This series is most known for its controversial plot, but because of that, not many people realize how melancholic this series is.

After reading it all again I couldn't help but feel like this was a soliloquy about life. That no matter how old or young you are you'll be tormented by life, battling hardships, scraping for happiness in order to come out happy.

Kodomo no Jikan is very introspective and deals with a lot of heavy themes that are rarely mentioned in media, especially in the West. With the main three girls aging through elementary school you get to experience the female side of sexuality when they come of age and because it is drawn and written by a female author I feel like it's very profound at expressing how often we as a culture overlook female sexuality while ignoring their changing bodies. For instance, menstruating is a huge topic later on and characters have detailed discussions on how it affects them and the people around them. The teachers are constantly trying to figure out how much they should teach these kids about their own bodies and what they're not allowed to go into.

At the end of the day, we're all the same no matter what age we are at. We're all scared, fearing that we're not doing enough, lonely, uncertain about our place and happiness. What makes us happy? What mistakes must we overcome? How do we teach the next generation to prepare them to face life?

Yes, sexuality is dealt with, but it's not ogled. These characters are allowed to discover masturbation, crushes, abuse, and normal stuff we all go through when growing up, but because of that, it can be a tough read for some people.

This is a very satisfying read and, while it does have its creepy moments, I applaud how human these characters are and how they've grown up whether they realize it or not.