(L) Usagi Drop

[Flower]

Episode 2 was great ... sure they changed things around a little in terms of a strict adaptation of the manga, but I did not feel anything was "lost". 8/10 vote from me.

[Seiryuu]

One thing I've noticed with shows like this, for some reason any time a little girl does seiyuu work (like Rin's VA) her voice is quite a bit lower than older seiyuus playing child roles.

Also, one thing I thought of while watching this, where did the pinky swear come from? Or at least the Japanese version? Listening to the swear (including the actual lines instead of Daikichi's screwup), I somehow got an image of Yakuza, the way that they apologize for breaking a trust of failing by cutting off the tip of the pinky.j

That said, the show's adorable. I just hope that last scene wasn't all they were going to show of that part.

Spoiler for the full matter:

Rin starts wetting the bed night after night, and seems somehow afraid to go to the bathroom before going to bed. This seems minor, but it's significant because the bedwetting is from Rin's trauma which has yet to heal. Daikichi doesn't even notice how much she hates it any time the news talks about illness or death. It's not essential that the two be connected, so the bedwetting could be left at that, but it still seems like they should have that together.

[Haak]

^ Dude I hope that's not a manga spoiler because if it is...

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Haak

^ Dude I hope that's not a manga spoiler because if it is...

If it is the said poster will be beaten to death and then burned alive and then kept on bread and water rations for 30 days?

Seriously though ... yes, please. Although it was marked with spoiler tags it is prolly best to leave manga based spoilers out of the anime forum....

[Seiryuu]

Originally Posted by Flower

If it is the said poster will be beaten to death and then burned alive and then kept on bread and water rations for 30 days?

Seriously though ... yes, please. Although it was marked with spoiler tags it is prolly best to leave manga based spoilers out of the anime forum....

Not much of a manga spoiler. I just noted that the little bit after the closing credits was the start of a chapter and I was hoping that they kept the whole chapter. I only tagged it because I gave a brief explanation of the meaning behind the situation that made me want it kept.

[fedor mma]

This episode gave me diabetes

[risingstar3110]

Rin is just too sweet of a kid....

[fedor mma]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

So: bland directing; unattractive character design; flat voice acting. The only reason I'm still watching is 'cause of the manga's acclaim/reputation. I'll stick it through, but this this is a bit of a disappointment, to be honest.

I disagree 100%. would you rather have characters yelling each others names and forced drama?. This show actually understands subtlety.

[MeoTwister5]

You could say that Rin's very calm and understanding way of thinking and treatment of Daikichi when he was late would be something rather unrealistic for her age. I for one just loved the characterization of Rin as both a kid who is still a kid at heart, but one who's experiences with having an old man as a father and cynical people as family has made her more mentally and emotionally developed and mature than her peers.

That face she tried to show when he arrived despite her joy? We have a little tsundere in the making here boys and girls. That whimsical glee she had when she was on Daikichi's shoulders running around reminded me of a specific scene between Tomoya and Ushio in Clannad AS, and watching it brought no greater amount of joy and smiles to my face.

Daikichi is indeed a man amongst men. He's taking on a tremendous responsibility and you can't fault him for doing is very damn best for both of them. Fatherhood skills isn't something you learn overnight, and he's got a long road ahead of him. Thankfully Rin is one of those low-maintenance kids, lightening the burden on his shoulders a bit.

[amasposu]

Excellent episode 1. This is probably my favorite series of the season so far. I can't wait to watch episode 2. <:

[wandering-dreamer]

Looks like the DVDs are getting a few bonus shorts on them, link.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Found an enlightening resource on nurseries (hoikuen) in Japan, set up independently by a foreigner who has apparently lived there for some time.

• Day Care/Child Care for Working Parents (Sept 15, 2006)
  

  In Japan, most municipal governments run a public day-care system. In some places it has been notoriously inadequate at filling the need. Frankly, I think the lack of good day-care options is at least 30 per cent responsible for the decline in the birth rate.

• Hoikuen in Japan (Sept 8, 2007)
  

  What is a nursery?
  Nurseries are for children whose parents who cannot look after them during the day for various reasons. Children must be aged between 57 days old and preschool age (*presumably from seven years old).
  
  Flowchart for entry:
  (1) Apply: Entrance is available only on the first day of every month. You need to apply by the 10th day of the month. Entrance in April is on an exceptional basis, since application must be done by January.
  
  (2) Inquiry/Home Visit: An appointment is made and a city worker comes to your home to check the child's situation there.
  
  (3) Conference: After screening, if your child is eligible to enter one of the day nurseries, you will be notified.
  
  (4) Interview/Health Check.
  
  Quotes from parents
  "A nursery cannot accept children with fever over 37.5 deg C or in poor health. If you child gets high fever during nursing hours, you will be asked to pick him or her up as soon as possible." - Japanese mother
  
  "It is very hard to enter nurseries in Japan due to lack of vacancies but don't give up. Keep applying!" - Chinese mother
  
  Public temporary nurseries
  You can ask for temporary nurseries during daytime for any reason. Children must be healthy, be able to stay with other children, and be aged four months old to preschool age.
  
  Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm, 500yen per hour
  
  Appointment is necessary and cancellation fees might be charged. Meal and snacks are available for extra charge.

• Life at Japanese Public Day Care (June 8, 2001)
  

  Applying for entry
  The Japanese day-care year runs on the same schedule as the school year, that is, from April 1 to March 31. As a rule, applications are accepted from about January and decisions are made by early or mid-March. There are circumstances in which applications are accepted mid-year. Public day-care systems are administered by local governments so the services differ from community to community.
  
  Day-care hours
  Japanese public day-care hours vary. In Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, the earliest time for children to arrive is 7.15am. All children are expected to be there by 9.30am. If your child arrives later, he or she may miss an outing called an osampo. All children are to be picked up by 6.15pm. However, there is an extended-care programme (enchoban) until 7pm which costs an additional 10 per cent of your assessed fee (which is weighted according to your income).
  
  Saturday care is also available and included in your monthly fee, but not all Saturdays are fully available. For example, twice-a-year fumigation takes place on Saturdays, so there is no child care on those days. Generally, Saturday care does not extend much past 5.30pm.
  
  Class organisation
  As in Japanese elementary school and kindergarten, each age group in the hoikuen has a name. At my hoikuen, the babies are in the "Dream" class (Yume, maximum number 10). The one and two year olds are in Tsukushi and Tampopo (Dandelion, maximum number about 16) classes. The three younger classes are on the second floor.
  
  On the ground floor are the Risu, Kuma and Mori (Squirrel, Bear and Forest) classes. The rooms for the older children are about half the size of the rooms for the younger children, and the maximum number of children per class is increased to about 18.
  
  Food and nap time
  Meals are prepared by the cooks and are basically very healthy with portions of vegetables, a meat (generally fish or chicken), often noodles or bread instead of rice, miso soup and milk. Parents supply only a lunch box on scheduled picnic days, which applies only to the oldest three classes.
  
  After lunch there is a diaper/clothes change and cleaning up, and then it is nap time. The caretakers are very patient and work hard to instil this habit in the kids. The younger kids are allowed to sleep until they wake up on their own (which can be as long as three hours!). The downstairs kids all sleep in the big common room where the futons are stored. They all awaken after about two hours and the room, which has ceiling fans and an air conditioner, is made available again for play.
  
  There is an after-nap snack served with a beverage — mugi-cha (barely tea) or milk — and in the hot months there is water or mugi-cha served at the entrance way for any kids who get thirsty while racing around outside.

The key thing to note: Rin's nursery, a 24-hour care centre, is either very rare in real life or, more possibly, fictional.

[ars89]

Rin was so adorable from holding his hand to being angry at him when he came back late. Felt sorry for her that time, but Daikichi made it up to her. He really is a nice guy. I wonder how long he'll keep at it though. The ending was great, its sweat!

[Kinematics]

Originally Posted by Seiryuu

Great first ep. One thing I missed was they cut out Daikichi telling his family off. Originally, he got tired of them arguing about who's going to be stuck with this girl they seem to think is developmentally challenged and concluding that they should send her to some sort of foster care facility, and told them that if they took the time to look they'd realize that Rin's very smart and sensitive, and that he feels she'll grow up to be a much better adult than them before going and inviting Rin to his home. Here, he just gets tired of it when he hears them suggest just dumping her with a facility, slams down his cup and goes to Rin without a word to them. After their arguing and each making clearly rehearsed excuses why they can't take her, those morons really deserved to have a few things said to them. They deserved to feel some shame at their behavior.

I think it's a good thing that they cut that out. That sort of thing only works in melodramas. By not making a big fuss about it, it drove things home a bit better, and made it more realistic.

Consider: Do you think your average 30-year-old white-collar sales manager is a natural genius at giving perfect morally cutting speeches? No, of course not. Very, very few people are. If he stood up and started something like that, I would have started cringing immediately from the shear unbelievability of it.

Further, this is family. A couple sisters, uncles, in-laws, his mom for crying out loud. Almost all of them should have a mile long blackmail list of all the things he's ever screwed up (including less tangible things like "you're 30 years old and still don't even have a girlfriend!"). If he stands up and starts making some pretty speech about their moral failings, they will shut him down hard.


That's not to say that there's not plenty of motivation to want to tell them all off for their own selfishness, but there's no way in hell it would have ended up going well. Daikichi would just be starting a massive internal family squabble that would have made things worse. Plus, by tearing them down now, do you think he would have been able to call his sister for help in episode 2? She probably would have just brushed him off and told him to figure things out for himself, since he was obviously so much better than the rest of them. There's no reason to burn his bridges with them.

And on the other, other, other hand, do you think Rin would have been happy to go with a man who just got into some screaming argument with the rest of his family? Would he have been as worthy of her trust? Or would she have felt that she was only being taken in due to some moral obligation, rather than that he actually cared about her? As TRL said, children are very sensitive to those types of things.

