This Show About A Boy Who Lives Alone Is Netflix's Secret Gem

---

Warning: This article may contain discussions of sensitive topics such as domestic abuse, child abuse, and depression. Minor spoilers may also be disclosed. Consider when and where it would be appropriate to read this piece. 

---

Kotaro sitting next to his unlikely guardian Karino

Deeper Than It Looks

Amid all of the blockbuster movies and shows that Netflix has been producing from geek properties in recent years, one extremely under-documented gem was recently recommended to my curated list a full two years after it first debuted on the streaming platform. I can’t believe such a simple premise about a 4-year old child living by himself in an apartment would have me reflecting on so many different aspects of life. And yet, that’s exactly what Kotaro Lives Alone did in a mere 10 episodes full of short stories.

Adapted from a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Tsumura Mami, the anime ONA was distributed worldwide by Netflix in March of 2022. I’m a fan of the slice of life genre, especially when it pertains to Japanese culture as I find many of their philosophical and societal takes about life to be peacefully endearing. Kotaro’s titular character is a mysterious little boy who moves into apartment 203 in a quaint Japanese neighborhood. 

Immediately we’re introduced to a quirky child who is way more mature than his appearance would suggest. Ironically, Kotaro’s deceptive maturity, despite his silly appearance, is also a terrific metaphor for the entire series itself as the show misleads you to believe that it's a silly nonsensical telling of events like that of the popular classic 2000’s manga, Yotsuba&!. It doesn’t take long into the first few episodes of the anime for viewers to realize a much deeper emotional drama brewing despite the whimsical art. 

Trust In Others

Kotaro comes to rely on an accommodating set of adult neighbors in the apartment complex that consist of people with their own set of life problems. Mizuki is a hostess that works late nights. Behind her bright smile is a woman enthralled in an abusive relationship. The loud mouth Isamu is a yakuza-looking old man who has a soft spot for Kotaro as he reminds him of his own son he rarely gets to see due to sharing joint custody with his ex-wife. Out of all of Kotaro’s neighbors, he forms the strongest bond with Shin Karino. The struggling manga artist becomes Kotaro’s unlikely guardian and they both quickly benefit from one another’s company.

A strong sense of community support

At first glance, the silly day to day narratives of the samurai-mannered Kotaro reminded me of another popular slice of life show that was syndicated by Netflix, The Way of the House Husband. Yet with Kotaro, simple short stories of mundane daily tasks such as going to the bath house, or getting a balloon from a shopping mall clerk, always delusively resolve to not be as simple as the outlook would imply. Kotaro is a character with a deeply empathetic and compassionate core. He’s able to read and understand people beyond the logically comprehension of a child his age.

We are periodically shown brief glimpses of Kotaro’s troubled childhood while living with his biological mother and father. Almost everything we see of them is framed in a highly disturbing and negative light. Yet, Kotaro still lingers onto the hope of reuniting with his estranged parents even while actively hiding from one of them due to what we as an audience deduces as mental and physical abuse. This becomes an overarching theme throughout the series that highlights just how deep the true message of Kotaro Lives Alone really is. His support system is compiled strictly from his community. While out on his own, Kotaro has rebuilt the ability to trust in people that he had lost while in that destructive household. 

Regardless if his support system has those who are flawed and have fallen victim to their own troubled circumstances that result in them taking advantage of Kotaro, or genuinely unassuming background characters like a local dentist with a strict policy, Kotaro reveals an unwavering trust in his community. Some viewers may say that it’s unrealistic or naive to be that trusting of people, but we often forget that children are untainted. Their outlook in life is molded and warped by their upbringings and experiences. We become cynics and mistrust more as we grow to share the burdens of our parents, our teachers, our leaders.

At the start of the series, the independent Kotaro is treading the fine line between maintaining his candid view of life and succumbing to the traumas that come with living. Kotaro Lives Alone may be themed around his solo housing situation, but he never falls to his lonely situation. Thanks to the kindness of others, he maintains his child-like trust in human relationships despite his mature exterior. 

Persona 5 Royal IS Another story that explores community

Read

Kotaro playing alone with balloons

Exploring Trauma

Nearly twenty years ago, I was in university majoring to become  a screenwriter that specialized in melodrama. I had always been fascinated with how unique of a connection the visual media platform had with humans. It is one of the few, if not only things in the world, where someone you will most likely never meet in person can dictate your personal emotions. Through a film or a show, a viewer can go through the heights of elation, and then to the depths of despair the very next minute. Your feelings are manipulated by a maestro conducting the images you take in. As an aspiring screenwriter, I took plenty of psychology courses. Viewers don’t really process just how much probing of the human psyche about interaction and logic is involved in crafting a story.

