Despite my initial impressions from its basic premise, Kakushigoto (My Dad's Secret Ambition) is an incredibly wholesome and light-hearted story. The interactions between the father--who wants to be a good example and so goes to great lengths to hide the fact he's a manga artist--and his daughter never fail to make me smile. The unique art style is the main thing that drew me in, but by the end of this volume I was fully invested in the characters and their antics. The laugh-out-loud gags and wacky scenarios are only a part of what makes Kakushigoto so charming, however. I also enjoyed the way the author provides a closer look into what being a manga artist in Japan is really like. I recommend trying this manga for a good, fun read, but prepare for your heart-strings to be tugged on a lot as well!

I really enjoyed reading this manga. I wasn't super into it in the beginning but as the story progressed I fell more and more in love with all the characters and the story. It's about a manga artist father who will do anything to hide his profession from his daughter Hime. This was honestly such a precious book. The dad will go to any lengths to make sure his daughter has the best life possible and is shielded from the horrors of this world. ex) Her school goes on a camping trip and has to catch bugs and he sends his assistant to buy the biggest bug so then she won't be sad if she doesn't catch one but he doesn't let her know he did this. His daughter is the light of his life and it's really heartwarming to see their relationship. One thing that threw me off was that the dad looks like he's around 18-22 years old and his daughter is 10. The author also includes pages of text describing what life is like as a manga writer and those were pretty entertaining to read as well. I can't wait to read the next volume!

A father's love knows no bounds in this cute and quirky story. I found myself wondering how hard it must be for Hime's dad to be a single parent, especially when he has a secret that he feels would change how his daughter sees him, should she find out.

Overall, the story was incredibly funny, although I do feel that sometimes it was taken over the top a little bit but then I am unsure as to whether being a Manga artist is frowned upon in certain cultures.

However, reading further into the story, you can really feel the stress of being the best father he can be and making his daughter happy. Not realising that all Hime really wants is for her dad to be happy and for them to spend time together happily, which made for an incredibly heart warming read.

I've read Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei from Kumeta, so I thought I'd try this one too. Kakushigoto is about a man called Kakushi Gotou, who's a famous pornish manga artist. He's got a daughter and the guy is so obsessed with his daughter that he doesn't want her to know about his work. Thus our main hero does everything so that Hime wouldn't know. Some of the things are surely entertaining and such, but overall the manga feels slightly like a repetition. So, basically very Zetsubou-like. We do get glimpses of Hime finding about everything later on and the road there seems interesting, but can this really offer anything new anymore? There are 12 books of this.

The art is simple and wonky, which makes this surely stand out. Somehow it works well with the story. There's somewhat too much text in the manga though, since the panels are stuffed and hard to follow because of it. I really enjoyed the info boxes though where Kumeta tells about different things mostly about himself and being a manga artist. An OK series, but perhaps not for me.

This was definitely a cute manga book. It is a different style than I have read before, focusing on a single father with an elementary age daughter who is trying to keep his career as a dirty manga artist a secret. The book and its included episodes raise some interesting questions to be answered in future volumes: Why is he a single father? Where is/what happened to Hime's mother? And of course what events lead up to her eventually discovering his job. This was a fun read, and fairly quick. I don't know that I will seek out future volumes, however. The lengths that the father goes to in order to keep Hime from discovering his career become overly ridiculous fairly quickly, and the overreaction to things becomes a bit repetitive as the episodes go on. It makes me wonder how long the series can go before reader's lose interest. I was also not very fond of the interjections and explanations about a manga artists life that were included in plain text between the episodes. Other than those two things that sort of pulled me out of the narrative it was a cute story, just not the typical style of manga that I enjoy on a long term basis.

Kakushi is a manga artist. His work is not the kind of thing you would share in polite company. When his daughter Hime, is born, he vows to do whatever it takes to keep her from learning about his job. He goes to great lengths to keep his secret, dressing as a salaryman as he leaves the house, only to change into something more comfortable on his way to the office.

Kouji Kumeta's "Kakushigoto: My Dad's secret Ambition" is a light-hearted look at the lengths a father will go to do what he feels is best for his daughter. Whether it's hiding his embarrassing secret, or training for her school's athletic day Even if his actions are a bit over the top at times, One thing can be said for sure, Kakushi loves his daughter Hime and will do whatever it takes to protect her. Even if the things he is protecting her from are all figments of his own imagination.

