Out of all of the anime titles that I watched from the previous summer season, Usagi Drop was probably the quietest.
It wasn't set in a different era. It didn't involve people with strange powers or abilities. Nor did it involve a vampire cat who thought any red colored food had blood in it.
Yet, it was episodes from this anime that Marvin and I waited for every week with the most anticipation.
Kawachi Daikichi returned to his home town to attend his grandfather's funeral. Upon his arrival, he noticed a quiet little girl that all of his relatives seemed intent on ignoring. He was informed later by his mother that the child was Kaga Rin, his grandfather's illegitimate daughter. Even though he was shocked by the revelation, Daikichi was more concerned about how his relatives were treating Rin. In a fit of annoyance, he decided to take care of Rin, despite being a 30 year old single man who had little experience with children, much less raising them. Thus, they start their life together as guardian and child.
In the course of (the too short) eleven episodes, we watched as Daikichi and Rin raise each other.
The overall look of the anime is colorful, like a pastel palette that
makes me think of those little colorful star candies that I didn't want
to eat as a child because they were so pretty. Many might think that
the animation and character designs to be unimpressive, but I wouldn't
have imagined Daikichi and Rin to be drawn another way. Besides, it isn't the animation that you should pay attention to. What makes Usagi Drop so great is the small cast of characters that make up the series. And central to everything is the relationship between the two main characters, Daikichi and Rin.
Daikichi's transformation from a man who was just barely taking care of himself to a responsible guardian of the most precocious six year old in the world, is at times funny and endearing, as well as ultimately satisfying. In order to make room for a child in his life, Daikichi sacrificed many things, including a lucrative career and the life of the single man. There were no more spontaneous drinking sessions. There were also no more decisions to be made without thinking of the welfare of a child first. Yet, for an awkward man who didn't know what he was supposed to do, Daikichi offered little to no resistance to change, and never showed resentment or regret at having to do so. While you would initially never think of him as one, Daikichi turned out to be an ideal parent you would either want in your life or would want to eventually become, even if he did have messy hair and slouched all the time.
In truth, the main reason why the transition was relatively easy for Daikichi, despite minor setbacks, is because of Rin. As unusual as her childhood prior to living with Daikichi was, you have to credit Kaga Souichi for raising Rin the right way. By the time she moved to the city with Daikichi, she showed self-reliance and a level of maturity at the age of six that I found mind blogging. However, if you're imagining a boring child burdened by overt precociousness, Rin is still a child. Sure, she can cook breakfast for herself and Daikichi, make onigiri, and knows which clothes she needs in nursery school. Yet, she is still a child. I marveled every time she made a sound signifying her interest or wonder. When she tells Daikichi something she's sure of, she says it with the certainty of a child, infallible, stubborn and infectious. It doesn't take long to warm up to Rin as a viewer, so it wasn't surprising that other characters in the series would do the same.
Usagi Drop is quiet, because majority of the series is mostly composed of scenes of day to day activities, and the only loud elements are Daikichi's niece, Reina, and Rin's friend, Kouki, who appear occasionally throughout the series. You should not be fooled, though, into thinking that idyllic means boring, unchanging or even unchallenged. What Usagi Drop did, and did well, was to show that not all the hurdles or problems have to be screaming for the viewer's attention. Yet, it doesn't mean that they are not told effectively.
For every scene of preparing and eating breakfast together, there are scenes of Daikichi racing to pick Rin up on time after school.
For every scene of Daikichi learning how to tie Rin's hair into pig tails, there's a scene of him waiting restlessly for Rin to get well from a fever.
And for every scene that Rin shows contentment in her new life, there is that one scene when she becomes afraid of the idea that Daikichi will die and leave her like her father did.
You will feel that certain scenes seem to be familiar, as it reflects parts of your own life. And you will empathize with their emotions, whether these emotions are positive or negative. It didn't pile on one dramatic scene after another. While some scenes can make you tear up, you won't need to run sobbing for tissues as certain slice of life anime are apt to do.
It didn't need it.
Because Daikichi and Rin were never meant to invoke pity or sadness out of you. What they do instead, is make you hope that, while they both have to grow up, that they and their relationship never change.
Usagi Drop is just perfect the way it is.
Happy viewing!!
P.S. This post is based solely on my anime viewing, which is adapted from the first part of the manga by Unita Yumi. I have since read the manga version and discovered the ending of the second part of the series, which would have greatly altered how I received the anime. Still, even with the weird ending (which I think ruined it for Marvin), Usagi Drop was immensely enjoyable for me.
Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Must-Watch, Slice of Life, TV, Usagi Drop
