Granddad Is My Dad - Musings on Usagi Drop

I waited quite a while to do this review, so I hope I don't do it injustice. This anime isn't exactly fresh in my mind. However, the need to get it off my drive and into my archives eventually got me to writing.

This was another slice-of-life coming-of-age story, as many before it - the twist, however, was that it was a 30-year-old man that was coming of age, aided by the responsibilities of taking care of his new charge, a 6-year-old relative. Based on this simple premise, the story was very strong and realistic. Each episode was simple with its leading plot, and the characters drove forward the anime smoothly.

What a strangely slanted house.

Animation
The animation was very similar to Hourou Musuko, done in general pastel hews (though without the screen edges tapering off into whiteness). Despite this, there was great detail in most scenes; I was never left wanting to know more about what their house looked like, for example. This style of drawing doesn't attempt to be 3D, and there's a great allure to it. I also think the character design was done really well, especially the proportions - the extremely tall Daikichi towering over the tiny Rin was quite the symbolic piece. Overall, I preferred this over its contemporaries - like, for example, The iDOLM@STER and its strange proportions in certain moving scenes.

The children multiplied!

Setting
The story of this anime was very believable: 6-year-old Rin was the illegitimate child of 30-year-old Daikichi's grandfather, with the secret coming out at the grandfather's funeral when the family arrived to find the little girl in the house. The episodes followed Daikichi and Rin's life as they lived together, as he had chosen to take her in over sending her to an orphanage. While there was a little bit of a perfect feeling, such that no serious problem ever really came up, the anime focused on some very realistic problems, such as juggling single parenthood and a demanding full-time job. The comparison to Aishiteruze Baby came to me since the first episode, but I can honestly say that they're really nothing alike. That anime focused more on the coming-of-age of Kippei, whereas this one actually focused on Daikichi and Rin being together as a complete family.

Ah, Daikichi. So gangster.

Story Presentation
The story-telling within these 11 episodes was quite good; the pacing was realistic and the focus of each episode was simple. There was a single tying factor for all the scenes within the episode, and it didn't feel like it really dragged at any point. Often times, between episodes, a lot of time had passed and so many scenes/events had been omitted. However, despite this, the pace of the character-building was still very believable. Speaking of that, the way that Daikichi's parents (with his mother being Rin's half-sister) moved through various stages of their feelings about Rin, from the first episode to the last, was not only well done but also very intriguing. It was an extremely feel-good transition.

I wonder if they made those clothes themselves.

Characters
The characters were pretty well-rounded here, with the main characters being the most shaped and secondary characters introducing new facets of their persona when and as required. This caused characters to sometimes feel a little used; however, despite that the characters genuinely grew and had believable nicks in their personalities. Daikichi felt hollow at times, due to the lack of real emotions he often displayed (for example, there was never any real anger from him), but ultimately he probably fit exactly the trope of the anti-social adult that exists in modern Japan. Rin's maturity, highly unrealistic at times even when taking into consideration the details of her circumstances, really carried the show forward. A lot of story points possible in this anime would not have been in Aishiteruze Baby, simply because Yuzuyu would not have been able to pull it off. However, despite these points, the way that all the characters matured was very smooth; the passage of time never showed, but its effects always did.

I wanted a cleaner picture...

Final Words
The anime ended without any real fireworks, just as expected, and I was driven to pick up the manga (which is 56 chapters, with the anime finishing at the end of chapter 24). Word of warning: the remainder of the story is not to everyone's liking, and is different from the first 24chaps/11eps. Despite that, this review is based only on the anime, and I can't deny that it was mostly well performed. This anime gave me reality with a little bit sugar, doing well with its undeniable goal of making me feel happy after each episode.

Epic freak-out!

Scoring - [6/10]
The quick and sweet stories allowed me to watch one episode each week without needing to recall what had really happened. I felt infuriated that events weren't occurring fast enough at times, although isn't that really to the anime's benefit? I wanted more, more, more.

~Aaro

Usagi Drop Ep11 [END]

It feels as though 11 weeks has gone by quite fast...and yet, as though no time's passed at all. Just like with HikaGo, I had no idea that anyone had changed at all until it was pointed out. It was a feel-good ending to a feel-good anime; at least it's consistent.

Being the last episode, I had thought that there might be some kind of "big story" taking place. Barring that, I thought that at least it would be the conclusion to the "trilogy" that had been occurring with Kouki and his mother. Strangely, it was really neither of that. While the episode began right after ep10 left off, with Daikichi taking Rin and Kouki grocery shopping in order to pick up some things for the ailing woman, she didn't actually get much screentime (on her own, at least).

