I, like most people after watching Usagi Drop, wanted to see a second season. I thought I might read the manga, but most people advised against it. I read the spoilers and would agree that I wouldn’t like it. While manga artists are free to take their work in any directions, it seems that she miss a huge opportunity to flesh out the characters more. There seems to be a lot of potential to increase the drama in a more realistic and interesting way.
I might have stronger feelings about the direction of the manga, because of the situation I grew up in. My brother, sister, and I were adopted to a single parent, my mother. While the situation not exactly the same, I could relate the sacrifices and struggles made by Daikichi and Yukari.
To see the parent bond be broken doesn’t see right (I’m not Woody Allen).
I haven’t read the manga, so I only have a little idea of the plot beyond the anime series. However, I would like to present an alternative plot line to the manga. The story would have three main points of view relating to Rin coming from Masako (Rin’s mother), Daikichi, and Kouki.
**Masako story arc **
There is a time skip, but only six years. Masako is at a restaurant with an unknown man. The man pulls out a box from his pocket. It’s an engagement ring. “I would love you to be my wife and the mother of my children.” First she is over joyed, but then breaks down crying. The man is shocked and concerned. Masako tells the man, that she has a secret that she’s been keeping from him.
Over a series of episodes we have Rin’s mother story more fully fleshed out. We find out that she has a stable job and relationship. She is finally in a situation where she starts to feel that she is worthy of Rin’s love. With the support of the man she might marry, Masako is trying to decide if she should come back into Rin’s life. We learn that Daikichi is not related by blood. Instead, we find out that Rin’s mother was in art school and fell in love with another student. She worked part time as a house cleaner to pay her way through college. One of the places she worked was Daikichi’s grandfather’s house.
One day, Masako finds out she is pregnant. She worried about her future and tells her boyfriend what happened. The boyfriend is not supportive at all. He doesn’t want to have a child ruining his future and tells her she is troublesome. This leads to them breaking up and leaving Masako feeling she isn’t worthy of love.
Masako is lost and without direction. She stops going to school and stops cleaning houses. She contemplates committing suicide. Daikichi’s grandfather calls her wondering why Masako has stopped showing up to clean his house. Rin’s tell him that she won’t be cleaning anymore and breaks down crying while talking to him. Daikichi’s grandfather being the kind old man he is, insist to speak with her in person. He has her come over to his house and they discuss everything that happened. She insist that she cannot pursue her dreams and keep the baby. He tells her that he will raise the child until the day she reaches her dream of being a successful manga artist. After Masako gives birth, she gives Daikichi’s grandfather her child. She tells him that someday, she’ll be worthy of Rin’s love, but today she’s not ready. She continued to cleaning the house just to see Rin. However, it bothered her each time Rin view her only as the cleaning lady. Sometime she would lash out at Rin in frustration which only made her feel even more useless.
Masako has now obtained her dream, but not sure if Rin would want her back in her life. She has the support of her fiancée in whatever directions she wants to go. She also has to deal with Daikichi and his feelings. Her story arch is about her revealing her relationship to Rin and Rin’s reaction to her trying to be a part of her life.
In the end, Masako feels that Daikichi is more of a parent to Rin than she could ever be. However, she isn’t excluded from the family completely. Rin relationship with her birth mother is complex but Rin comes to understand her mother feelings. Rin puts it, without her mother willingness to give her up, she would never have met grandfather or Daikichi. She is grateful for the sacrifices that Masako has already made. Rin allows her to be something akin to an aunt that she sometime visits. In the end, this balance works out for everyone.
**Daikichi’s story arch **
Daikichi is realizing his feelings for Yukari is more than just a family friend. They share many milestones with their children grownup together. Daikichi keeps wondering what would be best for Rin. Would Rin want Yukari as a mother?
The largest catalyst for his feelings for Yukari begins with Yukari coming to his house after being beaten. Her ex-husband went over to her apartment drunk and demanded to see Kouki. Kouki doesn’t seem to have much affection for him. Yukari tries to get the father to leave her apartment and he gets angry. He’s angry that Yukari left him. He’s angry that he doesn’t get to see his son. He has the view that the divorce wasn’t his fault. He was only doing his job which required him to always be away from home. Kouki tell his father to go away and that he hates him. (There is a quick flash back to when Kouki said the same thing when he was only 5. His father raised his hand and slaps him in front of his mother. This alludes to why Yukari gets a divorce.) The father again raises his hand to hit his son again, but this time Yukari jumps in the way to protect Kouki. This ends with Yukari getting hit instead of Kouki. Yukari grabs Kouki and runs out of apartment. We are left watch the father crying by himself.
