
- Titles: Kakushigoto
- Genre: Comedy, drama, Slice of Life, Family
- Episodes: 12
- Studio: Ajiado
Kakushi Goto has always wanted to be a manga artist. It’s a passion that burns in his soul. He loves drawing and bringing stories together. He also likes dirty jokes. He thought that becoming popular enough to earn a comfortable living from manga was the dream but it’s turned into something of a nightmare. Now that he’s a single father to a precious little girl, he can’t ever let her find out his shameful occupation. Now, can he? His precious little angel would be sullied. But keeping a secret like that takes a lot of effort. Good thing Goto and his entire team are prepared to jump through some spectacular hoops. Anything for daddy’s little girl after all.
I really liked the art style of Kakushigoto. When I saw the first key visuals, that’s what attracted me to it. Still does, I absolutely love it. So I put it on my to-watch list. And I remember it being fairly popular with bloggers when it aired. Popular isn’t the right word. These key visuals must have been attractive to others because a lot of bloggers picked up the series but the reviews were very split. So I decided to finally see for myself.

Production
Obviously, I already mentioned that art style. I like it a whole lot. You can see it in all the screencaps. However, that’s up to personal taste. You might in fact openly dislike it. I liked the colours as well. They’re in a slightly softer than average palette which makes the images by default just a little more soothing and relaxing. But still colourful.
However, I have little else to bring up in this section. I liked the production but nothing really stood out. This is something I tend to write a lot. It’s not a bad thing mind you, usually production flaws really bug me so no news is good news!

Story & Characters
I was a bit afraid that Kakushigoto would go into some form of lolicon or incest. I don,t really have a reason for that fear, I guess I’ve been burned before. But the thing is, I’m a sucker for father-daughter relationships. I really enjoy them onscreen and they tend to be particularly rare. It’s just that when you add in a sexual component to that, it ruins it for me.
Happy to report that my fears were completely unfounded. In fact, even though the main character writes an ecchi comedy manga for a living, Kakushigoto stays really far away from blue humour. A very wholesome show with pretty much no fanservice to speak of. And it turns out that was just what I needed at the time!
I say no fanservice but I do think that if you’ve ever wanted to be a father Kakushigoto will pander to you. The show is written from Kakushi’s point of view and really highlights both the anxieties and the pure joy of having a daughter. It can be quite sweet and endearing. But it can also be somewhat limiting.

Also, if you are not interested in father-daughter relationships, then there’s very little for you in Kakushigoto. Every other aspect of the anime is in service of that core.
When I say the story structure is limiting, I mean it in a couple of ways. It doesn’t really allow the narrative to go into the other relationships that Kakushi has. I mean, he has a team working for him and those workplace dynamics are pretty great. But none of them get developed too deeply and most of the time they revolve around Kakushi’s home life. As such, those characters always feel like extras. Pleasant extras I would like to have gotten to know better.
But the one that suffers the most from that, in my opinion, is daughter Hime. Hime through Kakushi’s eyes is basically perfect. She’s such a highly idealized character that she doesn’t really feel like a character anymore. She an idea of what a little girl would be in the mind of a proud and loving pap. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a certain charm in that. Kakushi is an unreliable character and the series seems to tell us, all fathers would be when it comes to their little angel. And that’s a very sweet sentiment. But it also means that in effect, Kakushi is the only character with consistent development and he has to carry the show. This can occasionally strain the narrative a bit.

Moreover, the sentimentality comes off a bit shallow because of it. How can I explain this? Some scenes feel like they were written primarily to get the audience to go awwww. They don’t really add to the story and when you think about there’s not much depth to them but they’re very uplifting in the moment.
There’s also a pretty important tonal shift towards the end of the series. It’s heavily foreshadowed right from the start so it’s not jarring when it happens but you still have to switch gears. Personally, I liked it and I really liked the ending in general. The last episode made me drop everything else and just completely immerse myself in it. It was great. as far as I’m concerned. But it did inject quite a bit of drama in what was up until then a light comedy so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Then there’s the manga aspect. Kakushi’s job is the second most important thing to him and it takes a lot of place in the story. It’s always second fiddle to Hime of course. We don,t even really find out much about his manga beyond the title and the fact that it’s an ecchi comedy. But there are glimpses at the mangaka business and I loved those. I generally really enjoy seeing the behind the scenes of how manga is made. It’s not an important enough part of the anime for me to recommend watching Kakushigoto just for that but it added a lot for me.

Kakushigoto is far from a perfect anime. This said I liked it. I thought it was much better than the average show. At the end of the day, it’s a niche anime. It has a specific subject matter and focuses on it pretty narrowly. If you’re interested in that, I think you will find a soft-hearted if a little superficial anime that has some very sweet moments.
You might like this anime if:
You like stories about fathers or being a father.
My favourite character:
Satsuki. He was an awful editor!

Suggested drink:
- Every time we hear about the background of manga artists – take a sip
- Every time Ami lashes out – take a sip
- Every time Kakushi and Hime share a meal – get some snacks
- Every time Kakushi worries – take a sip
- Every time someone mistakenly thinks Kakushi is hitting on them – oh my!
- Every time we see Ichigo – cheer
- Every time Satsuki shows up for a home visit – hode the booze
- Every time you feel a bit uneasy about what’s going to happen to Kakushi – take a sip
- Every time anyone draws manga – take a sip
- Every time we see the puppy – cuute!
- Every time Goto’s assistants are “ungrateful” – take a sip
- Every time a different manga gets mentioned – take a sip
- Every time anyone is annoyed by Satsuki – take a sip
- Every time Hime falls asleep – awwww
- Every time Kakushi has his glasses on – take a sip

I save all my screencaps on my Pinterest and you can find more there if you are interested. But I still like to show you a few in the post. If you’re like me, screencaps are something that really helps you decide to watch an anime or not.




















That was one of my favourites in its season. It’s so sweet, and I really liked the looks of the show. I went in thinking Zetsubou Sensei/Joshiraku and was suprised how gentle the show ended up being, even if with all the comedy noise. Also really liked the ED; it’s apparently a cover of an older song, but the tune and animation worked so well together (and it ended with the doggy looking at us as the car retreats into the sunset – aw…).
As for Hime being the idealised daughter: yeah, it’s a genre staple.
The man named his daughter Hime, of course he’s going to think she’s perfect!
I really enjoyed this series – it was funny, charming, and genuinely moving at times. I also thought the twist toward the end helped shift the lens from kakushi to Hime quite nicely and flesh her character out a bit more. Also, terrific OP by Flumpool!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Think you hit the nail on the head with that review
Thank you!
This is a series I’ve considered watching ever since it came out. Like you, I was concerned about any hidden motivation for incest or lolicon pandering, but I’m glad to see that isn’t the case.
From what you’ve described, it does seem rather one-note. I’ll likely give it a shot one of these days, regardless. Thanks for your write-up!
It is a bit surfgace level but I thought it had some genuinly heartwarming moments