Summary
This Netflix anime series is not a strong must-watch, but if you are looking for a heartfelt story, then Kotaro will undoubtedly provide you with plenty of heartwarming chapters.
This review of the Netflix anime series Kotaro Lives Alone season 1 does not contain spoilers.
There’s no denying there’s something strange about this anime series. First of all, the four-year-old boy named Kotaro is incredibly aware for his age, and secondly, as the title suggests, he lives on his own. But I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised — anime dramas can be thought-provoking, and this heartfelt series certainly triggers the mind.
Kotaro Lives Alone is based on a Manga, and that comes as no surprise — there’s a richness about the story that never feels surface-level at all. Kotaro has this canny ability to represent the innocence and youth of a four-year-old boy, but at the same time, have the thought process of an adult, which provides a smile on your face frequently. When his neighbors figure out he lives independently, the story expands, and each chapter represents something unique.
There’s the nature of childlike curiosity in this anime series, coupled with Kotaro’s stubbornness to take on the world on his own. It’s a strange hybrid of allowing the child to run free while his neighbors provide the necessary safeguarding. But then there are even more bizarre moments to what I describe that go beyond what you’d expect from a young boy. Certain scenes seem way too quirky to barely acknowledge, but it somehow works.
At ten chapters, Kotaro Lives Alone gives something different with each story. It doesn’t feel like a continuation between each episode per se, but there’s a discovery stage that Kotaro routinely follows.
This Netflix anime series is not a strong must-watch, but if you are looking for a heartfelt story, then Kotaro will undoubtedly provide you with plenty of heartwarming chapters.
What did you think of the Netflix anime series Kotaro Lives Alone season 1? Comment below.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.
I feel that this is a shallow review that barely touches on why Kotaro Lives Alone is so compelling (a slice-of-life story that also presents some of the darker, unspoken aspects of Japanese society, particularly regarding children); but chooses instead to nitpick the more fanciful aspects (which are there to bring levity to the story, as well as illustrate how Kotaro has moulded himself as a survivor). Suspension of disbelief is something that exists, you know. In Kotaro’s case, it is far outweighed by the poignancy of the storyline and characters.
the kotaro lives alone is actually a real portrayal of japanese society. Many kids have to do their daily chores alone, because their parents are too busy working. Something that probably become a real reason for japan’s low birht rate, because the high living cost to raise a family, many parents struggle to stay with the kids. it’s more than just “quirky”, because most of times the kids were forced to act as an adult very early.