Review of Kakushigoto

I binged this anime a day before it's final episode aired because of it's ending. I had seen this anime quite a fair bit around social media and how people are in suspense over it's ending that it really made me interested in watching it. Initially, the art style seemed kind of weird to me because of the shape of the characters and how it included some real life elements in it' such as in the background scenery. However, it has grown on me because of how simple it is. The shapes and lines that makes up the people and objects in this anime doesa great job in accentuating the colours, making everything look bright and vibrant despite having a relatively simple art style. The art style is actually a blend of Koji Kumeta's drawing and Shaft's animation. Think of a mix between Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (one of his other works) and the Monogatari series. I liked the sound, the opening and ending felt really retro and I just loved the nostalgic vibe it gave.

Characters wise, I would kind of say Hime and Kakushi are a great father daughter duo. Their relationship just screams wholesome vibes everywhere and I felt a sense of admiration towards Kakushi for the sacrifices he makes for Hime and the things he does to protect and love his daughter.

For the story, most of it is actually a comedic slice of life kind of thing. Each episode follows some gag in Kakushi's job (usually involving his attempt to hide his job) with a sad/worrying foreshadowing of the ending. The problem I had with this anime was that the foreshadowing was too "overdone". By that I mean it just makes me worry so much that it's always at the back of my mind and it kind of gets in the way of the ability to truly enjoy a happy or wholesome scene because you know something messed up is going to happen. The final episode is where everything goes down and I got to say, I was a little bit disappointed at it because it was not what I thought it was. But, I think for the good of the show, it was best that it was not. Regardless, it was still emotional and the last few scenes gave me a huge sense of relief and satisfaction.

Overall, I would rate this anime a solid 8/10. It was denied a 10 because of the over emphasis of the foreshadowing that kind of interfered with my ability to enjoy it. Everything else was decent though but neither was it anything remarkable. The art style is a first for me and I think not being creeped out by it is already good enough. I would definitely recommend this to people who are looking for their next slice of life anime or a starting anime if you want to binge Shaft's other works. If your're looking for something heartwarming or want to reminisce about the days your dad carried you from the car to the sofa when you fell asleep in the car, this is the anime to watch.