Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi

Abandoned as a child by her mother, Aoi Tsubaki has always had the ability to see "ayakashi"—spirits from the Hidden Realm. Shirou Tsubaki, her grandfather who shared the same ability, took her under his wing and taught her how to live with the ayakashi in peace. When her grandfather abruptly passes away, the independent Aoi must continue her college career, armed with only her knowledge in cooking as a means of protection against the human-eating spirits. In hopes that the ayakashi will not turn to her or other unknowing humans as a tasty meal, she takes it upon herself to feed the hungry creatures that cross her path.

After giving a mysterious ayakashi her lunch, Aoi is transported to the Hidden Realm, where the ayakashi reveals himself to be an ogre-god known as Oodanna, the "Master Innkeeper." There, she learns that she was used as collateral for her grandfather's debt of one hundred million yen, and that she must pay the price for her grandfather's careless decision by marrying Oodanna. Aoi valiantly refuses and decides to settle things on her own terms: she will pay off the debt herself by opening an eatery at Oodanna's inn.

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi follows the journey of Aoi as she proceeds to change and touch the lives of the ayakashi through the one weapon she has against them—her delicious cooking.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Oodanna Main

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Ginji Main

Toki, Shunichi Japanese

Tsubaki, Aoi Main

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Chibi Supporting

Iwami, Manaka Japanese

Akatsuki Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Byakuya Supporting

Tamaru, Atsushi Japanese

Ranmaru Supporting

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Shizuna Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Oryou Supporting

Kakuma, Ai Japanese

Sasuke Supporting

Inoue, Yuuki Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Oomori, Shinji Producer

Kaneiwa, Motoko Producer

Saitou, Masahiro Producer

Reviews

Sep 24, 2018

Raggadish

Recommended

I had got the impression that Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi (Hidden realm: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits) was more or less a copy of Kamisama Hajimemashita (which I highly enjoyed). Both seemed to have the same premise; a Japanese folk lore setting, a mundane girl in her late teens who are involved with spirits (ayakashi) from the hidden realm, with the potential for a reverse harem and lots of shoujo romance stuff. Which sure can be a very good thing if done as in Kamisama Hajimemashita.

I was both right and wrong. The premise was indeed similar, with our girl Aoi Tsubaki having her life changed drastically ... and are forced to a new life in the Hidden realm, the Japanese folk lore setting, and lots of cute ayakashi guys for a potential reverse harem. Aoi like Nanami looks like your average lead for this kind of show with mouse brown hair and plain features.

But the similarities only go so far. Because, the main theme of the KnY isn´t a reverse harem, or even romance. It´s mainly about food and the importance of food in our lives really. As this can be utterly disappointing for some, I actually grow to highly appreciate KnY for just this reason.

The narrative is mostly episodic with each episode address some kind of problem for Aoi to solve (mostly by cooking delicious food). There is a more overarching plot though, it´s just not the main focus the first half of the show. And those 1-episode stories actually contribute to the overarching plot in the end as well, so the feeling that I wasted my time on filler bs never occurred.

I mentioned that the show focused a lot on food and how it influences our lives. Well, cooking isn´t just a hobby for Aoi, it’s a way of survival. You see, Aoi has a strong spiritual energy and have always been able to see ayakashi. Said strong spiritual energy has attracted hungry ayakashi all her life, and to give her a tool to protect herself her grandfather taught her to cook delicious food that ayakashi like, so she could give them the food instead of getting eaten herself (this isn´t a spoiler, it is established very early in the show). When she gets spirited away by a handsome Ogre spirit and declared as his bride as payment for her grandfather’s debt, she refuses and want to work of the debt instead. And here is where her cooking skills really come to use.

I grow highly interested in the Japanese kitchen during this watch. It´s so different from where I come from, and I really do want to try some of the food she made. But the allure of the food and cooking extended further than just that it looked tasty, it also brought up the spiritual and mental emotions that food can create. Just imagine that you been gone from your home for a long time and then someone cooks a dish that you love from your home town. The nostalgia, the happiness and even safety one can feel at such a moment is really astonishing. Or that you are so bored with food that you pretty much lost your appetite, and then someone places a delightful home cooked meal that surprises all your senses (smell, texture, taste, vision etc.). Or that you just are hangry and get a lovely meal, and what it does for your state of mind. Or how it can connect us, shearing food together and rejoice in the flavours and how satisfied it can make us feel.

KnY brings up all these scenarios and then some. Of course, the show isn´t exclusively about food and cooking, but it is the topic in the spotlight and I aren´t complaining. There is definitely some romance going on but it´s heavily taking the backseat, so don´t expect a full-blown romance to develop fast, because then you only will get disappointed.

The reverse harem theme is also almost absent, even if there are a lot of cute ayakashi guys around. But they have more independent roles than being a harem member, which worked absolutely fine in this case. And there are almost as many female characters present, which many have funny personalities and important roles as well.

