Ask John: Is Kodomo no Omocha Coming to America?

Question:
I was wondering if you had heard any rumors that “Kodocha” would be getting a U.S. release or not? If not, how come no one wants to pick up this awesome series?

Answer:
Kodomo no Omocha is one of the most popular and most requested import only anime series among die-hard American anime fans. In fact, the series has a long standing fan petition on the web, urging a domestic translating company to pick up this title. At the present time, I’m not aware of any domestic translating company looking into localizing the series, and for a number of reasons, I don’t anticipate it being officially licensed anytime soon.

Kodomo no Omocha (Child’s Toy), based on the manga by Miho Obana, premiered as a 30 minute OAV in 1995, then as a 102 episode TV series in 1996. The television series especially is a frantic, non-stop barrage of hyperactive comedy and pre-adolescent drama that draws heavily from Marmalade Boy and Japanese pop culture. Unfortunately, it is exactly what makes “Kodocha” so good that also makes it such an unlikely candidate for Western release. First and foremost, simply because main character Sana Kurata speaks so quickly, it would be very difficult to match equivalent English dialogue into the same amount of “mouth movement time.” A mainstream, accessible subtitled script would also be prohibitively difficult to produce as the subtitles would have to express the gist of the dialogue but appear on-screen at a much slower, readable pace than Sana actually speaks. Furthermore, mainstream English translation is virtually impossible under current market conditions because the of exceptional number of Japanese cultural references, anime and Japanese pop-culture references, references to other import only anime, and Japanese language puns and word jokes. The current American anime translation industry generally avoids anime with excessive Japanese cultural references, or commonly removes or “Americanizes” through loose translation, aspects of Japanese culture that appear in domestic release anime in order to make anime seem less foreign and more accessible to viewers that don’t have any knowledge of Japanese culture.

Kodomo no Omocha may also be prohibitively difficult to market successfully in America. “Kodocha” is a shoujo series and a very long one at that. Shoujo still has not really taken root or achieved mainstream awareness in America, as proven by the slim choice of shoujo anime available in America relative to the selection of shonen anime available. Kodomo no Omocha is even more a hard-sell because it’s not a magical girl or romance shoujo series like Fushigi Yuugi, Utena or Sailormoon. It’s shoujo comedy, and it’s also a continuing story. Right now, Dragonball is the only real equivalent to “Kodocha” available in America. Dragonball is the only 100+ episode long TV series available in America that features a single continuing story about a single main character. Sailormoon isn’t quite the same because it’s divided into five season story arcs while Dragonball and “Kodocha” are single continuing stories. Ranma is episodic and doesn’t need to be watched in consecutive episode order, so it’s not a viable comparison. So, because of its structure, the Kodomo no Omocha TV series falls into a category of anime that traditionally doesn’t sell well in America- long continuing series. What’s more, “Kodocha” may be difficult to market to mainstream consumers based on the mere idea that it’s a show about the daily life of a Japanese child television star. There’s no obvious fantasy or “gimmick” to draw attention from mainstream consumers.

I’m personally as big a fan of Kodomo no Omocha as anyone that’s ever watched any of the show, and I’d love to see it localized for Westerners, but I simply don’t anticipate that such will happen anytime soon. Of course, I may be wrong, and the anime market in America is changing. Furthermore, there’s a good precedent for “Kodocha” coming to America. The Kodomo no Omocha TV series was directed by Akitarou Daichi, who’s already had several of his directing efforts, Jubei-chan: Lovely Gantai no Himitsu, Ima Soku ni Iru Boku, and Fairy Princess Ren, licensed for American release.

Update: April 22, 2003
The Kodomo no Omocha manga is presently available in America from TOKYOPOP; however, as of September 3, 2002, TOKYOPOP officially stated that an American release of the animation is unlikely due to prohibitive licensing costs.