She looks so endearing~

Dropping off the food at Kouki's house, Daikichi came face-to-face with Kouki's mother as she looked without make-up on. (It was pretty okay, to be honest.) While he had been able to placate Rin earlier when she had been worried that it was her fault Kouki's mother was sick, it turned out that Daikichi was actually full of worry about that fact himself. Being incredibly kind-hearted, though, Kouki's mother made it clear that she didn't blame Rin or Daikichi, or regret her time spent taking care of the child. In fact, given how many people she came into contact with everyday, there was no reason to think that she was sick because of Rin.

But she already knows how to jump...

The next plot point of this episode was a skipping competition being held at the elementary school, for which the two households got together once more. Since he had been networking, the two men from the previous episode came over as well, with their respective offspring. Daikichi helped out both Kouki and Rin with their jumping, while finding out that there were little containers where children could store their baby teeth. (I hope the teeth are cleaned first.) The next time the children got together to practice, Daikichi brought along another rope so that he could also join in (much like the other two men, while Kouki's mother most likely does secret exercise routines/classes).

While the girls quietly played, the boys ran around wildly.

It actually was a little strange to see the gender unbalance with the 4 families - there were three men and just one woman. I know that the stylish guy is a single father, but is his friend separated/divorced too? I am a little pleased to see that a "broken home" isn't such a mark in the society portrayed here; single parents have enough to worry about without having to deal with hushed whispers about their children not growing up right, I think. The scene ended with Daikichi talking to the other parents and commenting that he thought they were amazing. He had only been with Rin for a year or so, whereas they had been doing it for their kid's entire lifetime. His question - how they were able to deal - was left unanswered until a flashback later in the episode.

It's just a loose tooth...

The next big scene (after some playful moments with Daikichi and Rin) was the two of them heading to his parents' house. It was at this point that even I noticed the changes in Rin; she was acting a lot more outgoing and at-home while with Daikichi's parents than the last time we'd seen them together, where she had been far more demure. It's really nice to see that she's already adjusted! Kazumi, Daikichi's younger sister, turned out to be on the verge of marriage, though still not sure about children. During his talk with her, the flashback to the question he had asked the other parents at the playground occurred. While it was hard to take care of a child 24/7, essentially, none of them minded in the least. (It's good that Daikichi met people with maternal/paternal instincts. There are people that really never settle into motherhood or fatherhood, after all, and that would probably confuse and worry Daikichi quite a lot.)

She does look like someone punched her lights out.

The last few minutes of the episode actually felt most like a montage, due to the tiny flashbacks to events that had occurred in previous episodes. I think the general feel was that Daikichi was happy with his current life, despite all the whirlwind changes. Judging from the scenes, it seemed as though Rin was also quite happy with her current life; she seemed to have come out of her shell (though I really didn't know that the slightly shy girl wasn't just her personality).

What's wrong with Kouki's teeth?

I can't say I was disappointed with the ending - it kept the tone of the series up quite well - but I feel as though it's unfinished. There was nothing finite about this episode, making me expect ep12. While that's good in a way - I already want S2, for example - it's also annoying because there's no closure. I wonder if they shoved a lot more chapters into this episode than usual; there's a strange disjointed feeling amidst all of the warm and fuzzy ones. Oh well, I guess it's finally off to the manga for me~

~Aaro

Usagi Drop Ep10

My weekend without Internet, meant to be spent catching up on my posting, was actually spent sleeping at all hours and screwing with my jet-lagged schedule even more. With almost an entire week passing since then, I'm so back-logged now that it's actually kind of worrisome. Time to work hard...?

This episode was more about the bonding of the two families, this time over Rin's sickness. The scene before the OP was about Rin's first baby tooth coming loose, although it wasn't touched on really for the remainder of the episode. After the break, Daikichi headed to the elementary school to attend the Cultural Festival. It's quite amusing how, at that age, the parents would attend, whereas in middle/high school, it becomes all about networking with students from other schools (in order to find a girlfriend/boyfriend, often times).

Wow, even adult men can look like high school girls, gossiping in a circle...

