Bunny Drop

[Talon87]

"Don't you think this world is better than you expected?"

Daikichi, 30, goes to his grandfather's funeral. There, he sees a little girl in the garden whom he doesn't recognize. He learns that she is his late grandfather's illegitimate daughter, Rin, 6 years old, and that with Daikichi's grandfather's death Rin is now an orphan. None of the other family members know what to do with her, so Daikichi, disgusted with them, doesn't hesitate to offer Rin adoption. She accepts, and so begins their life as father-nephew and daughter-aunt.

The first four books explore the trials and tribulations of the two while Rin is a small child. From the fifth book onward, we leap forward in time to when Rin is in her early teen years.

The first book has been translated into English and published (iirc) by Viz Comics. There are six additional books in Japanese, and the series is still ongoing.

I'll be reading this series in Japanese, so I'll let you know what I know as I make my way through it. But for now, here are some pictures from the books. Also, I can say that I've read Chapter 1 and found it to be very adorable.

You should know that I have a big bias here, though, since the plot loosely mirrors my own fantasy about adoption, i.e. I often think about adopting in the near future, in spite of the absence of a woman in my life, (a) because I want to have kids, (b) because there are so many lovely kids in need of loving homes, (c) because I think I will be able to provide in the very near future, and (d) because I don't put much stake in blood relationship. So, I'll probably rave about this title a bit more than your average joe would seeing as Daikichi is basically living the life I often imagine myself living.

[Doppleganger]

Oh man, reading that intro reminded me of Karei Naru Ichizoku. =_= I hope it's more light-hearted, at least?

Also, you're a bit unclear as to how this story is being published. Is it a 1) full fledged novel, 2) 'light novel', 3) manga? You've posted art, which I would surmise is just the cover art of the different volumes, but I'm unsure if it's a novel or 'light novel'.

Originally Posted by Talon87

You should know that I have a big bias here, though, since the plot loosely mirrors my own fantasy about adoption, i.e. I often think about adopting in the near future, in spite of the absence of a woman in my life, (a) because I want to have kids, (b) because there are so many lovely kids in need of loving homes, (c) because I think I will be able to provide in the very near future, and (d) because I don't put much stake in blood relationship. So, I'll probably rave about this title a bit more than your average joe would seeing as Daikichi is basically living the life I often imagine myself living.

I've entertained the same daydream, from an early age (8th Grade). It's a bit embarrassing a story, because after I saw Roots I decided to make it a life goal to adopt a poor black boy from Ethiopia and name him "Toby". Officially, the name would be "Tobias" but the nickname Toby, and I would make it a priority to never use the name in public.

A lot of people have laughed at this intent over the years, but I'm still willing to try if I strike it rich. One of my college friends said that there's a lot of orphaned kids in his village who would love to be adopted. T_T

[Talon87]

Karei Naru Ichizoku? Wha? What part of my summary made the two stories sound alike? ^^; Or is it just that you saw a name starting in "Dai" and ran from there? ^^;; Do tell, Doppel! ^^;

It's a manga, my apologies. Seven volumes as in tankoubons, not seven volumes as in seven novels. My apologies once again.

[Doppleganger]

Uh well, it reminded me of the whole 'grandfather fathering another child' thing. Like, Daisuke being unsure if his own son is his half-brother, and here we've got a guy who's got a half-aunt by the same unusual circumstances.

Then again I think Karei Naru Ichizoku was the first thing to come to mind because you brought it up and you were the person who first talked about that drama here. Another example exists in the back of my brain - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure part IV, where 30 something Jotaro is mentoring his own 16 year old uncle.

Anyway, if this is a manga, it's accessible to me and is interesting enough to pick up. Thanks for sharing!

[big bad birtha]

This sorta reminds me of Rin's (same name too) background story in KnJ. I just hope this isn't as....umm...I can't think of the right word, depraved?

I might check it out after getting some things out of the way. I'm guessing each chapter releases monthly?

[Talon87]

Kodomo no Jikan, no matter how badly the fans will want to defend it by pointing out Rin's status as a sex abuse victim, was a manga which heavily sexualized minors. For most of its run, it was a manga which was about a grown man who had to resist his urges to reciprocate the sexual advances of a precocious child. In short, it was paedophilic: because even if Rin's character was innocent, the adult dude's character was not. One cannot say, "Well, what would you do if you were in his position?" and expect me to respond by saying, "I suppose I'd do the same things he did." He fought a personal battle with paedophilic urges, something most of us do not have to do. While it is commendable he did not succumb to them, he still had them: and enjoying the manga is still something best done by people who can relate to him, i.e. by people who also fight with paedophilic urges.