This brings us to Kotaro Lives Alone who uses this masterfully. In just less than thirty minutes an episode, the storytellers are able to present a silly but simple plot. You’re laughing at this child’s oddly shaped pupils and the way he interacts with the world. He might be suddenly fat and as a viewer we find it hilarious how his appearance comedically changes overnight. Two minutes later, his new neighbor and kindergarten teacher discover the harrowing reason why he never leaves a plate of food to be wasted. As a viewer, we’re left devastated. We feel distraught at what this kid is going through and just want to hug him. In fact, many characters in the show are reflections of what the audience is going through on this rollercoaster of emotions as they too discover the layers that make Kotaro who he is. 

The beauty of the show lies with the reflection of the lessons we learn from Kotaro. He doesn’t need help. He doesn’t need guidance. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want support. When someone is going through a rough patch in their lives, they don’t necessarily need a lecture. They don’t always require an intervention. Often the best help one can give is just to be present.

The characters in this show get that. When Kotaro has a school performance, Karino knows that a child’s ambition is to be seen by their loved ones for the hard work in preparing for the big moment. He’s simply there for him. No more, no less.

The stern dentist keeps his appointments with children booked for an hour despite the urging of his secretary to fit in more patients by reducing the time he spends with each kid. She learns that he does this because he wants to dedicate time to speak and listen to a child in order for them to provide a voice for their pain if they need it. 

Knowing others are here to accept you and that they respect your decisions is a beautiful form of support. That’s something we as humans often overlook in our day to day lives within our societies. We’re constantly seeking tribalistic association to validate our ideologies. Someone always has to be right, while the other side has to be viewed as an antagonist.

Kotaro flips this narrative in the most blatant ways. When Karino’s ex-girlfriend makes an appearance in the latter half of the series, she creates a rift between Kotaro and his guardian. This could have easily escalated into a villainous role with sinister ambitions from a jaded woman seeking to regain the affection of an ex-lover by removing his responsibilities to the kid. We’ve seen these plot threads over and over again in anime. But that’s not what happens between these three in this show. Instead we’re greeted with a resolution of understanding. We see the characters understand the motives that caused the misunderstanding. There’s no evil intent from anyone. Just three people who genuinely want the best for each other. They just have differing ideas of how to support one another.

Even when trouble is brewing, no one is truly antagonizing

Another great example of this is when Kotaro shows his neighbors his collection of treasures that are important to him. His newest neighbor, Sumire Takei, immediately realizes that one of the items he treasures is a toxic reminder of his mistreatment from his parents. She aggressively advises him to throw it out in an attempt to help him heal. Kotaro rejects her notion, and says that while the item may have been used for a negative purpose, it has immense value to him as it’s the only reminder he has of someone he loves. Instead of pressing the issue, Sumire accepts his reasoning. Conventional wisdom would say she’s probably not in the wrong here. Yet in life, there is no one straight path to healing. I love how Kotaro Lives Alone showcases so much beauty in the acceptance of others in a communal effort to move forward in life for a better tomorrow.

Difficult to Watch

Of course, even with all of these promising themes, this show isn’t for everyone. Even when suspending your belief for an anime show, the premise of a 4-year old living on his own is a bit absurd. I can also see many viewers rejecting the resistance from Kotaro to antagonize issues driven by people who are clearly flawed. 

One thing is for sure, his father and mother were not good parents. In fact, they were terrible parents. Instead of resenting them, the child's goal is to grow stronger independently so that he may one day be able to survive in that rough environment in order to be a family once more. 

Mizuki, the kind hostess neighbor, has a similar track record with abuse. Even with a black eye, she also finds it difficult to resent the abuser. This is how Kotaro and her find support in one another as she understands how he feels about his parents because in her own words, “There were good times too,” which is all too relatable.        

Mizuki and Karino form a bond

This is definitely a controversial take of an abuse victim and their abuser. Yet, this is a very real take. Situations in life are much more complicated than the black and white directives we see in movies and books. The easy answer for the plot is always to leave the abuser. It might be the right answer in any scenario that deals with abuse. But the easy answer doesn’t always reflect all aspects of that decision. Kotaro tries to frame abusers in a positive light through flashbacks. Humans are complicated creatures. We struggle to balance good and bad. Some of us make more mistakes than we do good, but that doesn’t mean anyone is purely evil. This child doesn’t hate his terrifyingly temperamental father. In fact, he idolizes him as a mentor for certain traits of kindness. Kotaro’s generosity in escorting people with an umbrella to shield them from rain comes directly from the very person who is the root cause of his abuse. It’s a complicated manner that the show addresses with leniency.

Each episode of Kotaro Lives Alone is a pit trap of sorrow, inspiration, and self-reflection. It’s an absorbent amount of melodramatic tendencies to tug at a viewer’s heart strings. I find the mix of the loose art style to compliment the darker natures of the stories being told in this show. Kotaro Lives Alone left me better off than when I started the series, and when a show makes me feel that way, (especially coming from a film critic who thinks he’s an expert story beat analyst) garners my recommendation. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can even take one small lesson out of this unfathomably quirky story about a kid living on his own, then the world may just grow to be a more forgiving place one day.     

---