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.

Man oh man. This manga is out for my soul with it's atmospheric and cozy cover, a father (and a very cute and protective one at that) and daughter relationship, with such a juicy and fun twist. I'm can't wait to see how these two's relationship takes over my life.

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.

E-copy c/o Kodansha via NetGalley.
This is such a refreshing and fun manga to read. It’s my first time to encounter a manga about a manga artist. Reading from a manga artist’s point of view is something new and something that everyone should read. The story is also good and it’s fast-paced. I hope to read the next book.

Having to be the father and mother to your daughter is a harder task then it seems. Mainly when you also want to protect her from what you work as, when your job is to write “dirty mangas”. What would a life of a father in this position be like?

In this manga it has it all the father is trying to protect his daughter from his secret. He will do anything to make sure his daughter does not find out what he does at work. This is a great manga it shows you just how hard a manga artist has to work in making the mangas. It also shows the life of a single father and him hiding his fam of writing dirty mangas. This is a great manga to read, and I will be waiting for the other volumes. Totally recommend to read this it’s just so great all the trouble the father goes to hid his secret.

I rate this manga 3.5 stars!

Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition Vol 1 appealed to me because of the unique and intriguing premise. I know the idea of a manga artist writing about a manga artist can be a popular avenue to take in the industry but this manga added a twist to it! Our main character is a single dad of a little girl who makes a living as a manga artist. Not just any manga artist though, a lewd manga artist and he is determined to hide it from his daughter Hime at all costs!

The lengths he will go to in order to keep his career a secret from his daughter are very funny and comical. The manga is light-hearted and a pleasant story to read through! We get to know the characters so well, from Kakushigoto and his immeasurable love for his daughter, to Hime, the daughter who is adorable and surrounded by the innocence of childhood and to the rest of Kakushigoto's co-workers who put up with his crazy plans to keep his job a secret. I appreciated learning more about editorial and creator side of creating a manga, it was really interesting. The chapters switch between Kakushigoto and Hime's perspectives which I enjoyed as Hime is such an adorable little girl who views the world through such simple and innocent eyes.

Interspersed through the manga are commentaries from the author which are not only informative and interesting to read but funny and personal and I feel they bind the story together and improve the connection with the reader. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the art used in this manga but I did feel the story was a little tricky to follow at points. This was mainly due to numerous things happening all at once or jumping from one scene to another without much sign posting. I do think this manga would work better as an anime as then we would really get to enjoy the humour and characters better!

I didn't love this manga but I did enjoy the story and I would pick up the next volume! Maybe I just need to improve my experience with manga.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my own, honest opinion.

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.