English Dub Review: Kakushigoto “Inuhoshiki: Dog Wanted / The One Who Connects Mother and Child”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Hime may be an only child, but that doesn’t mean she has to be alone all the time. When she starts asking for a dog, Kakushi starts floating the idea around the office. All his assistants are enthusiastically in favor of the idea. Even Ichiko is eager to recommend owning a pet. But when the new puppy eventually arrives, it isn’t from a source that Kakushi is happy to see.

Our Take:

The seventh episode of Kakushigoto is probably the cutest episode yet, and that’s saying something. We get the usual adorableness of Hime and her dad’s hijinks, but now a puppy gets added to the mix and ups the ante by tenfold. And not only is there a new pet, but pretty much every side character finds a way to show up as well — and the family’s mysterious benefactor is revealed.

The first half of the episode deals with Hime’s wish to get a dog, and it’s definitely one of the shows best segments thus far. Begging your parents to adopt a pet is one of the most universal experiences, and the show depicts it with about the amount of sweetness you’d expect. Hime memorizes the ten commandments for dogs, causing her dad to break into tears. The way the storyline works the assistants in is especially great, as by the end of it they’re the ones who break into tears when Kakushi thinks they aren’t getting a puppy.

Ichiko really shines this week, as she meets up with Kakushi while walking her own dog and ends up chatting with him about the benefits dog owners enjoy. Hime’s three mischievous classmates hear word of it, and automatically assume that the guy Ichiko is meeting is a bad dude wanting to take advantage of her because of her cluelessness. Another character who fits into things is the mystery man who Kakushi keeps meeting up with, and this time, we learn his identity: it’s Hime’s grandfather! Kakushi insists he’s a bad man, but from what we’ve seen so far, he just likes showering gifts on Hime. It’s really cool that her new dog is a descendant of her mother’s old dog, too.

The second half of the episode is less successful, mainly because it has less of a focus on puppies and more of a focus on manga. It’s still interesting, and there’s plenty of jokes and gags to be found for those more invested in the manga-loving lifestyle, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the episode.

This week’s flash forward is pretty crazy. We see the three girls who are Hime’s classmates, but they’re much older now. They’re tailing Hime for some reason, until Ichiko catches them and wonders why she wasn’t invited to the reunion. She has long hair and isn’t wearing a tracksuit, which surprises everyone present. But perhaps even more surprising is that she has big news to share, both good and bad.

We don’t learn her big news this week, but it sets the stage for an intense episode next week — although I doubt things will be quite as cute. Although they still need to name that puppy…