Kotaro Lives Alone Explained

Ja Kanji:コタローは1人暮らし
Ja Romaji:Kotarō wa Hitori Gurashi
Type:manga
Author:Mami Tsumura
Publisher:Shogakukan
Imprint:Big Superior Comics
Magazine:Big Comic Superior
First:March 13, 2015
Last:June 9, 2023
Volumes:10
Type:drama
Music:Daisuke Shinoda
Studio:Asbirds
Network:TV Asahi
First:April 24, 2021
Last:June 26, 2021
Episodes:10
Type:ona
Director:Tomoe Makino
Music:Yūya Mori
Studio:Liden Films
Licensee:Netflix
Released:March 10, 2022
Runtime:26–27 minutes
Episodes:10
Portal:yes

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mami Tsumura. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Big Comic Superior from March 2015 to June 2023, with its chapters collected in ten volumes. A ten-episode television drama was broadcast on TV Asahi in 2021.

A ten-episode original net animation (ONA) series adaptation was produced by Liden Films and premiered in March 2022 on Netflix.

Premise

Kotaro Satо̄, a 4-year-old boy living on his own, moves into the apartment 203, next door to Shin Karino, a manga artist.

Characters

[1]
  • The eponymous 4-5-year-old protagonist who moves into a ramshackle apartment building and becomes the next-door neighbor of manga artist Shin Karino; he also enrolls himself into a local kindergarten. Forced to take care of himself like an adult, Kotaro is very independent for his age. He carries around a toy sword, and speaks like a samurai, mimicking his favorite cartoon Tonosaman. It is implied that Kotaro was neglected by his parents to the point of starvation. His mother abandoned him and his father, and later died from an unknown cause. Kotaro then left his abusive father and went to live at a foster facility. When his father found him (after seeing a picture of him online from the facility), Kotaro fled and moved into the Shimizu Apartment complex to hide from him. The residents of the Shimizu Apartment complex befriend Kotaro and come to care for him after realizing his situation. His father is actively looking for him despite Kotaro having a restraining order against him. There are implications that Kotaro was born from an unplanned pregnancy. He is financially supported by money he receives every week from a family lawyer who secretly knows about his family situation; Kotaro does not know that the money actually comes from his mother's life insurance, as he is unaware that his mother is dead.
  • Although it is shown he does suspect something about the money despite being told that it is from a benefactor, he has asked a few times where the money "really" comes from.
    [1]
  • A lazy but kind manga artist who scrapes by. Upon meeting Kotaro, Shin takes it upon himself to look out for the boy and comes to care for him like a father.
    [2]
  • A rather loud neighbor of Kotaro's. Isamu is divorced and not on speaking terms with his son, due to his ex-wife keeping him away. Because of this, he tries to be a father figure to Kotaro. It is not known what his job is, but because of how he acts and looks people tend to assume he is a low-level yakuza.
    [2]
  • A neighbor of Kotaro's and a hostess at a local nightclub. While she puts on a brave face, especially in front of Kotaro, it is implied that Mizuki is in a domestic abuse relationship, as shown when she returned home one day with a blemish on the side of her face. Halfway near the end of the series, when Kotaro learns about this, he and the other tenants become concerned; when the situation worsens, Kotaro tells her to move out of the complex for her own safety.
    [2]
  • A newer lawyer at the firm that handled the estate of Kotaro's deceased mother. Ayano regularly visits Kotaro to give him money from Mrs. Sato's life insurance. At the insistence of her boss, Ayano stays to play with him; she is the one of the few people who knows the truth about Kotaro's mother being deceased.
    A private investigator hired by Kotaro's estranged father to find him and retrieve him. He moved into the building and built a relationship with the boy to ensure it was Kotaro. Despite the words of Shin and Isamu, Aota believed that Kotaro's father is the only one who should take care of him. However, a week after he moved in, Kotaro revealed he knew everything about Aota and Aota decided against filing the report, especially after revealing (through old scars on his upper body) that he too is a victim/survivor of child abuse.
  • One of the older kids at the foster facility that Kotaro was living at before Kotaro left due to his father finding out about his whereabouts; he and Kotaro have a special friendship as he shares his interests of photography with the young boy. He has a fondness for stargazing and even took Kotaro to go see a meteor shower with him. He is later shown working as a construction worker.
  • Kotaro's kindergarten teacher.
  • One of Kotaro's classmates and friends who he meets on his first day of school.
  • A cartoon samurai Kotaro loves to watch on TV.