I enjoyed this manga. As a father I find Kakush's struggle to be very relatable. There are plenty of embarrassing facts about my life that I'd rather my children not know, and I feel that every parent can say the same. We always want something better for them. I think this is an adorable interpretation of the anxieties a parent goes through while trying to give their child the best life they possibly can.

The artwork is beautiful, though the story execution fell a bit flat for me. It had some good moments, though. I’ll be reading the next installment to see if it picks up speed.

<i> Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this graphic novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This was a cute, quirky read. The premise was unique and absurd (a manga-ka trying to hide his real job from his young daughter) yet it was sweet to see the bond between Hime and her father. Volume one is extremely quick to read as it is a collection of (nearly unrelated) tiny snapshots into their daily lives, but the lack of flow and cohesion does not encourage me to feel particularly passionate about reading the next volume.

I really enjoyed the lightheartedness of this manga. Super easy to read, and really loved the escapism I experienced. The characters were good, Hime was especially sweet! Most certainly worth a read by anyone that’s a fan of cute manga.

This was such a hilarious yet heartwarming manga at the same time. In it we follow Hime and her father, who is a manga artist that creates mange of a more adult nature. It's immediately apparent that Hime is the center of his world and he will go to any lengths he can to protect her from finding out what he does for a living. He also wants to do everything he can to keep her from anything negative such as being bullied or not fitting in, which means he often goes to extremes. He usually drags his assistants along with him, whether they want to or not.

It was really touching to see just how much he cared about protecting his daughter, but also really funny since his antics often backfired and he had to scramble to fix it. It was a really fun read and full of both laughter and touching moments.

Since goodreads doesn't provide half stars I have to rate it like this but it's really a 3.5 stars for me.

Also, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this manga in return for an honest review.

At first I didn't really get into this manga. It also took me a while to read it but by the end I really enjoyed it after all. I thought it was a fun story and it made me laugh quite a few times. Yes, working my muscles here ;)

I'm usually always here for a dad/daughter Manga where we can see how a single dad is raising his kid, so I was immediately drawn to this manga and wanted to read it. However, I didn't like it as much as I liked all the other stories that I read with that theme. Needless to say, I still truly enjoyed this one and I would definitely read the next volume.

The basic premise of this Manga is a single dad who is a Manga artist but tries really hard to hide his job from his daughter and it's adorable to see how much he tries to hide it and to what lengths he goes true to keep it that way. I also thought the side characters were hilarious. What I found interesting was that the Mangaka of this Manga wrote out of their own experience and you get a few little stories in between about the Mangaka and their way of dealing with being a Manga artist. This is something you don't really see when you read a Manga. You don't see how the Mangaka felt writing this story or how the Mangaka felt in general in life, so it's always interesting to get a glimpse into the behind the scenes of the production of a Manga and the Mangaka himself.

*** I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review ***

I saw that this was coming out as an anime in spring, and wanted to read it as soon as I saw that there was a manga ARC available for it. For those who don't know or can't tell by the art style, this manga-ka also drew Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei! The art is simple, but not overly so, and the manga-ka has a fantastic art style that's just fun to take in.

The story itself is so silly. I enjoyed the back and forth between how the dad keeps his secret from his daughter -- sometimes it got a little overly so, but it was still fun to read. This has an Azumanga Daioh feel as a slice-of-life, which is fun to read, sometimes a little much, but not something that often drags on and on and on (looking at you, Flying Witch). I'd suggest taking a read, because I found myself a good ways through without even realizing it. :)

3.5/5 stars!

When a single parent tries to hide his line of work from his child, comedy ensues. This manga series shows the humor yet serious side of a mangaka in short issues/chapters but packed in volume form. It also has nice artwork, with definitive characters and self-esteem scenery. After a number of issues/chapters, there is some explanations about the creator's lifestyle, like how the beach and its importance to a mangaka. There is also the underlying plot of when the daughter will learn about her father's secret and her reaction to said revelation. An enjoyable manga series for a mature audience because of what the mangaka protagonist draws.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy.***

3 stars. I really liked this manga comic. I would recommend reading it to learn more about what it's like to be a manga writer in Japan. The moments of closeness between father and daughter were particularly heartwarming and adorable. Beautiful illustrations, too.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this e-arc!

