, and she will not believe Hayama loves her unless he says so himself. Also, Hayama catches some popularity from other girls. The next day, Sana has a press conference with the rest of the cast for "Mansion of Water". Ishida asks out Sana, but Sana lies and says its true she's going out with Naozumi like the tabloids say, to get Ishida to go away. Right before Sana leaves on the bus to location to shoot the movie, Hayama sees her off, shows her his brand new brown belt he just achieved in karate, and is about to confess, but says he will talk to her when she gets back in a few months. Hayama begins longing for Sana, while she begins shooting in the mountains. When Fuka finds out Takaishi and her old friends from Osaka are coming to Tokyo to visit, she asks Hayama to pretend to be her boyfriend to show off in front of Takaishi, which makes their ties with each other more friendly. Sana is enjoying her work on location but at the end of the book, gets attacked by Naozumi's jealous fans.

Volume 6 - Fiery Feelings

Cover Art - Never Give Up: Sana

Sana ends up with a fractured leg from Naozumi's jealous girl fans, which makes filming harder for her. Naozumi is extremely upset about this, but Sana tells him she's mad also, but not to worry about it and keep filming. Hayama finds out Sana and Naozumi are dating from a magazine and from Ishida. Fuka asks Hayama to be her boyfriend. Sana gets the director's cell phone and is able to make a call. She calls Hayama right away and finds out that he and Fuka are dating. Sana becomes extremely shocked and goes into a state of sadness. Sana talks with Asako and realizes that she really does love Hayama. Naozumi confesses to Sana that night. Rei tells Mama to come over right away. When Mama comes she helps Sana to handle the fact that Hayama and Fuka are dating. They are finally filming the scene when Sana comes out of a real burning house. Before she is able to fully exit the house, she falls due to her fractured leg and cannot get up. Soon, she exits the house before it burns down and finishes the scene.

When they go back to Tokyo, Sana stays at the hospital for a few months to let her leg heal. Then she goes back to school. Things seem to be just as normal until Hayama starts calling Sana "Sana" instead of "Kurata", and that all her friends believed the tabloids about her and Naozumi dating. After that, Naozumi is interviewed on TV and reveals that Sana is in love with the one who saw her off the day they left for location.

Mini Story - An egg full of thorns: A story about Akito when he was young.

Volume 7 - Star Crossed Lovebirds

Cover Art - Cool guy: Hayama

Sana and Hayama reveal their feelings for each other, but Fuka overhears them. Sana says her feelings for Hayama are in the past, so that Fuka is not hurt. Sana takes as many job offers she can because she wants to concentrate on her acting career so that she can keep her mind off of Hayama and Fuka. While Sana is becoming more popular, Hayama is straying back to his old ways and having violent problems with his science teacher, Sengoku-sensei.

One day after school, Hayama, Fuka, Tsuyoshi, and Aya go to the arcade to hang out. Hayama gets in a fight with two high schoolers, surprising Fuka and earning himself a suspension. Tsuyoshi tells Sana the news, and that night Sana happens to see Hayama jogging. His eyes are dark like in the past, but Sana makes him feel better. Sana returns to school and declares a friendly war with Fuka. Hayama is unintentionally horrible to a boy named Komori at school, who thought that Hayama was his only friend. A woman comes to school claiming that her son Komori is going to commit suicide because of Hayama. Thus, Hayama leaves to find Komori. Before he gets on the train to leave, he tells Sana that he still loves her.

Volume 8 - From End To Beginning

Cover Art: Sana and Akito

Komori has run away from school, and says that he will commit suicide. Hayama goes after him to convince him otherwise. Hayama ends up with a paralyzed hand from when Komori stabbed his arm. Hayama survives his near-death, caused by too much loss of blood. After Hayama regains consciousness and stays at the hospital, Fuka breaks up with him because she realizes that he needs Sana, and Komori's mother gets counseling to help her become a better parent and understand her son. Sana finds out Hayama and Fuka have broken up, but has not gotten together with Hayama yet. Meanwhile, when Hayama gets released from the hospital, he has lots of trouble managing with only his left hand. Sana plans another Christmas Eve party for this year.