Usagi Drop, on the other hand, thus far seems to be completely devoid of such depravity, as you well put it. Daikichi adopts Rin not because she is a cute loli but because of her station in life. In Chapter 2, Rin refers to Daikichi as Oji-san (lit. "uncle," used by the Japanese the way we use "Mister" when addressing an adult male stranger) and later as Daikichi; while Daikichi refers to Rin as Rin and jokingly (when she calls him Oji-san) as Oba-san (lit. "aunt," used by the Japanese the way we use "Ma'am" when addressing an adult female stranger). From what little I glimpsed from Volume 5 by digitally thumbing through it, it seems that Rin finds herself a suitor / boyfriend and Daikichi goes into Protective Daddy Mode only to find he and the boy share a lot in common. You could force the Elektra complex argument at this point, saying that Rin has fallen for somebody who subconsciously reminds her of Daikichi, but I don't know that there's anything more than what I've described to back it up. At the same time, Daikichi appears to harbor some sort of feelings for this brunette his own age, but the two of them aren't together. I'd have to actually read it to find out why (are they dating? has he not even asked her out? who is she, exactly?), but Books 5 and 6 heavily feature conversations between these two, one of which ends dramatically with her crying in the pouring-down rain.

So while I can't say for certain, I do agree, BBB, and I think from what I've seen so far that we're safe.

[big bad birtha]

That's good. I wasn't really up for a title where a lonely guy adopts a girl just so he could marry her when she's legally able to.

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by Talon87

In Chapter 2, Rin refers to Daikichi as Oji-san (lit. "uncle," used by the Japanese the way we use "Mister" when addressing an adult male stranger) and later as Daikichi; while Daikichi refers to Rin as Rin and jokingly (when she calls him Oji-san) as Oba-san (lit. "aunt," used by the Japanese the way we use "Ma'am" when addressing an adult female stranger).

LOL.

[Doppleganger]

Haha, I know how it feels to look like your (great) grandparent! I was quite shocked to see a picture of my great grandfather. I just hope I don't get that pronounced chin when I get to be around 60. :[

...

Since even I would hesitate to triple-post, Daikichi is awesome! Talon described the discussion among the family members but I didn't think it would be just a bunch of people trying to vent how angry/betrayed/frustrated they were. I can totally believe people to act like that! Nice job DK.

[Talon87]

I've only read through Chapter 1 still because of some hang-ups between my expectations with how I'll get to read this story and the reality I've been butting heads with.

But I have an update for you all anyway: there's going to be a live-action movie, and apparently the young man who did a superb job of playing L in the live-action Death Note films is going to be playing Daikichi (the adoptive father) in the movie.

I don't know if it'll be any good or not since Rin's quite the character (which I'm surmising from skimming through future chapters) and unfortunately most child actors have a propensity to kill the illusion by obnoxiously overacting; but we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?

I'm excited because, if nothing else, this affords us a live-action version to show to our friends and families.

[Doppleganger]

Hey Talon, this might interest you.

I saw a "troll" image on a certain imageboard, then noticed the contrasting anime's characters looked very similar to those seen in Bunny Drop. Then I noticed the "usadro" and concluded there's going to be an anime adaption!

Here's the image.

[lilboocorsola]

I remember being intrigued by the discussion in this thread back when I was lurking. While I'm not terribly interested in marriage, if I ever do decide I want kids in the future, I'm determined to adopt. When I was young and naïve it always boggled my mind why people would want to produce more children when, as Talon said, already "there are so many lovely kids in need of loving homes". I know better now, but the notion still somewhat frustrates me if there's a choice in the matter.

So I am definitely interested in checking out this title if/when it's animated. Talon, how far have you read since your last update, if at all? Do you highly recommend the story in manga form? Like, "you should read it nao and form first impressions before blindly trying the animé"?

[Talon87]

Fate/Zero. Kaiji S2. Bunny Drop. 2011 will be remembered as the year which put an end to the anime drought of 2010.

Originally Posted by YUKI.N

Talon, how far have you read since your last update, if at all? Do you highly recommend the story in manga form? Like, "you should read it nao and form first impressions before blindly trying the animé"?

Put it on hold like so many things. But you know? Volumes 1 and 2 are out now in English, so you could probably find them and read it for yourself to see what it's like. I can promise you from skimming the volumes I have that it's a slice-of-life story with human drama undertones. I can also say that the Oji-san / Oba-san jokes aren't likely to be the only things lost in translation, but what can you do?

