Usagi Drop

Regardless of the anime or manga that we like, we rarely seem to find ourselves, as viewers and readers, face to face with serious social issues. For the most part, a lot of the anime and manga out there are as far from dealing with the real world as possible, and that's fine. Many, if not most of us, watch shows or read books to escape our world and live vicariously through others. Usagi Drop takes a classic theme of suddenly single parent, that is usually reserved for comedy, and instead makes it as real as possible. Usagi Drop takes the classic social issue of illegitimate children born out of wedlock and reminds us that it is still an issue we need to pay attention to. Usagi Drop does all of this while being entertaining, beautiful and earth shattering, and yet somehow, one can't help but feel that they are on more solid ground than they were before they watched it.

The issue of children born out of wedlock seems to have slowly become a non-issue over the course of the 20th and into the 21st century for Western audiences. Because of this, Westerners might watch this show and think it's no big deal and not understand how and why the family is being so wretched towards Rin and why it is such a huge deal with Daikichi takes her in after becoming frustrated with the families cold and heartless reaction. To a Western audience, this is simply the right thing to do, but in some cases in Japanese culture, what happens in Usagi Drop is revolutionary, and it calls its intended viewers out on the carpet and declares that it is time to let go of this taboo and time to stop punishing the children for the mistakes and social missteps of their parents. It does this without irony, without slapstick, without any attempt at comic relief, and because of this, the audience is now forced to confront the issue as real rather than brush it off as something they saw in an anime.

Another refreshing thing about Usagi Drop, like many of the titles that have aired on the noitaminA block, this comes from a josei manga, meaning that the target audience is adult women. So few animes are made from this demographic that whenever one does come about, it is almost instantly a breath of fresh air, and Usagi Drop is no exception. The art and the coloring of the series are unlike what most people are used to seeing out of shounen and shoujo fair, and mercifully, nothing like the seinen moe that seems to be everywhere. As much as possible, mangaka Unita Yumi seems to go for realism in her style, and that is translated well into the series though the art and the animation. A more mature demographic also means we get more mature characters and more well rounded characters, so expect to be able to find pieces of yourself scattered throughout the cast as the series progresses.

The one slight flaw of the show is the music, and while it is not bad, it is not memorable. It works as a part of the series, but the opening, ending and all the music in between do not stay with you long. That is probably just as well because what should stay with you after watching Usagi Drop is the show, and perhaps the music is an intentional after-thought.

Usagi Drop's manga has finished, and many people who are fans know where this series is headed. I urge you, do not spoil this by going and looking up what happens. Instead, enjoy the episodes as they come out. I feel safe to say that when the ending comes, many people may be unhappy with it. I think that this is just another feature of good storytelling: sometimes, things don't work out.

At eleven episodes, you really don't have an excuse to not watch this series. Usagi Drop will make you cry, it will make you laugh, and it will make you believe that there are beautiful things in this world and help you hope for a better tomorrow for all those who are shoved to the margins by society. I can't give this series a high enough recommendation, but it should suffice to say that you need to watch this show and hope that more studios are willing to break the mold in the future.

What if you lost everything? And your family turned against you. But a midst all the darkness a hand stretches out to grab you and pull you close. This is Usagi drop. Six year old, Rin had just lost her father. And while at his funeral she meets Daikichi. While all of Rin's family gives her the cold shoulder because she is the illegitimate child that her father had. But, Daikichi is the one that actually paid attention to her. So, while the family is deciding what to do with her, Daikichi offers to take her in. And thus our story begins. Along the way Daikichi has many hardships while figuring out how to raise Rin. But he gets lots of help along the way, whether it is from his friends at work or one of the parents from Rins day care. Overall Usagi drop is a tale of family, growing up, and the hardships of raising a child.

29 reviews of this anime so far (this is the 30th) and the only review that gave anything below a 4 in anything but music was talking about the manga instead of the anime (and even THAT person liked the show.) If you're reading the reviews to decide whether to watch, the answer is "yes". From everyone.

I can almost guarantee that this show isn't going to be like what you usually watch on this site. That's because it's pretty unique. There's another one out there now with the premise of watching over girls after a death ("Listen To Me Girls, I'm Your Father") but that one isn't nearly as good. In any case, this is well worth leaving your ordinary fare.

This show is especially nice to watch if you need a break from all those shows with high school girls in tiny skirts, but don't like the action-type shows. It can be like a breath of fresh air, especially since there are so few good shows like this.

