Bunny Drop The Good Half and The Bad Half
Sep. 24th, 2011 01:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eastofthemoonThis has been on my mind for awhile and I better get it off my chest.
Some of you may remember my excitement over that they were making an anime version out of Usagi Drop
Here's a brief summary of it: When 30-year-old Daikichi returns home for his grandfather's funeral he learns about the existence of Rin, his grandfather's illegitimate six-year-old daughter by an unknown mother. The girl is an embarrassment to all his relatives and is treated as an outcast. Annoyed by their attitude, Daikichi decides to take care of Rin himself, even though he is single and has no experience raising a child. As Rin becomes part of his life, Daikichi experiences the hardship of a single parent.
The 11th episode finished airing and I'm assuming it was the last episode. The series had every thing I enjoyed from the first four volumes of the manga and the fact they got a real little girl to voice Rin made it even better. However, I have no clue if they're doing a second season, and I'm rather hoping they don't because they would most likely be doing the teenage arch.
When I got into this manga, I didn't know that this series would be divided into two parts. The first half (which equals to the first 4 volumes of the manga) focuses on Rin's childhood with Daikichi. However, the second half has a ten year time skip so we see Rin as a teenager and this is where the series starts to go down hill a bit.
I've discussed this issue many times with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dqbunny and in my conclusion the two halves feel like they were written by two different people and it really makes me wonder what happened to the author to take this route.
See, the first part is wonderful because it explores the issues of being a parent, but has strong themes of family and what it means. I love stories of people finding each other and becoming a family. That's why I enjoy Kung Fu Panda so much because even though Po and his dad aren't related by blood, you know that they're as close to each other as any family and the same can be said for Rin and Daikichi.
However, the second half is more focus on Rin's life in high school, and her love life. Now, she's a teenager and I realize that is an issue a teen has to deal with. Yet, while Rin and Daikichi were still close it doesn't seem to carry the same family theme as the first half did. Not only that, but there were plot issues from the first half that they just brushed off in the second. Big example would be Daikichi's feelings Nitani. At the beginning of the second half, Kouki just asks "How come you haven't married my mom yet?" and Daikichi just replies along the lines of "Because I'm not comfortable" and that's it.
This just bothered me because it makes the crush he had in the first half seem pointless. What was the point of it, if the issue was going to be brushed aside. If they didn't get together fine, but they should have handled it more directly.
So, basically the second half feels more like a high school slice of life series. Not the most original concept, but alright, I'll deal. But then the warning bells go off when Rin decides that she has romantic feelings for Daikichi. Yes, you read that right. Rin decides that she is romantically in love with Daikichi.
When I read the first hint of it, I wad in denial, praying I was just being paranoid, but nope. This is where the plot went. Needles to say, I just stared at the screen for a few minutes. One of the things that bothered me most out of this was that Rin came to this conclusion because she realized that she wasn't interested in dating guys at all. Here's a thought, maybe she just didn't want to date. I know plenty of girls that didn't want to date at 16. Heck, I didn't start dating until I went to university. But no, the plot demands that this must mean she's in love with Daikichi.
Thankfully, Rin does admit it's weird to be in love with a blood relative, however, Rin's mother than reveals that she and Daikichi aren't actually related. Turns out that Daikichi's grandfather was not Rin's biological father (which does explain where she gets the blond hair from) and that he had just adopted Rin as his own. So, there's no social or legal problems for Rin to actually marry Daikichi HOW CONVENIENT! I thus bang my head against the table.
For those curious, Daikichi admits that he knew he and Rin weren't related ever since he read his grandfather's will. However, he never told Rin because he didn't want her to think that they weren't family. Also, thankfully, Daikichi is sensible and tells Rin that he can't see her in that way and he thinks of her as a daughter.
Poor Daikichi, he tries to fight the plot, he really does because when Rin keeps insisting she won't want anyone else he then declares he'll consider it only AFTER Rin graduates high school. Daikichi hopes that Rin will find another guy to fall for by then, however, Rin proves determine and after she graduates says she is still in love Daikichi.
