cynhn

cute, heartwarming, and short series with some drama thrown in

If you’re going into Kanakana expecting a completely wholesome series, you might be a little disappointed. A good portion of the story focuses on Kana’s relationship with her uncle, Sawada (let’s just that their relationship isn't very good). There are still plenty of the wholesome childcare moments you’d expect, and they’re really sweet, but you’ll have to tough it through with the uncle subplot to get to them. While I do think that the payoff is worth it, if you’re looking for a drama-free series, this might not be for you unless you’re willing to sit through the occasional “uncle scenes.”

That said, Kana is extremely adorable and pairing her with Masa’s cluelessness makes for an iconic duo. I enjoy the fact that despite being more mature than her peers, Kana is still able to make irrational decisions & thinking style that is like that of her peers. The rest of the cast also makes the show livelier and funnier with some characters even managing to make me both love and hate them at the same time, a rare feat for me to feel. The comedy in this show is also superb, there are times where I find myself chuckling to scenes from the show, be it Kana’s inner monologue or Masa funny parenting style, you truly get it all.
Despite that, I do feel that some characters are underused. I would’ve liked to see more development in Kana’s relationships with the other kids (i.e. Eiko). Honestly though, I’d love more episodes in general as the story feels like it moves rather quickly. Most of the major plot points are addressed, but some minor ones aren’t explored much or even outright ignored altogether. Nevertheless, the show manages to end on a good note & most of my complaints about it can be chalked down to being very nitpicky.

If you decide to watch Kanakana, I wouldn’t recommend binge-watching it. The frequent recaps and flashbacks can get annoying, so I’d suggest watching 2-4 episodes at a time. Though the episodes are only about 15 minutes long, and with just 28 episodes, you could easily finish the series in a day if you wanted to.

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