The more I read Charles Solomon's anime reviews, the more I realize he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. Taro is not 8 years old. It's never mentioned in the show, but it says plain as day on the back of the DVD case that Taro is a 3rd year middle school student. For those of us who can count, that ought to be about 8th grade and 13 to 14 years of age. And for most normal males, that's not pre-pubescent.Now, on to the show. It's quite funny at times, though a little predictable. FYI: there's a lot of nudity in the first episode. Everything after that is very tame.