Daikichi admits it still feels weird and says it will be a while before he can see Rin besides as the child he raised. Rin says that she can wait and the series ends with Rin saying that their child will be very loved.
That's right people, this adorable series that started out as a single guy taking in a sweet girl turns into a romance story instead. To be fair, the ending is not the worst ending I've seen, but it still annoys the heck out of me. Whether you're actually related or not, it's creepy to want marry the parent/guardian that has adopted and raised you. With that said, couldn't the author have waited until Rin went to college before she came to the conclusion that she was in love with Daikichi? She was only 16 and only went on one actual date, that's not enough experience to make for this kind of decision for herself.
Also, the convenience of Rin and Daikichi not being blood related just felt like it was thrown in so this result would be less creepy. Honestly, this series feels like it somehow lost itself along the way and just doesn't carry the same feeling from the first half.
My conclusion is thus. The first 4 volumes of the manga and the 11 episodes of the anime are awesome and worth watching because they are sweet and cute. However, while I'll admit the second half isn't terrible, it's very jarring and I think most people are better off just sticking with the first half.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to re-read the first good half of this series and pretend the second half never happened.
Some of you may remember my excitement over that they were making an anime version out of Usagi Drop
Here's a brief summary of it: When 30-year-old Daikichi returns home for his grandfather's funeral he learns about the existence of Rin, his grandfather's illegitimate six-year-old daughter by an unknown mother. The girl is an embarrassment to all his relatives and is treated as an outcast. Annoyed by their attitude, Daikichi decides to take care of Rin himself, even though he is single and has no experience raising a child. As Rin becomes part of his life, Daikichi experiences the hardship of a single parent.
The 11th episode finished airing and I'm assuming it was the last episode. The series had every thing I enjoyed from the first four volumes of the manga and the fact they got a real little girl to voice Rin made it even better. However, I have no clue if they're doing a second season, and I'm rather hoping they don't because they would most likely be doing the teenage arch.
When I got into this manga, I didn't know that this series would be divided into two parts. The first half (which equals to the first 4 volumes of the manga) focuses on Rin's childhood with Daikichi. However, the second half has a ten year time skip so we see Rin as a teenager and this is where the series starts to go down hill a bit.
I've discussed this issue many times with
dqbunny and in my conclusion the two halves feel like they were written by two different people and it really makes me wonder what happened to the author to take this route.See, the first part is wonderful because it explores the issues of being a parent, but has strong themes of family and what it means. I love stories of people finding each other and becoming a family. That's why I enjoy Kung Fu Panda so much because even though Po and his dad aren't related by blood, you know that they're as close to each other as any family and the same can be said for Rin and Daikichi.
However, the second half is more focus on Rin's life in high school, and her love life. Now, she's a teenager and I realize that is an issue a teen has to deal with. Yet, while Rin and Daikichi were still close it doesn't seem to carry the same family theme as the first half did. Not only that, but there were plot issues from the first half that they just brushed off in the second. Big example would be Daikichi's feelings Nitani. At the beginning of the second half, Kouki just asks "How come you haven't married my mom yet?" and Daikichi just replies along the lines of "Because I'm not comfortable" and that's it.
This just bothered me because it makes the crush he had in the first half seem pointless. What was the point of it, if the issue was going to be brushed aside. If they didn't get together fine, but they should have handled it more directly.
So, basically the second half feels more like a high school slice of life series. Not the most original concept, but alright, I'll deal. But then the warning bells go off when Rin decides that she has romantic feelings for Daikichi. Yes, you read that right. Rin decides that she is romantically in love with Daikichi.
When I read the first hint of it, I wad in denial, praying I was just being paranoid, but nope. This is where the plot went. Needles to say, I just stared at the screen for a few minutes. One of the things that bothered me most out of this was that Rin came to this conclusion because she realized that she wasn't interested in dating guys at all. Here's a thought, maybe she just didn't want to date. I know plenty of girls that didn't want to date at 16. Heck, I didn't start dating until I went to university. But no, the plot demands that this must mean she's in love with Daikichi.
