Bunny Drop - Reviews

With this review I’m going to try a slightly different style. Rather than structure it like a site review, I’m going to simply free-write and state my opinions on the major aspects of the anime in paragraph form. I hope it works and is informative. Also note that I have not read the manga, and (for manga readers) the anime only covers up to right before the "timeskip."

Usagi Drop is a manga I’ve heard about for a while but never got around to reading, primarily because I’m not much of a manga reader, preferring anime, light novels, and some yonkoma manga as opposed to ones that tell a coherent story. What really drew me into watching the anime was that Production I.G. was animating it. Having just watched Kimi Ni Todoke Season 2, I knew that this studio would adapt the manga well, and I was not disappointed.

The story is life itself. Never before have I seen an anime of any genre be so ordinary and true to the reality of the world in which we live. All other anime I’ve seen either require an extraordinary premise or interesting character archetypes to make the plot interesting. Usagi Drop uses the very bare minimum amount of unusualness to start the story, the death of Daikichi’s grandfather and his adoption of Rin, and then allows it to coast in reflection of a rather ordinary life, as if the characters were people living in the real world. If you’ve read my review of Toradora, you know I love these kinds of stories, as they prompt self-reflection. Usagi Drop in particular provokes a unique kind of reflection, especially for a late-adolescent such as myself. As a teenager, I still am attached to my childhood in a way beyond a dim nostalgic memory. However, since I’m a legal adult, I see the world of adulthood creeping ever closer, which allows me to relate slightly to the troubles of an “inexperienced” adult like Daikichi.

That’s really the entire essence of why I enjoyed this anime, and I don’t want to overanalyze it any more than that. I’ll address the other obligatory major points. The animation was very similar to the style of Kimi Ni Todoke, often looking like watercolors at times. I enjoyed this style as it was both fluid yet simple, reinforcing the ordinariness of the setting. The characters, as I alluded to, are largely very down to earth, and interact with each other realistically. It was almost as if I were watching someone else’s home movies, only less awkward and much more entertaining. The music was sufficient, emotional at times but largely forgettable. The anime provided the best OP/ED tandem of the summer season in my opinion. The voice acting was excellent, and added to the realistic form of the characters.

Overall, I think Usagi Drop is really for the slice of life lover. If the idea of “ordinariness” bores you, then avoid this anime. But as John Grogan, author of Marley and Me, said (paraphrased), “In capturing the usual I seem to have captured the universal.” That’s why I strongly believe that there is an audience for an anime like Usagi Drop, in a world where an anime about the ordinary is one of a kind and therefore extraordinary.

This serie deserve an oscar! everything is great, amazing plot, amazing characters! the story is WOW!

This was originally a blog post found on my blog, Moe Monster.

Rin and Daikichi's origin story.

Usagi Drop is easily my favorite show of the year so far. Easily so, in fact. I’ve enjoyed others, like Madoka, AnoHana, Steins;Gate, etc, but this was a gem through and through. It just oozed smoothness and had an ease to it I don’t think I’ve ever seen in an anime. Some other kind of true to life shows I might compare it to would be the depressing, but ultimately rewarding, Welcome to the N.H.K and the stellar romantic-dramedy Nodame Cantabile. I’ll try my best to identity some of the well-laid elements of the show.

First and foremost, any reviewer would be doing a great disservice without first mentioning the characters of Usagi Drop. I would sum them in 2 words–Complex & Simple. It may sound paradoxical, but that’s exactly what they’re like. I’d go as far as saying that that’s what real people in the real world are like as well. There are good times and bad times, there are times in which we need help and there are times that we can offer our help to others. The series creators did a superb job showcasing the characters. Especially in fact, the female characters.

Really developed and very real women of Usagi Drop.

This makes a lot of sense due to the mangaka of Usagi Drop being the very female Yumi Unita. While Daikichi is a well-formed male lead and the other guys (Kouki included) are completely solid, it’s the real women of Usagi who steal the show. Gotou, Daikichi’s co-worker gets some props for being the first person he encounters who shoots straight about family and sacrifice. Haruko, (Daikichi’s cousin) along with Masako and Yukari, show multiple facets of not only motherhood, but womanhood in general. Daikichi’s sister and mother also provide some small pointed moments.

The main characters are pretty much a joy from start to finish. If I have one knock on the entire show, it’s that there can’t possibly ever have existed a child as sweet as Rin. But I rationalize it like this–if there was a child that sweet, someone would have to turn them into a fictional character, which Rin is. It’s circular logic, see?

Brush-style animation featured in the beginning of each episode.

The production of the show is 100% flawless. In fact, while mulling over the live-action Usagi Drop, I can’t help but think the story will suffer from lack of animation. I can’t imagine this story without Rin’s happy face or Daikichi’s what the hell face. The animation is memorable, which means a lot from me–an anime fan not so impressed by, well, not much of anything really. It’s very simple in its colorful pastel-like colors and always easy on the eyes. The opening of each episode, in particular with its water colored illustration style, was outstanding.