[Doppleganger]

I read quite a bit into the series but stopped before the time-skip (?) where Rin goes to high school. Beyond the premise of a single salaryman taking care of his aunt, it's actually providing some commentary and insight (I hope accurately so) into the struggles of being a single, working parent in urban Japan. At the same time, Rin's dependence gave Daikichi some more meaning to his life, which I didn't really learn to appreciate until Muv-Luv Alternative-

"[These people] don't know...how important it is to earn and protect what's precious to them."

Daikichi didn't really have anything "precious" until Rin came into his life, and even though he wasn't doing terribly prior to her and was suffering a bit after she came, he ended up a better person because of it.

[Talon87]

A 90-second preview for Bunny Drop is up. The animation looks a little on the low end of the quality spectrum ^^;;, but so long as the story's as endearing as it looks to be it won't matter. And thank God -- they cast a real-live 10 year old girl to handle Rin's lines! It really comes across in the preview how authentic she sounds! Just like a real Japanese girl! (Since she is one! )

Here's to Usagi Drop being the masterpiece I'm hoping it will be. Here's to Usagi Drop being one of, if not the, best animes of 2011. Here's hoping!

Usagi Drop begins airing as part of Fuji TV's noitaminA lineup on July 8, 2011.

[Talon87]

Opened up my folder I downloaded ages ago with the Japanese raws, pulled up Volume 1, and just read the second chapter. This is awesome. It is too cute. The events depicted in it probably won't be shown until Episode 02, but you never know. Still, it's amazing how mature/knowledgeable Rin can be about stuff, and then you turn right around 180° and she acts just like a little kid. I dunno. She is too cute. Makes me want to have kids NAOW. Except, lolwhat, it doesn't work that way.

Okay, I began writing this post -as- I was finishing up Chapter 02. Just finished it and ... TEARS. ;_; TOO SAD, TOO CUTE. I "OHHHHHHHHHHHH! "'ed out loud just then.

Spoiler: show

Chapter 02 deals with the first two responsibilities Daikichi needs to deal with: one, getting Rin some clothes, and two, getting her enrolled in a daycare. The latter is what wraps up the chapter and ... when he drops her off at the daycare and looks back ...





AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

That is just too cute, too sad, too aww. This show is going to rock.

EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot: the trailer I linked you guys to last week has been subbed by Doki and (re-)released. So if you'd like, go check that out!

[lilboocorsola]

D'aw. Looking forward to this. =3 Reminds me of a more mature Aishiteruze Baby.

Oh wow, it's even premiering on my birthday! So many special surprises this summer. <3

[Talon87]

Just finished Episode 01. Wonderful. The art style is a little unorthodox -- it's kind of like watching an Impressionistic painting in certain parts -- but I enjoy it as it lends a complementary charm to an already charming story.

The first episode only covers the very first chapter of the manga, so expect it to be a little slow. We predicted they might do this, and they did. It's understandable though. They only really had three choices: stretch Chapter 01 out to fill an entire episode, cram Chapters 01 and 02 into an episode at the expense of so much stuff, or tell Chapter 01 at a normal pace and then tell half of Chapter 02 before cutting to the credits. I was kind of hoping they'd do that last one, but I can see why they felt it'd be better to just go ahead and ease viewers into the story with a thorough look at the events of the first chapter.

Still not sure about whether I like the voice actors yet or not but we'll have to see. Maybe they'll grow on me. I do like, though, that they hired real children to voice the children in this program. It's noticeable; and even though adult Japanese voice actresses have proven themselves capable of imitating children on numerous occasions, I'm glad they opted to go with a real kid. Though that isn't necessarily without pitfalls of its own, let's hope they're kept to a minimum.

Overall, Usagi Drop's first episode has lived up to my expectations.

[Talon87]

The live-action cinema version of Bunny Drop had a second trailer released a few months back. I didn't discover this until today. I watched until 1:06 before I closed it for fear of it spoilering me on some big stuff regarding Rin's mother, and I think I've managed to avoid any possible danger *phew*, but as for what's shown earlier in the trailer, all I can say is I look forward to watching this once I've completed the anime.

Spoiler: show

The part where Rin wets the bed and blames it on body sweat is adorable. But the part immediately following that at 0:46 when Rin asks, "Daikichi, are you going to die too?" is just AWWWWWWWWWW.

