Chapter 15 is the 15th chapter of Kodocha, as well as the fifth chapter of the third book.
Summary[]
Sana's mom's book "My Daughter and I" gets published, and shocks people. Sana gets upset after tension between Rei and her mom erupt regarding the ethics of publishing such a book, and Akito whisks Sana away to his house to get her away from the conflict.
Plot[]
Rei asks Sana who the man visiting their house is, and Sana responds that it's her mom's ex. Misako and he quickly get in a fight over him asking her for money, and he gets thrown out. Rei remarks internally about how bad he is and how he can't be Sana's father, thinking he'll learn when he reads the book.
At the first day of school since summer vacation, Sana meets up with Akito and Tsuyoshi, she asks Akito how karate is, but he ignores her. Sana is angered by this, but Tsuyoshi explains how he doesn't want to talk about it yet because he's only been given tasks like cleaning the dojo and meditation, and that he thinks it's boring... but also Tsuyoshi is surprised he's kept with it so long with that in mind.
Later on, Sana tells Akito that her mom's book is coming out the next day, and he says that if she needs anything she can talk to Naozumi. Sana sees through it and assumes Akito's jealous after all the tabloids ran with the story of she and Naozumi dating, but Akito angrily responds and leaves, leaving Sana mad.
At home, her mom tells Sana to stay home from school the next day, and she's worried about everything. The next morning comes, and the news is talking about Misako's new book, titled "My Daughter and I", it outlines how Misako struggled with infertility and this made her feel ostracized to the point she decided to embrace it, and begin wearing her hair in bizarre styles and wearing kimonos. One day, she found Sana, a newborn, abandoned on a park bench, and went on to adopt her. When Sana was 5, she told her that she was adopted, and that Misako would like to find her birth mother someday, but before then, Misako will become an author, and Sana will participate in the Komawari theater, and that they will use these assets to find her someday.
Everyone reads the book (Rei, Naozumi, Akito, Tsuyoshi, Sana's classmates, the news). Reporters gather outside the Kurata residence, and Akito gets mad at classmates for gossiping about it. Akito wonders what it meant to Sana when she had read lines from the movie she was in, affirming that Akito's mom loved him even before he was born.
Naozumi convinces his driver to visit Sana's house. Concurrently, Misako meets the reporters at the gate with her hair down. Telling the reporter their questions are predictable, and that all they want is contempt. When they continue to ask the same questions, she lights a sparkler from her sleeve and runs back into the house. Inside, Rei confronts her in front of Sana, saying that she's being inconsiderate to Sana's feelings. Misako dismisses his comment saying he's not her mother, and he responds that she's not either. Sana starts crying, meanwhile they hear a commotion outside. Akito on a bike goes through the crowd of reporters, the gate, and the front door. He sees Sana crying, puts a beanie over her head and eyes, and rides out of the house with her on his bike. Just as the reporters are going to chase after them, Naozumi arrives cutting the reporters off.
Now at Akito's house, he takes the hat off Sana who thinks the whole bike experience was fun. He tells her he read the book, and at first she's emphatic about how shocking it must be! But then remembers the fight her mom and Rei were having, and starts crying. Akito gives Sana a hug as she cries, and the chapter (and the book) ends.
Characters[]
Author's Notes[]
Cartoons and Such: "The Kodocha cartoon will be starting on TV soon! (In April of '96.) Wow. I'm too busy with the comics to be involved with the production, but as the creator I've checked over the script and characters. I think it looks pretty good! The way the characters play dumb has been really emphasized, which shows the staff really got the comic – that makes me happy. So try and check it out, guys! The show is being sponsored by the Toy Company, TOMY. I saw their lineup of planner toys for Kodocha, and it looked good. I'm looking forward to seeing them! (Since the title means "Child's Toy", the toys have to be good!) My publishers name is also Tomy, so it's kind of confusing. (hee hee)
By the way, the mole alarm clock I wrote about in book 2 was actually made by TOMY. In a meeting, a person from TOMY pointed it out to me. I had no idea!"
Thank you: "My last visit with you in this book! I have to confess, I now have no idea how long Kodocha is going to be. I usually get worried when I'm doing something with no defined end. But I guess I just have to keep going. Each of these volumes consists of 5 episodes from Ribon magazine. When I first started the series, I had a bunch of different scenarios, from short to long (6-7 episodes, 20 episodes, and over 30). Obviously it's going to be long, so I've started adding new characters such as Naozumi. (I wouldn't have needed him if it had been one of the short simpler versions.) I keep trying to figure out a final count, but I'm always going wrong with it. Oh, boy. I hope it'll work out eventually. Ha, ha. Alright, my final word: I really enjoy my work thanks to you guys. I wanna thank you for reading my comics. Please keep reading to find out what happens to Sana and Akito, and to see how they grow! I'll see you in book 4! Bye!" - Signed Miho Obana, December 1995
Trivia[]
- This chapter was adapted into the episode Mother's Book of Surprises.