Kakushigoto

Kakushigoto

Kakushigoto anime series cover art
Kakushigoto

Series Overview

Kakushigoto (かくしごと) is a comedy series about a father who hides the true nature of his profession from his daughter. While Hime believes her father is your typical salaryman, Kakushi is actually an ecchi manga artist. Yes, his secret is that he draws lewd, comedy manga.

When the season began, Kakushigoto was my pick for the best anime of the season. Both of the main characters are voiced by some of my favorite voice actors, the original creator is known for other successful manga, and I think the art style is pretty nice.

However, if you’ve read my review of Sing “Yesterday” for Me, you’ll know that ended up being my favorite.

Kakushi Gotou from the anime series Kakushigoto
Kakushi Gotou

The first problem I have with Kakushigoto is that while I do think it’s funny and good all around, it got old pretty fast. There are really only so many jokes you can make about Kakushi hiding his job from Hime. And as I’ll discuss more later on in this review, the second problem with the series was the ending.

Some people believe that the end of a series is the most important part. While others believe it’s the journey to the end that matters more. I’d probably consider myself to be more so in the latter group. A good ending won’t necessarily make a bad anime much better, but a bad ending can definitely make a good anime significantly worse.

Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of slice of life, comedy series, you’ll probably enjoy Kakushigoto. And if you like the Monogatari series, as I do, then you may like Kakushigoto even more because Kakushi is basically just an adult version of Koyomi. He looks the same, acts the same, and has the same voice actor.

Characters

Back in my review of the first episode, I went over the various levels of wordplay that make up both the series title and main characters’ names. Rather than me going over that again, just take a look at this visual created by @HenkukuNii on Twitter.

Wordplay from the anime series Kakushigoto
Kakushigoto wordplay

Kakushi Gotou is easily the best character of the series, as he should be since he’s the protagonist. The only two things he really loves in life are his daughter and his ecchi manga. Though, if it’s for Hime’s sake, he would give up his work as a mangaka in a heartbeat. His world revolves around her, and this often causes him to go to illogical extremes when it comes to protecting her.

Hime is the next best character, but for very different reasons. For one, she’s just cute. But Hime is also surprisingly funny, though she doesn’t mean to be. It’s fair to say that Hime isn’t the smartest kid around, and this often causes her to do or say things that a normal person would never consider.

In Kakushi’s circle are his assistants, Rasuna, Ami, Kakeru, and Aogu, along with his editor, Tomaruin. Surprisingly, Tomaruin probably has more screen time than any of the assistants simply because he’s always messing things up. But even though Rasuna, Ami, Kakeru, and Aogu don’t get that much screen time, they’re surprisingly developed characters.

In Hime’s circle, we have her friends in the Meguro River Detective Agency (a make-believe detective agency started by her classmates), her teacher Ichiko, her babysitter Nadila, and future idol Naru.

Nadila and Naru specifically are both really good supporting characters. Of course, I’m mostly saying that because they’re cute, but they’re entertaining as well. Naru is my Kakushigoto crush, but I have to admit that Nadila is more entertaining.

Comedy or Drama?

I want to start this discussion of the drama in Kakushigoto by pointing out that this is not a drama series. But, every episode does have a drama aspect to it, usually at the very end. The majority of the series takes place in the past, and it’s only through these ending scenes that we get a glimpse into the present.

This drama element was a bit weird for me. On one hand, drama is my favorite genre of anime, and these ending scenes definitely caught my attention. But on the other, I really just wanted this series to remain a wholesome comedy, because I think that’s what it does best.

In the end, the drama didn’t really amount to anything. And that itself also gave me mixed emotions. I’m glad that the drama didn’t lead to anything that ruined the comedy of the series. However, it’s also true that I would have liked a little more payoff for all that dramatic buildup throughout the series.

Hime discovering her father's secret from the anime series Kakushigoto
Hime discovering her father’s secret

But if I had to place the blame for the bad end on one thing, it would probably be that the final episode tried to do too much. It tried to resolve the drama, tried to add in new plot lines that weren’t necessary, and then tried to squeeze in a bit of comedy too.

The result of all that was an ending that felt all over the place while also not really providing a conclusion that solved everything the series had built up.

It was sort of saved by the very last scene of the episode when Hime reveals that she has a secret of her own. But even with that and the one gag I mentioned I liked in my review of the episode, I think the last episode of the series was probably the worst.

Conclusion

For me, Kakushigoto is a 7/10, but I almost want to give it a 6 because of the end. Without the final episode, it’s definitely a 7 though. I’d like to know what other people who have watched the series think of the end, so if you’ve watched it, let me know in the comments.

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