Kid stuff

I have no kids of my own, and that's not likely to change. However, I do have a number of nieces and nephews, to whom I occasionally send books. Recently I've also been sending anime. I am informed that Sugar, a Tiny Snow Fairy was well-received. Christmas presents this year will probably include Angelic Layer (Margaret, if you're reading this, don't tell Meg). As I investigate fansubs, I keep an eye out for titles that might be suitable for youngsters. Here are notes on some I've looked at.

I've mentioned elsewhere that Binchou-tan utterly fascinates my five-year-old nephew even though he can't understand a word of it. It's one of the very few series that I would like to see dubbed: although it's kawaii enough to paralyze viewers of any age, the show is particularly suitable for the very young, most of whom haven't yet learned to read. The fansubbers are up to episode eight, by the way. This most recent episode is initially melancholy as we are shown just how lonely Bin can feel, but by the end she's acquired another friend.



The main character of Kaiketsu Zorori is a fox and a scoundrel. In the first episode he plots to win the hand of a princess with the aid of a pair of young boars and a mechanical dragon. Things don't quite go according to plan: the trickster is foiled, the princess is reunited with her prince, and Zorori escapes to plot mischief again. If the first episode is representative, this is a fun show, suitable for all ages, and I don't understand why only the first episode (of 52) has been subtitled.


Sheila and Eva

In Mahou Shoujo Tai, aka Magical Girl Team Alice or Tweeny Witches, Alice literally falls from this world into one that runs on magic. It's a grim place, run by witches who capture and cage the magical creatures which are the source of the witches' power. Alice, who believes that magic is for making people happy, is quickly captured, but she escapes, freeing all the "sprites" in the process. Sheila and Eva, the apprentice witches who were supposed to guard Alice, are ordered to recapture all the creatures (which, despite their name, are bizarre and ugly rather than cute); until they do, they are condemned to never grow up. Eva is friendly and easy-going, but Sheila (voiced by the versatile Houko Kuwashima) is humorless and strictly by-the-rules, and she resents Alice's interference.
I've seen six of the forty nine-minute episodes of Mahou Shoujo Tai, and I have no idea who the intended audience is. Although the principal characters are girls who do magic, their world is no fun at all. Alice may be good-hearted, but her relentless cheerfulness makes her seem soft-headed. Chilly, unsympathetic Sheila is the only character who is at all appealing. Possibly older children looking for a sterner universe than Hogwarts might find Mahou Shoujo Tai interesting, but I can't recommend it.


Flying a broom, skateboard-style




At the beginning of the first episode of Mama Is a 4th Grader, a toddler from the future disappears from her home during an electrical storm. She reappears in the present in Natsumi's living room during an oddly similar electrical storm. Natsumi's parents have just left for England, and Natsumi is supposed to follow them the next day. Natsumi's flaky aunt Izumi turns up shortly thereafter; she's not good with kids and is freaked out by the playful toddler.
There are fifty more episodes to this 1992 series, so presumeably Natsumi stays in Japan and Izumi renders haphazard assistance in caring for the mystery child. Only four episodes have been subtitled, though, and the last time I checked there were no seeds for any of them listed at animesuki. It's a shame; if the first episode is representative, Mama Is a 4th Grader would be a good show for youngsters and tolerable for adults.



Peter Pan no Bouken is from 1989. The first half of the 41-episode series is supposed to be based closely on J.M. Barrie's play and novel. (I was Wendy's age when I last read the novel, and I don't remember it well enough to judge how faithful the anime is.) So far, one episode has been subtitled, and it looks like it might be worth following. I was relieved to see that Peter wears boy clothes, not green tights.


Koboshi, Shia and Misha disguised as waitresses

Pita Ten is based on a manga by Koge Donbo, who was one of the creators of Sugar, a Tiny Snow Fairy. Although the character designs are similar to those of Saga, Sugar and their friends, the two shows have little in common beyond excessive cuteness. Kotaro is an elementary school student who has lost his mother. One day Misha, an apprentice angel, moves into the apartment next door to the one Kotaro shares with his father. She's frighteningly affectionate, energetic and clueless, and subjects poor Kotaro to flying glomps. She is subsequently joined by the the quiet and shy apprentice demon Shia, who can't get the hang of being evil. Other characters include Kotaro's best friend Ten and their classmate Koboshi, who has cat ears.
There are 26 episodes, but I gave up after seven. It's noisy and silly, and it gets tiresome. Skip this one and watch Sugar again instead.

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From what I heard Zorori was understaffed and somewhat difficult to translate (lots of puns). Hopefully someone else will pick it up, in the meantime Deadfrog Torrents (www.deadfrog.us) has raw episodes seeded in 5-episode chunks. There's actually more than 52 episodes, though on the 2nd season the show changed its name to "Majime ni Fumajime Kaiketsu Zorori" (which I think Zorori called himself in the subbed ep., translated as "noble yet ignoble"). There was also a movie released a couple of months ago.

I think the animation style of the ending sequence is stunning, I'd love to see a full-length cartoon done in that style.

I like Mama is a 4th Grader a lot, but as you say, it stopped getting subbed after four episodes. I have the opening sequence available in my anime clips library. And I've put it into seeding rotation in Azureus, which should help things out.

I also like Tweeny Witches, but both the show and the fansubbing thereof have been very slow-moving. It's certainly original in its visual style.