A questionable pre-order: Kodomo no Jikan manga 4

(tags manga, pre-order, loli, DVD)

I was going to pre-order Kodomo no Jikan volume 4 at Animate Kobe but they didn't have pre-order slips. So I went to Melon Books Kobe on a whim and a pre-order slip was there. I was first pre-order because it says the slip had the number "1" on it... so obviously this is not in demand.

(picture thanks: アキバブログ)

What is Kodomo no Jikan? I was intringued by a fellow #ic post about the failure of the translation of this manga to the U.S. market, poorly renamed as Nymphet. It is pretty much a "loli" manga but still just barely all-ages.

I started reading it to see if it was really bad and also because I like the drawing style. Well it is very crude in some places. How does Rin, the mischievous girl get such a potty mouth and sexualized clothing and mannerisms? From the TV? From friends (but her friends are wholesome)? From her guardian-parent (but he's a good guy)? I suppose that's part of the fantasy, but it doesn't make sense. In any case, I like the story because the male teacher, Aoki-sensei, is compassionate for the welfare and education of his students. He is not a pedophile and he is not taking advantage of the situation. Unfortunately he's the butt of many jokes because Rin is wily and crafty.

I pretty much gobbled up volumes 1, 2, 3 in a two week period. Now that I know 4 is coming out I want to see the relationship between Aoki-sensei and Rin resolve into respected teacher-devoted student instead of this disheveled, wet-behind-the-ears teacher being played by this all-talk Lolita. Except the whole point of the work (including the bonus DVD which has almost naughty scenes unfit for Japanese TV?!?!) is to be as loli as possible.

Hahaha, um. Yeah.