Mini Story - Oponchi Monkeys: Miho describes a game that some of her friends play in pool, and whoever loses gets punished. One of her friends loses and is punished by wearing a monkey suit the rest if the day.

Volume 9 - The day Sana lost her Smile (1)

Cover Art: Sana without a smile

Hayama and Sana are very close now, and it seems like they will be inseparable. That is, until Hayama's father suddenly tells him that they're moving to America. (Later, the reader finds out that he did this so Hayama could have a special surgery that could return movement to his arm.) Sana goes into a shock, and her face becomes mask-like. Akito is torn between leaving Sana and going with his family.

Volume 10 - The day Sana lost her Smile (Part 2)

Cover Art - Group Shot: Almost all the cast

Sana continues to have a mask-like face and is hoping that she will be able to become a grown up by trying grown up things... that way she and Akito will not have to be separated. She decides to run away to a theme park and brings Akito with her. They rent a hotel room and eventually Akito breaks down because he cannot handle Sana's illness any longer. He says that he's the one who will be most affected by moving away and he feels he cannot be separated from Sana. Sana's maternal feelings for him resurface and they cry together. The next morning, Sana has finally regained her emotions. Later the next day she watches Akito leave and she yells "I'm going to stay a virgin so you better not cheat on me". Everyone hears this which makes Akito freak out, but he responds to her with just a simple "ok". Hayama returns to Japan two years later to enroll in high school there.

Anime

The anime version consists of 102 TV episodes, which aired in Japan weekly from April 5 1996 to March 27 1998. The first 51 episodes deal with the elementary school story arc and the remaining 51 episodes deal with the middle school story arc. A single-episode OVA was also released, with significantly different character designs. It has now debuted on American TV in a syndicated FUNimation Channel programming block airing on CoLours TV and Los Angeles KSCI-DT channel 18.3.

