Kotaro Lives Alone

It's a slow poison, gets in your heart so slowly and comes out as wet and tears through eyes.

It's so amazing to see how a so simple storytelling can have this much of impact. No big budget animations nor over the top details drawing per frame, just pure emotional journey.

No giant robots, kaiju, epic battles or spaceships here. This is an anime about a young child prodigy who manages to live on his own after his parents disappear. As the episodes pass he makes new friends, changes lives, and encourages all those who meet him.

While the main character is somewhat difficult to believe (might have been easier to swallow if he was a 10 year old instead of a 4 year old), he is well-developed enough throughout the series to become endearing.

A delightful and heart-warming change from over-used anime themes. In place of action-adventure this has story and character development. Each episode is its own plot, developing a theme and leaving the viewer with a moral lesson or special insight to life. Very well done.

Some kids do really mature faster than others. It is true that it's heartbreaking to see a kid cannot be a kid. But thanks to his neighbors, Kotaro can live a life close to it. Especially thanks to Karino.

This short anime will bring you joy, make you rethink about what matters in life. The drawing and animation can look cheap. However, the music and story aren't. An anime worth watching.

I find several characters very relatable, and well written. Kotaro is a unique and adorable character, overall very likable! The dynamic between everyone and Kotaro is different and adorable in it's own way. You will probably cry a bit, so grab some tissues!

I mean it's a four-five year-old living alone, but damn it if it's not the most heartfelt, heartbreaking, sweet and sad thing.

This anime was not on my radar at all. I assumed it was some sort of absurd comedy since it's a small child living alone but that's not it.

Kotaro is the perfect balance of a mature, responsible adult but also a naive child which makes his character so sad. He is such a wonderful soul whose past was filled with tragedy. He affects all the lives around him. We get to see life through his eyes and as an audience understand the tragedy but he at times seems oblivious or sees it through a different lens. It is because of his perspective we get to see a different approach to something that would normally be considered soul-crushingly sad. Kotaro manages to make the best of things. He sees the best in people and means well. He thrives in the friendships he makes. The other characters also reflect off him perfectly. All of them take care of him and they all grow into a family.

The anime is sweet and definitely worth watching. It doesn't make light of certain issues but never focuses depressingly on them. In a way Kotaro simply keeps moving forward and makes friends along the way.