Thankfully, Rin does admit it's weird to be in love with a blood relative, however, Rin's mother than reveals that she and Daikichi aren't actually related. Turns out that Daikichi's grandfather was not Rin's biological father (which does explain where she gets the blond hair from) and that he had just adopted Rin as his own. So, there's no social or legal problems for Rin to actually marry Daikichi HOW CONVENIENT! I thus bang my head against the table.
For those curious, Daikichi admits that he knew he and Rin weren't related ever since he read his grandfather's will. However, he never told Rin because he didn't want her to think that they weren't family. Also, thankfully, Daikichi is sensible and tells Rin that he can't see her in that way and he thinks of her as a daughter.
Poor Daikichi, he tries to fight the plot, he really does because when Rin keeps insisting she won't want anyone else he then declares he'll consider it only AFTER Rin graduates high school. Daikichi hopes that Rin will find another guy to fall for by then, however, Rin proves determine and after she graduates says she is still in love Daikichi.
Daikichi admits it still feels weird and says it will be a while before he can see Rin besides as the child he raised. Rin says that she can wait and the series ends with Rin saying that their child will be very loved.
That's right people, this adorable series that started out as a single guy taking in a sweet girl turns into a romance story instead. To be fair, the ending is not the worst ending I've seen, but it still annoys the heck out of me. Whether you're actually related or not, it's creepy to want marry the parent/guardian that has adopted and raised you. With that said, couldn't the author have waited until Rin went to college before she came to the conclusion that she was in love with Daikichi? She was only 16 and only went on one actual date, that's not enough experience to make for this kind of decision for herself.
Also, the convenience of Rin and Daikichi not being blood related just felt like it was thrown in so this result would be less creepy. Honestly, this series feels like it somehow lost itself along the way and just doesn't carry the same feeling from the first half.
My conclusion is thus. The first 4 volumes of the manga and the 11 episodes of the anime are awesome and worth watching because they are sweet and cute. However, while I'll admit the second half isn't terrible, it's very jarring and I think most people are better off just sticking with the first half.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to re-read the first good half of this series and pretend the second half never happened.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-09-24 05:06 pm (UTC)Whether you're actually related or not, it's creepy to want marry the parent/guardian that has adopted and raised you.
And um....wow, that IS disturbing....
no subject
Date: 2011-09-25 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-25 02:03 pm (UTC)That said, I can see why this sounds quite iffy, even Western cultural problems aside. Many young girls are described as viewing their father figure as a kind of an ideal for a while - which, like ideals in general, is naturally not realistic. A story like this gives me the impression (although without reading it, this can be a very unfounded impression) that the girl never really managed to move past that stage. If she dated a few guys and still clung to her previous notion, that is one thing. This way it feels more like an obsession than anything else.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-25 03:09 pm (UTC)While I still don't like this ending, I would probably hate it less if they had at least let Rin have more experience.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 03:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 06:44 am (UTC)Anyhoo, back on topic...
I wanted to check this series out after seeing a review of the first 2 episodes a few weeks back. But then I stumbled on a spoiler. And, to be honest, I'm glad the ending was spoiled for me. I'd hate to invest time and emotion in this show only to have this nauseating twist thrown at me. >_<
Even when you factor in the cultural difference between Japan and the west regarding this kind of thing; it STILL doesn't make sense! Up until she was 16, Rin believed that Daikichi was her biological nephew. You can't just...turn off those familial feelings like that. When someone grows up thinking of another person as "family", that feeling tends to stick regardless of what happens later on. I can see maybe one of them being messed up enough to pursue a romantic relationship. But BOTH of them!? I call BS!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-26 01:07 pm (UTC)Thankfully, the anime just stays in the childhood arch and I'm hoping that if they ever decide to do another season that they'll take a different route from the manga.
The first part of this series is really good, I just wouldn't waste my time on the last half. I just like to pretend the last half didn't happen. As you put it, it really doesn't make sense. I still don't understand why the author chose THIS ending. She must have gotten hit in the head or something.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 03:41 pm (UTC)Ew.... that is gross. I'm glad I wasn't reading that manga DX