Kotaro Lives Alone Summary: Get Ready for Season 2!

Kotaro Lives Alone started off as a seinen manga series written by Mami Tsumura. The series has been published since March 13, 2015 and currently has eight volumes. In 2021, it was adapted into a 10-episode live-action drama series starring Eito Kawahara, and in 2022, the manga also received a 10-episode anime adaptation produced by Liden Films and licensed by Netflix.

As it is usually with Netflix, the whole season was released in one day – March 10, 2022 – so while we’re waiting for a confirmation of a second season, which is more than likely to happen, here’s our summary of Season 1 to prepare you for what’s coming.

Kotaro Lives Alone plot summary

In this section, we are going to give you a simple overview of the show’s plot so that you can know the general idea behind this entertaining seinen anime series. Shin Karino is an unpopular manga writer and he is single. He lives in an apartment complex where children are forbidden to live. One day, Shin Karino’s doorbell rings. When he opens his apartment door, he sees a little boy. The boy is 5-year-old Kotaro Sato. Kotaro Sato tells Shin Karino that he has moved into the neighborhood.

Shin Karino grimaces because he knows the rules of his apartment complex. Kotaro Sato says that he lives alone. At first, Shin Karino is annoyed by Kotaro Sato, but the residents of the apartment complex, including Shin Karino, start to like Kotaro Sato.

Now that we have given you a general overview of the series and its plot, we can continue with the summary. Out summary is actually going to be a short episode-per-episode presentation of the first season of the show. We won’t be spoiling much, since each synopsis is going to be just a short overview of the episode’s plot, without any specific details. As stated, all episodes have been release on March 10, 2022.

Episode 1

A strange four-year-old boy named Kotaro moves into the Shimizu apartment all by himself. He seems to have no parents or family nearby. He sees very mysterious and his neighbor in the new building don’t know what to do with him since he is still a child.

Episode 2

Karino figures out why Kotaro talks the way he does: he’s copying Tonosaman, his favorite cartoon character from a show that’s about to end. These tw facts see to be an endless source for numerous comedy situations which Kotaro puts the adults through.

Episode 3

When he sees someone handing out free balloons, Kotaro tries to collect as many as he can. But there is a reason why he wants so many balloons. The adults have to figure out the reasons behind Kotaro’s actions, as well as determine the child’s ultimate goal, why, at the same time, caring for him.

Episode 4

Kotaro’s friend Kakeru has a maid who takes care of everything for him. So Kotaro decides to show Kakeru how to take care of things himself. This episode actually focuses on the title of the show itself, since Kotaru’s main goal is to prove to everyone that he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, regardless of the fact that he is a child.

Episode 5

For some reason, Kotaro is very picky about his handkerchiefs. He wants expensive, soft tissues because they are “cute.” Later, Karino finds out why. Like the balloon situation, this one also has numerous comedy moments which arise from Kotaro being Kotaro and the adults wanting to protect him at all costs.

Episode 6

A man named Aota moves into the building for a month. When he asks Kotaro to be his friend, Karino becomes suspicious – and a little jealous. Just like Kotaro was the main star of the building because he was the “new kid”, Aota has now taken over that role, which is the reason behind Kotaro’s behavior towards the new tenant.

Episode 7

A girl named Kana starts coming to Kotaro’s house every day after kindergarten to play with him, but she never seems to have any fun. Kotaro finally finds a proper friend who he can hang out with, but as it seems, he will have to do much more than simply invite her over to play in order to ipress the curious little girl.

Episode 8

Karino takes Kotaro and all his friends to the movies. Kotaro wants to see the new Tonosaman movie, but the other kids want to see something else. Kotaro’s choice here was quite obvious, but he faced a variety of different opinions and ideas, which is what gave this episode an educational aspect that nobody really expected.

Episode 9

When Kotaro visits the neighborhood dentist, Dr. Ohba always takes the time to talk to him and ask him lots of questions. This encounter was quite heartwarming and it actually told us a bit about Kotaro’s backstory, which could explain the situation around him and his replies to all of it.

Episode 10

One day, a woman who does not know Kotaro comes to pick him up from kindergarten. She says she is Karino’s ex-girlfriend. Now, Kotaro has met another mysterious figure in his life and, as it seems, this is going to be yet another prolific episode full of humor and Kotao’s mischievous behavior.

And with this, we can conclude our summary of Kotaro Lives Alone Season 1. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we did.