Episodes

Season 1

No.	Episode title (from the FUNimation dub)	Plot summary	U.S. airdate
001	I'm an Elementary School Student with an Agent	Sana Kurata is a 6th grader at Jinbo School, and the star of a variety show. Her class is a mess because of a troublemaker named Akito Hayama. Out of frustration, Sana complains about Akito on her TV show.	June 19, 2006
002	The Whole Classroom is a Monkey Mountain	Sana continues to confront Akito, and the girls in the class join her. Akito's reaction surprises and angers Sana even more.	June 20, 2006
003	Operation Eyeball, Toothball	Sana learns about Akito's weakness, a fear of heights, and tries to exploit it, but fails to think it through. She challenges Akito to a contest, and ends up losing herself. But Rei gives her an even better idea: to take an embarrassing picture of Akito as blackmail.	June 21, 2006
004	Lone Wolf, Awooo!	Akito has stopped acting up because of the picture, and another boy vies for the "boss monkey" title. They start to brawl, but Sana threatens to release the picture of Akito if he fights back because Sana insists violence is not the answer. In the end, she changes her mind, just a little bit, and allows one punch from Akito, who knocks out the other boy.	June 22, 2006
005	Where are You Going, Mr. Dark and Gloomy?	Sana gets a glimpse of a family very different from her own, Akito's family.	June 23, 2006
006	Crazy Stew Family Crisis	Sana is determined to make an impression with her next job on a TV drama.	June 26, 2006
007	Asako Kurumi ... Rival In Love!	Whenever Sana meets her drama co-star Asako, her manager Rei always disappears.	June 27, 2006
008	A Fruit Juice Soaked First Kiss	Sana learns that Rei has a past; during a class field trip, lemon juice is spilled. Akito takes advantage of the situation and kisses Sana.	June 28, 2006
009	Double Double Sana's Love Trouble	Sana copes with her surprising first kiss; Asako visits Rei, and Misako summons Akito.	June 29, 2006
010	Love Flew Out the Window Like a Chicken!	Sana meets Aono, Tsuyoshi's younger sister. She decides to give Aono a pleasant surprise, to Akito's objections. She finds out Rei is not truly in love with her	June 30, 2006
011	Mr. Hayama, You're a Real Dad	Sana becomes a little more grown-up about Asako and Rei. The Hayama family has a family emergency. Sana gives Akito a Burutcha buzzer.	July 3, 2006
012	This Time, Sana is the Lone Wolf	After working too hard because her manager, Rei signed her up for many commercials, Sana forgets a promise she made with her friends. Her friends get very mad, and create an outcast of her. Akito and Tsuyoshi stand up for her though, and in the end, Sana is forgiven by her friends.	July 4, 2006
013	My Name's Going to Change	Tsuyoshi misses school one day, and Akito and Sana get together to help their friend. Tsuoyishi's parents have divorced, and Tsuyoshi's mother needed help moving.	July 5, 2006
014	The Promised Summer, Part 1	Everyone is excited about a class camping trip. While Sana looks cheerful as usual, Akito notices that she is worried. Sana is worried about the promise she made with her mother, which if fulfilled, might ruin the happy life they had. Andoh-sensei discovers the joys of limbo dancing.	July 25, 2006
015	The Promised Summer, Part 2	Sana returns from the class trip, and learns that her next job will be a commercial with popular actor Naozumi Kamura.	July 26, 2006
016	Two Pounding Hearts	Sana performs in a play and invites her classmates, teachers, and Naozumi. Akito makes a big decision about his life.	July 27, 2006
017	Mother's Book of Surprises	Misako's essay, "My Daughter and I" is released. The book reveals that Sana was found abandoned. Both Akito and Naozumi vie to help Sana through the pressures of intense media attention.	July 28, 2006
018	Two Hungry People Playing Hide and Seek	Akito brings Sana to his place to help her escape from the press. Sana and Akito have trouble sleeping. Akito learns Sana's secret. Naozumi makes a surprising grand gesture, releasing to the puclic that he too is an abandoned child.	July 31, 2006
019	Daughter Cries, Mother Cries	Sana meets her biological mother and her half-sister. Sana has fun with her little sister at the amusement park, but when her biological mother asks her to come live with her, Sana turns her down, and tells her she will never see her again. Afterward, Misako, Sana's adapted mother, and Sana have a heart-to-heart talk.	August 1, 2006
020	Sana's Super Happy Quiz Show	A recap of the story so far.	August 2, 2006
021	Look Out! It's a Pint-Sized Akito!	Sana visits Kamura Academy with Naozumi.	October 9, 2006
022	Karate Heart, Quitting Blues	Akito begins studying karate, but isn't happy with his first lessons. Sana considers dropping out of show business.	August 3, 2006
023	Sunny, With Occasional Disappearing	Sana helps find Mariko.	August 18, 2006
