first of all, I'd like to apologize for any grammar mistakes since English isn't my first language
Now, this show is probably the hidden gem of hidden gem mainly because of Netflix jail and the somewhat okayish premise that turns a lot of people off. I first found out about the show from the recommendations section on Amaama to Inazuma and Kakushigoto. I read the premise and thought "oh, perhaps it'll be a cute and wholesome show about a 4 yr old living alone."
WRONG
That is not what the show really is about. Technically though, yes, it's a story about a 4 yr old living alone but the show itself has some heavy undertone. I promised you that you'll cry like a baby every episode.
First episode and you can see that something felt wrong with the kid, he's able to live alone, he's able to hold a normal adult conversation with his neighbors and most of all there are no signs of guardian/parents with him. It made you question about the history of Kotarou
- "Why does this kid live alone?"
- "Where are his parents?"
- "Is it some sort of a social experiments?"
- "Why does this kid has a wisdom of a middle age man?"
It's like a puzzle and you find new piece each episode to make the whole story.
On the first episode
Spoiler, click to view
when he fall the ground while running, he said 'I'm not crying, i don't like crying" It's a little clue and somewhat of a foreshadow on the next scene when he found out about Mizuki hiding the fact that she had been crying, he said "I won't dislike you even if you're crying". Meaning that Kotarou used to cry a lot. That adds another question, "Why did he cry a lot back then?"On the second episode
Spoiler, click to view
Kotarou showed to the audience and to Karino, his neighbor, the reason he loves Tonosaman, a cartoon character from a kid show. He had taken the way Tonosaman spoke and incorporated it to his own speech pattern and he always watched Tonosaman at night, everyday. Karino asked about Tonosaman in the bath house, he said that "Tonosaman is special to me" and when a kid his age crying to his dad because he doesn't want to leave the bath house, and doesn't want to go home, Kotarou confronted the kid and said "Even if you said those things, you have someone always by your side, there's nothing to be sad about". The kid promptly stopped crying and went home with his dad. Kotarou continued on and said "That boy is lucky, he probably won't need the help of the tv in the middle of the night". At this point, you realized that the reason he cried a lot and love Tonosaman was probably due to the absence of his parents, be it because of work or worst case, they abandoned him entirely.On the third episode
Spoiler, click to view
He encountered a balloon guy that gives away balloon for kids, this story looks wholesome at first, the way they interacted with each other, balloon guy said only 1 balloon per person and this promptly made Kotarou to disguise himself (albeit, a bad disguise) to asked the guy to give him more balloon. It's a cute story where he dressed up as 4 "different" person for 4 balloons. Then he asked Karino to draw the balloons some faces, a boy, a girl, an older man and an older woman. The balloon guy then accidently met Kotarou on the playground playing with 4 balloons with drawn faces attached to his back. He first assumed the worst and thought that he had been scammed by him, the balloons with the face side then turned to the back and revealed a writing in each balloons. It was, SISTER, BROTHER, FATHER, MOTHER. This scene in particular broke me to pieces and you understand why. The whole reason he lived alone was because yes, his parents left him, abandoned him entirely. The next scene showed him playing with these 4 balloons on the playground, alone.
It's depressing to see that he was all by himself, a mere kid was forced to grow up because of his unfortunate circumstances.The same way Naruto is a vessel for the 9 tails, Kotarou is a vessel for a series of episodic stories (all linked by the main story of Kotaro) dealing with abandonment, loss, abuse, deception, and other psychological issues.
Kotarou Lives Alone is a brutal show, if you loves the undertone that Kakushigoto and Amaama to Inazuma gives then you'll surely love this one but be sure to come in prepared because it will hit you hard.
An absolute hidden gem that you must watch!
