Kodomo no Jikan – Loli gone too far?
Loli has never been as blatant as Kodomo no Jikan. Seriously. Take a look at this if you’re unconvinced.
WTF!?
I count myself as a fairly open-minded person.
Hentai is fine, yuri is alrite, yaoi doesn’t bother me, and loli (or rori in Japanese) is awfully innocent, sweet and cute when done correctly.
Think Ichigo Mashimaro.
But Kodomo no Jikan is in a league of its own. There isn’t any reason to animate it, they could have left the manga (it was based on the original manga) as it is – a fun, though subversive piece of work. Manga-wise, Kodomo no Jikan is just a tiny insignificant drop in the sea of eroge out there.
But with it being animated, as with most shows, it has shot into the limelight (as anime adaptations of obscure usually does).
However, in this instance, it seems like Kodomo no Jikan is not the underground, subversive manga that it was, and has now become a full-fledged loli symbol. When you think of loli, it pops to mind. and eeky loli at that.
And with the range of merchandise surrounding it, some as distasteful (in my personal opinion) as the mousepad above (which cost a whopping SGD78 too), it seems to suggest that there is a market for such items. Frankly, it’s disturbing to me.
I’m not the paragon of virtue advocating clean, sanitized anime (I do enjoy Ikkitousen), but Kodomo no Jikan is pure exploitation.
It’s animes like this that give anime an absolutely bad name, further propagating the stereotype of otakus being weirdos.
I seriously wish they will can it. It’s not entertainment anymore.
But as with such things, the opposite could happen and there’ll be a season 2.
I can’t imagine the merchandise.
Explore posts in the same categories: Weird and WackyTags: Kodomo no Jikan, Loli, merchandise, Rori
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Accidental Anime 
March 18, 2008 at 1:37 am
if you actually read all the chapters in the manga, then you would know that kodomo reels you in w/ the loliz, but keeps you for the story. theres sum pretty good story as the story goes on. it’s my favorite series (manga wise) but the fansubbs for the uncensored anime take 4ever! the censoring is hella strict on kodomo the anime so alot of the humor among other things get lost. i say stick with it if your as open minded as you say you are.
March 20, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I did read all the manga… way back when it first started as an obscure manga that no one took notice of, way before it shot into the limelight now. In fact, I actually like the manga. It’s a funny, guilty pleasure kind of manga (and harmless too).
The one thing that seriously bothers me is the merchandise surrounding it, a good example being the mousepad above. If a non-anime fan sees that, I would think they would assume it’s pedophilia…and as a result, anime is seen in a negative light again..which really sucks.
August 26, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Chill. ^^
There are much worse things out there. And why worry about what other people think? There are too many people in the world, some are always going to think you’re weird for one thing or another. I could understand if it was real, but it’s animated. Lines and color. If someone wants an ecchi Rin mousepad, wall scroll or pillowcase, that’s their business.
You shouldn’t judge someone because they like something you don’t. That is one of the uglier traits of society. I mean think about it… You are worried about people judging you for liking anime, while judging someone who likes lolicon, lol.
I really am sorry that these things bother you, all I can say is don’t look at it.
>.<
January 17, 2009 at 7:56 am
Well, I’ve got some bad news for you but…they are making a second season.
I’ve never seen it and really, I have no interest to. I’m not really into lolicon.
February 27, 2009 at 10:43 am
You suck.
This anime is great.
March 21, 2009 at 3:30 pm
kari: show respect for other people’s opinions.
I never read the manga, but had to watch the full first season on youtube just to see what all the commotion was about. I say it is still pretty innocent as an anime adaption and doesnt suggest much of anything in the ways a lot of critics have yelled about, but, like you, i feel the merchandise is getting very risky. ive seen a pretty interesting calender that would definitely scare some normal people….
I hope the second season of the anime doesn’t start adding more fanservice to the people who bought into the series just for the lolicon part of it. The story too good for it to just become fapping material…
March 25, 2009 at 2:36 am
i think that a show shouldnt be shunned because if its meaning or content but should be embraced as a piece of art. i am not a loli fan or a hentai fanatic but i enjoyed this show by looking at it as something that someone came up with, with material that they feel proud of. lets say you write a book about gay penguins that you feel it is art and your proud of it, you wouldnt want people not to read it because of the idea behind it, now would you.