024	Math Mess	Principal Narunaru goes on a business trip, and Andoh-sensei takes this opportunity to threaten Class 3 of not advancing to junior high school! Sana freaks out over her mathematics skills, and Akito becomes "Hard-Boiled Hayama" once again.	August 21, 2006
025	A Bandage for a Broken Heart	Due to an event that had happened when Akito was still causing trouble, Mami is scared of Akito, and Sana of course tries to fix this.	August 22, 2006
026	Every Chicken Has Its Day	Sana's gift to Aono, a little baby chick, has grown into Piyoko.	August 23, 2006
027	Pity Me and Cough Up Some Dough	Misako's ex-husband Ryosuke asks Sana for a favor. Akito and Tsuyoshi become worried about her.	February 2, 2007
028	The Romantic Love Song of Mr. Hayama	Sana and Tsuyoshi visit Akito's mother's grave with the Hayama family.	February 5, 2007
029	Here She Comes, Mama's Mama	Misako's mother Shizuka visits Misako and Sana in Tokyo. Grandma Shizuka brings with her quite a few other visitors. When Misako refuses to cooperate with Shizuka's schemes, she turns her attention to Sana.	February 6, 2007
030	Rei & the Jolly Green-Eyed Monster	Asako stars in a romantic drama with popular performer Takuya Kimochi, and rumors begin.	February 7, 2007
031	A Snake Came Slithering in Muddy Shoes	A tabloid photographer named Kurosaki is determined to get a scoop on Sana.	February 8, 2007
032	Daddy, You're Busted!	Tsuyoshi's father is thrown in jail, and Tsuyoshi and his sister are picked on. When it's time for Tsuyoshi's father to get out of jail, he wants to go see him when he gets out.	February 9, 2007
033	Love Tastes Like Curry	The boys and girls of Class 3 battle it out over after-school cleaning chores. Mitsuya-sensei takes the girls' side, and Tanaka-sensei takes the boys' side. Aya and Tsuyoshi can't bear being apart during the fighting.	February 12, 2007
034	Three, Two, One: Sing!	It's Zenziro's birthday, so Sana plans to hold a birthday party for him. Sana, on the way, meets two new friends. Her ability to have instantaneous happiness influences one of the girls.	February 13, 2007
035	There's a Reason for the Gift	Tsuyoshi receives an anonymous gift.	February 14, 2007
036	Take Me To Kusatsu!	Winter vacation brings a trip to the Kurata Hot Springs Inn in Kusatsu. The Hayama family are surprise guests.	January 4, 2008
037	Karate and Trumpet Compete for a Kiss	Akito stresses about trying to buy a gift for Sana, and Sana stresses about a job. Rei's distracted while looking forward to his Christmas Eve date with Asako, and Naozumi challenges Akito.	January 7,2008
038	The Special Christmas Kiss	Sana invites her classmates to a party at her house to celebrate Christmas Eve, and her half-birthday with Akito.	January 8, 2008
039	100 Haya-Moths/Ooga Booga Boo	Short extra stories. Haya-moth turns everyone into moths. Remix of the first couple episodes in prehistoric times.	January 9, 2008
040	Suddenly One Day, I'm Homeless Sana!	The Kurata household copes with a setback. While Sana and Misako remain optimistic, Rei faces greater obstacles as Sana's manager.	January 10, 2008
041	He Got Me Blacklisted!	Sana cannot find work. But it seems to be bigger than everyone expects.	January 11, 2008
042	The Deadline's Here!	Onda had asked Sana to write a book. Sana then puts off the book until there's only about a week left. And Sana then frantically tries to finish the book before the deadline.	January 14, 2008
043	Age Difference, Shmage Difference!	Reporters believe Sana and Takeshi to be father and daughter, but Sana says that it's not true and then declares to have a totally different relationship with Takeshi.	January 15, 2008
044	Gomi, Gomi, Where are you Going	Gomi's parents pressure him to apply to an advanced middle school. Word gets out and other students tease Gomi, and Gomi blames Akito for telling them.	January 16, 2008
045	Bittersweet Valentine's Day	Takeshi misses work, leading everyone to believe he drops out. Sana then searchs for him.	January 17, 2008
046	Am I Wrong	Sana's book hit store shelves but Mami wasn't mentioned anywhere in the book.	january 18, 2008
047	Under the Same Roof with You	The apartment that Sana stayed in gets torn down, and for another week the Kurata Family is homeless. Misako takes a trip to study for her new book, and Rei plans to stay at a hotel with Sana, but Sana makes other plans.	january 21, 2008
048	Father, You Were My Father	Misako learns something about Takeshi. Later Sana and Takeshi go to shoot a scene in their drama, and then something happens to Takeshi during the shooting.	n/a
049	The Final Scene	Takeshi find outs that he is the father of Sana, leaving the hospital to go shoot the drama with Sana.	n/a
050	Through the Tears, Spring Comes	Depressed by the death of Takeshi, Sana is in denial and runs off to the mountains where she and Takeshi once went to. Rei and Sana's friends search for Sana.	n/a
051	Goodbye Yesterday, Hello Tomorrow	A flashback episode where several of Sana's friends gather to discuss the relationship of Sana and Akito. They all wear masks to conceal their identities.	n/a

