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This article will contain spoilers for Kotaro Lives Alone (2022), Gakuen Babysitters (2018), and Star’s Align (2019).
When searching up the anime Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) on the internet, the genres it is labeled as are “comedy” and “slice of life.” As you watch Kotaro Lives Alone (2022), assuming that it is a lighthearted anime about a young boy navigating life, some hard-hitting themes creep through, leaving you to wonder where the comedy occurs.
Other animes like Gakuen Babysitters (2018), and Star’s Align (2019), both labeled as “slice of life,” showcase a young main character like Kotaro in Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) and brings to light the various types of trauma they have had to endure or are currently enduring. They all explain how they cope with these traumas and their aftereffects. To some, it might seem unrealistic to have so many protagonists with tough home lives. In reality, one billion children worldwide have experienced some sort of violence, bringing these animes closer to the truth than we might like to admit.
What Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) Is About
The anime series Kotaro Lives Alone (2022), which is a remake of a drama of the same name and a manga adaptation written by Mami Tsumura, tells the story of four-year-old Kotaro Sato (( Wiki Targeted Anime. (2022). “Kotaro Sato.” Kotaro Lives Alone Wiki. )), who moves into a seemingly normal apartment complex all by himself. With no family to care for him, he garners the attention of neighbor and failing manga artist Shin Karino (( Wiki Targeted Anime. (2022). “Shin Karino.” Kotaro Lives Alone Wiki. )) and the other tenants. Throughout the show, they all slowly begin to learn more about Kotaro’s circumstances and the harsh reality they live in.
However, that is not all that Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) covers; the show delves into subject matter showcasing past child neglect, abuse, and other mental health and psychological topics. This applies to all characters, even and especially Kotaro.
The Main Character: Kotaro Sato
At first glance, Kotaro appears to be the average toddler; he speaks in a funny, distinct manner, has one singular toy, a toy sword, that he cannot live without, and watches his favorite cartoon religiously every evening.
There is nothing particularly concerning about his interests until one begins to delve a little deeper into what these small aspects of his life may actually represent. For instance, they show that as a neglected child, he automatically clung to the most consistent parts of his life, like watching his favorite show and copying their speech or carrying the sword he feels protected by everywhere in order to cope and find a semblance of guidance. In episode two of the anime, viewers are shown Kotaro sitting alone in a dark room with only the light of a TV illuminating his features. There is no one else around to teach him, which further explains why he holds these interests so close to his heart.
Kotaro Lives Alone (2022): Finding A Sense Of Security In Tonosaman
When he was even younger than he is now, Kotaro was not given the proper education or care when he was beginning to learn how to speak or act. Instead, he learned a good portion of his words from his favorite show Tonosaman, a cartoon about a samurai who speaks more formally than most.
As children tend to do, he automatically began to mimic what he saw happening in the show. The cartoon is where he got the idea to purchase his own sword and decided that to be more like Tonosaman, he would adopt his formal way of speaking as well. It is the adult thing to do, after all. Since he is alone, his overall attachment to not only the toy sword but Tonosaman have distinct meanings.
According to the National Library Of Medicine,
“Children’s use of objects is especially noted when children are under stressful situations or vulnerable states, such as unfamiliar environments, when upset, ill, and tired.”
Fortuna, Keren, et al. “Attachment to Inanimate Objects and Early Childcare: A Twin Study.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 5, May 2014.
Kotaro first branches out and buys the toy sword when he goes on an errand run to buy the necessities needed for his new home. Upon seeing the toy, he buys it and uses it to provide security for himself. He rationalizes the purchase by believing since Tonosaman’s sword protected him against the evil mushrooms, his sword would do the same for him. When he goes to meet his new neighbors he brings the object with him and pulls it out when he feels threatened.
Kotaro does not have many happy memories of his parents, so he uses Tonosaman as someone to hide behind and look up to. Much like how one might look up to superheroes, Kotaro looks up to Tonosaman because he makes him feel safe, something he never seemed to feel before. Kotaro forms such a strong attachment to Tonosaman because it is all he had that he could call his own, similar to his attachment to his toy sword..
