Kodomo no Omocha

A pretty good OVA. As others have said online, it feels like a test pilot to the anime. The designs (especially Sana) look different, not bad but if you're familiar with the show, it'll take a few minutes to get used to. The story and tone is more inline with the manga and doesn't take the more comedic tone the anime would eventually go for. That mean's no Babbit or Zenjiro here, and Sana's dogs cameo here. The casting here is different than what we'd get later, but they all do a good job. The pacing is fast, but not exhausingly so, it's fair toexpect an OVA to compact the story a bit. Looking at the story seperate from the anime and manga, it's pretty engaging throughout. Sana and Akito make for such great foils for each other and the other characters have their own quirks that make them entertaining and stand out. The story gives you enough time to care for the characters while still leaving you wanting more. The comedy you go get while more light, is still very solid. The OVA does the first arc of the manga justice. Most will prefer the anime adaptation we got later (as do I) but this is still an enjoyable watch of a more faithful attempt at bringing the manga's story to life.