Season 2

No.	Episode title (from the Anime News Network translations)	Plot summary
052	I Met My Best Friend in the Bathroom	It's the first day of middle school, and Sana meets a new girl, Fuka, in the bathroom. They discover they have much in common and quickly become good friends.
053	The Kiss That Ruined My Life-plan	Fuka tells Sana about how Akito ruined her life by stealing her first kiss in kindergarten.
054	Sana Who Cannot Love Completely	Sana tells Tsuyoshi that she doesn't believe in love anymore because of what happened with Rei.
055	The Actress Goes to the Mountains to Shoot a Movie	Sana leaves to film a movie in a secluded mountain area.
056	Really, Really, Seriously Really	They arrive at the shooting location. While shooting, Naozumi stops and just stares at Sana. He tells Sana that he is starting to fall in love with her.
057	Pretend Boyfriend for Sushi	Akito pretends to be Fuka's boyfriend so she won't lose face to her old friends.
058	Romance in the Mountains	Naozumi confesses his feelings to Sana.
059	Getting Past an Injury	Sana gets attacked by Naozumi's fans.
060	Becoming Aware of Love After Being Jilted	Sana finds out that Akito is going out with her best friend. She realizes that she is in love with him.
061	I Won't Cry After Being Jilted	Sana's mom visits her on the set and tries to cheer her up.
062	The Summers Constant Flames	In the scene where Sana is suppose to emerge from the burning mansion, her leg where Naozumi's fans hit her starts to hurt and she isn't able to move.
063	Don't believe in Rumors	The tabloids have been printing that Sana and Naozumi are going out, which her friends all believe. Sana gets upset that her friends all believed the media and didn't ask her first.
064	The Truth is There	Naozumi reveals the facts about his relationship with Sana on live broadcast.
065	And Then the Pair Say Goodbye	Sana and Akito finally directly confess their feelings. Fuka however overhears the conversation and Sana tries to convince her their feelings are in the past.
066	Run Away, Run Away, Over The Ocean	Sana and Naozumi leave for New York to star in 'Endless Summer'which they're chosen to act in Broadway musical together.
067	Suspense in New York	When Sana and Naozumi arrive in New York, strange things keep on happening. They meet a boy named Brad, who looks identical to Hayama. A chandelier almost fell on them and a huge truck almost ran them over. They believe that they are being targeted.
068	Riddles of Passing into Society	Rei goes to Hollywood to find Mr. Hamilton while Sana and Naozumi start rehearsal. Sana ends up getting hurt and Naozumi is pushed to his limit. Sana then gets a warning from Brad that they have been targeted.
069	You Also Have Emerald Eyes	Sana and Naozumi discover who the 'ghost' is. She is the daughter of Michelle, Sicil. Sicil also has emerald eyes like Naozumi. When she points that out, her mom gets really mad. Rei then returns from Hollywood. Rei finds out that Sana and Naozumi have been attacked again and they all decide to move out of the mansion and go to a hotel.
070	Dangerous feelings at Lunchtime	Sana, Rei and Naozumi all spend their first night at the hotel. Naozumi encounters the strange man from before and just before he reveals the secret, Rei and Sana interrupt. During Sana's and Naozumi's rehearsal, Rei looks for an apartment. Sicil runs away to be with Naozumi and Brad is clearly jealous. They soon find out that Brad is the one terrorizing them. Mr. Hamilton then makes an appearance for the first time. Meanwhile, Sana and Naozumi are attacked but then they are saved by Mr. Gary Hamilton.
071	The Sudden Appearance of a Mother	Brad reveals why he is terrorizing Sana and Naozumi. Brad wanted to push Naozumi away from Secil. Naozumi meets his mother.
072	My Exposed Secret	Secil ran away to Naozumi again and Michelle comes to get her.
073	Stupid American Parent and Child	Sicil thinks that nobody wants her and nobody loves her because she tore her leg tendon and can't dance. At the hospital her mom says that she doesn't want Sicil because she can't dance. Sana cheers her up a bit and explains to Sicil why she shouldn't be so selfish and spoiled.
074	Mother's Gleeful and Practical Joke	Yuko has decided to use Naozumi as a tool to get her fame. She tells Gary that Naozumi's heart belongs to her
075	Were in Manhattan is my daughter?	Sicil overhears Yuko and Naozumi's conversation and discovers that Naozumi is her brother. She runs away and her parents are searching all over Manhattan for her. Every time they think they found her, it turns out to be a different person.
076	Should We Go Home? Or Not?	Naozumi finds out that his mom just used him to 'be in the spotlight'. He is extremely shocked and Sana asks if he wants to go home. They decide to go back to Japan.
