Review of Kakushigoto

Comedy and tragedy can be interpreted as two sides of the same coin, where laughter and crying are two mechanisms used to face the situations in front of us. This duality can allow a work to deliver an enormous amount of emotional nuances if it knows how to play with these elements, in the case of the series to which I dedicate the review that concerns us on this occasion, it allows an author as peculiar as Koji Kumeta to demonstrate his peculiar sense of humor with a surprisingly emotional story about fatherhood, secrets and manga that goes from the sweet to the ironic ofhis misadventures, but without fear to show the other side of the coin to demonstrate that there is something much greater under the secrets that this very work keeps hidden from its public until the last minute.

Kakushigoto (being a play on words between the protagonist's name, the secret term and drawing work) is an animated adaptation of the homonymous manga written and illustrated by Koji Kumeta, which began its publication in Kodansha publishing house's shonen magazine in 2015 and ended on July 6 of this year, with a total of 12 compiled volumes. The anime with a total of 12 episodes is produced by the Ajia-Do studio, who you may know from their recent work in Honzuki no Gekokujou, Isekai Maou or Shuumatsu no Izetta, although they also have their history of old ovas and help to other productions with a history dating back to 1987. The series was directed by Yuuta Murano, featuring scripts by Takashi Aoshima and a soundtrack produced by Yukari Hashimoto.

Kakushi Gotou is a moderately popular mangaka for his work in perverted comedies, however, after being embarrassed in the delivery room during the birth of his daughter, he decides that he will not allow her to discover his profession in the future in fear that she will be ashamed of him. In the paranoia that he produced, he tries to be the ideal father for his little girl, however, he is placed in strange situations that complicate everything in what should be his simple life as someone common, however there is no secret that time keeps hidden forever and Hime will eventually have to deal with everything she doesn't know about her father.

Kakushigoto is in simple words a tragicomedy about the secrets, misunderstandings and lies that people tell and their ramifications. In the usual idiosyncrasy of Koji Kumeta we are facing a work full of constant puns and humor that does not hold back in criticism of Japanese society, especially the manga / anime industry (although this series is the friendliest within his works in this aspect), but that at the same time surprises with a solid human drama about families that reaches the heart. With events that happen in two separate points in the timeline, this is a work that on the one hand presents the life of a single father and his daughter, with a rather lighthearted comedy tone, but at some point in the future it presents itself to us in a nostalgic tone like a lonely Hime reaching the truth behind her father, thus building with these two halves an element of mystery about how things have ended at this point that includes the viewer to the list of people who want to know the secrets that this story keeps hidden. Although known as an author who usually appeals to the surreal especially when it comes to the final turns, the work on this occasion is much closer to reality even if it is exaggerated to ridiculous points, under each white lie, under each omission or under every misunderstanding between its characters there are real emotions and insecurities that unite comedy and tragedy on the two sides of a coin that keeps you with doubts and theories from beginning to end, especially since the anime decided to cut a lot of the content of the manga in order to end with relative closeness between both creative pieces, the latter perhaps took weight off secondary characters but ended up highlighting even more the family relationship between Hime and her father Gotou, which is the very core of all this narrative although I do not deny that this leaves the "defect" that many details are of those that if you blink you miss them and can make the ending feel a bit abrupt at first viewing.

Regarding the artistic side of the series, I must say that the Ajia-Do studio surprised me on a pretty positive note, especially when they had the stigma of being in the shadow of previous animated adaptations of Kumeta by the Shaft studio. Keeping the simple but stylized character design, the identity of the work is maintained, while the studio takes advantage of the opportunity to play with the settings. I already mentioned that the series has two narrative tones, but these are aesthetically highlighted by how the scenes are animated, those that belong to the past where we see most of the comedy takes a simpler and more colorful appearance, with a childlike innocence in the drawing. Meanwhile in future events the details become much more noticeable, with a more serious play of light and a use of sober colors that creates a constant contrast between the two halves of the series, continuing the existing duality in the narrative of the series.

As far as the soundtrack of the series is concerned, we find one of the most subtle elements of it. We find a work that mostly uses its incidental music as a medium that accompanies the emotions of each scene, but without allowing it to distract from the other elements on the screen at any time. It's functional and enjoyable, but it's not the kind of soundtrack that you easily remember in the near future. For its part, the themes that always stand out in the series are the opening and ending, starting with the beautiful opening "Chiisana Hibi" by the J-rock band flumpool that manages to convey a feeling of joyful nostalgia and speaking of nostalgia, the ending "Kimi wa Tenneniro" by the late singer Eiichi Ootaki is an eighties piece that is nostalgic for the Japanese, it has the universal rhythms of an era that makes you go back in time.

Even if it is one of the most familiar and earth-bound works among the entire list of works that can bear the name of Koji Kumeta, Kakushigoto, from beginning to end, is a roller coaster of emotions that for more corny, for more ridiculous or as tragic as it may be, it tries to tell us a beautiful story about family love and in my opinion it succeeds in an excellent way. This is easily one of the series that I recommend trying the most out of what has come out during the year and not only because I am a fan of what Kumeta has written, but because this series really is a quality work that deserves more attention.