Aoi as the female lead does differ a bit from your copy and past persona for this kind of role. She is very ordinary yes, but in the most relatable way, because she has indeed a personality and background as well. She knows her limits and works with what she has – a bone hard determination, a genuine will to understand others and brilliant skills in cooking. She is kind, stubborn, positive and caring, a real goodie good girl but not the least mentally weak. Aoi gets a lot of mean shit thrown at her in the Hidden realm, and copes with it like a boss.

Oodanna (the handsome Ogre spirit) could´ve been portrayed as a real creep, but wasn´t. I have had problems with this type of set up before, the older mystical creature declares young female to be his bride (yes, looking at you The Ancient Magus' Bride). But besides calling Aoi his wife, he does no creepy things like bathing her as a first thing when she arrives to the Hidden realm. He looks after her from a non-intruding angle, gives her the tools and protection she needs, and lets her find her own way in this new strange situation.

Studio Gonzo has done a good job on the art and animation. Not perfect per say, but over my expectations. Vivid colours, detailed backgrounds and environments, and varied and distinct character designs. The food looks yummy, the ayakashi´s magic looks dramatic, and the atmosphere is spot on.

Honestly, I haven´t paid much attention to the soundtrack, but it´s for sure not bad. The 2 openings however are awesome, especially the second one. Certainly, the best in a long while. Recommend you look them up, even if you´re not going to watch the show itself. Voice acting is also top notch, with veterans such as Noa Touyama and Katsuyuki Konishi as the main leads.

This has been my “feel-good” show during it´s airing time, and I enjoyed it a lot, even if the reasons for said enjoyment originate from completely different sources then I first believed. Which is a bit odd since that I´m not even that into the SoL-genre. The setting is a familiar one in anime, but it´s has its own main themes and feeling. I can warmly recommend KnY to anyone that is looking for a Japanese folk lore setting, cosy atmosphere, and a wee bit of romance. And especially if you enjoy food in any way, eating it, cooking it, exploring new kitchens etc. It was a surprisingly stimulating main theme.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 24, 2018

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Going through the intensive 6 months of this series, I have only but one word to describe this series: Decent. It's fine, it's meh, nothing good nor bad, both traits cancelled and equaled each other. And it's been a while since Gonzo has done a 2-cour series (since 2009), but the studio's quality of making anime has deteriorated overtime, and Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi is no different.

Story:
It's very easy to summarize the entirety of the show, not just because of the source material, but of how shallow the series the staff working on this show decided to place the various scenes around with coherent but inconsistent ... flow:

1st Cour:
- Girl gets summoned into the supernatural world (tempted to call it an Isekai, similarity sake) because of her predecssor's problems, then gets coerced into a "legal"-binding marriage with an ayakashi (or Spirit).
- To avoid this controversy of a major problem (pay off all debts of her deceased uncle), she sets up "shop" at the inn so that they can monitor her every action while she cooks up food from the apparent realm (the world humans live in) to appease and satisate all of the ayakashi's taste buds. Together with her companion Chibi (which is the small tortoise-looking kappa), the weird "love-romance" interest between Aoi and the Master (Oodanna) exists...? More likely as a source of protection.

Result: The first few episodes really got me intrigued...but somehow along the way it becomes repetitive. And also, you can throw the Isekai Shokudou reference out already, because this line is played consistently in EVERY episode, so much to the fact that it has gotten boring overtime.

2nd Cour:
- To make matters worse, she is caught in the fire of another inn, this time serving in the land of no return and acting as the rival inn to the one that she resides in.
- Adding the fuel to the fire, the rival inn ALSO knows of the travesty of the girl's deceased uncle, and aims to shoot everything at her feet while not giving her leeway to do as she pleases.
- The nail in the coffin: Some traditional festival to please the ayakashi god of that festival to maintain peace and prosperity, and the ayakashi in charge acts like some mean and demeanor villain to derail the rival inn and the girl's efforts...just to invoke some senseless and forced emotional "drama".

Result: A story that while handled by series composer, veteran Tomoko Konparu (Nodame Cantabile, NANA, Kimi no Todoke), is handled by someone whom has done a lot of Side-B directorials (key animation, character designs etc.) and this is her very first overall directorial work. But somehow, as good as how we perceived this series to be, the problems start showing up one after another, so much so when we needed the understanding link, it is nowhere to be found.

Characters:
Aoi Tsubaki is a firm and steady girl, and does not give in to peer pressure, and I applaud Nao Touyama for voicing as her because for all intensive purposes, she is the perfect character for Aoi. Amidst the travesty of having to bear her uncle's (Shiro) tainted footsteps, by redeeming herself to restore the dignity of her relative, can she ever find relief in doing the things she loves.

The spirits governing and managing both Tenjin-ya and Orio-ya...let's just say "one's a company, two's a crowd, three's a party". Throughout the course of the series, they appear at the key moments where the Master and Aoi were having problems of their own, and they were the catalyst to "keep things moving" and substantiate the relationship of Aoi and the other ayakashi.