    • Media

    Manga

    Kotarō wa Hitori Gurashi, written and illustrated by Mami Tsumura, was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Big Comic Superior from March 13, 2015,[3] to June 9, 2023.[4] [5] Shogakukan collected its chapters in ten individual volumes, released from December 28, 2015, to August 30, 2023.

    Volumes

    Drama

    A 10-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on TV Asahi from April 24 to June 26, 2021.[6] [7]

    Anime

    In September 2021, an original net animation (ONA) anime adaptation was announced. The series is animated by Liden Films and directed by Tomoe Makino, with story composition by Hiroshi Satо̄, character designs by Tomomi Kimura, and music composed by Yūya Mori.[8] [9] It premiered worldwide on Netflix on March 10, 2022.[10]

    Episodes

    Reception

    By September 2021, the manga had over 1.4 million copies in circulation;[8] it had over 1.7 million copies in circulation by June 2022. In 2018, Kotarō wa Hitori Gurashi, alongside La La La, won the Electronic Manga Award in the Boys' Category.[11]

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: ja:横山裕「コタローは1人暮らし」で連ドラ初主演、7歳子役に「ついて行く！ 」. https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/416750. Eiga Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. September 23, 2021. ja. February 18, 2021. September 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210923232825/https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/416750. live.
    2. Web site: ja:横山裕主演「コタローは1人暮らし」に山本舞香、西畑大吾、百田夏菜子、生瀬勝久. https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/421220. Eiga Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. November 26, 2021. ja. March 23, 2021. November 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211126144445/https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/421220. live.
    3. Web site: ja:スペリオールで4歳児のアパートコメディ開幕、次号では新井英樹が新連載. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/140822. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. September 23, 2021. ja. March 13, 2015. June 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613043302/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/140822. live.
    4. Web site: Hodgkins. Crystalyn. Kotaro Lives Alone Manga Ends in 2 Chapters. Anime News Network. May 12, 2023. May 12, 2023. May 12, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230512044432/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-05-12/kotaro-lives-alone-manga-ends-in-2-chapters/.197881. live.
    5. Web site: ja:「コタローは1人暮らし」完結、「チ。」の魚豊がイチオシのマンガ語るインタビューも. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/527946. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. June 9, 2023. ja. June 9, 2023. June 9, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230609033751/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/527946. live.
    6. Web site: ja:注目ドラマ紹介：「コタローは1人暮らし」 横山裕連ドラ初主演作 “ワケあり5歳児”との心温まる交流描く. https://mantan-web.jp/article/20210424dog00m200023000c.html. Mantan Web. September 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210923222148/https://mantan-web.jp/article/20210424dog00m200023000c.html. September 23, 2021. ja. April 24, 2021. live.
    7. Web site: ja:コタローは1人暮らし：最終話 “狩野”横山裕、マンガ家としての正念場へ コタローの父の影も…. https://mantan-web.jp/article/20210625dog00m200055000c.html. Mantan Web. September 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210801204950/https://mantan-web.jp/article/20210625dog00m200055000c.html. August 1, 2021. ja. June 26, 2021. live.
    8. Web site: Mateo. Alex. Kotarō wa Hitori Gurashi Comedy Manga Gets Anime on Netflix Next Spring. Anime News Network. September 23, 2021. September 23, 2021. September 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210923164750/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-09-23/kotaro-wa-hitori-gurashi-comedy-manga-gets-anime-on-netflix-next-spring/.177726. live.
    9. Web site: ja:アニメ「コタローは1人暮らし」本予告が到着、追加キャストに花守ゆみりや斉藤壮馬. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/465134. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. February 10, 2022. ja. February 10, 2022. March 9, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220309010303/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/465134. live.
    10. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Kotaro Lives Alone Anime Debuts on Netflix on March 10. Anime News Network. February 9, 2022. February 9, 2022. February 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220210082334/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2022-02-09/kotaro-lives-alone-anime-debuts-on-netflix-on-march-10/.182432. live.
    11. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Kawaii Hito, La La La Win 2018 Electronic Manga Award. Anime News Network. September 23, 2021. January 25, 2018. March 16, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220316000957/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-01-25/kawaii-hito-la-la-la-win-2018-electronic-manga-award/.126805. live.

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