They go to Daikichi’s house. Even though Daikichi sees Yukari swollen face, he accepts her into his house without asking questions. He allows them to stay for several days at his place for safety. The third night, Yukari explains what happened and cries on Daikichi shoulder. He’s determine to also keep her safe. Yukari tells him that she wished her ex-husband was more like him. Daikichi not knowing what to say, tells her that they are already like a family. Yukari shakes her head and say that they’re not a family but she wouldn’t mind if they were someday. While nothing overly romantic happens, we can see Daikichi thinking about her feelings for Yukari become more serious. However, the situations is complex because he doesn’t know what would be Rin’s feeling on him marrying Yukari. He sort of knows that Rin and Kouki also have feelings for each other and doesn’t know where that may lead.
Another issue Daikichi has to deal with is Rin’s mother. She calls and tells him that she would like to see Rin. Daikichi has a mix of emotions. He wants to protect Rin and doesn’t want to introduce her to people who might abandon her again. However, he realize that Rin is getting old enough to start making decisions on her own. When he finds out that Rin isn’t blood related, it doesn’t affect his bond for her. However, he doesn’t know if it’s right to keep this knowledge to himself. It troubles him what Rin might say after she finds out the truth. Would Rin prefer to live with someone who is blood related?
Rin sometimes implies having a mother would be nice. What she really is telling Daikichi is that she wouldn’t mind him marrying Yukari. She doesn’t know about her mother right away and her feelings get misinterpreted. This leads to Daikichi explaining to her about her mother. As a results, Rin goes and meet her mother. They discuss the situation and how they feel about each other. To Daikichi relief, Rin still views him as her father figure and want to continue living with him. Daikichi adjusts to having Masako be a part of their life.
**Kouki**
Kouki had matured a bit from when he was a child. He acts like most kids his age. However, he hangs out with Rin which the other boys tease him about. It doesn’t occur to him to think about their relationship until Kouki is informed that he won’t be attending the same Junior High School. The Board of Education built a new school and Kouki’s apartment is now in the new school district. Kouki is confronted with the fact that he and Rin won’t see each every week. This is shock to him, because they have been together since kindergarten.
He is greatly bothered by the fact, Rin doesn’t seem to mind. Rin tells him, that they could visit each other on the weekends. However, this doesn’t sit well with him. He doesn’t really understand his own feelings about Rin. He wonders if she would be happier without him. He starts to ignore her at school, which Rin keeps confronting him about. Finally, it comes to a head when they fight at school and he pushes her down into a puddle. Rin cries and tells him that she doesn’t understand why Kouki suddenly hates her. They avoid each other at school.
Later, Kouki’s father goes to his mother and his apartment. After Kouki’s mother is hit and they run out, they’re wondering the streets at night. His mother is crying and seems at a loss to what to do. They ran out of the house and didn’t even have any money to make a phone call. He eventually decide that Daikichi and Rin would be the best people to help them. They go to their house and stay there. Rin and Kouki have several awkward moments. Rin finally confronts Kouki on why he’s behaved so differently towards her lately. She explains that she’s hurt by his behavior and worried about their friendship. She didn’t know what else to do but the pretend that going to different schools didn’t bother her. She confesses to Kouki that she’s afraid that they might stop being friends when they go to different schools. Kouki set his mind that they’ll be friends even if they go to different schools. They promised that they would both work hard and try to attend the same high school.
On the third night, Kouki overhears his mother saying that she wouldn’t mind being married to Daikichi. This causes a mix of emotion. He doesn’t know what to think about the possibility of Daikichi as his father. He also has mixed feeling about Rin being his step-sister. He doesn’t know why, but he’s dead set against it. He slowly begins to realize that he has strong feelings for Rin, but it much more than a brother sister relationship.
This would be the end of season 2. I’m sure this would require a season 3 or more.
***
You might wonder why there isn’t a Rin’s view. I felt the anime was more about the people around Rin and their reactions to her. I feel you can get Rin’s point of view through the glimpse of other people. Theirs put together is Rin’s view. What I would like for season 2 is a continuation of the first season. I would like to learn more about the various characters and their history. I would like it to lead to stronger bonds and relationships. I don’t think the parent bond should be broken.
What do you think? Would this make for an interesting story? Somehow, I feel that the artist miss a real niche market and most of the fans were let down. I know that I won’t bother reading the manga, until it’s revised.
