'Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition' is a story about a single father of a small girl. He is a mangaka known for drawing "dirty" manga ( that is ecchi manga with toilet humor ) and well due to this, he makes it a mission to never let his daughter know about his job because it might lead to her being bullied, lose respect for her family, etc. It is a manga that I love a lot and I want to share my thoughts with you in this review.
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There's not a lot of animanga that focuses purely on a father-daughter relationship per se ( I can think of spy x family & hinamatsuri ), so the relationships and character interactions feel rather fresh in this manga. A lot of the story revolves around the dad working with his colleagues to keep the secret from his daughter which can lead to some hilarious moments and it also depicts the relationship between the father and the daughter, which can be really wholesome and cute. One thing this manga has helped me understand better is the relationship between an adult & child. When your kid feels down. you feel bothered too, If they feel happy, you feel relieved too, you worry about their future, you worry about their current life, you worry whether your doing too much or doing too little. Taking care of your child is a major part of your life ( of course, this varies as the child becomes older) . If you are ever feeling an itch to read a story about a father, would highly recommend.
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Kouji Kumeta (the author) has been working in the industry for more than 20 years. In that time, he has released both successful and unsuccessful manga & he has had assistants who have made it in the industry too ( for example, Kenjirou Hata the author of 'Tonikaku Kawaii' ). So when he depicts the life of a mangaka, he speaks from the experience he has under his belt. The manga is filled with sections where he talks about the industry, his experiences and expanding on the topic covered in the previous chapters in detail, these sections can be really interesting and have given me a better understanding of animanga in general, I also believe that the advice & experiences shared here can be of value to people who want to pursue creative work. Honestly, it can be a really insightful read.
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The Characters are nice, they play well into the story and expressing it's drama and comedic events. The art of the manga is very stylistic and unique, I really loved how the panels were drawn. I really liked the end of the chapter sketches of the family, they were always so nice to look at and I saved so many of them on my phone. There are references throughout the manga of other popular anime/manga.
The style of comedy can use a lot of pessimistic/self deprecating humor and the story can feel a bit repetitive which I think may put some people off, I can understand that but I can guarantee it is a good manga which is worth a read.
Final Score- 9.5 / 10
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