In “Attachment to Objects as Compensation for Close Others’ Perceived Unreliability,” it states:
“People innately respond to physical or psychological distress by seeking proximity to attachment figures: individuals who regularly provide care and protection.”
Keefer, Lucas A., et al. “Attachment to Objects as Compensation for Close Others’ Perceived Unreliability.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 48, no. 4, July 2012, pp. 912–17.
His parents were, for lack of words, unreliable, hence why he turned to a cartoon. Tonosaman not only protects himself in the cartoon but he protects those around him. As Kotaro’s comfort character, he knows that with him around he will be protected. In episode two, it is announced that Tonosaman is ending and Kotaro cannot seem to find a way to cope. He believes at first that he will be okay but mishap after mishap completely takes him by surprise.
Kotaro suffers from nightmares in this episode when his extensive and well-planned daily routine is interrupted now that his source of guidance is taken away from him. The viewer can see just how much this affects him and it is up to his neighbors to recognize that the shift in his attitude is due to more than just his favorite show ending.
Kotaro Lives Alone (2022): Kotaro’s Traumatic Past
The fact that Kotaro has moved in by himself is surprising and alarming and raises the question of where his family is. The answer to this question is not fully revealed until later when his behavior is finally explained. Kotaro’s unusual behavior is linked very closely to his traumatic background. He is too mature and independent for his age, and it is this quality of his that the viewer may notice when they are introduced to him.
Although Kotaro is independent and cooks for himself, takes out the trash, cleans, and bathes every day, his trauma response is often triggered when he is in contact with others. One evening after being unable to bathe, he is forced to confront his trauma and reveals when the other tenants voice their concerns that he believes if he does not bathe, they will not like him.
The tenants do not fully understand why Kotaro believes this way until episode eight when he invites them over to enjoy a small “show and tell” and they learn one of his prized items is a pair of gloves his mother wore every time she bathed or dressed him. He kept these gloves because it was the only time she would hold him.
Cedars Kids explains, “Nurturing physical touch promotes development of young children’s physiological systems involved in regulating emotions and stress responses,” which allows us to understand why Kotaro has a harder time equating physical touch such as the hugs Isamu Tamaru (( Wiki Targeted Anime. (2022). “Isamu Tamaru.” Kotaro Lives Alone Wiki. )) gives him to genuine affection from others. He did not receive the act of touch from his mother or his father, which has caused his trigger response to react in this manner.
In episode nine, viewers are shown a flashback of Kotaro and his father walking in the rain. Kotaro remembers this event as one of his father’s rare acts of love toward him. The umbrella covering the two wasn’t big enough to keep them both dry, so Kotaro’s father allows himself to get wet to protect his son.
Soon thereafter, viewers learn that along with the neglect Kotaro faced, he was also the main focus of his father’s abuse. Before Kotaro came to live alone, he lived in foster care to escape his father’s abuse after his mother abandoned him. As we learn in episode six, Kotaro left his father’s care to hide from him. Therefore, when the abuse continued and he was found by his father at the group home, Kotaro was forced to relocate and live on his own.
What Kotaro is unaware of and is revealed in episode three is that he can afford to live on his own because of his mother’s life insurance money, which was passed down to him after her death. He does not know she has died and thanks his benefactor in episode three for providing him with the tools to survive.
Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) Is Not The Only One…
Anime showcasing young protagonists in a slice-of-life setting with traumatic backgrounds may not be new to viewers of shows such as Gakuen Babysitters (2018), Star’s Align (2019), and Given (2019). In fact, there are quite a few shows where a child is put through an event so drastically difficult it upends their whole childhood, tainting it with intense feelings they are not fully sure they understand.