077	Papa, You're Bad	Naozumi and Sana set up a meeting for the Hamilton family. Gary, Michelle, and Sicil talk out all their problems and become a closer family. They realize that it is all Gary's fault.
078	The First and Last Mother/Son Battle	Yuko's chance to shine is gone. Her crew gets mad at her and quits. The play is cancels and she loses her mind. Rick begs Naozumi to help her but Naozumi puts all his anger out on her, since she has done horrible things to him in the past.
079	The Father Who is Unable to be a Father	Gary tells everyone that Naozumi is his son and that he is going to raise Naozumi as a big star. Naozumi however doesn't want to stay in America; he wants to go back to Japan because he never thought of Gary as his father.
080	One More Song 3-2-1	Set in New York, There has been a crazy law passed prohibiting Singing and Music. So Sana and Naozumi continue to sing, and attempt to get this law reprieved. Auyu and Tomomi (two other actors the same age as Sana) make another appearance as cops. This time the song is 'Port City Charleston.'
081	Hello, Goodbye My Love	Sana and Naozumi are returning to Japan. Is she ready to face Akito?
082	We Got Along Great Afterwards	All her friends get together and throws Sana a welcome back party. They catch up with what has been going on in Japan with Sana's friends in her absence.
083	Perhaps They are the Best Couple	Sana's friends welcome her back and pay her a visit where she announces that she and Naozumi are officially a couple.
084	The Manager Trouble	Naozumi is assigned a new manager 'Riho'. Riho seems to be nice on the outside but has ulterior motives.
085	The Line That Couldn't be Spoken	When overlooking her lines for a part in a movie, Sana sees that in a scene, she has to call another character a "devil". Fuka gets an eye injury when trying to stop Akito in an arcade.
086	Everything is Clear When You Can't See	Now that Fuka is temporary blinded, she realizes that Sana still likes Akito and vice-versa. Fuka wants to breakup with Akito.
087	Fight for it or End it? Which way Should We Go	Fuka tells Akito not to come anymore. Akito is really heartbroken and goes to the park, where he meets Sana.
088	So this Kind of Day Has Come	Sana doensn't have anymore jobs and takes a break. She goes back to school. When she visits Fuka, Fuka's mom tells Sana that Akito and Fuka have broke up because of her injury. Naozumi comes to Sana's house and says that they should break up, since she still loves Akito.
089	Hallelujah on Christmas Eve? My Heart...	Time for some self-reflection! So much has happened in the past year for Sana and her friends. Fuka had dumped Akito... Naozumi had dumped Sana... so, does Sana still have a chance with Akito?!?! Naozumi calls Akito and tells Akito to watch the premiere of the series that Sana was fired from because she couldn't say her lines.
090	Hayama's Mother is Mecha-Hayama	Hayama's father builds a robot mother, who then procedes to ruin Toyko. Magical girl Sana tries to defeat Mecha-Hayama but is unexpectedly stopped by Akito.
091	Visit from a Fan at the Beginning of the New Year	F.C. [Sana's Fan Club] contacts Sana because they are disappointed in her lack of work.
092	Not at All a Simple Math Video	Sana doesn't understand the subject she's trying to teach for her new job.
093	The Same Name Appears	Sana gets a strange letter from someone using her name.
094	Child's Toy Starts in the Spring	Sana and Zenjiro are reunited in the new series 'Kodocha'.
095	Back Together	Takaishi and Fuka are now both single, can Sana and Zenjiro play cupid and help these two get together?
096	Adult Love can Wait	Asako is getting ready to leave for London but Rei is not ready to give up his career for her. Is this the end of their relationship?
097	The Lending-Money-Happily Scheme	Misako's ex-husband is back again to ask for money. But this time, he is serious. At least, he thinks he is...
098	When my elder sister is in love	It's Akito's sister who falls in love with the 'perfect' guy. But it seems that the guy is also dating other girls...
099	Come Check Out the Good Karate Club	Sana wants to form a karate club for Akito's sake. They need at least five members and a faculty advisor.
100	Disappearance of the Blackboard Erasers	Nakao cannot find any meaning in his existence and chooses to rot away in the north wing with the blackboard erasers.
101	The Trio Disappeared Together	Sana and Akito are stuck in the window and cannot call for help but their friends have noticed their disappearance and have alerted the faculty.
102	Child's Toy Continues Through Thick & Thin	Sengoku-sensei's evil plot to expel Akito is revealed and he decides to resign from his position.