I have no idea what the relation is between the live-action film's production team and the anime's, but an interesting thing to note is that the opening theme song for the anime appears to also be the theme song for this film as well. Can't be a coincidence. Given that it's going to start being shown on August 20, that means that the anime will be between episodes 07 and 08 at that point. While we can't know the future for certain, it would seem to me that this means the film is going to show material which won't yet have been shown in the anime (since I imagine the anime will have a slower pace which shows us as much of the manga as possible versus the film which will probably omit a lot from the manga in order to tell as much story as possible in the allotted time). Given this, I'll hold off on watching the film until either the anime ends (if it's only going to be an 11-to-13'er) or else until the intermission between Volumes 4 and 5 (if the anime should get that far).

On a somewhat unrelated note, I would encourage everyone to be careful to avoid spoilers on public webforums and websites like ANN or Youtube. I haven't been spoilered myself, but I have read comments from others who say they got spoilered by others. And judging from those comments, the spoiler is an atom-grade one. So be careful! And try not to read comments on other webforums like ANN or on other websites like Youtube or Wikipedia where such spoiler content is likely to be found. (Mind you, ANN has a pretty good spoiler tag policy, but that won't stop some dummy from posting the spoiler and you seeing it before the mods can edit his post.)

[big bad birtha]

I watched the first episode as well. For the most part, it was really sweet, and I'm sure this will turn out much better than freaking Ashiteruze Baby.

The backgrounds were the only things that bugged me, and that's a very minor problem for me.

I might not talk much about it but I'll be faithfully following it.

[Doppleganger]

Wow, this was awesome. It was as good as reading the manga (is that praise of the manga, or insult of the anime?) and I'm very pleased with the pacing. Yeah, a bit slow, but when things get really hectic or Daikichi, the pace will accelerate to reflect it. I'm sure of that.

On the art - I was taken aback, then pulled right in after a few minutes. My impression is the atmosphere is kind of like a child's memories of the past. Sketchy lines, muddy colours, inconsistent detail. Most memories, especially for children, are remembered through emotional impulses rather than specific qualitative/quantitative information. When I was in kindergarten, for example, I remember several specific days and their details, but if someone asked me what I felt on 1 June 1992 (or just said summer 1992), I would probably give a more accurate answer expressing my state of mind and feelings rather than recollecting specific details.

It'll be interesting if, when Rin grows up, the art style will change a bit. Heck, if the art style changes as Rin is growing up, that'll be equally as engaging.

Kudos to the Reds!

...

Actually, comparing the anime pre-opening and post-opening, which feature the exact same frames in different style, it's pretty clear to me that the pre-opening stuff was meant to be seen through "Rin's perspective" and everything after that Daikichi. It's just so much more crisp, detailed, and orderly in Daikichi style. Clearly not happenstance.

Also, take note, BBB. Daikichi's sister is voiced by KANA UEDA.

[Talon87]

People are now reporting on Wikipedia that Usagi Drop is only slated for 11 episodes (the same as its sister Noitamina program, No.6) and that the show scheduled to replace it, one called Un-Go, is set to begin airing in October of this year. I can only see this as bad news. A, it might mean that we're only going to get a little bit of the manga and then never get any more. B, it might mean that the writers are planning to skip boatloads of material from the manga in order to cover as much of the timeline as possible in just eleven short episodes. I'd certainly like it if the sources are wrong about the episode count, but when I look back over Noitamina's broadcast history on Wikipedia, I see a disturbing pattern: they only ever show two shows in any one season, and so if they've already scheduled two new programs for October, then that must mean that both of the summer programs are going to have to wrap up before then.

For more information on Un-Go, click here to go to the official site. For more information on Bunny Drop being slated for only 11 episodes, check out the Noitamina page on Wikipedia. ANN is still reporting twelve episodes (click here), but they could merely have been guessing and listed those slots as placeholders for eventual episode titles. MyAnimeList is also reporting only 11 episodes.

Oh well. Let's enjoy Usagi Drop while it lasts, then!

[Doppleganger]

Wow, I mad. I.G. doesn't usually make single season anime, but looking back, it usually happens when they're airing two anime in a season. The last occurence that was relevant to me was when Eden of East and Sengoku Basara were together.

That REALLY sucks, I was expecting maybe 14 episodes of Rin as a child, and 10 as an adult. Hopefully, we'll just be getting Rin as a child for the first full 11, and the adult stuff might come in a second season somewhere down the line.

[Talon87]

I still don't like it. Suppose they give us 11 episodes of Child Rin and then timeskip when they return. Let me pull open my books here real quick ...

Volume 1: six chapters
Volume 2: six chapters
Volume 3: six chapters
Volume 4: six chapters

Twenty-four chapters and only eleven episodes to allot to them. That's unacceptable. It requires us to accept the belief that Unita Yumi was incapable 54% of the time of writing competent, relevant chapters. Really? We're supposed to accept the belief that over half of the original comic's chapters are garbage fluff? I may have only read the first two chapters but give me a break, man.