May 9, 2009 at 4:26 am
all right… first of all I loved the manga and like the anime, the story is really good and every episode is better then the last. as for the metchandice, i don’t see the big deal with it, i am a fan of lolicon and i, like most lolicon fans i know, am against pedophilia so yea. I myself have no intentions of buying tht mousepad but i’m sure alot of people in the usdl have it and they shouldn’t be judged by somebody like you who is embarassed to admit they like anime because it is related to things like that. i mean if i say that i am a fan of the muslim religion does it instantly mean that i want to be a terrorist? you either like something or you dont, if people wanna talk sh** because they dont like something that you do they can go fu** themselves
July 9, 2009 at 3:32 pm
It might be a little bad. I understand wear your coming from.Though if you have read the manga (even though you said you have i highly doubt that) you would know that the girls age to i think 13.They have a yoko mousepad just like that when she’s 14. So what are you making a fuss about? If you don’t like it than simply say i don’t like not want to make people start a war with you.She has aa crush on her teacher that pretty normal for a young girl.Though what she does is pretty okay VERY WRONG. Though she young she dosent know right from wrong yet.Your common sense dosent grow in your brain until your 25.
July 19, 2009 at 8:05 pm
“Pure exploitation”, lol. You sound like those feminist and right-wing dumbasses. It’s a fuckin’ cartoon, for crying out loud. Fanservice and erotic merchandise, that’s “exploitation”, yeah right. The only reason it exists is because there is high demand for it. There is no more “exploitation” going on there than anywhere else, like the comedy genre. Are people “exploited” by seeking out things they want? So what if you don’t like it? So what if no one liked it? If most people liked it, would that make you feel “comfortable” watching it? Sorry if I doubt your claim of being open-minded. You say “WTF” to that old mousepad? You find mildly erotic merchandise disturbing? To summarize, loosen up, man. ^_^
November 25, 2010 at 12:33 am
Okay, look. First, your cussing is uncalled for.
Second, they call it ‘exploitation’ because it looks as though people who give into their hormones and twisted lusts are the ones who’ll buy this mousepad and such, and give a bad name to the overall genre.
Third, don’t complain about the “right-wing” when the “left-wing” has its faults too, and you won’t complain about those. The “left-wing” seems to support lack of putting responsibility of a person for their own actions as justification for misbehavior. The wellcare systems, for example, are being exploited by lazy people who can’t get off their own butt to go legitimately try to get a job and get back on their feet.
Fourth, the writer didn’t say that mildly erotic merchandice was disturbing. It was made pretty clear that this person is okay with some hentai and ecchi materials, though it seems that the person who posted this is an “everything in moderation” kind of person. The worry was that Kodomo no Jikan would be mis-represented, and that the entire media of anime altogether would be considered something that is pornographic and therefore evil, hence blowing everything out of proportion.
Fifth, with Feminism, the definition of a feminist is “someone who believes in the total equality between the sexes in opportunities and all other aspects of life.” In essence, equal, fair treatment and respect. Don’t diss someone who’s reasonable to stand up for regarding females as equal to males in every aspect and so forth. Not every “right-wing” or “feminist” is an idiot. Some of them are remarkably intelligent, and are very knowledgable in what they talk about. In expressing a dislike of feminism, you expose yourself to be a person to believe in male superiority. I disagree with that. (Surprising that I’m male, isn’t it?)
Sixth… I’m a fan of the series. Yes, this is very tame in comparison to where other outlets of media go. Some other outlets of media (like certain doujins) seem more like an insult to the original story and such, rather than any display of appreciation. Personally, I like the plot that the story carries and that it tries to balance the fan-service appeal with the plot, to keep things interesting and to build up the drama in the story.
Seventh, you don’t seem to be a bad person. You just seem rather peeved from the post above, and haven’t quite thought it all through. This happens to everyone. We all get angry at times and anger often clouds our judgments. Let’s move on and be reasonable. I thought the post made an effort to be fair, and I think it didn’t completely succeed, though at least it paid some respect to the genre and tried to pay respect to the series itself.
July 22, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I haven’t actually seen the anime. Should I watch it ? Since you dismiss it, I don’t know. The manga’s pretty good. It’s hilarious and pretty dramatic too. That Nymphet caused enough controversy to get canceled boggles my mind. I honestly don’t think Kodomo no Jikan is much racier than say KissXSis (which is awesome) and I don’t really find that racy at all. To me, fiction is fiction, and should never taken seriously, no matter how racy. What I like, I like, and I happen to like ecchi a lot. I’m also a loli fan. I like Golden Darkness ^_^. And plenty of other characters. So moe! The cuteness is best. Well, I wish I could change your mind about the show. It may not be that good, but I hope all shows live long. Extremely ecchi? Great! Very violent and disturbing (think Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)? Awesome! Kudos to those pushing the line. I salute you. While we certainly don’t live in the Victorian era, I feel there is far too much concern about what people are watching.
