Kaii to Otome to Kamikakushi

Adult life has brought its share of disillusions to 28-year-old writer Sumireko Ogawa, who was once considered a child prodigy in literature. Facing hostility from editors, she struggles to publish her work and progress in writing her new novel. As Sumireko starts to resign herself to the uneventful life of a book clerk, she is brutally plunged into the realm of mysteries after she reads poetry from a strange book, as she unexpectedly becomes a child again.

Sumireko is thrilled to have regained her inspiration and youthful enthusiasm. However, her work colleague Ren Adashino, who happens to be an expert in the occult, warns her that this transformation will eventually kill her unless she reads other verses from the book. Reluctantly agreeing to regain her adult form, Sumireko decides to help Ren and his sister, Oto, in their paranormal investigations. Although Ren's goals are still unclear to Sumireko, the young woman is determined to turn her new exciting life experiences into a lasting literary success.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ogawa, Sumireko Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Adashino, Ren Main

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

Adashino, Oto Main

Yukimura, Eri Japanese

Uname, Manami Supporting

Horie, Yui Japanese

Hon-hime Supporting

Mitsuishi, Kotono Japanese

Hayami, Shizuku Supporting

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Hanamura, Mikamo Supporting

Oozora, Naomi Japanese

Himeuo, Yorumun Supporting

Oozora, Naomi Japanese

John Doe Supporting

Uchida, Yuuya Japanese

Ametsuchi, Nodoka Supporting

Aizawa, Saya Japanese

Iizuka, Aya Producer

Itou, Shousei Producer

Sasaki, Reiko Producer

Oobayashi, Takuji Producer

Reviews

May 5, 2025

Nico98

Recommended

Along with Sumireko, Ren, and Otto, we'll explore different paranormal/supernatural events occurring in their city.

It's entertaining. We see about four or five cases involving people from their community who have had paranormal encounters. Each case is distinct and striking in its own right; they're interesting, intriguing, and we want to know what will happen. Sumireko is fun and brings energy, Ren is responsible (albeit weak), and Otro is a support who doesn't contribute anything. Additionally, the cases bring them closer to the "victims," who later become recurring characters and add color to the plot.

The ending is so-so, but up until that point, all the chapters ... are good.

The only thing I didn't understand was how they figured out what each ghost was, because there could be any number of types. And worse, every time they described who it is, it's like an old Japanese story that seems to have only happened to one or two people, and the record is kept in an old file that they can't possibly know about. (This is how I picture it mentally)

The ending was so-so. You might ask: if every two or three chapters covered a new story, does that mean there was a plot thread? Well, yes.


Spoiler alert:
Little by little, we discover that Oto is from another world, and somehow, I ended up lost in who knows where. Ren—a ghost—found her, and she gave him a name. This created an "illusion" of her brother from the ghost. And the plot of the anime—finding cursed objects or ghost-related objects—will help them pay for the ticket that will allow Oto to return to her world.

The thing is, they don't tell us what that world is like, nor do they pose the painful dilemma of "okay, my family is in the other world, yes, but in this one, I've made a lot of friends and people who love me, there's the "ghost-brother" and the spinster, I could choose to stay." No, in fact, Oto doesn't even remember that she was the one who shaped Ren, so she might not even remember her original family...

And when she leaves, she does so without a murmur or question.

Well. What an unnecessary inclusion.

Oh, and worse. Sumireko says, "I need you, Ren, come here." Need is a very strong word. I love you, I appreciate you, I have fun with you, all right. But "need"? How exaggerated.

I repeat: what an unnecessary inclusion.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 4, 2024

regaldemocrat

Mixed Feelings

When I started Mysterious Disappearances, I thought, “Wow, a story with characters who are neither good nor bad. Intriguing mysteries to solve and cute girls. What could go wrong?”

The answer was: almost everything.

Don’t get me wrong, Mysterious Disappearances is not a bad anime.

Mysterious Disappearances tells the story of two siblings who are part of a magical world trapped in our world, whose only hope to return to their world is to do “favors” for a ticket seller of a magical train. The way to do favors is by solving mysteries and supernatural events based on Asian urban legends.

One thing I really highlight about this anime ... is its characters. They are all great and well-constructed. And the best part: there are no good people. Here, everyone is human. Humans with qualities, flaws, and vices. Without a doubt, you fall in love with and feel the soul of each of the characters the story focuses on.

What went wrong? The narrative. Everything is too slow, and the author wastes too much time. Literally, there are about three episodes where absolutely nothing progresses. The author forgets that this is a mystery story and it feels like we are watching a “Slice of Life” anime.

In the end, when the author realizes that too much time has been wasted, there is a super forced closure in the last episodes that leaves the story tasteless.

The waste of time is so great, and the closure so abrupt, that one cannot help but feel that they have wasted their time watching this story.

It’s unfortunate. Episode 1 excites anyone, but by episode 4, you are already thinking about what the next anime to watch will be.

THE GOOD. Extraordinary characters with incredible personalities. Personally, I loved Oto Adashino.

THE BAD. A mediocre narrative lowered the quality of this work.

THERE WILL BE no more Otto for anyone in anime version :(

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Mar 12, 2025

joemaamah

Not Recommended

Preliminary (5/12 eps)

I thought I was going to like this after the first episode. It seemed like it might head in a decent direction. But ultimately it descended into a vehicle for mounds of lame fanservice. And those are the best parts. It got so bad I bailed out after 5 eps.

The characters here turn out to be a joke. The MC is a 28 yo woman with huge jugs, so let's dress her up as a high school girl, and let her prance and jiggle around all over. Then there's two kids, a boy and a girl. The guy is just kind of weird and ... doesn't seem to do a whole lot of anything. The girl makes Wednesday Adams look like the life of the party. There was no liking any of the lot.

The writing was boring as this plodded along. If you removed the ecchi elements, there might not have actually been any writing.

The art was OK, at least it had a little style. There was a little hope for the animation at first, but it sank to less than average in a hurry. The VAs were OK but hardly inspired. The direction was simply poor. The production struck me as a hastily slapped together mess. No one really gives a shit. Just get it out the door.

The only real mystery here was, how did I even make it through 5 eps? I probably should have failed it after 3. Grading this, I'd give it no better than 43/100; failing with an E and close to an F. Can't make this disappear fast enough.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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