Kotaro Lives Alone Shines a Humorous Light On Empathy and Childhood Trauma

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Kotaro Lives Alone, now streaming on Netflix.

The trauma narrative is one of the oldest in storytelling. From the Bible to Saga, trauma is discussed and negotiated throughout history as humans attempt to cope with the cruelty in the world around them. Anime is no exception, with Kotaro Lives Alone serving as the latest to jump into character exploration by way of their trauma.

Debuting last week on Netflix, the series follows 4-year-old Kotaro, who has determined it's best for him to live alone rather than with his father. It also focuses on his new neighbors, who watch after the boy and become his found family, and act as the voice of the viewer throughout the series.

Kotaro Slowly Gains Immense Complexity

The plot of Kotaro Lives Alone is both simple and silly. A child who believes himself to be a feudal lord after watching too much TV moves into an apartment. The eccentric people living around him influence his life as he influences theirs. The first few episodes feel like a slice-of-life comedy with meaningful messages of being kind to others and looking at the world through the eyes of a child. But then the show takes a hard turn.

Although there are plenty of early hints, Kotaro's trauma is truly revealed for the first time regarding a relatively minor aspect of his character: tissues. The boy was introduced as he bought boxed tissues to give his neighbors. As viewers, this may seem both quirky and silly. Naturally, this 4-year-old would think that tissues would be an appropriate move-in gift to his neighbors. He also bought several sets of them throughout the show until, one night, one of the other characters watched a random program that mentioned children who are left alone often resort to eating tissues in order to survive. Much like in Grave of the Fireflies, Kotaro starved once, and he was afraid of starving again.

Kotaro suddenly transformed from a devil-may-care child, who happens to be overly mature, into a tragic figure. No longer is he simply obsessed with high-quality tissues; rather, it's a sign of his trauma. Suddenly, every aspect of his character is called into question. Kotaro's lack of childish antics is no longer entertaining. Suddenly, the story shows Kotaro to be something beyond what he seems.

Kotaro's Companions Serve As Trauma And Audience Foils

Much like Kotaro, his companions in the Apartment complex serve as trauma foils, but in a different way. Isamu, who is heavily implied to be in the Yakuza, is a divorced dad who gives Kotaro the love he cannot give his own son. Near the end of the first season of the anime, Isamu showed a firm side to Kotaro that the boy and the audience had never seen as the character has to push his own child away. Mizuki, another neighbor, was always a bright and cheery presence. That was until Kotaro and the viewer learned that she is in an abusive relationship, and no white knight is going to come to her rescue. She unceremoniously left her friends, including Kotaro, and there was no justice or fairness. There was only pain and trauma of reality.

The two most important non-titular characters in the narrative, however, are the first person Kotaro meets in the complex, Shin Karino, and Takei, one of the last to move in. Takei has a massive amount in common with Kotaro, and recognized one of the aspects of Kotaro's life that was previously hidden: his mother never touched him. While Kotaro processed gloves as good things since they were the only way his mother could touch him, Takei believed that they were emblematic of abuse. That included that which she suffered, and she blew up on Kotaro for this reason.

Shin, however, serves a different purpose altogether. He serves as the voice of the viewer, noting that he needed to take care of Kotaro so that he isn't kidnapped. He began the show as a somewhat rude man who was down on his luck and treated the others in his life horribly, but he quickly became a guardian for Kotaro. He also served as the voice of the viewer, asking questions and stating when things are wrong or bad. He ends the season by breaking this aspect of his character, tearfully denying Kotaro the opportunity to learn that his mother is dead.

Kotaro Lives Alone begins simply enough. It is a fun show about a little boy and his friends. However, just as the greatest children's narratives deal with deep and dark concepts, so too does Kotaro Lives Alone use comedic characters and silly situations to shine a light on trauma in children.

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