At the school, Daikichi met the parent of one of Rin's classmates (who was probably in the scene at her school in the previous episode; she didn't stand out enough for me to remember her), who looked like a model (though slightly aged). He was the same age as Daikichi, and they began to network quite quickly, along with a childhood friend of the stylish guy. The childhood friend was pretty "normal"; he reminded me of Poppo from AnoHana. Anyway, this encounter lead to Daikichi thinking about how his world had expanded since Rin came into it, due to his new acquaintances both in his work and personal life.

And that's how the urge to be a mother is born.

From the time that Kouki's mother showed up, she kind of didn't leave for the remainder of the episode. With Kouki being in another class, Daikichi stumbled into her as he walked down the hallway (thinking about how his world had grown). The conversation turned to how she was worried about Kouki getting sick (stopped momentarily in the middle due to the Poppo-lookalike's son, Poppo-lookalike Jr, showing up), and how parents weren't really in a position to take much time off from work. The entire conversation made me feel as though job security in Japan was an issue; while it's not like all employers in Canada would definitely understand someone taking days off for a sick child, there's probably a lot more leeway in general than in Japan.

...so they even discipline together.

This episode just continued to increase my intense shipping of this coupling, considering how well they seemed to handle the parental nagging of both Rin and Kouki. While it looked like Kouki was already sick (with his runny nose), it was actually Rin that was wilting on the way home. Kouki's mother confirmed that Rin had a fever, and a trip to the doctor's explained that it was a stomach bug. Daikichi seemed ill-equipped to handle a sick child, considering that he was unable to get Rin to eat or drink anything much, and freaked out quite a lot about it. It was nice to see that his own mother was able to give some advice; it'd probably have been a lot scarier if he were entirely alone.

If I were a different kind of person, I'd have much to say.

The next morning, Kouki's mother arrived with Kouki (although I'm sure that everyone knew that Rin wouldn't be going to school), and helped out with taking care of her a little. Her biggest contribution, even though she got Rin to have some ice to cool down (questionable cure, given the potential of a sore throat), was in getting Daikichi to just calm down. She explained that he needed to be comforting to Rin, instead of looking so harried. It was nice to see her in such a strong position.

She knows just what to say.

While Daikichi took the day off work (pretty easily, leading me to believe it's either because his department is full of family men or because he's been with his company for so long), he was mostly useless in taking care of Rin. Evening found Kouki and his mother returning to the house, though, where Kouki hung around in the room next to Rin's (watching TV for the most part) and his mother took care of both Rin and Daikichi. Her pep talk earlier that day seemed to have internalized his worries (such as how Rin's fever was rising) and she deftly tended to both him and Rin.

Dramatic moment!

Rin's sickness was all gone the next day, just as Kouki's mother had predicted, and she seemed good to go to school. That evening, however, Kouki revealed that his mother was sick - either as a result of hanging around Rin, or kind of unrelated, which was the "cliffhanger" that the episode ended on. It's good to see that the final episode will round off the "trilogy" dealing with the combined families.

Everyday should start like this.

I don't know what to expect of the final episode. While there's been a lot of focus on Kouki's mother (making me happy), I wonder how it'll actually work out. I'm suspicious of over-exposure leading to obvious heartbreak (for me). At the very least, I know it'll be a heart-warming episode, since it's Daikichi's turn to return the favour.

~Aaro

Usagi Drop Ep09

Ah, jet lag, always the cause of long waking hours but a severe lack of productivity. I'm slowly decreasing my pile of blog posts, though; how did I get so behind anyway? I guess that's what I'll have to work on for the upcoming weekend without Internet. (I hate moving.)

This episode of Usagi Drop was about togetherness, featuring a typhoon. The first half of the episode was focused on Rin and Kouki working hard at school, while Daikichi spoke to his colleagues about the various costs of raising children. The second half featured a shared dinner between Daikichi/Rin and the Nitani household. After seeing how well they get along, I'm really rooting for the coupling of Daikichi and Kouki's mother a lot more.

Children are so susceptible to suggestion.

The episode began with the typhoon warning playing on TV and, after the OP, quickly shifted to Rin and Kouki at school - specifically, Rin in her class (Kouki being in another class, apparently). I was surprised to see that they were learning how to write in the first grade (I assume that's what they're in); that seemed kind of late. I thought that the Asian curriculum was faster and stricter than North American standards, so I figured that they would learn things like numbers and hiragana in kindergarten.

I worry about the psychological ramifications.

