Kyou no Go no Ni (2008)

Title:Kyou no Go no Ni (2008)
Kyou no Go no Ni (TV)
Today in Class 5-2 (TV)
今日の5の2 (TV)
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Xebec
Original Concept - SAKURABA Koharu
A remake of the previous OVA release. Instead of 19 stories in the OVA, this TV version has 49 stories, most of which don't contain any ecchi elements (all of these were in the OVA already) but are pure children's slice of life instead. Some key stories have been extended in length with additional details compared to the OVA version.

[TV series, 2008, 13 episodes of 3-4 stories each; see also the manga-special-OAD Kyou no Go no Ni (2009)]

Despite Forbin's comment below, the (replaced) image now shows the (yellow-haired) Chika of the TV series.
1:30min Series Opening - YouTube Video
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 7 8 8 8 7 9 Devil Doll [series:1879#752]
[Score: 78% = "Rent", my top-rated silly comedy on par with Hanaukyo Maid Tai La Verite; similar slice of life comedies: Nagasarete Airantou, Azumanga Daioh (TV)]

A remake of the OVA, covering 18 of its 19 stories and adding 30 new ones. While the episodic OVA had its focus on the ecchi scenes, the TV series is tamed down in this aspect and provides a more linear development of its likable characters. Think Minami-ke or Azumanga Daioh (TV) for 5th graders, just without the annoying hyperactive girls Kana resp. Tomo and the teachers.

First of all, I see why Forbin complains about the animation team: All characters look more childish and with fewer details in their faces; also Chika's hair color has changed from red to yellow. Compared to the previous Kyou no Go no Ni (OVA) release this is a big setback. And with the subject of this story, occasionally dealing with puberty and shy first love attempts, this is even more detrimental. Also, this TV remake adopted the method of letting the characters look like adults when dealing with "adult" themes but this time the change between both variants of each characters is so immense that it's just ridiculous. The ecchi element completely fails to work this time - with the protagonists looking like kindergarten kids it just seems completely out of place. On the other hand, the focus this time is more on the children's play theme than on he occasional pseudo-ecchi interludes, and with a few story exceptions I would actually recommend this show for children.

The OVA began with introducing the girls one by one, giving each of them a signature episode showing their significant trait; instead, the remake jumps into the story and uses many characters from the start, none of which is introduced in any way. Most notably, the background between Ryouta and Chika isn't explained yet Chika acts jealous towards another girl in the first episode already. Also, during for the first episodes the stories that are remakes of the OVA version have almost identical dialogs, killing my hopes for a surprise.
But all of this is getting better from episode 4 onwards, most notably in the episodes featuring my favorite character Aihara. And while in the OVA the stories were in random order, the TV series groups them into related topics per issue, thus making the series much less episodic and thus superior to the OVA in my eyes. The peppy OP song is a definitive plus, and the six different ED songs are nice enough as well.

  • Episode 1 (0):
    • Two OVA stories (Wiggle Wiggle/1a and Superball/2a).
    • Two new stories (playing Air Guitar while cleaning the classroom, and sharing an umbrella in the rain) with Ryouta and Chika being in lead roles.
  • Episode 2 (0):
    • Three OVA stories (Cat Paw/3e, Undefeated/1c, Framed/4a); the climax scene of the bloomers part in slow-motion was nice though, although the subsequent explanation of what actually happened is butchered in the dialog this time.
    • One new story (cleaning a soccer ball after sports).
  • Episode 3 (0-):
    • Three OVA stories (Collarbones/1b, Library/3a, Flip/3d), with slightly extended dialogs this time.
    • One embarrassing new story (Experiment) about bullying Ryouta.
  • Episode 4 (0):
    • Two OVA stories (Dress Up/2b, Sneak Attack/1e), with extended dialogs.
    • One new story (Up/Down) once again ending with Ryouta being punished for something he didn't do, and another one (Turn On The Water) that was missing in the OVA but a prerequisite to Sneak Attack. From here on, story continuity improves compared to the OVA version.
  • Episode 5 (0+):
    • One OVA story (Smile/2d), extended to twice its length here; this being Aihara's signature story and Aihara my favorite character of this franchise, I liked it very much.
    • Two new stories (about stargazing resp. changing into a sports dress in the changing room at the pool), both were less remarkable.
  • Episode 6 (+):
    • One OVA story (Observation Diary/2c), again an Aihara episode, and she has even more initiative here than in the OVA.
    • Three new stories (about playing in the rain, jan-ken-pon, and visiting a festival), all without any ecchi stuff, plus nice animation of the fireworks.
    • This show has become a normal slice-of-life series at this stage, and I'm increasing my rating to "Rent-".
  • Episode 7 (0+):
    • One OVA story (Three-Legged Race/4c) that got twice as long in the TV version.
    • Two new stories (about Kyouta's endless challenge of Natsumi, and about the kids playing with water pistols), both with a nice ending. Another decent episode without ecchi stuff.
  • Episode 8 (0+):
    • Two OVA stories (Scale/1d and Comparing Heights/4b), both about physical attributes.
    • Two new stories (about dieting resp. drinking milk for growth). The combination of theme related stories works quite well here.
  • Episode 9 (0):
    • Four new stories (about a typhoon, girls fashion, dozing off, and cooking at school). Pure slice of life, charming but hardly memorable; Aihara's "skinhead" statement was a nice scene though.
  • Episode 10 (+):
    • Four new stories, all somehow related to fairy tales or similar stories. The fairy tale written by Aihara was the funniest story of this series so far; I just love her twisted way of thinking.
  • Episode 11 (0+):
    • One OVA story (Surprise/3b), one of the weaker ones.
    • Three new stories (about a duck, new hair styles of the girls, and playing with ice in winter) all of which were quite nice.
  • Episode 12 (0):
    • One OVA story (Sweet and Soft/3c), much like in the OVA but at a more plausible position here.
    • Four new stories (about eating sweet potatoes, playing in the first snow, a lottery, and Christmas), all in the context of winter approaching. A pure slice of life story with few remarkable scenes but seamlessly flowing into the final episode.
  • Episode 13 (+): The "Pinky Swear" story was the two-part highlight finale of the OVA (4d+4e), and it became a full-scaled episode in the TV series, with more side characters getting involved in this conflict. A decent ending for this series.


Last updated Friday, April 27 2012. Created Thursday, April 19 2012.
Unevaluated Forbin [series:1879#1573]
First Look:

UNFORTUNATELY , instead of using the 'To Love Ru' team to animate this, Xebec used the Negima team, and IT SHOWS.

What a piece of CRAP animation especially for a first episode. The above picture is from the OVA, which looks much better. This NOT how I want this fantastic manga series to go. FIRE THAT DIRECTOR.

Sigh Kuronmi rides again :(

Last updated Monday, October 06 2008. Created Monday, October 06 2008.

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Official Website (japanese) at Starchild http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/gononi/

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