Synopsis - Kiko-chan is a kindergarten student who, well, never really smiles. She is a child prodigy, and can do things most kids her age can't, but many just can't get past her odd personality. This anime is about the misadventures of Kiko-chan and her family.
Review - I normally don't watch shows about kindergartens too much, but this one is worthy of note. Kiko-chan is a really memorable and unique character, and I can honestly picture her alongside Anpanman, Shin-chan, and Doraemon in terms of being absolutely unforgettable.
..If only people watched it.
You see, I knew this show was a buried treasure when I picked up the tape. Little did I know that even the internet can't find a torrent of the series. I've been searching anime sites like animesuki, nyaatorrent, and BakaBT, and nothing's come up. The only thing close to the series was a torrent containing the show's opening (Super Love by SO-FI). That's it.
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| Kiko-chan |
I know the show's rare in the states, but it ran for a full year in Japan (51 episodes to be exact). Someone had to have enjoyed it enough to buy the tapes or something. I'm going off on a tangent again, so I'll begin talking about the actual show.
If you didn't know the story by looking at any Kiko-chan picture, or even by reading my synopsis by now, I don't know what to tell you. For those who do know, you'd get that this is as simple a plot as you'll get. Take a very interesting little girl, stick some characters that one would think should be there (Teacher, Mom, Dad), and you have not just the setting, but the plot as well. Just let hilarity ensue.
For a show like this to work, your characters need to be able to be interesting enough to keep the viewer occupied, and in this case, they do. Kiko-chan is, for lack of a better word, awesome. She cooks (and I don't mean microwave) for herself and her parents, as far as I remember, she cleans her own clothes, she can build monuments in art class, she is simply amazing. Too bad she isn't very social or happy.
Well, actually there were some odd moments where the viewer can (I guess) tell she's cool with what's going on, it's just that her face never shows it too much, which makes those scenes when she's scared out of her wits or something that much more memorable. What makes the oddball lead character type of shows work most of the time, is the interaction (or lack thereof) between said oddball and normal human beings. Those people include her teacher and her parents.
Her parents aren't very smart. It seems to me that they kinda ignore their daughter when they're being all lovey-dovey with each other. Granted, Calvin's (Calvin and Hobbes) Mom and Dad weren't very considerate either. The opposite of that is Kiko-chan's teacher, who tries her damndest to make Kiko-chan happy. You see, like anyone in her shoes, she's scared of how dull little Kiko-chan looks, and she, like anyone else, is wondering where that talent came from and why that talent is going to waste (if you will).
The one real friend that Kiko-chan has is a stray talking cat she calls her own, Neko-chan (his name is much longer). Strangely enough, Neko-chan is not a cat at all, but an angel sent to earth with a mission to spread happiness across the world. He is normally the only guy who knows what Kiko-chan's feeling and goes out of his way to help her.
The opening is really cheezoid. Seriously, I thought I was watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air all over again. But as the series went on, I was beginning to nod my head a bit. The voice of Kiko-chan is cute when she speaks. The others sound like what you'd expect, outside of Neko-chan.
So in the end, Kiko-chan's Smile is a very fun way to spend your afternoon. The show is hilarious, and the characters are more than worthy of mention, more specifically Kiko-chan. Honestly, I can't tell you enough, how great a character she is. If you enjoy shows like Crayon Shin-Chan and Urusei Yatsura, this show will appeal to you more than most people, moreso for the Shin-chan fans because Kiko-chan comes off as a female Shin-chan (oddball children)! Heck, this'll appeal to the fans who enjoyed Calvin and Hobbes as well. Good show, and its a shame I can't finish it.
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Story - 6
Characters - 8.5
Content - 8
Animation - 6
Music - 6.5
Voice Acting - 7
Overall - 7.5
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