MINDSET:
Realism is out of the ordinary for the Slice Of Life genre, since most of it some simplistic Harem or Moe shtuff I get bored of within the five minutes while being devoid of any sort of realsim and putting more emphasis on the monsters, panty shots, lasers, generic mains and a bunch of innuendos.
SYNOPSIS:
Daikichi is apparently some 30 year old bachelor, and apparently he discovers that he's granddad has an illegitimate child called Rin and due to rather excusable and understandable reasons, no one in the family wanted to look after the poor thing, so Daikichi decided what is most logical: to adopt her as a guardian.
REVIEW:
Unlike most Anime which treats itself as an escapism fantasy that has less to no realism or depth at all, I'm serious when I say that Usagi Drop is one of those shows that You only see in a blue moon, especially if You consider this show being made in the 2010's when it was just too easy to make a simple Slice Of Life show that can target the masses, it is a show, at its time, deserves the value and recognition it gets for what it does.
Now having said that, the show presents its themes and clearly focuses on them in “legitimately mature” context. It centers around the whole parenthood thing with Daikichi trying to take care of Rin like a parent, You see him going through situations that may happen in real life, like how he sacrifices some of he's free time, or just trying to pick Rin up from Kinder Garden at 7:00pm midnight due to work, and this is what I love about this show so much, sure its not real-life realistic (and that could a bad thing) but it still attains that simplistic, yet deep feeling for what its really like to look after a child.
Has anyone noticed when Daikichi gotten the paperwork to adopt Rin, was never signed or authorised? Well, it did seem too easy when Daikichi decided to look after Rin without putting much thought into it, and how it kind-of came out of nowhere as if he only wanted to look after after her because of empathy. Though that’s just a small bug I noticed after re-watching it...
Since the show centres all around a realistic take on the Slice Of Life genre, it does seem semi-episodic with the whole Slice Of Life aspect, yet it there is always a piece of character development like Daikichi learning more about Rin through the duration, or how Rin becomes a happier girl.
Though the show really does centre around Rin and Daikichi, the supporting cast had just enough screen time for You to know them well, but there really isn't much to talk about them other than that they fill the roles quite nicely like Reina, a completely bombastic little girl whose one of Rins friends always seemed fitting to act in this bombastic way at her age. The sidecast all have a purpose, and fit their roles and themes in the story quite nicely.
Quite a contradictory with Production I.G's work. What I like about this company is the very consistent budget without it ever feel like its dropping, but instead of them using the usual blended CGI graphics onto 2-D backgrounds without it looking like a complete fail, You gotta give some praise for the Animators using animated pastel drawings in the OP, and I really liked the start of an episode when the first 30 seconds of it uses a more artistic style, but even if it never done that, the Animation just feels, perfectly fitting for the whole light hearted yet mature “Looking after a Child” theme, as it uses such delicate colours and a lack of greys. Its very bright colour scheme feels very refreshing from all the greys or artificial-like backgrounds that most Anime tend to draw towards... And yes, Rin is the cutest thing ever... nuff said...
What else is their to say for the OST? It fits the mood really, and its quite clear there wasn’t that much effort put into it, nor it is bad. It's one of those Slice Of Life soundtracks You just hear, and then forget. The OP is great and You can skip the ED.
LEGACY:
Easily the best show when it was aired at its season, it is an Anime that I, anime critics and fans will remember this Slice Of Life for having the balls to tread over the bombastic and unrealistic or just plain boring tropes on what’s really defining a Slice Of Life Anime...
CRITICAL SCORE:
8/10 – The characters portray the mature themes very well.
7/10 – Story does seem semi-episodic, but its Slice Of Life, what is there to say?
7/10 – Animation fits the whole, looking after the child thing very well, with a brighter gradients and being more simplistic.
6.5/10 – OST is nothing special except for a memorable OP.
CRITICAL FINALE: 8/10
PERSONAL SCORE: (enjoyment)
I'm not the type of guy who is REALLY into the whole trying to look after a child kind of shows (like Wolf Children) though I feel genuinely immersed in the whole ordeal, I personally prefer more battle oriented themes, or something darker than general... Now because I've said that:
PERONAL FINALE: 7/10
