Kai to Otome to Kamikakushi was a series that had an asterisk next to it on the schedule for sure. Initially it was on the periphery of my attention, but once I saw that Mochizuki Tomomi was writing and directing (it’s an adaptation of a web manga by Nujima) it became a subject of interest and a sleeper. Mochizuki is one of the true giants of the anime industry (he directed one of my all-time favorites, Zettai Shounen), but he’s in his mid-60’s now and doesn’t take the lead on a series often these days. His resume has plenty of misses as well as hits, but I was intrigued to find out what drew Mochizuki to this material.
Bottom line is, I get it. The simple truth is there’s a certain element you get when auteurs work on anime (or any TV or film) that you just don’t get otherwise. It doesn’t always work but it’s always there unless they’re just mailing it in (which certainly does happen). It’s not as though Mysterious Disappearances (or any Zero-G production that I can think of) has the air of a lavishly-budgeted series. But it has style, and plenty of it. Mochizuki composes a shot in a way that wouldn’t seem natural to a director without a distinctive sense of aesthetic. Everything looks interesting (including the OP and ED), and that makes a big difference in holding your attention for 23 minutes.
As for story and character, those held my attention too. The main players here are a pair of bookstore clerks. Adashino Ren (Yamashita Daiki) looks to be in his late teens but vibes as older. Ogawa Sumireko (Fairouz Ai) is 28 (it’s her birthday). They two have a friendly banter at work but you sense that Adashino really gets under Ogawa’s skin with his relentless cheekiness (those their managers says he never talks to anyone else). Sumireko is interested in the occult, and apparently a writer, though it seems as if she hasn’t seen much success since winning a newcomer aware at 15. Adashino-kun professes to be her fan.
A case of “reverse shoplifting” (I worked in bookstores for many years and never saw that happen once) kicks off the premiere’s mysterious events. The manager presents this book to Ogawa-san, who takes it home and glances at it when it falls out of her bag as the clock strikes Midnight and her birthday begins. She recites a waka poem, part of the Man’youshuu – a collection of poetry from the Nara Period, probably compiled around 759. Afterwards she morphs into the body of child (in the poem a man laments the aging of a beautiful woman), and finds herself struck by a burst of creativity the likes of which she hasn’t felt for a long time.
After that it gets a little hazy just what’s happening here. Unquestionably we find ourselves in a world where magic is real – this actually did happen to Sumireko. Adashino is obviously not a normal human. He figures out what happened to Sumireko and why, and manages to locate her and coach her how to return to her normal self. That’s vital, by the way, because all of her 28 year-old blood and guys and bone has been crammed into that tiny body. He insists he’ll deal with the book – she flips out and absconds with it. He has connections in this area, that’s absolutely clear, though just how and why is not (I did note that he shares a name with a famous temple in Kyoto, built to soothe the souls of the abandoned dead).
I’ll say this – series which sport the sort of dialogue Mysterious Disappearances does can sometimes be insufferable. This is not naturalistic stuff – it’s highly stylized and theatrical. It’s a tough needle to thread and most series which try to manage only to stab their own finger, but I think this one manages to pull it off. I enjoyed the chemistry between Adashino and Sumireko and if indeed we’re headed towards the pair of them solving mysteries of the week, I think that has a chance to really work. Between that and Mochizuki’s undeniable talent there should be enough here to make Kai to Otome to Kamikakushi a keeper.
Snowball
April 11, 2024 at 7:53 pmCan’t imagine Japan without its myriad of bookstores, it would be hell.
This premiere was pretty good and I found the two leads and the mystery element really compelling.
Guardian Enzo
April 11, 2024 at 7:56 pmThat comment abut bookstores closing left and right surprised me a bit TBH. Certainly true in the States, but my sense was that bookstores were doing OK here. I don’t recall a single one I frequented either in Tokyo or Kansai closing.
Joshua
April 11, 2024 at 9:29 pmI thought Mochizuki fell off years ago. After that House of Five Leaves adaptation that was truly impressive, he ended up working on the abysmal Pupa (which I heard was compromised badly and reduced to a short series during production) and it feels like he hasn’t done anything since then outside of the decidedly average Battery adaptation. So seeing this adaptation from him was a surprise in addition to being competent even.
Nicc
April 12, 2024 at 7:59 amI didn’t pay any attention to this one until CR picked it up at the last minute. The premise looked interesting enough and so I decided to give it a watch.
We’re introduced to our characters who work in a book store. There’s Ogawa Sumireko, who is about to turn 28 and is also a novelist. Then there’s Adashino Ren, who does indeed look like a teen, but he behaves like an older person and insists that he’s not a youngster. They did have good banter throughout the episode. It’s a slow night at work and we see Ogawa’s interest in the occult. She’s soon about to find herself into one of those occult stories that she’s been reading about. If I wanted to get rid a book, I’ll just donate it to a library or sell it to a bookstore that buys books. It’s never once occurred to me to just leave it behind in a bookstore, but that’s what kicks off the events in this episode as somebody left behind an old book and the manager appears to give it to her as a birthday present.
At her apartment, she stays up until midnight to celebrate her birthday early. That book falls out of her bag and she decides to read an old poem in it. No harm done, it seems, and she decides to hit a convenience store to get some cake. I’m pretty much the same way when it comes to birthdays. I don’t care about the birthday gifts, but there has to be cake. That’s where she suddenly reverted back to a child, though it seems to be at a younger age than when she believed she peaked at 15 as a writer. It seems that she’s back to her old self as a writer and skips out on work. That’s when the manager tasks Adashino to pay her a visit. He finds a mess in her apartment and along with the mystery book and he immediately figures out what’s going on.
The mysterious disappearance in this episode is where the pint-sized Ogawa ran off to, though Adashino quickly tracks her down. It appears that it’s not as simple that she reverted back to a younger age, it’s that her 28 year-old body is being crammed into that small frame and there’s a physical toll to pay. She doesn’t want to go back as she misses her old self as a writer, but he eventually gets through to her and takes the book. Right, the world of the supernatural does exist and perhaps just hidden from plain sight. There’s certainly more to him than meets the eye. I’m digging it so far and there are still more of the cast we haven’t met yet, including a girl who is living with Adashino who looks like it could be his sister. In that case, then perhaps we might get a supernatural detective trio? I’ll be sticking around for at least one more episode.
Casey W
April 12, 2024 at 11:31 pmThis one was also on my list because of Mochizuki. I know that he’s been a storyboarder for most of his career (turning in one or two episodes on a few shows that are close to my heart, like Haibane Renmei and Video Girl Ai), but the only thing that he’s directed that I’ve ever seen was the second YKK OVA — and that’s enough to get my attention. That OVA came out 22 years ago but I think you really can feel that Kai to Otome to Kamikakushi was planned and directed by the same person. This first episode really makes Ogawa into a star, in the same way that the OVA framed Alpha and Misago; plenty of shots that are just there to make you understand her as a solid physical person. And that pays off when she’s suddenly stuffed into a child’s body.
It looks like a lot of the American reviews of the show are stuck on Ogawa’s presentation, especially the OP, and that might be a dealbreaker for a lot of people who might otherwise watch it. I think I’m in for the duration, though. I like the confident cold open, I like the workplace interaction, and I want to see where the story goes.