What if you could stop time? Think of all the possibilities that would be available to you. For the Yukawa family, this is the reality they deal with in Kokkoku.
As the story begins we meet Juri, who is currently interviewing for a job. Her family, in a sense of realism, is also unemployed. Her dad, Takafumi, spends his days watching his son, Tsubasa (a typical NEET that is also unemployed), play endlessly on his gaming system. You start to feel sympathetic towards Juri, who is the only person in the home looking for work, although unsuccessfully.
Note: They mention that Juri has a sister, who doesn't appear in the anime, who works to support her son Makoto. The sister doesn't live in the same home as the rest of the Yukawa family.
Juri asks her NEET brother Tsubasa to get out of the house and pick up his nephew Makoto from school. (Which has some comedic moments) While walking back home, Tsubasa and Makoto are kidnapped and held for ransom. Which gets the story kick started. The kidnappers call and demand ransom under a timed deadline.
Juri and her father, Takafumi, don't have the enough money to pay the ransom. Takafumi asks his dad, Grandfather (that is the name they use in the anime for him). Grandfather reluctantly gives Takafumi his bank book. Once Juri and Takafumi realize that a trip to the bank would put them behind the deadline given, they begin to argue. Grandfather explains to them they have plenty of time and to sit down. He reveals an odd stone and proceeds to cut himself in order to drip his blood onto the stone. When this occurs these supernatural jellyfish appear and enter into each of their bodies. Suddenly, time stops, yet the Yukawa's can move freely.
Without revealing too much, the real story begins, as Grandfather, Juri and Takafumi set out to retrieve Tsubasa and Makoto from the kidnappers. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way which keeps the story interesting. We did notice that many (more than half) of the episodes have a cliffhanger ending, making you want to see what happens next. There are a few funny moments that break up some of the "edge of your seat" drama along the way. The anime has several twists as well that keeps the plot moving along. I would give this a solid 4 out of 5.
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