I loved this. It was so touching. You laugh, you cry, your heart aches and then lifts. It's such a sweet story. I'm a sucker for a man who's strong enough to do the right thing and be a good dad even when he doesn't have to (as is the case here.) Although, I did read a spoiler on how the manga ends... it's not the case for the anime (at least not thus far) so I judge them separately in that area. I will compare them overall by saying that I read three volumes of the manga, but I didn't find it near as enjoyable as the anime. It's usually the opposite for me so I was surprised that I enjoy the manga very much. The anime adds so much life to the story. It really is beautiful. I would love to find more anime of this caliber.

I already read the original comic and I know what will happen to them but I like to watch Rin and Daikichi are moving, talking, laughing, crying in the anime. For them, the fact that Rin was not related to Daikichi's grand-pa saved them and they could finally marry but until then, there were many arguments about their relationship at many places. That time many guys were thinking Rin was a step daughter of Daikichi's grand-pa. Since Daikichi's grand-pa died, Rin could marry Daikichi legally by terminating legal relationship between Daikichi's grand-pa in Japan. I just worried how Rin would feel when Daikichi dies since Daikichi was more than 30 years older than RIn and she had so sad memory of Daikichi's grand-pa dying.

I really like the anime! But the manga kind of messes it up for me a tad bit. It makes me looks at Daikichi and Rin differently then how I used too.



(and if your confuse about the ratings, I rated it based on the anime not the manga)
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This anime caught my eye a few weeks ago, the premise sounded intriguing and the art looked good too. I was busy with other things so I put it on the back burner, I decided to check it out not to long ago and with in a few days finished it. I could not help but want to want watch every episode some parts had me laughing hysterically laughing or chuckling and snickering , and others had me thinking "awwww."
If you watch this anime and do not even feel the slightest tug on your heart, your heart may be three sizes to small.

What makes this Anime so awesome is not flashing swords, giant robots, or characters screaming and fighting like they are constipated. It relies on the sheer simplicity of real life. With a premise that is not completely unheard of but not seen very often. Daikchi just an average joe ends up taking in a little girl and finds that his life is changed dramatically and is glad and would not trade it for the world. I liked how each character was real in the sense that you know people and kids like that, the kids do and talk exactly like kids do, and say what kids say much to annoyance of there parents (I was notorious for simply saying what was on my mind when I was a kid). I liked the how Kouiki and Rin developed a brother sister like relationship and how they backed each other up. This anime showed that all kids want is someone to be there in there lives, someone they know loves them completely. The art and music did the job of enhancing the story making it feel more alive. I dont care about what the manga does with the story I see this anime as in and of itself darn good.

This anime will be on a favorite list but a different type of favorite list along with Bamboo Blade (also a good anime) in one that says drop the swords, wands, spirits, and junk and lets tell a story a simple story with some laughs not over the top but just enough. Give it a cute main character and a complete opposite character to balance. GIve it a light style of animation and give it simple music and lets see what happens. The Result Usagi Drop.

Not overly cute, nor trite, nor tepid, Usagi Drop is the engrossing tale of Daikichi, a 30-year-old boy... the kind of person we normally think of as an adult. In the very first episode, he and his whole family are confronted with a difficult decision, and he realizes that it's time for him to man up. And he does, in an admirable way.

Usagi Drop manages to look at parenthood without turning parents into heroes, or into villains. Despite being a mundane slice-of-life story, it manages a pace that is neither glacial nor frenetic, but... realistic. The art is spot-on, the music is great, the characters are engaging. But I was most happy to find a male adult character that I could sympathize with and respect. Daikichi's honesty, resolve, and willingness to critically examine his own life are difficult to find these days.

Make sure to watch through the closing credits. They always include a watercolor from the current episode and a closing scene afterwards.

Usagi Drop also manages to actually end; you won't be investing your time in a series that was canceled, or that otherwise ends unsatisfactorily.

After watching this series I just want to get it on dvd, most reviews I will be doing is I WANT THIS ON DVD. And as I live in the UK, majority of these series won't get here. But it's fine as I can import region 1 dvd's. And I hope some company will pick this up. After watching it I was thinking of picking up the manga as well. It such a great story of every day life, know I know most people are not in to that kinda of genre but I loved it. The character, you just care for them and from the very first episode I was hooked, definitely one of the best anime series I have seen this year. I hope there will be a 2nd series as well and longer than 12 episodes. I just fell in love with it and and will be re-watching this soon. Make sure to check it out!

I love this series.There are many heart-warming and heart-wrenching parts.After I started the anime I couldn't wait for more episodes and ended up with the manga.Knowing what happens kills me though.However how the story goes is up to the author and I thank them for the series non-the-less.It also goes to show you that in this world that you can't always get your hopes up because you could end up disappointed.This is in my top ten favorites and I think everyone should watch/read it dispite of what their tastes are in anime/manga.