‘Kotaro Lives Alone’ Season 1 Ending, Explained

In the new Netflix anime series Kotaro Lives Alone, Kotaro (Cherami Leigh) is a young 4-year-old boy who lives all by himself in a Japanese apartment complex. With no sign of his parents around, Kotaro befriends his neighbors, including a manga artist named Karino Shin (Michael Sinterniklaas).

In Japanese anime, it’s not uncommon for young children to act independently or live alone, but in this series, Kotaro takes it a step further – he’s essentially an adult in a child’s body, cooking grand meals for himself, and speaking with a formality that no four-year-old would ever speak with. So why does Kotaro live alone and what happens in the season one Kotaro Lives Alone ending?

Kotaro Lives Alone Season 1 Ending, Explained

From the first episode of Kotaro Lives Alone, Kotaro comes across as a peculiar kid. As Kotaro’s neighbor, Karino Shin, spends time with Kotaro, watching out for him, he starts to unravel some of the details of the boy’s life. Kotaro was neglected by his parents – he had an abusive father who wasn’t allowed to see him, and his mother would often leave him alone without supervision. Left at home alone for extended periods, he would watch hours of TV. Kotaro’s odd speaking style, which emulates a Japanese feudal lord is the result of Kotaro watching a cartoon about Tonosaman, a Samurai.

When Kotaro gifts all of his new neighbors with tissues, it at first seems a strange gift. Karino is curious, because Kotaro is especially picky about the type of tissues he buys, and during a shopping trip, Karino learns that it’s because Kotaro’s parents didn’t leave him enough food and he would have to eat tissues when he was hungry. As Karino realizes that all of Kotaro’s quirks are the result of the neglect he suffered at the hand of his parents, he becomes increasingly protective of him, taking him to and from school and watching over him.

In the final episode, Karino gets a job opportunity that complicates his schedule. An ex-girlfriend of his, Akane, is staying with Karino for a while, and realizes that his work schedule plus his duty to Kotaro may overwhelm him, so she goes behind his back and tells Kotaro that Karino doesn’t have time for him. Akane deliberately tries to keep Karino from Kotaro so he can work on his comics and get the success he deserves, not realizing that Karino actually loves Kotaro and wants to be there for him. Karino tells Kotaro that Akane was wrong, and that he does have time for him and, in fact, Kotaro inspires his art.

In the final scenes of the season, Kotaro asks Karino to take him to a place located near the Konami train station. He can’t explain why, but he describes the place that he wants to go to, and they end up at a cemetery, where Kotaro brings Karino to the graves of his grandparents. His mother brought him here once, he explains. Kotaro reveals his mother’s name, Sayori Wamiya, to Karino, who realizes as he cleans the headstones that she’s buried there, and what’s even more heartbreaking is Kotaro has no idea she’s dead.

Karino tells Kotaro that any time he wants to go back to the cemetery, they should go together. Speaking to himself, Karino explains why: “One reason is to make sure he never sees his mom’s name on the grave. And the other is to pass on to his mom all the memories of him as he grows.” For a show that splits the difference between comedy and drama, Karino’s final realization that he’s all Kotaro has in the world is an emotional gut-punch. They return to their apartments together, where Kotaro, speaking as the feudal lord he pretends to be, announces to the rest of their neighbors that Karino is now his loyal subject.

Where to watch Kotaro Lives Alone