Usagi Drop is the slice of life anime retelling of the manga
by the same name. The series aired 11
episodes in during the Summer-off season in Japan in 2011.
Daikichi Kawachi is
a 30 years old single company worker in Tokyo.
He lives a solitary Spartan existence in which the majority of his time
is spent working his high stakes sales accounts. Upon returning to his home town to attend his
grandfather’s wake he discovers that his grandfather, a widower, had fathered
and was raising an illegitimate child.
The quiet six year old girl named Rin is causing a rift with the
family. None of the relatives are happy
about her existence and want to see her disappear now that the family patriarch
is deceased. As they all agree to let
the child’s care be taken up by the governments orphan system, Daikichi,
disgusted with his families lack of compassion, announces that he will foster
the child. Now Daikichi must figure out
how to care for he’s illegitimate aunt and adjust his life to being responsible
for more than just himself. Rin, must
deal with being uprooted from the peace and attention provided by her
octogenarian father and being under the care of this relative stranger.
This touching
slice of life series is steeped in reality and plays on the idea that blood is
thicker than water. The episodes deal
with such mundane and everyday issues as finding the right nursery school for
Rin and how to deal with a baby tooth coming out. Things that every parent and every child
deals with and offer nothing of the fantastical sort. This is incredibly refreshing, especially
among the typical anime titles that delve varyingly in the realm of fantasy and
pseudo-fantasy. The animation is simple,
sometimes a bit odd and captures the style of the manga well.
There is not much
more I can say about this excellent series.
It is well worth the watch if you are a fan of slice of life titles. While some of the subject matter can be
serious the overall feel is light hearted.
I was happy to see that this series saw the light of day as I greatly
enjoyed what I was able to read of the manga right before it was licensed in
North America. Unfortunately I only got
a little past where the anime ends. The
anime ends at about the half way point in the manga, which works well, but I
would have loved to have seen the second half told as well. The first half deals with Rin at 6 and 7
years old. The second half deals with
her 10 years later. Perhaps the second
half of the story will be told at a future time. But, don’t worry the manga is available to
read as well! There was also a live action movie made in 2011. This series will work well
in you’re collection if you are a fan of titles such as Ichigo Mashimaro.
To read my initial review of the manga go here ----> Usagi Drop manga
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