The single most important thing for Daikichi to do in that scene was to show that he cared for Rin, and take her in. Taking moral pot shots at his family was way down the list, and could ultimately be considered counterproductive.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

The key thing to note: Rin's nursery, a 24-hour care centre, is either very rare in real life or, more possibly, fictional.

It's 24-hours? Seemed like it was shutting down around 6-7. That is, the last girl besides Rin was picked up around 6:30-ish (don't remember if it showed the exact time), they called Daikichi a bit after 7, and the last adult stayed there with Rin until Daikichi arrived (I'd assume it was approaching 8:00 by then, since he still had to take the train).

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Kinematics

I think it's a good thing that they cut that out. That sort of thing only works in melodramas. By not making a big fuss about it, it drove things home a bit better, and made it more realistic.

I strongly agree. To me, less is more, and I have an extreme dislike for overwrought melodrama, especially when it comes to portraying stories that are supposed to closely reflect daily realities.

I've been very careful to stay away from manga spoilers, referring to the source material only after I've watched the anime. This thread, I'm afraid, is rife with spoiler minefields, revealing things which should have been better left untold. That said...

Originally Posted by Kinematics

It's 24-hours? Seemed like it was shutting down around 6-7. That is, the last girl besides Rin was picked up around 6:30-ish (don't remember if it showed the exact time), they called Daikichi a bit after 7, and the last adult stayed there with Rin until Daikichi arrived (I'd assume it was approaching 8:00 by then, since he still had to take the train).

...is one instance where I failed to distinguish between source and adaptation. My apologies. Suffice to say that the "24-hour" reference comes from source. Whether or not Rin's nursery in the anime operates on the same basis is up for speculation. Even so, it clearly seems to work on extended hours, being as it is an "emergency" centre.

(It was already five past seven* on the first night when Daikichi attempted to leave his office before being held up by a late call from a client. It's implied that he didn't actually leave until around 9pm or 10pm — well past the bedtime of most young children, hence the groggy, tired Rin on every subsequent night that Daikichi picked her up.)

There is a blogger out there in the ether who wondered why none of the staff at the nursery scolded Daikichi for being late, saying that it stretches the show's credibility. He or she may have a point, though I'd say it appears that Rin's nursery is just special that way. Based on what I've found online, such centres may, in fact, exist and are possibly very difficult to enrol into — and likely cost a lot more as well.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Kinematics

Plus, by tearing them down now, do you think he would have been able to call his sister for help in episode 2? She probably would have just brushed him off and told him to figure things out for himself, since he was obviously so much better than the rest of them. There's no reason to burn his bridges with them.

Incidentally, Haruko is Daikichi's cousin, not his sister. And Daikichi seems to be closer to Haruko than his own sister, who seems to disapprove of him for some as-yet-unrevealed reason.

[00Coyote]

I really like this show...

but the only comment I can ever construct for it is:

D'aaawwwwwwwwwwwww

[Sackett]

I thought it was good they decided to address the worry Rin has about death.

Also, Daikichi has taken the plunge. I think it was the discussion about Rin's mother "the maid" that made it clear to him that Rin's mother is not coming back, so he better plan for the long haul.

[wandering-dreamer]

I had to laugh when I saw that Daikichi's mother wants grandkids now, at least she has a few young children in the family to fill that role for the moment. I thought that the backstory about her being a working mother was interesting and it caught me by surprise yet it kinda explains why she was so hesitant to take Rin in.

[Jehuty]

I can't express how much I love this anime in a way that gives it justice. Daikichi, hot damn. I can only aspire to ever be half as good a parent as he is.

God I love this show. I just absolutely love this.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Sackett

I thought it was good they decided to address the worry Rin has about death.

Also, Daikichi has taken the plunge. I think it was the discussion about Rin's mother "the maid" that made it clear to him that Rin's mother is not coming back, so he better plan for the long haul.

Yeah, I think it was gaining that information that pushed Daikichi to take the next step. I mean her mother was around at times but pretended to be a maid and clearly wasn't very pleasant towards Rin. Makes sense for Daikichi to believe she's not going to come back for her daughter.

He made a lot of good moves in this episode. Gave his sister and parents a few stern words which helped open things up. Of course Rin was going to be pretty solemn and quiet since this was the group that wanted nothing to do with her. Until they made the effort to open up to her she was just following Daikichi around and sticking to him like glue. Glad that Daikichi's mother really opened up and built a nice relationship with Rin. Lot easier I suppose to be a 'grandmother' than actually taking the child in permanently. Glad we got some background info on her and what she went through when raising her own kids.

Glad Daikichi met someone who could give him perspective in what he probably felt was a necessary move. Moving to a different department will slow down his career movement, but it's necessary. Rin needs him to be around more which means no overtime. At least he won't have to be running like a madman and being so late every day to pick her up. He's a single parent now and that's just one sacrifice that has to be made for Rin's sake.

Good move in terms of the wetting the bed issue. Getting to the heart of it was important and reassuring her that he isn't going to just die and leave her alone. Plus seems he found a new place for Rin. That's one less thing for him to figure out.