Bunny Drop or Usagi Drop is a Japanese jousei manga series by Yumi Unita (Manimani, Parapara Days, Yoningurashi.) Bunny Drop’s story focuses on a thirty-year-old Daikichi that becomes the guardian of Rin, the illegitimate six-year-old daughter of his grandfather. Usagi Drop was serialized in the monthly magazine Feel Young from October 2005 to April 2011. An anime adaptation by Production I.G aired in Japan between July 7, 2011 and September 15, 2011. A live-action film adaptation of this manga premiered in Japanese theaters on August 20, 2011. The series was released on four Blu-ray Disc/DVD volumes between October 28, 2011 and January 27, 2012, eachcontaining a bonus mini-episode.
The anime centers on Daikichi, who takes a break from his busy life only to attend the funeral of his grandfather. Daikichi is 30: he is a very hardworking individual, who has never thought about his love life. During the funeral he meets relatives who are discussing the fate of his grandfather’s daughter and his aunt, Rin. Rin is only six and she is now literally alone in the world; there is no information on her mother, too. She is very shy and very quiet and for some reason her only relatives do not even care about her future: they simply find it too boresome to adopt the little angel, Rin. In the end, they decide to send her to an orphanage… Daikichi becomes enraged by indifference of his relatives and decides to adopt Rin. His life will change now.
It might be too difficult sometimes to find a proper slice of life: forced drama, unrealistic relations, comedy ruining seriousness, fanservice, etc, etc, and etc; at some point you just become bored and you do not care how an anime will end. Usagi Drop is absolutely different. It is one of the most realistic SoL titles you will ever find and it has everything any SoL needs to offer: a real life story, drama, comedy, and an amazing cast you will fall in love with. There is, however, one thing I would like to focus your attention on: Usagi Drop does have an ending, a very good one, but if you wish to know more about this title, I highly recommend you to read the manga, too. I cannot guarantee you that you will love the ending, but one thing is clear, you will either love, or hate it, but later about it.
The only thing that you might dislike about Usagi Drop is its artistic approach. What I am trying to say is that the series switches between realistic pictures and some child’s drawings. On top of that, character designs sometimes are just ugly; take Daikichi, for example. However, after some time you will be charmed by the animation and it will do its magic; just be patient, you will get used to it. Sound wise, both opening and ending themes amazingly fit the series, they are worth listening to over and over again, especially with the amazingly beautiful artwork. Japanese voice actors also did a great job making their characters be more realistic. P.S. You simply must find and watch full clip of Usagi Drop’s opening theme ‘PUFFY - Sweet Drops.’
But as enjoyable as the animation is, Bunny Drop shines in presenting realistic characters in realistic situations, doing realistic things. Usagi Drop focuses on father-daughter relationships of Kawachi Daikichi and Kaga Rin. Kawachi Daikichi, as it has already been mentioned before, is 30. He is an absolutely normal man, who is not an otaku, a hardcore gamer, or anything else. He is actually a hero, because he saves Rin by becoming her guardian. He does not like children, has his own life, but he is not similar to his relatives that simply do not care about the future of Rin. Kaga Rin is a six-year-old girl and the illegitimate daughter of Daikichi's grandfather, Souichi Kaga. She is very quiet and somewhat careful when it comes to any communication with an adult. However, she is able to finally feel the true happiness of having a family when Daikichi decides to become her guardian.
That said, Usagi Drop offers its viewer a very realistic and perhaps dramatic story of an abandoned ‘rabbit’ and her new dad. Being a huge fan of the genre, this title was a great success for me and if you are also a fan of SoL anime, you will enjoy Usagi Drop. However, I should also mention that if you read the manga, you might start to hate Usagi Drop, so I would not recommend you to do that. Stick with the anime and just forget about it. Still, it is not for me to decide. With that being said, I give Usagi Drop a solid ten out of ten. Usagi Drop is a truly realistic and heartwarming story that might make you want become a better dad, or mother. It is, indeed, not a show for kids: there are many things to analyze, which I have not mentioned in this review and simply things that kids will find boring and will not understand. However, if you can call yourself an experienced viewer, as well as a fan of the genre, I highly recommend you to watch Usagi Drop.