Navigating Grief In Gakuen Babysitters (2018)
In Gakuen Babysitters (2018) viewers follow the lives of recently orphaned, sixteen-year-old Ryuuichi Kashima (( Wiki Targeted Anime. (2018). “Ryuuichi Kashima.” Gakuen Babysitters Wiki.)) and his toddler-aged brother Kotaro (( Wiki Targeted Anime. (2018). “Kotaro Kashima.” Gakuen Babysitters Wiki.)). Losing his parents is especially difficult for Ryuuichi who in a very short amount of time must now take on the role of mother, father, and brother to Kotaro.
Along with that, in order to attend school and have a place for Kotaro to go whilst he’s in school, he has to volunteer at the school’s daycare center. Ryuuichi is not given a lot of time, if any at all, to fully grieve the loss of his parents. His sole purpose is to now raise his younger brother, which means he does not consider how this event has truly affected him.
Grief Is Felt By All In Gakuen Babysitters (2018)
Kotaro Kashima, who some might believe is too young at two years old to fully understand what has happened, has an instance in the show where he is distinctly reminded of who he has lost: two loving parents. Working at the daycare, taking care of Kotaro, and the stress of the new environment causes Ryuuichi to fall ill. He collapses and is taken to the hospital. This is the first time he and Kotaro are apart since the incident, and Kotaro, believing his brother is also gone, begins to panic.
Even though he is young, as stated in “Grief and Loss – Babies and Toddlers,”
“They may show signs of anxiety by changes in behavior such as crying and clinging to caregivers.”
“Grief and Loss- Babies and Toddlers.” Parentinginottawa.ca, 2023.
Kotaro, who had never cried before this, cries out for his brother in this episode and only calms down when he is in his arms again. Viewers can see that he has a remarkably distinct way of understanding loss even if he is unaware of that means. Not having his parents with him, then suddenly having Ryuuichi disappear, inadvertently brings that out.
Finding A Way To Escape The Abuse In Star’s Align (2019)
Star’s Align (2019) at first seems like a stereotypical anime about transforming a middle school’s soft tennis club that is in danger of being shut down, but as the viewer continues to watch, it becomes apparent that it is about more than that. Instead, the anime features themes of enduring personal hardships in the form of parental abuse and dealing with the conflict-filled, darker side of being in middle school. Maki Katsuragi (( Wiki Targeted Anime. (2019). “Maki Katsuragi.” Star’s Align Wiki. )), one of the main characters of the show, joins the Shinho Minami Junior High boys soft tennis club and becomes the club’s “saving grace.”
While Maki is hardworking and responsible, taking care of all of the household chores and cooking while his mother works, he has a harder time expressing himself in front of the other kids at school which leads to him appearing mean or blunt. According to the National Library of Medicine, this can be a direct result of the abuse Maki had to endure when previously living with his father as “parents who use harsh and coercive strategies when confronting child misbehaviors inadvertently foster further aggressive and disruptive behavior.”
However, when in the presence of his father, Maki becomes paralyzed with fear. Despite his home issues, Maki, much like a lot of his teammates, can use the soft tennis club as a way to cope and find an outlet for his pent-up negative emotions. The students are able to confide in each other once they begin getting closer and realize that how they are being treated isn’t right.
Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) Is More Realistic Than We Might Think…
Slice-of-life animes are typically created as a way for viewers to enjoy a show without the intense dark plotlines featured in action or fantasy, so it makes sense that viewers might be shocked to see such hard-hitting themes in shows ostensibly created to heal or relax. However, having these themes presented in slice-of-life anime that are similar to real life is more realistic than we think.
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, around 61% of adults across twenty-five US states reported they had experienced at least one type of adverse childhood experience, and one in six reported having experienced four or more. The damaging childhood experiences can range from violence, abuse, neglect, an unstable household, and family death.
In Japan, as of 2021, 207,659 child abuse cases were reported; psychological and physical abuse toward family members accounted for around 60% of the cases, while neglect stood at 15.1%, so in showing the various ways child abuse, neglect, and trauma can affect young children, these animes allow viewers to understand their signs and realize just how prevalent of an issue this is.