Papa Datte, Shitai – Anime Review

Naruse is a single divorced father who lives with his young son. Busy with his full-time job, Naruse hires a housekeeper to help with the everyday errands. His past few hires haven't worked out, citing troubles working in close quarters with an attractive single dad. Naruse tries a different strategy and employs a male college student instead.

Asumi is the new housekeeper who arrives for his first day of work. He instantly feels attracted to his employer, finding him handsome and sexy. Asumi begins his duties. He does various household chores, such as cooking meals and cleaning up the apartment. Meanwhile, Naruse uses this extra time after work to accompany his son.

Afterwards, Asumi goes to clean Naruse's bedroom. However, he accidentally discovers his employer's private pornography collection. Just then, an embarrassed Naruse enters the room and frantically hides his secret stash. Naruse admits that even though he's a father, he still has to satisfy his needs. This awkward moment leads to a sexually charged encounter between the two men.

The early episodes of Papa Datte, Shitai left an awful impression on me. Between the flimsy narrative and superficial characterizations, I dismissed the anime as sleazy trash. It took a couple of minutes for the first sexual encounter to occur, notably without consent. The next two episodes continued this theme of depravity, doubling down on the tasteless dialogue and tacky scenarios. Papa Datte, Shitai came across as poorly written smut, creating frivolous subplots to justify the erotic exchanges.

Initially, I hate-watched every Papa Datte, Shitai episode while making fun of the ridiculousness in my head. I thought the story was outrageously senseless and couldn't understand why Naruse would want to employ Asumi. After this guy forces himself on you, it seems valid to fire the rapist and not let him enter your home anymore. Instead, Naruse continues to pay Asumi, who sexually harasses him in front of his child. WTF!? Chuck out the predator and change the locks!

It goes without saying that Asumi is utterly despicable. Imagine starting your first day of work by raping your employer inside his house… 😰 What transpires between the main characters is not romance. It's Asumi disregarding boundaries and objectifying Naruse inappropriately. In other words, he's a giant creep. I would hate Asumi more, but his personality is practically nonexistent. His thoughts, his every move & his entire life revolve around Naruse. At any given moment, Asumi is either feeling lovestruck or getting horny. There's nothing else to his vacuous existence.

Papa Datte, Shitai features an uncensored version with steamy 18+ exchanges each episode. The imagery is raunchy, displaying the erotic encounters in explicit detail. To be honest, the sex scenes might be the best part of this series. The anime has no other selling point without the smut, and the meagre plot is certainly not strong enough to stand on its own. While the art isn't drawn superbly well, the visuals look presentable with attractive character designs. I also appreciate how Papa Datte, Shitai gives us risqué content, more daring than your standard BL anime.

After writing off Papa Datte, Shitai in the beginning, I must admit my opinion changed in the second half. As this series emphasizes less on smut, the storylines focus on a single divorced dad with feelings for a man. Surprisingly, the episodes address relevant themes like homophobia, societal norms & single parenting. Mind you, these topics are explored shallowly without much depth. Nonetheless, I acknowledge there's more nuance than expected. A divorced father navigating his sexuality is a unique perspective across the BL landscape, especially in anime.

Maybe it's because I had low expectations, but I kinda enjoyed the last half of Papa Datte, Shitai. Those final few episodes achieve the optimal balance between erotic smut and sentimental drama. The quality almost improves to the point that I see the potential. If the series rewrote the beginning and removed the non-consensual encounters, I don't think my review would be as harsh. Unfortunately, the terrible first impression defines Papa Datte, Shitai for me. I will remember this anime series as sleazy, sinister, and stupidly shallow.