One of my favorite series ended recently (well, the scanlations for it anyway), and it just didn't feel right not saying anything about it in my blog. Now, for those of who don't know, Usagi Drop is a heartwarming story about Daikichi Kawachi and Rin Kaga. Rin is the illegitimate daughter of Daikichi's grandfather, Souichi Kaga (and is thus, technically, Daikichi's aunt). When he passes away due to old age, a young Rin is left orphaned and alone. Unfortunately, due to circumstances of her birth and it having been kept secret from the rest of the family, no one wants to take her in. Daikichi, angry at this relatives' seemingly callous regard for the child, decides to take it upon himself to care for her. Thus begins the adorable tale of how Daikichi, suddenly an unprepared parent, takes care of and raises Rin. It's a slice-of-life story, so if you're not into that sort of thing, then this manga probably isn't for you. However, if you enjoy the genre or don't particularly mind it, Usagi Drop is an absolutely fantastic read. Rin is incredibly cute (and diabetically sweet), and it's always amusing and/or entertaining to watch Daikichi deal with raising her. It ends up being far harder than he ever expected, and he wonders whether he's really up for the task or not, but he never once thinks about taking back his decision based upon the hardship he ends up bringing to himself. Rin, although still a child, also never complains about her situation, and is wondrously mature for her age. Almost anyone would want a kid as well-behaved and yet still childish as Rin, or a father figure as earnest and hard-working as Daikichi. It's almost impossible to not want to continually root for them as they tackle lifes' issues one at a time.
Around the half point in the series, a time-skip then occurs, and the manga begins to shift its focus to Rin's life in high school. It sort of becomes a typical romance story from there, as she deals with her developing feelings for Kouki Nitani, who she had grown up with and was also a major supporting character in the first half. I didn't enjoy the second half as much as the first half, but it still kept my interest as it was still a fun read. Although the characters I had come to love were still there. They had just grown up, or grown old! After having followed Rin's life for so long, it almost felt like a crime to stop too. Still, I can't say I liked the ending much either. I enjoyed the father-daughter dynamic between Daikichi and Rin more than what ended up developing at the series' end. It sort of came out of left base. Nonetheless, I didn't hate it, and it was satisfactory enough for me. There's still an Extra volume coming out for the series and a live action movie, both of which I can't wait to read/see.
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