This. Was. Great. This manga was so engaging and fun! I'm looking forward to reading more from the mangaka. This doesn't merit 5 stars tho as i find the art style too simple, rendering the few characters we have all to be a bit monotone.

I want a big fan if this story. I might be my fault. I wanted to try a new genre. It just wasn’t what I thought it would be. If you do like this genre you might have better luck.

This is the first volume in a slice of life manga series about a single father trying to keep his young daughter from realizing that he writes a popular and raunchy manga. It is lighthearted and funny, and the art style is very pleasing, making for an easy and enjoyable read.

I’ve also watched the anime preview for this, and am looking forward to it as I think that this story and the jokes would translate a lot better in an audio/visual format.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an electronic copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Koji Kumeta is back! This time we have a perverted manga artist and his daughter.

I am very excited about this manga/upcoming show. I love Zetsubou Sensei and I love the humour and art of this artist. It is really original and tad strange. :P

But just like ZS I think this manga would work better as anime. I have read ZS manga (and still want to continue reading it) and I really like the manga, but it just works better as anime. The story flows better, the jokes pop out more, the characters are more interesting. I still had fun reading Kakushigoto, but I have to say I was constantly looking at the page numbers and wondering why it seemed so endless.

The story is about a man who is a single parent of a girl, his job is a bit unconventional. He draws pervy manga. Since he doesn't want his daughter to know about it or have her bullied because of things, he draws in secret. Pretending he goes to work at x, but in the meantime going to another building to his staff. He puts all his work in a shed far away so that his daughter will never find out. Well, until her 18th birthday as we saw in the beginning. I wonder if she already had a suspicion, but given the last pages, I guess not. I loved her reaction to the manga and what she said. I wonder what happened to her father though since apparently he wasn't the one to give her the key. I guess we will see what happens in the next volumes.

The chapters switch between the dad and seeing him do his work (or try to hide his work and also any merchandise that he spots around which had me in stitches during that festival) and we learn about the manga world, about editors, businesscards, and other writer/mangaka related stuff. And then we have the POV of the daughter as she navigates school and life.

Just like ZS there are plenty of references or hints to culture/etc. things. I had a laugh at all the references, like the fashionista den that the girls went in which was Starbucks.

I loved the relationship between the daughter and the father. They are so cute and adorable together and I love how much the father cares about his daughter, though maybe at times it is a bit too much. :P Then again she is the only one he has left with his wife gone, so I can imagine his daughter is everything to him and he will do anything for her to make sure she is happy and not missing her mom too much.
I was definitely crying when he opened the closet and found all those boxes and how he instantly knew who prepared that.

I had a laugh at how he accidentally had women left and right falling for him due to misunderstandings. :P

All in in all, despite being a bit slow and at times not that funny, I still really liked reading this one and I definitely want more of it in my life. I cannot wait for the anime to start airing.

I loved this manga it was so funny, a dad trying to hide his ‘sordid’ career from his daughter and the lengths he goes to keep it hidden. It’s funny and despite it being about a manga artist who is trying to hide a secret, it’s suitable for most audiences, it’s a great light hearted manga and I loved it.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition is the first volume in a slice of life manga series whose lead character is an artist / creator for a raunchy manga who is desperately trying to keep his young daughter from finding out what he does for a living. Due out 17th March 2020 from Kodansha Comics USA, it's 187 pages and will be available in ebook format.

This is a sweet manga with a single father bringing up an intelligent and curious daughter and trying to provide for her without her finding out that he writes a popular raunchy manga. Comedy ensues. This is a very lighthearted and sweetly funny situational comic which is well written and well drawn. The plot is simple but entertaining and doesn't feel 'same-y' with different complications coming up (like his new editor deciding on a breakfast meeting whilst wearing a questionable t-shirt featuring some of his work).

There are interludes with background info about manga and the publishing industry as well as famous innovators in the medium which I found very enlightening and interesting and which enhanced my enjoyment of this volume a lot. The language and art (despite the central plot line) are very clean and would be appropriate for most readers.

Very cute. I enjoyed it a lot. The page progression has been adjusted for western audiences, it reads from what westerners recognize as 'front' to 'back'. It should be noted, however, that the individual page layout follows the standard manga format and each half page reads in a circle from upper right to lower right, then the bottom half from right to lower left.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Four stars.