I guess you could say, "Well no, Talon, all of the chapters were relevant but we won't be using all of the material from each of them." But if you're going to say that, Mr. Director, then why the heck did you waste so much time on Chapter 01!? Yes, it's a good and important chapter, but holy shit you shouldn't have allocated an entire episode to it if you knew you were short on time! >_>;

Btw ... I just read the first fourteen pages of the first chapter of Volume 5 ... awesome! It has emotion! It has comedy! It's just great. Stopped myself for now ^^; but man, be it via the anime or via reading it on my own, I'mma look forward to polishing off Bunny Drop this year!

[Talon87]

Just finished Episode 02. ADORABLE. When I finished, I said to myself that it was even an adorableness overload. This show is just too cute.

Manga comparison/comments:
The episode was a pretty faithful adaptation of Chapter 02 of the manga. There were some really small things missing (like Daikichi noting in the manga that Rin's responses to Reina on the telephone were mostly "Mm-hmm"s) but everything major not only showed up but (going back over Chapter 02's dialogue right now) they even preserved the speech bubbles nearly word-for-word in many places. I guess one kind of "big" (medium?) change they made was that they drew out the remainder of Chapter 02. Unlike in Episode 01, though, I felt like Episode 02's pacing was perfectly fine. I was loving every second of it, and I really loved the made-for-TV scene of Daikichi running home with Rin under the moonlit sky in the lamplit shopping district.

One thing I'm not sure about, though, is how they've told some stuff out of order and what that might mean for later.

On the one hand, they finished off the episode with Daikichi confronting Rin about the bedwetting and her blaming it on body sweat. I hadn't seen this scene yet in the manga so I skipped ahead looking for it and it turns out it's the start of Chapter 04. The focus of the entire chapter is Rin's bedwetting so this may be a lead-up for that story. (The earlier scene in the episode where Daikichi has the dream about the kitten and then wakes up to discover the bed is strangely warm is appropriately taken straight from Chapter 02.) But the thing is, I don't want them to skip over Chapter 03! I don't want them to skip anything if they can help it. And the thing is, Chapter 03 looks important! (From skimming through it, it looks like it concerns Daikichi's job, more on trying to find Rin a permanent daycare to attend, and Rin's black bunny doll that Daikichi mistakes for a dog.)

Now on the other hand, they may not skip anything at all. One possible indicator of this is the fact that they told Chapter 02's contents in their entirety but did so out of order. In the original chapter, the order goes (1) Daikichi looks at Rin's baby book on the train, (2) Daikichi and Rin go clothes shopping, (3) Daikichi enrolls Rin in a daycare. In the anime, they showed 2, then 3, and then showed 1 as a flashback scene. So maybe, maybe, even though they squeezed some of Chapters 03 and 04 into Episode 02, we're still going to get the bulk of Chapter 03 in Episode 03. I guess only time will tell. (The scene from Chapter 03 that snuck into Episode 02 was Daikichi's off-hand comment about what would happen if he were to now get a girlfriend.)

Anime episode review/comments:
Great episode. Great attention to detail, loved how they expanded the daycare scene, ... I could really relate to Rin, having been a daycare drop-off myself as a child. Both parents worked, and for several years there were times when I wouldn't get picked up until the early evening hours. Never 7:30pm! But in the winter, I'm sure there were times when it was pushing sunset (5pm).

Man, I can't stand that little shit Reina. >_> Hated kids like her when I was a kid. Hate kids like her now that I'm an adult. C'mon, Haruko! You need to teach that girl some manners! I realize I'm probably being harsh on her, but if Rin is like Willy Wonka's Charlie Bucket, Reina is like Veruca Salt. One is adorable, the other is unbearable.

I love how Daikichi's decision to adopt Rin is noticeably changing his personal life, like the cutting back on smoking. The day I was born, my own dad, a smoker for 30-some years before he finally quit seven years ago, took to smoking outside. He promised my mother that even though he wouldn't quit smoking, he'd not expose my lungs to the smoke. He never went back on this. Our home has always been a smoke-free home for as long as I can remember. Rain or shine, hot or cold, bright or dark, my dad either smoked outdoors or else smoked (once we moved into a house with a 2-car garage) in the garage. Adults make sacrifices for children and it's convincing to see Rin already beginning to have this sort of effect on Daikichi -- because we know he has become serious about adopting her.

Looking ahead in the manga, I can't wait to see Chapters 04 and 06 animated. Should be good stuff! And the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 06 ... OMG!