krofire

Studio Gaina & Studio Feel’s 2022 comedy-drama has quite an unusual flavour to it but it would be wise not to compare it to J C Staff’s “The Way of the Househusband” (2021). This is no irreverent zany comedy featuring a hilariously-domesticated ex-Yakuza. This is far more serious. This Yakuza (Tooru Kirishima) is the right-hand man to the boss (Kazuhiko Sakuragi). Kirishima has a reputation for being a bit of a homicidal psycho and has never been beaten in a fight. The boss has a young daughter (Yaeka) but the mother is in long-term care in hospital after a traffic accident. Kazuhiko entrusts his daughter into the care of Kirishima for reasons that remain pretty obscure seeing as her Aunt Kanami Kurosaki had been caring for the girl. Regardless of the odd nature of the assignment, it seems that Kirishima is slowing down a bit and welcomes the strange change in pace as other deputies (such as Kei Sugihara) pick up his old role. He is about to get a sharp lesson in responsibility. What greater growing up experience for any young man than caring for a little child. Pretty soon Kirishima and Yaeka have formed a strong bond and enjoy the time they spend together. It becomes a bit of an odd-couple comedy. Given the subject matter it may be a bit of a surprise that most of the storyline resembles the usual comedy slice-of-life type of thing. Yet, every now and again, the whole Yakuza gangland universe does break into proceedings. Yakuza thugs, outside of the family, know Kirishima’s reputation and come after him to settle old scores. This impending menace in the plot seems at odd with the largely cutesy-wutesy nature of the little girl’s life.

This makes for a strange blend as we have the malignant threat of violence hanging over proceedings yet everyone acts like that is either not there, or is just normal. The impact of such a violent background should affect young Yaeka yet she seems to brush it off like it is just a normal slice of her life. She never really asks any awkward questions nor does anyone discuss the family business. It is all rather brushed under the carpet to save embarrassment. The fact that nobody in this story really confronts the criminal nature of the enterprise represents an astonishing level of cognitive dissonance throughout the show. This makes it slightly hard to place a mental framework around this. We just don’t involve kids in stories about extremely violent men. Yet that is exactly what “The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting” manages to do and, remarkably, it actually works. The show ends up being both cute, poignant, emotional, threatening, violent and dramatic. It is testimony to the writing that this tension is managed without the audience noticing anything unusual. We slip right into this universe and accommodate the crime ring into the plot just as if the family business was in greengrocery. To pull off this trick is quite something which might tell us much about Japanese culture. The show ends up being highly watchable, often bittersweet yet warm and funny. This anime is often told in retrospect as the characters dwell upon the paths that lead them to where they are today. It seems to be various coming-of-age tales stitched together using people of all different ages. It just goes to show that we never really stop growing and learning. None more so that Kirishima who has to accommodate and come to terms with a whole range of experiences and emotions he is unfamiliar with. His journey of self-discovery is one the audience warms-to, making watching this such a pleasant experience. Certainly, a recommended show - thoughtful but not specifically demanding in any way. The fact that it doesn’t go anywhere demanding (given its topic) is probably a disappointment. Yet challenging the entire gangster ethic is not its intent. Gang bosses have wives and children. This is their lives. They exist within their own bubble of banal normality that is seldom the topic of TV dramas. As such this show is a welcome breath of fresh air even if of dubious ethics. A high interesting show for anyone after something just a little different.