The season draws to a close in simple, honest and beautiful ways that warms the heart.
What They Say:
It’s the first anniversary of Grandpa’s death, which means Rin and Daikichi have been living together for about a year now. Daikichi mulls over what he’s lost and what he’s gained since Rin came into his life…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One of the welcome things to Usagi Drop is that as it has progressed in episodes, it has progressed in time as well. And not just a few months in the school year or anything, but a full year has now passed since the start when Daikichi’s grandfather passed away and he got to know Rin and brought her into his life. The changes that they’ve experienced throughout that year have been great as we’ve seen both of them group and flourish with each other in ways that aren’t always expected. Rin’s had it doubly bad since her father died and her mother had disappeared prior to that, so there’s less certainty and grounding in her life when she really needs it to feel safe, stable and secure.
One of the best things to come into his life beyond Rin is that of Yukari as she brings a bit of an adult woman component to the show that is desperately needed. There’s plenty of relationship potential between the two (and yes, we know where the manga goes) and watching how Daikichi learns parenting tips from her and getting to have someone he can talk to and sympathize with a bit helps immensely. It’s a good relationship for him to have as it teases with potential, but keeps it limited and in a way fairly realistic and very Japanese. You can’t help but to root for the two of them to get closer and open up a real relationship that would bring everyone closer together and offer more for all involved.
With the episode keeping this anniversary in the background, it focuses more on the day to day events of life more than anything else, which is a great way to close out the series. Rin’s getting older, more of her baby teeth are falling out and his mother is all in a panic over how to make things easier on her. Rin’s doing jump contests, having fun with Kouki and generally enjoying life as she does her schoolwork, becomes closer to Daikichi and has a warmth and life to her that you could see at the start but was locked away. Daikichi opened up her life for her and it’s a powerful and important thing that someone can do, and it’s an understated but well done element of this series that is continually and always there.
In Summary:
As a chapter in the life of a child, one that’s filled with a lot of changes, emotions and more, Usagi Drop did a wonderful job of capturing who it is that Rin is. And just as importantly, it allowed us into Daikichi’s life as well as we see how he took on becoming a parent to this child. While her future was uncertain in a lot of ways after he father died and her mother had disappeared, to see where she now has such potential ahead of her and is filled with so much love around her, it’s the kind of soft, heartwarming but not overly cloying series that captures it all perfectly. Few shows really let you into a family like this in a real and honest way that it’s easy to be caught up in what Usagi Drop offers. And it’s completely worth it because it is wonderful and deserves its recognition. With eleven episodes to the show, it’s a great way to spend some time that will make you smile and remind you that there is a lot of good out there in humanity.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
