「てがみ」 (Tegami)
“Letter”

It’s uncommon to see a serious anime featuring young children, but Usagi Drop portrays their interactions very naturally — for example, how kids make friends easily, how adults fawn over them excessively at times, and how they want to look mature and not be overly affectionate with their parents. It’s consistent with my experiences and what I’ve seen, but at the same time the show also brings out the characters’ unique personalities and makes them both funny and endearing at the same time.

With Rin starting life at a new nursery school, I guess it was be inevitable that she would be facing questions about her mother and father from the other kids. She seems to be dealing with it alright so far, but Nitani Kouki, classmate and new friend, bails her out in an act of veiled kindness. I guess he’ll be a more prominent character in the episodes to come, and perhaps his mom will be as well, since they are also facing the single parent situation. His mom is gorgeous too and Daikichi develops a major crush immediately, but he isn’t a bachelor for no reason as their interactions clearly show that he’s terrible with women. I found it amusing that both the guys (Daikichi and Kouki) are the socially awkward types, and it was hilarious watching Daikichi’s clumsiness and how Rin found his reactions extremely suspicious. Rin and Kouki are also on the road to becoming good friends, though I wonder what will happen once they reach the gender-segregated social environment after a few years of primary school.

As for Daikichi, he is continuing to experience the sacrifices required to raise a child, including not being able to go out in the evening, even if one really, really wants to. In addition, single fathers are proportionately much lower than single mothers (though the reverse seems to be true in movies), and dads, especially Asian ones, usually are less involved with their child’s upbringings. Now, Rin’s presence has changed Daikichi’s priorities drastically, he’s really learning first-hand about having a family. I mean, helping Rin tie her pigtails? That is brave indeed.

Daikichi and Gotou both decide to bring their kids along so they can go party, though I question the wisdom of getting so drunk in front of children. Rin and Yuu seem to get along though, so I’m not sure how central they’ll be to the story later on. Finally there’s still the mystery about Rin’s mother, and whether and/or why she left Rin, but it looks like we’ll find out more about that soon. Grandpa actually had more foresight for Rin than I had thought, writing a long letter explaining things, but it does seem like he was betting on someone taking her in — a risky decision given how much he had drifted apart from his extended family.

49 Comments

  1. The genre of this show is quite different from what I normally watch, but I can say, the change in scenery has really made this show the top of my list. From the moment I read it in the Summer preview, I knew I had to watch this for the warm-heartedness it would bring, and I have enjoyed every bit of it – especially the Daikichi-Rin family moments. I will try and recommend this to my friends, who aren’t avid anime fans, but I hope the story warms their heart as much as it has mine 🙂

    Theta
    1. Actually, the art style of the manga is very ‘simple’. A lot of manga really overload with shading and effects and they can be very busy, but Usagi Drop is very streamlined and simple. I like it because it lets you focus more on the story. I think the use of pastels in the anime is a way to emphasize the simple nature of the story.

      ascii78
      1. Kids like Rin are quite few, but after all she is just a very, very, very good and bright kid and you can find ones like her, say, one among hundreds. If you look for a kid who is really abnormal, you would come up with some kid who easily understands college-level mathematics at the age of 6, maybe one among hundreds of thousand, now that’s abnormal, isn’t it? 😉

        U Doh
      1. Isnt it Reina? Atleast thats how they were translating it in the manga and I trust them over fansubbers since they are actually reading the original material and not just listening. Reina is an actual name too.

        babawaba
  2. I would love for the anime world to turn to situational shows this like rather than the infinite nonsense that’s prevalent now. To that end, some would actually call this show boring, but that’s only because the type of shows ppl are use to viewing now. If we get 2 show in a season like this, it’s like a godsend. This is definitely a cut from Aishiteru ze Baby. I can’t help but think of it when I watch this. I watched that series so many times I lost count.

    Megas
  3. Wow, Kouki’s mom sure is hawt. If Daikichi was more like Hugh Grant’s playboy like single womanizer from the movie About A Boy, he’ll surely use Rin as a pretext to hook up with her. lol

    Masako is voiced by none other than Sakamoto Maaya, and you know you must really be getting old when favourite voice actresses like her and Ueda Kana are starting to do mother roles. orz

    Kinny Riddle
  4. for those that have read the manga:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    btw, Rin is continuing to be one of the better characters for the year, with all those facial expressions…*hhhhnnnnnnnnnnggggg*

    screencap:*puni puni*

    info600
    1. arrghh, stop tempting me. I made a pact not to watch the manga until after I finished the anime. I know you put the spoiler tag, but having it so easily accessible is too tempting (but i prevail ……for now)

      lkaze
  5. This show is a great watch.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    No monsters, super powers, meca – what is this wonderful appeal!
    Those little Rin expressions and interactions are IT!

    mac65
      1. If you are going to read the spoiler, when replying to it use an spoiler too.
        Show Spoiler ▼

        babawaba
    1. Although not very common, there are Asiatic people who have lighter hair/various shades of brown. But Rin does have slight anime hair, since it’s never quite that light.

      Stranger
  6. After I read the people comment, I come to the conclusion: They like the show but unable to accurately pinpoint the exact reason for it to be so beautiful. I think the same too(I could be wrong about other but I think that myself)

    lkaze
  7. I like how Daikichi and kouki’s mom are both so similar parental wise. Both being out of breath as they rush to get their child or aunt ,in Daikichi’s case, on time. They seem like they’re getting along and their kids are very friendly with eachother…I haven’t read the manga but I got hope those two hook up or something as they’ve seen very cute together THUS far.

    Relic
  8. I’m still cracking up on the “relation” between Rin and Daikichi as of this time, …”Daikichi picking up his aunt…” xD
    (no, I have not seen something similar irl. So don’t break my train of thoughts)

    No wonder Daikichi actively avoids that topic…will say more next ep.

    info600

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