The music was fantastic. I’m not an opening/ending kinda’ guy and Usagi didn’t particularly overwhelm me. The background music however, was flawless, and unlocked an entire other dimension to the animation.  I submit the following sound clip as evidence letter U, and to which I now can’t listen without getting a little choked up.

[Sound clip lost to the ages]

Just one of many musically magical pieces used throughout the series. Another aspect of the sound was the ever-present Ayu Matsuura, the 11 year-old seiyu who voices Rin. Hearing her voice was like goddamn sunshine throughout all the summer days. All the actors and actresses were solid and I can’t honestly remember noticing any characters with strange sound qualities. I imagine, in my silly mind, all these adult roles being that which voice actors go nuts over. I don’t know about you, but I love mature sounding people in anime. All the adults and all the kids were wonderful. Like in all aspects in Usagi Drop though, it’s Rin and Daikichi who are the centerpieces.

Buddy story.

That leaves me with just the plot, which was tight and once again, simple. The story is set up in the first episode. And the story never changes up or switches out. There aren’t other stories introduced that take away from the original. There seemed to be two main type of episodes, with some slight variations. There were central story episodes–He takes Rin home, finds out about her and later her mother and deals with being parent. And there were the “Daikichi learns a lesson” type of episodes, in which he sometimes imparted those lessons to Rin as well.

There were slight variations, such as the Haruko episode, in which Daikichi’s resolve is bolstered, just from bearing witness to the struggles of another familiar parent. I’ll fight the urge to detail any further character growth or subtle plot development. By sticking to the “non” rating system we developed last season, I would go ahead and recommend this show to anything with a pulse. It easily makes my favorite list, and were we to make another “anime shows you’d recommend to someone who doesn’t watch anime” list, this would have to be near the top.

Just know that if you haven’t seen this series, the people in it and some of the things they deal with, will be true to life. Not always mind-blowing and not always exciting, but always just right. Thanks Usagi Drop for making my summer a little better. Thanks also to anyone who may have followed these reviews or left comments!


Best wishes for the 2011 Fall season!

Warning, this review contains no major spoilers, but does explain the basic premise of the series. If you are yet to watch this anime, reading the review may affect your viewing experience.

Usagi Drop (UD) is a story of Daikichi who becomes a guardian of Rin Kaga, a six-year old daughter of his grandfather and his housekeeper. The series follows their everyday lives with their own little quirks and merits.

The plot of this series is not deeply though provoking, it deals with issues of parenthood (or guardianship in this case) such as dividing time for work and family, taking care of your sick child and raising your kid with no mother. It’s worth to note that the story is told from a rather sunny perspective. ‘Adopting’ a child brings a lot of monetary and personal issues which Daikichi handles like a pro. I am willing to bet that if a person would be put in a similar situation in real life, they would be way over their head than our main protagonist. Ahem!

For a short series like UD there are quite a lot of characters. Besides Daikichi and Rin we are quickly introduced to a single mother  Yukari Kitani and her son Kouki. They serve as counterbalance to the protagonists. Yukari is calm and collected and she fills the void of a motherly figure to Rin. Kouki is a loud, hyperactive child to whom Daikichi acts as a fatherly figure. Although not indicated, the show heavily implies that the four of them might become a happy family at some point in the future.

Besides the main cast there is plenty of supporting individuals. We have Daikichi’s family, his co-workers and other parents he meets during the course of the series. They do a good job of revealing interesting bits of information to the viewer or guide the story forward, but besides that are never fleshed out enough. My biggest gripe comes with Rin’s mother, Masako Yoshii. She’s a character so underdeveloped, it baffles me completely. I can understand that in Japan your work lets you make sacrifices, but walking away from your child with no rhyme or reason does raise questions about her motives. I was fascinated by the fact of an elderly man and a 20ish woman would conceive a child and how their relationship came to be. Unfortunately these crucial parts of the story are not explained and are left to the viewer’s imagination.

Usagi Drop has a very artistic style, impeccably adapted from the manga.  The crayon coloring on both background and characters is done with a lot of care and enriches the theme of a child’s innocence.  The characters are distinguishable from one another while also looking and feeling unique. The gorgeous OP and ED are also worthy of appraise. Each ending sequence is unique because it changes its artwork to reflect on the episode’s events. There are a few recycled scenes which are barely noticeable. I salute Production I.G. for creating another visual marvel.

My final verdict is a solid 4/5. Despite its shortcomings, Usagi Drop offers a lot of heart to the viewer. Its stylized visuals and well-paced narrative will leave any slice of life fan satisfied. If you are not keen of anime about normal people doing normal things, I would still recommend checking it out. Chances are high it will end up as an entertaining watch.

This anime was a co-op watch with the user Jehowi. Want to know his opinion? You can read it here.

The anime Is a great and beautifully  done. When you watch the anime you will fall in love with the main characters  Rin and Daikichi who are strangers to each other to start of with and slowly come family. It's a lovely anime to watch and would  put a smile on anyone's  face.