Kakushigoto

Plot

Kakushi Goto makes a living drawing ecchi manga, but he fears this secret could drive a wedge between him and his daughter, Hime. Determined to protect their bond, he vows never to reveal his profession. The story follows their life together in Nakameguro, beginning when Hime is 8 years old and continuing until she turns 18.

Characters

Gotō household

Kakushi Gotō (後藤 可久士, Gotō Kakushi)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese); Howard Wang (English)

Kakushi is a manga artist who runs his own company, G-PRO. Being that his primary work involves ecchi, he is determined to keep his manga artist career a secret from his daughter, Hime. Kakushi is a single father, his wife having disappeared in an accident off the coast of Japan. His name is a pun on one of the Japanese words for 'secret' (かくしごと, Kakushigoto). In the present, he has been in a coma for a year after suffering from an accident at his warehouse job.

Hime Gotō (後藤 姫, Gotō Hime)

Voiced by: Chika Anzai (animated PV), Rie Takahashi (anime) (Japanese); Morgan Lauré (English)

Hime is a sprightly fourth grade elementary school student and daughter to Kakushi. She is also depicted as a third-year high school student in flash-forward segments, who knows of her father's secret, and has been waiting for him to wake up from his coma. Her name is a pun on one of the Japanese words for 'secret' (ひめゴト, himegoto).

G-PRO

Aogu Shiji (志治 仰, Shiji Aogu)

Voiced by: Taku Yashiro (Japanese); Cris George (English)

Aogu is Kakushi's chief assistant at G-PRO. He often requires instructions from other people, and his name is a reference to this fact; shiji o aogu (指示を仰ぐ; "ask for instructions").

Rasuna Sumita (墨田 羅砂, Sumita Rasuna)

Voiced by: Kiyono Yasuno (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)

Rasuna is an assistant at G-PRO. She is named after the phrase 'don't drop ink!' (すみ たらす な！, Sumi Tarasu na!).

Ami Kakei (筧 亜美, Kakei Ami)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese); Katelyn Barr (English)

Ami is an assistant at G-PRO. She generally sports a flat, uninterested demeanour; she also keeps secrets of her own, such as her manga artist pen name. Her name is a reference to the kakeiami (カケアミ) style of cross-hatching.

Kakeru Keshi (芥子 駆, Keshi Kakeru)

Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (Japanese); Kevin Thelwell (English)

Kakeru is the newest assistant at G-PRO; his primary duty is to erase mistakes on the manga manuscripts. His name is a reference to erasing, or literally "using an eraser" (消しゴムかける, Keshigomukakeru).

Satsuki Tomaruin (十丸院 五月, Tomaruin Satsuki)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae (Japanese); Aaron Dismuke (English)

Tomaruin is the long-suffering editor at Weekly Shōnen Magazine responsible for liaisoning with the G-PRO firm. He repeatedly drops off manga materials at the Goto home, threatening to reveal Kakushi's secret to his daughter. He is regarded as a ditz, and once mistaken for a pervert; however, he generally means well. He has a crush on Nadila. His name is a reference to the phrase tomaru insatsuki (止まる印刷機; "Stop the presses").

Other characters

Nadila (ナディラ, Nadira)

Voiced by: Emiri Katō (Japanese); Risa Mei (English)

Nadila is an Indonesian migrant worker who occasionally comes to clean the Goto home. She teaches Hime how to cook Indonesian food, befuddling her father. In another segment, Tomaruin mistakes her for a dukun.

Ichiko Rokujo (六條 一子, Rokujō Ichiko)

Voiced by: Maaya Uchida (Japanese); Lindsay Seidel (English)

Rokujo is Hime's elementary school teacher. She is a fan of Kakushi's work and always helping him keep his secret to Hime. She is named after the number 61 (六十一, Roku Jū Ichi).

Naru Senda (千田 奈留, Senda Naru)

Voiced by: Rikako Aida (Japanese); Emi Lo (English)

Senda is a 17-year-old high school student and aspiring idol. She is also work as a volunteer art instructor and very closed to Hime after she being a fan of her. Her name is a pun that means "I want to be the center of an idol group".

Kairi Imashigata (戒潟 魁吏, Imashigata Kairi)

Voiced by: Akio Otsuka

Imashigata is Kakushi's wealthy father-in-law, who has been at loggerheads with him seemingly ever since his daughter passed away. However, it is shown he still cares for Hime, going so far as to buying her a grand piano when she wants to practice.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kōji Kumeta, Kakushigoto was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Magazine from December 4, 2015, to July 6, 2020. Kodansha collected its chapters in twelve tankōbon volumes, released from June 17, 2016, to July 17, 2020.

In March 2020, Kodansha USA announced the acquisition of the manga for an English language digital release, with the first volume being released on March 17, 2020, and the last on February 9, 2021.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on the tenth volume of the manga on November 15, 2019. The series was animated by Ajiado and directed by Yūta Murano, with Takashi Aoshima handling series composition, Shuuhei Yamamoto designing the characters, and Yukari Hashimoto composing the series' music. It aired from April 2 to June 18, 2020, on BS-NTV, AT-X, Tokyo MX, and SUN. The opening theme song is "Chiisana Hibi" (ちいさな日々) by Flumpool, while the ending theme is Eiichi Ohtaki's 1981 song "Kimi wa Tennen Shoku" (君は天然色).

Funimation acquired the series and streamed it on their website, AnimeLab, and Wakanim, as well as producing an English dub. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll.

Film

On December 12, 2020, it was announced that the series would receive a theatrical compilation film. The film premiered on July 9, 2021. Funimation streamed the film.

Reception

In 2017, the series was ranked 18th at the third Next Manga Awards in the print category.