I never thought I would say this, but the number of characters here were perhaps a bit overbearing, like "What's the point of them showing up only when (specific) things occur"? The initial focus on both the romance of Aoi and Oodanna (this ain't a reverse harem), along with the friendships of the closest aide Ginji and Chibi the annoying kappa (which only eats cucumber), that switch is always on and off, to the point that I was wondering what is the resolution of the characters if they were meant to serve that one-and-only purpose.

Art and animation:
No surprise here, it's Gonzo. Their works of recent are less than impressive with nothing noteworthy of mention, and it doesn't help that the artwork is seriously washed out, animation is cut-thin while being of decent quality, and the entirely has an incomplete sense of quality. And despite all that, I think this is the perfect series that compromises everything about the studio: decent to downright mediocre. Nothing more to say about this aspect.

Music:
This particular OST is rife with the usual 2-cour OPs but MANY EDs due to the fact that certain episodes encompass the main male ayakashi as the centrifugal position (majority of screentime) where the series storytelling lands into. I'd say this was a somewhat interesting mix, so let's break it down:

OP: Great with Nao Touyama's voice talents and absolutely brillant with nano.
ED: Main EDs are great, with the various male ayakashi's VAs being OK at best.

Easily the best part about the series. And then again, nothing more.

In the end, this series, while being a poor man's effort of every other series done right, be it subtle references of such, is sadly a chore to watch once you get to know what is happening, and that as is remains for the core foundation of everything. So much so that the boredom and tireness tells the story of one irrefutable destiny that is laid dormant and never focused again. What a shame this is, playing the lame game all the time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 15, 2020

tamagoo

Not Recommended

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi is boring, confused, poorly made, and all around one of the worst anime I have ever seen.

This is my first review so sorry if it's not really good.

When I read the summary for Kakuriyo Bed and Breakfast for spirits, I thought it was the average, lighthearted shoujo with a slight supernatural twist. What I got was radically different and extremely disappointing.

This anime, in short, can't decide what is wants to be. There are basically four main story lines, each more unnecessary than the last. On one hand, the protagonist is learning to love a man that she was forced into an ... arranged marriage with while also managing a restaurant since the food she cooks apparently has strange rejuvenating powers in this other world. On the other hand, she is trying to find the ayakashi that helped her as a child in the midst of assassination attempts of unknown origin.

Is it a romance, a cooking anime, a mystery, or a thriller? I sincerely feel like this anime could have been half decent if they had focused on one or two things. Instead, it turned out to be a horrible, awkward story made of stitched-together story lines that hardly made sense. The lore is hastily explained, often through long, boring scenes of characters explaining how the world works to a clueless protagonist over an unanimated, unengaging slideshow of mediocre images. The entire story danced around this mystery of the "masked ayakashi" who gave her food as child when it really could have just been found out by asking a couple simple questions. The climax was the opposite of thrilling. And the worst part is that even with everything going on, the story managed to be incredibly boring.

Don't get me wrong, I don't need jaw-dropping scenes and seamless animation painstakingly drawn frame-by-frame. However, I have some standards, and Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi definitely did not mean those. The anime ran in 2018, which is fairly recent. In all honestly, the style of the anime was fine. The animation and the quality overall is horrible. There were scenes where I thought my TV was frozen because there was almost no movement except for maybe one character's mouth. It seemed like every character moved as little a possible in order to limit the amount of animation that needed to be done. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me it was made in Microsoft Paint.

I've never seen a show with less character development. Every character's defining trait was either "nice" or "mean" and no one ever deviated from the character type established in episode one. Despite being deceived multiple times and receiving ill-treatment from multiple characters, the protagonist exhibits a nonsensical amount of naivete and believes every single word anyone says. Despite the situation, (ie. and attempt made on her life MULTIPLE TIMES, being imprisoned, fooled, discriminated against, etc.) she seems to automatically forgive and care for anyone in a way that is so unrealistic it's laughable. Moreover, it seems like no one can resist Aoi's nonexistent charms and every character who begins disliking her somehow comes to begrudgingly love her in an episode or two.

The relationship between the female protagonist, Aoi, and the main love interest, Odanna (who is almost exclusively referred to as "Ogre God" throughout the anime, so much so that I had to look up his name because I realized I never really learned it) never develops. Their relationship morphs from general distaste to friendly acquaintances at best. Apart from a small arc at the end of the anime, she hardly has an interaction with him as he makes an appearance for roughly 6 minutes an episode if any.

It was boring. I never once had a feel for where the anime was going and I never felt compelled to watch another episode when one ended. It never felt like the story was progressing and instead was just a documentary of a clueless girl wandering around in a world she knows nothing about. The moments that were supposed to tug on the heartstrings were devoid of emotion with no strong story to back it up. The moments that were supposed to be heartwarming felt cold because it never felt like you really knew any of the characters beyond surface level.

I cannot think of a less memorable anime. I finished it without being able to recall a single significant plot point. It seemed to be poorly made and honestly might have been better if it just remained a manga. The story was bad and confusing, the characters were boring and predictable, and every episode felt like filler because there was no substantial story. I have no idea why this was so well-received by viewers or why it has even a single rating above a 6 (and that's pushing it).

TLDR;
Please, don't waste your time. Don't watch Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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