Kakushigoto

KANLen09★ 9

"What is your secret?" The Pandora's Box that awaits its eventual reveal, to a side of a parent no child wants to discover: the life of a vulgar or dirty mangaka. Such as in the case of this show: "Dad's kakushigoto, kaku shigoto desu ka." To understand this show in a literal sense, this one word resembles two things: hidden things (or secrets), or split the words apart (kaku shigoto) and it takes on another meaning: drawing for livelihood. In the realm of father-daughter relationships in anime, I'd say that this show really beats the others that came before it (Sweetness & Lightning, Usagi Drop), andthe plotlines rather easy but simple to follow and understand, and the expectations building around shifting from times past and present to recognize how parents' secrets go way deeper than just revealing bits and pieces like the uncouth of such simple actions. Based on the manga of the same name from the mangaka that brought us "Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei" Kouji Kumeta, Kakushigoto is a rather simple story that tells of the Goto father and daughter family, father Kakushi and daughter Hime, in their growing up stages without the ever-so-illusive mother figure. But to quote manga readers though: this simple story has a caveat - another Kakushigoto, in the form of black and crude humor that teaches manga readers (and now anime watchers) about the things present in the manga industry (heck, even Kumeta-sensei admits that this story is from his accounts of experiences being a mangaka), so that side of the story is really intriguing, yet is a good learning lesson as well. You may think that just the simple premise of Kakushi fighting every step of the way to save Hime from "dirty evil" will become boring over time, but nope, it actually builds upon the experience of Hime as she slowly learns to take things one at a time, whilst Kakushi tries all sorts of ways to not let his daughter's innocent eyes be paralyzed for the fact that the treatment of mangakas (in general) have lots of kakushigotos that can be ascertained as "plain bad". Even at times where the comedy sticks and stales, it grows on you quick and elevates the experience overall. The supporting characters of Kakushi's circle, I must really give them props for handling comedy interactions quite well. From his artist circle G-PRO (Shiji, Ami, Rasuna, Kakeru and even ol' Joker-cum-editor Tomaruin) to the unconscious harem that he made (from that one episode which was just insanely hilarious all the way through), adding housemaid Nadila, every single one of them contributes to Kakushi's well-being of trying their best to evade Hime from ANY signs of "trouble" that brews from time to time. Heck, I'd even go as far as to say that Tomaruin, as much as he's a sicko for wanting to threaten Kakushi's position to Hime, he is my favourite character for being a plain ditz and misunderstanding situations that are put in peril. This man meant no harm, but he always brings unwarranted attention to the door, and I always have a great time laughing at his mistakes SO HARD he can be a troll at times. Unfortunately, with this season marking the start of the COVID season of delays, meant that quality can be inconsistent at times (due to shortage of manpower), and this show kinda suffers a bit in the visuals department (that Ajia-do Animation Works has to outsource to get things done). Only a bit, but this experience fortunately (and luckily) didn't supersede into delays, and I really respect the production staff for getting this done without delays (which is the case for most anime in 2020, and going forward). Despite the crunch though, the artwork is somewhat simplistic, yet being able to show off some vibrancy in the visuals and create watchable content altogether, same as to a double comparison with the manga. Even better is the sound department. The VAs really give a great account to the temperament to the characters, especially Hiroshi Kamiya and to-be-expected Rie Takahashi playing both the Father and Daughter role respectively. And once again, props to veteran VA Natsuki Hanae for voicing for Tomaruin, how he handled this lame-ass, disingenuous character is one of profound surprises. Not to be outdone, is the opening and ending theme songs. Flumpool's OP was a song that was just magnificent for entering the stage of this show, literally taking flight of this show's growing popularity overtime. What I was most surprised about is the ED, done by the deceased Eiichi Ohtaki based on his 1981 song, and it's very unconventional for anime to re-use old, lost-in-time properties, so much so that the song is another great folk-tune-ish classic. All in all, Kakushigoto is a show that other than the main focus of the gripping of the family saga that's filled with sweetness and lightning (the secrets hanging in the balance), is a nice change of comedy to add into the slice-of-life genre. A heartwarming, yet sad masterpiece of a show not to be missed, and one of the underrated greats this season has to offer. Try it, you won't be disappointed. "What's your secret?" My not-so-secret is that I can say that I've finished this show with a smile of happiness on my face.

Marinate1016★ 9

Seemingly, the last 3 or 4 seasons have given us something to make us feel warm and cozy on the inside. In today’s world, we probably need that more than ever. This season’s wholesome heartwarming series was Kakushigoto. Based on a widely acclaimed manga, the story follows a mangaka, his assistants and his daughter as he attempts to balance being a high selling mangaka with his responsibilities as a father. To further complicate things, Goto wants to keep his real occupation as a mangaka hidden from his daughter. The show follows them on their adorable and often hilarious day to day activities. Whether it’s Hime andher dad going to an onsen on a free trip that she won or them going to Kidzania, the show offers enhoyable slice of life moments that allow you to connect with and form attachments with the characters. While on the surface, the series seems to be very lighthearted and a constant stream of smiles and laughs, there’s actually a rather interesting juxtaposition in narratives. The first 20 minutes or so of every episode is told from the past perspective of Hime, while the final 4 minutes take place in the future following a time-skip with a much darker colour palette as well as tone. The questions that this segment leaves you with after every episode will have you on the edge of your seat awaiting the following episode for more answers. So, if you like bingeable shows with content that keeps you engaged, this is your show. From a technical standpoint, the artstyle is very well done and has a unique look to it. Colours pop and backgrounds are rendered gorgeously. The top notch production quality remains consistent throughout. I came into this series knowing nothing of the series and came out of it reading the manga and a big fan. This is a genuinely great show that offers life lessons on parenting, communication and provides consistent heartwarming entertainment. I can’t recommend it enough. Kakushigoto gets 9 Inu’s out of 10.