Alternative title(s): Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi
Light Novel Adaptation by Gonzo
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

Shortly after her grandfather’s death, a young woman named Aoi is pulled into the hidden spirit world. There she learns her grandfather had racked up a massive debt and offered her hand in marriage as collateral to the owner of the city’s inn. She refuses to marry him, but offers to pay off the debt by working as a chef at the inn.

Jel’s verdict: Short Stay

This was a decent first episode. I’m all for brave women protagonists standing up to their male oppressors, as is often a thing with these older shoujo/josei targeted shows. I also appreciate that while the main guy is a jerk, he’s not abusive or even rapey in the way I think other shows of this type might have gone with. It’s a perfectly fine, middle of the road take on the genre that’s pleasant to watch and generally inoffensive. As you might expect, that is the problem.

There’s hardly anything remarkable about Kakuriyo. The characters are nice but predictable, the dialogue is flat and straightforward, and even the fantasy setting is a pretty generic Japanese spirit world that we’ve seen many times before. I’m also a bit wary of the looming question as to why Aoi’s grandpa, who apparently loved her very much, sold her out. It’s kind of looking like they’re going with the “I gave you to a man that I knew would take care of you” angle which would undermine pretty much all of the show’s good qualities. I could see them going either way with that though, so I can’t pass judgement on that now.

So, should you watch Kakuriyo? I can appreciate that these kinds of shows aimed at women that aren’t just harems are still fairly uncommon, so if this is your thing it will probably be a solid choice to watch. Personally though I found it a bit too lacking in personality to keep me interested. Thematically it kind of made me think of something like Snow White with the Red Hair but without the charming characters and lively setting. Make of that what you will, I’m going to move on.