The next scene with Rin and Kouki was when all of the first years headed to the yard to draw their individual plants (morning glories). This scene not only highlighted the differences between boys and girls growing up (another minor theme of the episode), but also introduced the differences between the two teachers shown. Rin's male teacher believed in a nurturing approach, complimenting the children on seemingly simplistic things (like Rin correctly using two colours for the different-coloured flowers instead of just one), while Kouki's female teacher ruled with an iron fist and berated Kouki on his various "incompetences".

His wife runs the house, doesn't she.

Meanwhile, Daikichi was found on his break, talking to his colleagues about their children. It turned out that Daikichi didn't have the various insurances his colleagues had - education, life, etc - and it made him think about what kinds of things to invest in. (It's always a good idea to be smart with money. I already had the impression that Daikichi didn't spend a lot, so there's a chance he just has money sitting in the bank.) He also internally thought about how happy the family men were, despite their various gripes in the conversation.

The bigger you are, the harder it is?

Once Daikichi got to the school to pick up Rin, he saw that Kouki's mother had yet to come. There was a brief moment of loneliness for Kouki, as he was being left behind, but both Rin and Daikichi offered (in synchronization) for him to go home with them. The remainder of the episode focused on the blended family, as Kouki's mother arrived at Daikichi's house some time later (on a rare day where she got off work early). It's interesting that Daikichi "demoted" into a labour job so he wouldn't have overtime, but Kouki's mother is unable to do so. I can understand; for many women, a labour job just isn't an option (that's what makes Daikichi's co-worker's case special).

The family looks so good together...

Once Kouki's mother arrived, the family really seemed complete. Daikichi had already helped both Rin and Kouki bathe, and so Kouki's mother (it would be nice if she was named) got to work preparing dinner. Rin helped almost the entire time, while Kouki's attempt was thwarted by the de-motivational power of onions. Even Daikichi felt the harmony in the larger family; as he sat with Kouki (who was making patties out of ground beef), he watched Rin and Kouki's mother getting along splendidly in the kitchen. It's really nice to see that not only does Kouki have a father-figure, but even Rin gets a female presence.

The symbolism...!

I wonder how viable a coupling between Daikichi and Kouki's mother really is, once again. I'm always suspicious when these kinds of scenes are played. There was a lot of symbolism as Kouki's mother was leaving; she had the vibe of a single mother fighting hard, and then Daikichi showing up with the umbrella was just the icing on the cake. However, I worry that Kouki's mother is too busy for a relationship right now (despite it looking like a good idea), and so she's unable to see the potential. Moreover, Daikichi's just not forward enough to get the ball rolling, is he?

What is wrong with that baby?

With only two more episodes to go, it's looking like there might be a "big finale", but otherwise it'll remain a day-to-day story until that point. I can't hope for too much; at the most, I'd like to see some more relationship potential by the end of the season. Rin and Daikichi are getting along just fine; there's nothing specific I can think of that I'd like to see in the next two episodes.

~Aaro

Usagi Drop Ep08

I found out that this series is 11 episodes long. The manga, on the other hand, has 56 chapters. While I have no idea where in the manga this episode takes place (I've been avoiding reading it), I'm aware that there's a time-skip about halfway through. So...second season?

You're being cute!

This episode featured the Obon Festival, which commemorated both a visit the late grandfather's grave and also Rin's birthday. (Unless I have it wrong and these two events didn't happen on the actual day of the festival. It was a little confusing.) A large feature of the episode, however, was Masako. Seeing her in her element instead of being yelled at by Daikichi, I got a little more understanding into her situation and, as much as I hate to say it, I don't entirely hate her anymore.

Usagi Drop Ep07

It feels like just yesterday that I watched ep06; I'm kind of out of it now that the Dota2 tournament takes up a large amount of my day. Though, it's not like most of the matches aren't entertaining... (Except the debacle that was EHOME vs Scythe.SG; what utter failure.)

...I want one.

This episode confirmed my previous inklings that Haruko (Daikichi's cousin) would be getting some kind of story to her, given small scenes shown of her and her in-laws. She and Reina spent a few days with Daikichi and Rin, while she pondered her options for dealing with her repressed feelings (in regards to her marital life) and Daikichi thought about marriage and what it meant to have a family. Kouki's mother made a cameo, further imbibing me with hopes that they'll end up together.

Usagi Drop Ep06

Dungeon Siege III has gripped my attention and time for the last little bit, but I still had the schedule to watch Someday's Dreamers 2. I forced myself to sit through it. Spoiler: it sucks. So much. I should have just watched Shinryaku! Ika Musume instead, with Season 2 coming up in Fall 2011.

