First impressions mark the beginning of the road, not the end.
What They Say:
From first impressions to anniversaries, our perception of things will change over time. For Goto, the past has left him full of regret, and getting over his first impressions remain a challenge. And as for Hime, she’ll need to learn that there’s no time like the present – so party while you still can!
The Review
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kakushigoto kicks off the week with that age-old question, “what’s in a name?” All the names in this series are very deliberate and descriptive, meaning whatever Goto and Hime name their dog must follow the same formula. But that’s not necessarily the case. The theme of this episode’s first half isn’t names, but the process of naming itself, which in a way comes down to first impressions.
Hime can’t think of a name off the top of her head, so they give the dog a placeholder until she can come up with something better. But as a manga artist, Goto knows the trapping of a tentative title all too well. When you give something a placeholder title, soon enough that placeholder starts to feel comfortable and before you know it, that title becomes the real deal. As Goto’s assistant Aogu puts it, “It’s pretty hard to change first impressions.”
With that in mind, Goto urges Hime to give the dog a name. When Hime arrives at the public services office, she misinterprets the receptionist’s question, thinking the dog had already been named. And so, Roku Goto is added to the family. When Goto is concerned about her not naming the dog herself, Hime replies with, “It doesn’t matter who came up with it as long as it’s good.” Goto immediately remembers the day Hime was born – we learn that her name was given to her by the head of the family. Goto wasn’t the one to name her, but he loves her all the same. I gotta hand it to the translators, Kakushigoto is very peculiar in its wordplay, and the Roku naming scene was handled well.
The first impressions motif makes its way into the manga side of the story as well. Goto declares that nothing can surpass the original rough drafts. A common sentiment amongst mangakas, it’s often difficult to revise a scene once the original sketch is embedded in your mind. There is just something so ideal and pristine about that original image. Tomaruin suggests that they simply publish the rough drafts, but the manga industry isn’t so lacking of standards (although there are exceptions, as Goto mentions the ‘the one person’ in the industry who could pull that off, most likely alluding to Yoshihiro Togashi). The rough draft concept hits a little closer to home when Goto goes to his old house to return the painting of his wife and her dog. Goto stumbles across another painting he has not seen before. The painting is of him, Hime and his wife, with the tentative title, “Ordinary Future Plans”. Looking at this painting, Goto sees the rough draft of the family life he was supposed to have. As he sulkily walks home, Goto can’t come to terms with reality – how is he supposed to create something better than that original image?
When Goto returns home Hime has a friend over to see her new dog. Hime leaves the room momentarily, and the girl tells Goto that Hime saved her. The girl is a new student, and when she botched her introduction to the class, she felt that her initial impression had doomed her school life. That is until Hime approached her. Hime helped her realize that the first impression wasn’t the end of the road. In a way, Goto can relate to Hime being his own savior – something in his life that gave him a reason to move forward, beyond that original familial image.
…And that’s just the first half! This show really boggles my mind with how much content comes packed into every episode. The second half deals with anniversaries. Everyone in Goto’s office seems to hold different values concerning anniversaries. Tomaruin enters the studio with great excitement about the magazine’s 38th anniversary. To everyone else, a 38th anniversary is a needless celebration and comes off as more desperate than anything else. Meanwhile, Goto’s “Tights in the Wind” manga released its 100th chapter…and just about everyone forgot, including Goto-sensei. Tomaruin continues to neglect his job as an editor and fails to see the importance of chapter 100, whereas Goto sees it as a landmark moment for a weekly manga. The only one who remembered the 100th chapter was Rasuna, who said she wanted it to be a surprise. When it comes to anniversaries, everyone has their own way of doing things.
Goto returns home to Hime, who seems to be hiding something from Goto. The moment he asks her not to hide things from him, Goto is immediately hit with his own guilt (it’s about time!). Thanks to his coworkers’ assumptions, Goto believes Hime received a love letter from a boy. They both agree she should promptly refuse the letter. But the letter was from a classmate inviting Hime to her birthday party. It turns out Hime wanted to decline because that would mean reciprocating an invite for her own birthday. In her eyes, it would be too difficult for Goto to prepare for a birthday party on his own. But Goto understands the regret of time being cut short; of celebrations that can no longer occur. He urges Hime to celebrate while she still can (meaning Goto will have to hone his housewarming skills before then!)
Funny enough, we learn that Goto’s wife left tutorial boxes for him as well, simply labeled “30’s”. Goto attempts to hone his cooking skills, hiring Shiokoshi-sensei to give him more cooking lessons. Hime seems uncomfortable seeing another woman help out Goto, even if it’s for her sake. Although she wants a big birthday party, Hime still wants to celebrate her birthday with just the two of them (Roku included). In that case, Goto says she’ll be getting two parties!! Goto has always been so protective of Hime, constantly trying to keep her to himself, and now we see that Hime harbors a similarly selfish desire.
The time-skip scenes continue to inch forward. This time around, Hime figures out that Goto’s storage unit was supposed to be the home for him, his wife, and Hime. Tomaruin and Rasuna have a somber conversation about Goto’s choice to change locations for his manga studio. No sign of Rokujou-sensei from last weeks’ time skip scene. Hopefully we get a little more clarity on these sections soon enough.
In Summary:
My apologies for the lengthy reviews, I just find there is so much to talk about with Kakushigoto and half the time I can’t even cover everything worth mentioning! The last few episodes have been much more forward with presenting backstory details, so I’m hoping we get some more exposition on Goto’s wife soon enough. I can’t help but feel extremely invested in the story of Kakushigoto! Next week’s episode title is a reference to Your Lie in April, so expect to get a heavy dosage of feels next week.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Funimation