Ask John: Will Kodomo no Jikan Ever Reach America?

Question:
Is there any hope for “Kodomo no Jikan” to be picked up by any manga or anime company since it’s been dropped by Seven Seas? I’ve noticed that there are a number of people who write articles similar to yours who are down right opposed to it, so has it been so tarred and feathered there is absolutely zero chance of it being picked up?

Answer:
My personal experience in the anime community and my observations of the anime industry force me to believe that nothing is impossible when it comes to anime (within reason, of course). I’ve seen the anime industry evolve and respond to market demands with stunning swiftness, and I’ve seen manga and anime titles licensed and officially released in America that I’d never have expected to get picked up. But while everything is theoretically possible, certain events have much greater potential and possibility than others. I can’t predict that the Kodomo no Jikan manga or anime will never be officially released in America, but regrettably I do think that the odds of the title reaching America are very small.

Seven Seas Entertainment officially canceled its plans to release the “Kojika” manga series in America after company president Jason DeAngelis examined the third volume of the series and discovered a scene which he considered too sexually suggestive for uncensored release in America, and censoring the original work was deemed an unacceptable compromise. In effect, Seven Seas ostensibly based its decision to cancel American distribution of Kodomo no Jikan based on a personal judgment, which is a decision that any private company has a right to make. Theoretically, a different American publisher could react to the manga differently or take a different approach to the work, either deciding to release it as is, or compromise by censoring the work for American release. The fact that Seven Seas deemed the work unsuitable for American release does not mean that every American publisher will have a similar opinion.

However, there’s a second, more significant serious hindrance to an official American release for Kodomo no Jikan. Prior to formally canceling plans for an American release through Seven Seas, Mr. DeAngelis explained in a public statement that, “On an almost hourly basis, I was getting notification that one vendor after another was canceling their orders on ‘Nymphet’.” Regardless of whether any American publisher is willing to distribute Kodomo no Jikan in America, no intelligent distributor will license a title that they literally can’t sell because retailers refuse to carry it. Ironically blatantly pornographic manga and anime may have more outlets for legitimate American sales than Kodomo no Jikan, which is not pornographic but does make jokes about immoral sexuality.

The probability of Kodomo no Jikan reaching America may depend more on a change in American attitudes and understanding of manga than on the decisions of any particular publisher or distributor. There is an ever present possibility of Kodomo no Jikan being re-licensed for limited, direct-market American distribution, but the series is unlikely to be licensed for major mainstream American release until American retailers and consumers are willing to recognize the title as the provocative comedy that it is instead of leaping to the false conclusion that the series depicts and encourages immorality and obscenity.