August 25, 2009 at 5:51 pm
hehe season 2 is out, I lol’d at the end to your post when i read it 😛
August 31, 2009 at 2:50 am
One word: Choisuji.
October 21, 2009 at 6:01 am
I look at it like this… the anime is innocent to a fault… the merchandise is a bit risky but there are whole boss and videos dedicated to four, five, six, etc… year old children doing all of god know what for the entire lolicon fanbase in Japan. So, IMO, Kojikan is nowhere near the comparison of that.
December 14, 2009 at 7:49 pm
The real trouble is that people, due to the increasing popularity of hentai, find out about heantai, call it “Japanese porn”, and start classifying all anime, hentai, loli, manga, and everything as “porn”, so when they see something like Kodomo no Jikan(which I do like) they call it pedophilia.
December 31, 2009 at 5:57 am
There’s a simply solution to this that even the children in the series could understand. If you don’t like something, DON’T WATCH OR READ IT. its that simple
btw my comment is only DIRECTED at all so called feminists who have only BAIS Opinions about everything and anything. The series is written and drawn by a Woman so all you feminists can stick that up your rectum before accusing this as some sick perversion that only a deranged 30-something man could create when that very so called “sicko” you have pictured in your ass you call a head is one of your very own. I apologize to anyone that isn’t a feminist who felt my response was inappropriate.
May 27, 2010 at 5:25 pm
accidentalanime.wordpress.com’s done it once again! Incredible post.
August 26, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Just because you don’t agree with the whole merchandise thing doesn’t mean nobody should.
The manga/anime became popular and they found a way to make more money off of it.
Welcome to the business world.
And if you don’t like the anime, DON’T WATCH IT.
If you don’t like the merchandise, DON’T BUY IT.
It’s as simple as that.
And yes, I would GLADLY buy the mousepad and other merchandise.
I would buy it with pride as well.
Buying it wouldn’t make you a pervert or anything negative.
I would buy it purely as a fan of the anime/manga.
And if it’s all really so bad, do you think they would really keep selling it?
No.
The merchandise is there for one reason.
People want it.
If people want it, They make it then sell it.
It’s BUSINESS.
Comments like yours are like parents who complain to TV stations because of something on TV.
When it comes to TV, TURN IT OFF or CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
In this case, like I mentioned before, DON’T BUY IT.
It’s people like you that are messing with the worlds economy.
January 30, 2011 at 11:24 am
…
i am a lolicon(liker of young anime girls), proud of it, but that doesnt mean the same thing as “pedophile”
its an animated character, why do people get so freaky over stuff like this =3=
February 24, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Ohs Noes! Helpless drawings are being exploited! Innocent electrons are being perverted right before our very eyes! What about the cartoon children?!? Won’t someone please think about the cartoon children?? Think of what the artist made that poor cartoon child do! Now she’ll never be able to be seen in public without some Xtian holier-than-thous slapping the shame on her! Now she’ll never be able to get married or be truly loved. She’s scarred for life! She’s ruined!
[deep breath]
OK, now that I’ve climbed down from my moral hysteria and returned to thinking rationally, I realize once again how much I hate being in America and other places heavily influenced by America’s self-righteous ignorance and hypocrisy. Listening to an anti-loli rant from an anime fanatic is like listening to some fat, wide-stance Republican who often employs male prostitutes going all Old Testament over those evil queers and sodomites on the floor of the Senate when gay rights comes up for debate.
Just to stir up the moral outrage some more, I’ll point out that I used to be an elementary school teacher, and when reading the manga and watching the anime for which this blog post is named, I remember often thinking to myself “Yep! Been there; done that.” and “Wow! So true!” There is nothing at all far-fetched or unrealistic in the story.
What never ceases to amaze me is just how few adults realize how sexual children are. You’d think that everybody that’s older than ten would have had to spend at least a year being ten. A whole year; a tenth of their lives up to that point! You’d think that maybe they’d remember something of that period in their lives a decade or so on, but no… If you listen to their claims, most Americans have their first sexual thought on their wedding night!
Ah, denial! It’s why you have to take that pill or drink that booze or go to that church or that shrink… and why are you Americans all so hung up about sex in the first place? Face the fact that YOU, the prudish one, are the one with the disease and armed with that knowledge, try to protect the children from yourself. Let the children play… and if that includes dry humpin` their teacher… oh well!
March 14, 2011 at 8:09 am
Oh please!. come on this show is so childish. you’re so afraid that some child molester might see this or has and might do so.
To tell you right off the back i am not a pedofile. But i am quite the lolicon lover. I love the (artistic value) of this show.
P.S. Someteen is absolutely right. artistic value & plots are essential to comprehend the series.
August 20, 2014 at 7:04 am
rin = best loli