Daikichi just never really looks comfortable...

This episode continued just after where the previous one left off, at Rin's entrance ceremony at elementary school (with Kouki's mother helping out with the photo-taking). After following the two in their day (which included grocery shopping), a major plot point was brought upon by the talking of "commemoration trees", which are trees planted in order to commemorate a certain event. The theme was where Rin fit into the family and her place, further signifying that she's here to stay in Daikichi's life (if anyone had any doubts). Interestingly enough, despite Rin starting elementary school, the episode didn't actually have much to say about that.

Usagi Drop Ep05

In the extreme heat of the Beijing summer, lounging around and watching a slow-paced anime like this one seems to really fit. (Plus, I'm avoiding the nightmare that is Someday's Dreamers 2, but that's another story all together.)

Mutual love!

This episode really cleared up what Rin and Daikichi meant to each other and how long we can expect to see them together. With the introduction of Rin's mother, it was really clear that Daikichi would be taking care of Rin for the extreme long-term, as the woman really seemed to not "all be there". The question of an adoption was raised, but Rin was against it and Daikichi wanted to go with her wishes. It was the typical type of episode, where a lot happened and a lot of information was presented, but it was truly slice-of-life at the end of it all.

Usagi Drop Ep04

I was almost delighted to remember that this episode came out today; after getting a true first impression of all the anime of this season, this one remains pretty high up for me. Rin's brand of mature cuteness is too good to pass up.

Like a doll.

This episode occurred with about 3 months having passed since Daikichi began taking care of Rin (or, at least, it had been by mid-episode). It wrapped up the matter of his "demotion", mentioned the last episode, and also showed Rin at her new nursery (also mentioned last episode). There was no time to waste as new plot points were quickly added in: Rin's new friend at the nursery (Kouki) and his mother will obviously be an integral part of Daikichi and Rin's life, and there seems a higher possibility of Rin's mother showing up some time soon. In the end, though, it was a really heartwarming moment to see that Daikichi thought that his sacrifices were not only the best for Rin, but were also making him into a better person.

Usagi Drop Ep03

I just noticed today that, after watching the episode yesterday, I actually didn't finish the last 3min of it. That's not to say anything about the series, though; I pretty much re-watched the entire thing while getting screenshots.

Ah, the days of making faces at random animals...

This episode moved right along, with Daikichi thinking more about the lifestyle he and Rin had, as well as thinking about finding out more about her mother. It was obvious to him that he couldn't handle his current job and Rin at the same time and, astonishingly, he decided to give up his current job instead of giving up his charge. Rin, for her part, fit into the "extended" family a lot more, visiting Daikichi's parents. There was nothing much revealed about Rin's mother, although the little that was raised a lot of questions. The pacing of the episode made me quite happy; it was presented slowly but, in actuality, a lot had happened.

Usagi Drop Ep02

After relegating Ikoku Meiro no Croisee to batch status (there's just not enough to talk about...), and with Kamisama no Memochou not airing this week (since the first episode was double-sized), I seem to have a lot of time this week. But that just means next week will be terrible.

A triangular smile!

With this episode marking the beginning of Daikichi and Rin's new life together, there was a constant feeling of Aishiteruze Baby but with a twist, since it was literally just the two of them (and Daikichi has lots of adults worries, which Kippei didn't have to deal with). There wasn't a lot of growth this episode, except for the two getting used to each other (although Rin seemed pretty taken with her new caretaker from the very beginning of the episode anyway). There were lots of hints as to changes that may occur very quickly; at the end of the episode, Daikichi seemed to have resolved to give up smoking, and it became pretty obvious that his current style of working was not going to cut it.

Usagi Drop Ep01

I struggled so much in figuring out which subs to use for this anime. HorribleSubs was the first to release, but I hate how Crunchyroll subs (or, tries to), so I kept looking. I watched the Commie version, but a Doki release came out when I wasn't looking and because there's a high chance I'll be archiving this anime, I'll probably go with that.

A personalized arrangement.

Just from the description, I knew that there was a good chance I would like this anime. However, I thought that I would like AnoHana after seeing the description, too, so I was a little wary going into this. I was not mistaken, though; the first episode was actually pretty great. The pastel-influenced animation added to the heart-wrenching feelings created, and I know that this anime will probably make me very sad. It has tones of Aishiteruze Baby, except the family here doesn't seem nearly as caring. Either way, I'm definitely watching this and probably blogging episodically.