FUNimation decided to not complete broadcast of the first season nor pick up the second season due to low ratings.

North American release

The first DVD was released in the U.S. on 2005-08-02, containing the first four episodes of the series. While no actual footage was removed from the series, the first two episodes of the dub has removed references to Rei being Sana's "pimp". (The Japanese word used, himoo, can mean either "pimp" or the less problematic term "gigolo".) The first opening song, "7 O'Clock News", could not be used for contractual reasons concerning the Japanese boy band Tokio and "Ultra Relax" (the theme to the second story arc) was used instead. All references to Tokio in the Japanese version of episode 001 have been removed from the subtitles and are replaced with (XXXXX) where Tokio would be mentioned and the audio is silent as well. The name Tokio still appears in the end credits.

Theme songs

Openings

1. "7 O'Clock News" by TOKIO (Eps. 1-44)
2. "Ultra Relax" by Tomoe Shinohara (Eps. 45-102)

Endings

1. "Panic" by Still Small Voice (Eps. 1-39)
2. "DAIJO-BU" by Tomoko Hikita (Eps. 40-74)
3. "Pinch ~Love Me Deeper~" by Rina Chinen (Eps. 75-102)

Omake endings

The anime included omake epilogues, including various alternate-universe scenarios. These include:

• Akito fails his black belt test twice.
• Asako marries Mikio Ono, the moody director of Water Palace.
• A very angry Shizu gets her vengeance on Fuka for stealing Takaishi.
• The son of a yakuza boss demands Sana that she marries him, and when she refused, the gang beat up her and Akito. Misako and Shizuka Kurata brought together the entire Kurata clan and teams up with another clan to get back at the yakuza.
• Naozumi discovers that his family, the Hamiltons, have gone broke.

Trivia

• Miho Obana later wrote a one-volume manga series based of Sana and Naozumi's movie, Mansion of Water.

• Sana and Akito look like child versions of Marmalade Boy's main character's Miki and Yuu.

• Kodomo no Omocha is sometimes called "Marmalade Boy on crack".

External links

Official sites

• Kodocha.tv, FUNimation's official English anime website

Other sources

• Kodocha ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Kodocha ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia