Kakushigoto Episode 7

Kakushigoto Episode 7

Inuhoshiki: Dog Wanted

What if Kakushi doesn’t die at the end of Kakushigoto, but instead it’s the dog that dies? I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, but I get the feeling there would be even more outrage if that were to be the case. Killing off Kakushi is one thing, but they can’t just do that to a dog.

Perhaps I missed it, but I don’t believe the dog was actually given a name within this episode. Instead, he’s simply referred to by Kakushi as “the fourth” in reference to him being the fourth generation of dog within the family (on Hime’s mother’s side).

I’ll discuss Hime’s mother a bit more in the next section of the review, but basically this dog came from Hime’s grandfather.

Kakushi crying from the anime series Kakushigoto
Kakushi crying

Since I did this for episode 5, I guess I’ll make a brief discussion of my favorite gag of the episode a regular thing now. And my favorite gag this time around had to do with the “10 Commandments for Dogs” to which Kakushi is reacting in the image above.

But the “10 Commandments for Dogs” isn’t the part I liked the most, that distinction goes to Kakushi’s “10 Commandments for Manga Artists.” While dogs may only live for around 10 years, manga artists only stay relevant for around 10 years. Another one of these commandments is that manga artists will cry from anxiety if they don’t receive letters from fans.

I’d like to list out all 10 of Kakushi’s commandments for you here, but they aren’t already translated for me so it would be way too much effort to do it on my own. It could be done, but I’m so slow at translating kanji that this review would end up going live next week.

The One Who Connects Mother and Child

The “one” who connects mother and child referred to in the title of this chapter is the unnamed dog Hime receives from her grandfather. As we learn, not only have this dog’s ancestors been in the family for generations, the first generation dog belonged to Hime’s mother.

There’s even a painting of Hime’s mother and this first dog that makes its way into Kakushi’s studio. And to the surprise of Kakushi’s underlings, the girl featured in the painting isn’t Hime despite looking exactly like her.

Also, when Kakushi explained that Hime wasn’t the one in the painting, it made me realize for the first time that we don’t actually know Hime’s mother’s name. We don’t even know the name of Hime’s grandfather, which means we don’t know her maiden name either.

Hime happy to see her new puppy from the anime series Kakushigoto
Hime happy to see her new puppy

Continuing on with Hime’s grandfather, it’s revealed that he was the one who painted the picture of Hime’s mother and the dog. With this knowledge, we can begin to potentially understand why there’s a rift between him and Kakushi.

We already knew that Hime’s grandfather didn’t approve of his daughter marrying a manga artist, but now we have a reason why. It’s because he’s a traditional artist, and he probably views — or at least viewed — manga as not true art. And Kakushi likewise probably disdained him for thinking that manga isn’t real art.

I’m interested to find out if Kakushi’s wife was a more traditional artist who took after her father. I think that if this was the case, we may see something similar happen with Hime in the end. I don’t mean that Hime will be a traditional artist as well, but rather that she’ll take after her father and become a manga artist.

Ichiko-Sensei isn’t Wearing a Tracksuit

As usual, I can’t conclude a Kakushigoto episode review without discussing the “present time” scenes featured at the end. This week there actually wasn’t too much going on in this final scene. But I think there are still some important pieces of information we can take away.

For starters, all of Hime’s childhood friends are still around, and although they don’t go with Hime to check out her old house, they trail her because they’re worried about her (and curious). I did notice that there were four of them this time around, though, and I only remember there being three before.

There were definitely only three of them earlier in this episode, but I mean when I think back to earlier episodes that included them. I think the fourth girl was shown to be one of Hime’s other friends who wasn’t necessarily a part of her tight-knit group.

Hime's classmates in the present (future) from the anime series Kakushigoto
Hime’s classmates in the present (future)

But of course, the most important part of this scene is that we got to see Ichiko-sensei wearing something other than her track suit. I have to admit, Ichiko with long hair and in a dress is probably the best girl of the series. I already liked her, but she wasn’t a top-tier girl until now.

Okay, but on a more serious note, what can we infer from Ichiko’s presence in this scene, if anything?

She’s obviously here because she too is worried about Hime, so why is that the case? Is it because she’s her former teacher? Probably not. In my mind, there are two major options: Either this is a confirmation that she’s now Hime’s step-mother or she’s here to support Hime because Kakushi died.

I think the step-mother route could be fairly interesting. Perhaps the reason Hime seeks out her old house is specifically because her father has remarried and she wants to feel closer to her real mother.

Conclusion

What do you think of Kakushigoto episode 7? Do you think Hime’s mother was a traditional artist like her father? Do you think Kakushi is going to marry Ichiko before the end of the series? And what’s your prediction for what Hime is going to name her new dog? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

Leave a Comment