I didn't like your revision. The thing that I loved about Usagi Drop was that they kept it real by avoiding all the tiresome angst and melodrama which is typical of shojou. The ending and story has enough drama as it is actually! The niche market you're talking about is shojou (young females), and the mangaka is missing it because she/he is not aiming for it, they're aiming for the josei genre (adult females), NOT shojou. Compared to shojou, the point of josei is not drama, but relationships. I can understand why many fans would be let down, as the shojou audience is much larger than the josei, but this manga is PERFECT and MADE for the josei audience, not the shojou.
I'm aware you've read spoilers, but I'm not sure about how much you know, so I'll just recap "a bit". (See below.) Although I find the ending a bit squicky with them becoming a couple, I was not dissatisfied as their relationship progressed realistically and steadily in spite of this. I would wish it ended up as Nitani+Daikichi and Rin+Kouki pairing instead. I have not seen the anime and I would actually encourage you to read the manga until the end, as it has become one of my favourite mangas of all time!
[MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!]
In the manga (10 yrs later part) Rin expresses desire to become a mother and start a family of her own. But she's worried since she doesn't seem popular like Reina (cousin), and wonders how she'll ever come about starting a family. Just ONE boy does try flirting with her and invites her to the cinema, but is gives up since she is being dismissive and unsociable.
Yes, Kouki is an option but she's firm in the decision in middle school to put her feelings for him behind her. When confronting Kouki's ex she does actually kiss him saying she USED to like him but not anymore. He keeps pestering Rin about going out with him, and even jumps hugs on her without success when he sees a chance. Then Nitani remarries, and just as Kouki is about to meet her boyfriend, he flees to Daikichi's and Rin's place, telling them how it's simply physiologically impossible for him to imagine his mum with a guy; to acknowledge her as a woman also. Rin scoffs at Kouki as being childish, and when asked by Kouki, she says would accept it if Daikichi got married. But when she sits down, she remarks to herself how she actually wouldn't like it to have another woman living with her and Daikichi.
Anyways, while contemplating what she would be like as a mother, she becomes curious about her own mother and looks up her family register, but is discovered by Daikichi. He decides to set up the meeting for her. (Masako is now very noticeably pregnant and is grumpy since she don't want Daikichi to know.) When they first meet, it's a bit stiff since Rin can't remember anything about her at all except the sound of someone hoovering in the background. But by Rin's second visit after her half-sister is born, she remembers Masako's lullaby as her mother is nursing her sister. Masako breaks down crying, confessing she sang for her every night. She finally feels a bit connected to her biological mother.
On her way home she contemplates her conversations with her mother: Masako was not willing to give up her career and dream for Rin, as she thought anyone could be Rin's mother, but no one could do her work -- something she has come to realise is turned upside down. But why did Daikichi decide to take her in and raise her as his own; did he not have dreams and a career to pursue, something he would have to sacrifice if he was to raise her? In class she wonders why no boy has ever caught her interest, and Kouki is excluded as he's ONLY a sibling to her now. She remarks how she would be happy to spend her whole life with Daikichi as they are, and with that she begins considering a romantical relationship between the two of them. But as they are biologically related she decides to keep her feelings hidden.
As always, Kouki keeps courting Rin, but he becomes curious as she begins laying hints that she has someone else she likes already. Rin also keeps saying she won't go to university but start working straight away with kids at a nursery (despite having better grades than him who is actually planning to go to uni), so she can stay at home and take care of Daikichi when he grows old. On their way home one day, he interrogates Rin on the matter, and realises who it is when seeing her blush upon seeing Daikichi. Rin tells him to keep it under wraps, but Kouki confronts Daikichi about the matter while she's in the bath. However, she forgot her soap in the living room and walks in on Kouki declaring Rin's love for Daikichi. Daikichi was brushing the whole matter off as absurd until Rin screams idiot at Kouki and runs off without her jacket nor shoes. Daikichi is confused but runs out and catches Rin nevertheless, puts his jacket on her and scolds her for running off outside without her outerwear. After Kouki goes home, Daikichi and Rin have a talk, in which he says that this is THE most horrible thing she could do to him.
Completely lost and flustered, she decides to consult the ONLY person she can about the matter. When Daikichi finds a note saying she's gone to visit her mother for a bit, he runs off to get her as it was already late when he returned home and found the note. Daikichi scolds Masako for revealing the truth about Rin's parentage, but she tells him she made that decision as a mother and shoves Rin out saying Souichi isn't her biological father and they should just figure out their relationship. At home, Daikichi tells Rin he will not be able to dismiss her if she TRULY wants to marry a 40 year old man like him, but tells her to wait until she graduates to make sure of her feelings (and let him prepare his), and encourages her to date someone else before then and return to their old father-daughter relationship without any consequences.
